Acoustic Guitar

Classical Vs Acoustic Guitar: What’s The Difference?

By · 23 min read

acoustic guitar | Sandy Music Lab

At first glance, the classical and acoustic guitars look very similar. They are both hollow-bodied with six strings each, and neither can be amplified without making modifications. When looking at most standard guitar bodies, you can tell them apart as the acoustic guitar is usually larger, with a heavier overall weight, however, the other differences are a little more subtle. 

The differences between the classical and acoustic guitar are the type of strings used, the neck’s width, and the ease of play with fingers rather than a pick. The classical guitar also has a more mellow sound compared to the twang of the acoustic.

In this article, we will look at these differences, including the design and functionality, and explore how they change the sound and feel of the individual instruments. We will also look at each type of guitar’s pros and cons to see if one is better overall than the other. 

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Classical Vs Acoustic Guitar: A Brief History Of Classical And Acoustic Guitars

We can trace guitars further back than the written word through drawings and works of art. A 3,300 years old Ancient Greek depiction clearly displays a guitar-like instrument. It is believed that the modern-day guitar is a close relative of the lute, which has a long neck and hollow body. 

A member of the chordophone family, the guitar is a stringed instrument that makes its sound by tightening strings over a soundbox, plucked in sequence to make a melody. Much like the lute, a guitar is played with fingertips, or sometimes a pick, creating vibrations from the strings. 

Antonio de Torres Jurado was a well-known luthier in the 19th Century and is responsible for the shape of the guitar we know today. His design used a fan-shaped bracing inside to support catgut and silk strings. He was also one of the first to work with thinner material in the soundboard, emphasizing the sound better. 

Pulling from the Torres design, Christian Frederick Martin worked throughout the 1800s to establish himself as a pioneering lead guitar maker. After moving from Germany to New York, he established the CF Martin & Co., which is still in operation today. 

Martin was the first to design the inner X-bracing inside the soundboard. This allowed for the use of steel strings, as the new bracing was strong enough to hold the added tension needed to keep the steel strings in place. 

The acoustic guitar is thought of as an evolved classical guitar. Where musicians all played similar varieties of the classical guitar once, the X-bracing and the introduction of steel strings changed the instrument’s sound and feel. Though both are acoustic in nature, the names are given to differentiate between the softer nylon-stringed instrument and the louder steel-stringed instrument. 

Classical Vs Acoustic Guitar: The Classical Guitar

The vihuela was first recognized in Spain around the 15th Century. It had four sets of double strings that stretched the neck’s length and is the closest ancestor to the guitars of today. But it was Torres who decided that the instrument needed to be more prominent in order to amplify more sound. He extended the neck further and widened the body, adding to the curve and hourglass shape.

String Evolution

Initially, stringed instruments used catgut. This natural fiber found in cattle and sheep intestines would be thoroughly cleaned before being drawn out and twisted to make strings. However, catgut was also used for sutures, and due to the increased need during the second world war, catgut became scarce. This forced instrument makers, such as Albert Augustine, to search for an alternative. 

When looking at nylon strings, the first three produce treble tones and are made from a single piece of transparent nylon. The last two produce bass tones, which are actually made from approximately 200 strands of nylon that get wrapped in silver-plated copper.

Since nylon strings are not pulled as tight as steel, they have more movement when plucked. For this reason, classical guitars have a wider neck to allow for better movement during play. If they are too close together, there is the chance of the strings hitting one another accidentally.  

Thumb Placement

Due to the wider neck, it is not usually possible for a player to use their thumb. In some cases, with the narrower acoustic guitar, a musician can use their thumb to hold down certain strings. However, the thumb is used as a back support for the four fingers to press the classical guitar strings.

Similarities With the Flamenco Guitar

The flamenco guitar, which is traced to Spain, has a very similar body and playing style as the classical guitar. These guitars are typically made using a thinner and lower density wood than the classic. The overall body is slimmer, and the strings are closer to the guitar with the flamenco. This allows for faster play, the sound picking up sooner and fading quicker, which is better suited to the fast-paced flamenco style of music. 

Classical Vs Acoustic Guitar: The Acoustic Guitar

The acoustic guitar can usually be set apart from the classical guitar by its use of steel strings. As mentioned above, once Christian Frederick Martin designed the new inner bracing, the instrument was then able to withstand the added tension from steel strings. In these early days, an acoustic guitar was nothing more than a classical guitar with steel strings. As time went by, the acoustic guitar was modified to create a better sound.

Steel Strings

The strings of a guitar run from the top of the neck into the middle of the body. When plucked, the string’s vibration transmits from the bridge to the body until eventually producing a sound through the soundhole.

Like the classical guitar, the acoustic usually has six strings, named in numerical sequence from bottom to top. The first two are bare steel and the thinnest on the guitar. The next four strings get progressively thicker and are wound with steel. 

The thicker strings have a lower pitch than the thinner strings when they are the same length. But the pitch can be altered by pressing on the frets closer to the soundhole. Thus, shortening the line and changing the vibration. A shortened string will produce a higher pitch. 

Due to the tension in these strings, the acoustic guitar’s neck evolved to be more narrow. There was no need for added space because the strings did not move as much during play, and the likelihood of accidentally touching strings was far less than with the nylon strings. 

Body Design

Each part of the guitar will affect the sound played in the end. If there is less tension in the strings, if a capo is used to press all the strings at a certain point, or if the thickness of the wood making up the body is greater, the sound will be different. Specifically for the body, it can be kept the same size but given a thicker wooden structure to help increase the overall sound. 

There are many differing acoustic guitar styles (Note: You may also enjoy knowing the difference between acoustic vs semi-acoustic guitar.), each with a slightly different size and sound. These include but are not limited to:

The main types of acoustic guitar include but are not limited to:

  • Dreadnought – The most famous acoustic guitar and the most widely used, this guitar has the most volume and creates a broader range of tone
  • Parlor – Much smaller than the Dreadnaught, this guitar is easy for fingerwork and provides a higher range of notes
  • Jumbo – This larger guitar has a broader base and shoulders, making the hollow cavity larger and the sound greater
  • Auditorium – The tighter waist of this guitar allows it to sit more comfortably on the knee
  • Grand Auditorium – Made famous by Taylor Swift, this guitar made the Taylor Guitars company a household name

Bracing

If you were to open a hollow body guitar, you would find harmonic bars across the top plate. Their primary purpose is to provide support to the instrument. The wooden bracing is used to prevent the neck from warping under the tension of the strings. 

The secondary purpose of these bars is to provide the desired timbre. Timbre refers to the tone and sound quality of an instrument and can be affected by the size, shape, and positioning of the harmonic bars. 

On a classical guitar, the bars are laid out in a fan formation. This is believed to provide the best quality of sound from the nylon-stringed instrument. In contrast, the harmonic bars on the acoustic guitar have been altered to account for the greater tension applied by the steel strings. 

Classical Vs Acoustic Guitar: The Differences Between Classical and Acoustic Guitars

Technically, both of these guitars are acoustic guitars. By definition, an acoustic guitar is an instrument with a sound box, over which strings vibrate to make music. Almost always made from wood, any external energy does not amplify these guitars.

However, the style, history, and sound of the classical and acoustic guitars make them quite different instruments. Some of the key differences between the classical and acoustic guitars include:

  • The classical guitar usually has a sma