Guitar Shapes

               Guitar makers are always making changes and adjustments to 
               guitar shapes and dimensions but here is a quick guide to the four 
               most common shapes, and a little bit about each to help narrow 
               down your next guitar choice.


               The Grand Concert is a good choice for fingerstyle guitarists.  It is 
               good for medium strumming and also because of its smaller size a 
               good choice for smaller men or women.  The tone on these guitars 
               are usually very good.

Taylor Grand Concert

                The Dreadnought is the shape of choice for flatpickers.  This is a large 
                guitar and has a lot of volume.  This shape is good for accompanying 
                loud instruments in a band.  This is probably the most popular size and 
                shape in guitars and is good for those who strum from light to heavy.

Martin Dreadnought

                 The Super Jumbo has a deep resonance and a lot of volume because of 

                 the very large sound chamber.   This guitar is good for those who strum 

                 very heavy.  With the Jumbo there is a little extra base and is good for 

                 rhythm guitar playing in a group.

Gibson Super Jumbo

                 The Auditorium is also a good choice for fingerstyle guitarists.  This size 

                 and shape is good for medium strumming and usually has a little extra 

                 treble.  These guitars are usually very good in all around tone and works 

                 will when mic’d.   This is also a smaller size guitar. 

Taylor Auditorium

                 Each guitar will have different sounds and benefits but hopefully this will 

                 help you start to decide which shape of guitar will be your next.  


                        Song to Hear - "Billie Jean" played by Sungha Jun and Trace Bundy
                                                          (love this and this kid is amazing)

                        Song to Learn - "In Your Arms" Laurence Juber

 

Guitar Tops

          Here is a brief guide about the basics of guitar tops.   I will briefly 

          discuss five things to consider for your guitar top:  construction, 

          cut, wood, finish, and grain runout. 

          A Solid top vibrates much easier than a laminated top and will 

          also “age” with playing over the years.  Ageing means that the more 

          a solid top is played the easier it will vibrate and the better sound 

          it will produce.  A top must also be tightly grained to improve the 

          strength when being pulled by the strings.  

          For the cut you want a “bookmatched” top.  This starts with a single 

          piece of wood which is cut in half then opened like a book and glued.  

          This process helps to keep a consistent grain throughout the entire top.

         

seagullguitars.com

          There are a handful of woods used for guitar tops but I prefer spruce 

          (specifically sitka).  Cedar is also a great wood and is often considered 

          more “mellow”.   I like the sound of a cedar topped nylon string guitar,

          the combination of the strings and the top create a very smooth sound.  



Spruce



Cedar



          When looking at a new guitar be weary of the finish that is on your guitar.  

          A finish that is too thick will hamper the vibration and therefore the sound 

          of the guitar.   “Grain Runout” is also something to think about.  Simply, 

          this is when the wood grain is not straight when it goes down into the wood.  

          A guitar top that has grain runout will appear darker on one of the 

          bookmatched sides than the other.  This does not automatically mean the 

          guitar won’t sound good or fall apart but I would stay away from this because 

          the wood can be less strong.  Hopefully this information is helpful.

          Song to Hear -  "Neon" John Mayer

          Song to Learn -  John Mayer Acoustic "Neon" tab