I recently got a second hand guitar from a friend of the family's...I
checked out some books as to how to play etc. and I noticed a few
pictures of acoustic and Spanish/classical guitars. I looked at my
guitar, which I thought was acoustic, but I noticed it looked slightly
like a Spanish guitar as well. There isn't any visible model number
or brand name on my guitar, so I'm unable to refer to anythign...Are
there any distinct differences in the looks of a Spanish and acoustic
guitar?

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"Jenn Cowfish" wrote to "All" (28 Oct 00 02:44:00)
--- on the topic of "Acoustic or Spanish?"

Are
there any distinct differences in the looks of a Spanish and acoustic guitar?

IIRC, I read that the Spanish guitar is the standard size acoustic.
However, there are various sizes of which means there is a larger
concert acoustic guitar, western guitar, and a smaller junior model for beginners. There was a blurb someplace about a 7 foot high Harmony
acoustic. I seem to recall having seen a picture of it somewhere.
Maybe it was a Guiness book of records or the R&R Hall of Fame...

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Spanish vs acoustic types,
Jenn, a superb neo-flamenco guitarist owns a site on the net you can access by searching WWW.StringDancer.com. Vaguely I recall something to the effect of Flamenco guitars having lower action, and a few varying body/neck differences. There are many Hybrid types that will also have traits of both...ie....friction
peg tuning, wide neck....etc

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I recently got a second hand guitar from a friend of the family's...I
checked out some books as to how to play etc. and I noticed a few
pictures of acoustic and Spanish/classical guitars. I looked at my
guitar, which I thought was acoustic, but I noticed it looked slightly
like a Spanish guitar as well. There isn't any visible model number
or brand name on my guitar, so I'm unable to refer to anythign...Are
there any distinct differences in the looks of a Spanish and acoustic
guitar?

Definitely. The spanish/classical guitar has a smaller body, a wider neck,
and typically has
nylon or gut strings. The classical guitar also has a very distinctive
rosette around the sound
hole that most steel-string acoustics don't have, nor does it have a pick guard, since classical
guitars are exclusively finger-picked.

-- Bret
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Hallo Jenn,

Du meintest

...Are
there any distinct differences in the looks of a Spanish and acoustic
guitar?

Normally, the strings on a spanish guitar are made of plastic, the on an acoustic of steel.

MfG
Lutz


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LUTZ SAUER wrote to JENN COWFISH <=-

Normally, the strings on a spanish guitar are made of plastic, the on
an acoustic of steel.

Not really plastic but nylon. I love the sound of steel strings in
acoustics, though.


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Not really plastic but nylon. I love the sound of steel strings in acoustics, though.

Of course, the guitar has to be built for it. If you put steel strings on a guitar made for nylon strings, you could cause severe damage to it.

--gary

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33 cm's would make it a ukelele... <g>

oopie i meant SIXTY three not 33 gosh what's wrong with me

mm's, right? <g> If so you have a classical concert guitar. Do you see
any paper labels glued to the inside peering through the sound hole
with a flashlight?

the label is very worn and old looking but if i can make out the script correctly (keep in mind i'm the idiot that can't use a ruler) it reads..hofener?hofenei? underneath is a picture of half of the globe and
it reads: the world's most sought guitar ...est. 1887 .



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"Jenn Cowfish" wrote to "Mike Ross" (05 Nov 00 22:12:00)
--- on the topic of "Acoustic or Spanish?"

Do you see
any paper labels glued to the inside

the label is very worn and old looking but if i can make out the
script correctly (keep in mind i'm the idiot that can't use a ruler) it reads..hofener?hofenei? underneath is a picture of half of the globe
and it reads: the world's most sought guitar ...est. 1887 .

The guitar wouldn't date from 1887 of course, but the company's name is recognizable. In particular it is associated with Beatles fame in that
Paul McCartney played a Hoffner bass. So there you are, what you
probably have is a student instrument which I think was made in Germany.
I couldn't give you an age for it however.

Was it given to you by a relative or something? Take care not to let it
dry out or the top face could crack. Some guitarists keep a humidor
inside the case to control the humidity level. You could make your own
by taking a plastic traveling soap case, drilling some holes in the top
with a small nail, and keeping a moistened sponge in it. Now go and
learn to play it!

... Bass players do it with "Precision".
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Hi Jenn,

It's good to see you back... :-)

JENN COWFISH wrote to ALL <=-

I recently got a second hand guitar from a friend of the family's...
I checked out some books as to how to play etc. and I noticed a few pictures of acoustic and Spanish/classical guitars. I looked at my
guitar, which I thought was acoustic, but I noticed it looked slightly like a Spanish guitar as well. There isn't any visible model number
or brand name on my guitar, so I'm unable to refer to anythign...Are
there any distinct differences in the looks of a Spanish and acoustic guitar?

I see there have been a few replies to your question already, and
there's one thing that everybody seems to have overlooked:

As I understand it, *any* guitar that has a hollow body and projects
it's sound naturally (i.e. without electronic amplification), is an
acoustic guitar. The word 'acoustic' does not indicate the make, or
type of guitar. It refers to the fact that it reproduces the sound
naturally, without amplification.

Spanish, or classical guitars are acoustic instruments. They are
typically strung with nylon strings.

There are also numerous models of acoustic guitars that have steel
strings. They are known variously as 'western' style acoustics, or
'folk' style acoustics, etc. This is the type of acoustic guitar
that most people use in contemporary popular music today (i.e. pop,
rock, country, folk, etc.)

So, your guitar is an acoustic guitar. If it has nylon strings, it
is a Spanish or classical style acoustic. If it has steel strings,
it is a Western style acoustic.

Now, sometimes you will see an electric guitar with a hollow body.
These are commonly known as 'semi-acoustic' guitars. They are made
to be played through an amplifier, but when unplugged, they will
still project enough sound to be heard acoustically - albeit, a bit
more quietly. Hence the term, 'semi-acoustic' - they work both ways.

Solid-body electric guitars are made to be played only through
some form of amplifier. Sure, they *can* be heard without one, but
the only thing you will hear is the actual sound of the strings
vibrating, and the body resonating. The key is that they don't
naturally *project* the sound like and acoustic or semi-acoustic
guitar.

I hope this helps to clarify things, Jenn.

Martin
~~~~~~~~


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GARY GILMORE wrote to OLIVER KATIGBAK <=-

Of course, the guitar has to be built for it. If you put steel strings
on a guitar made for nylon strings, you could cause severe damage to
it.

I guess the bridge will break, right?


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I guess the bridge will break, right?

The bridge could be damaged or even pulled right off the body, the neck can warp (or in extreme cases, break), the top can be damaged, etc.

The tension of steel strings is much higher than those of nylon or gut strings,
which is the reason you should never use steel strings on a guitar designed for
nylon/gut strings. You *will* eventually damage it.

--gary

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Hi Oliver!

If you put steel strings on a guitar made for nylon strings, you could GG>> cause severe damage to it.

I guess the bridge will break, right?

No... the brigde is probably no problem, but one day, the guitar will look like
a U because the string will bend the neck forward a lot. I have done that to my
first accoustic... I didn't know about all that and I have put really strong steel/bronce strings on it, the neck was bended so much, that the guitar was hard to play due to the high action (distance between frets and strings) and it
only produce some pretty detuned tones.

Take care
Sven

Sven's Guitar Site: http://home.munich.netsurf.de/Sven.Petersen/
Sven's Guitar Zone: http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Quarter/9440/

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