While most of you will choose from among the four major types of guitars we’ve alreadydescribed, there are some other noteworthy types of guitars that have been or are available.
- Bass Guitars. Perhaps the most popular guitar variant is not really a guitar at all—it is anelectrified version of a standup bass, designed to be held like a guitar. Introduced in thefifties by Fender, the electric bass has become a standard component of all rock bands.It is tuned and played like a standard acoustic bass—so it’s really a member of the violinfamily. Recently, acoustic guitar makers have designed acoustic bass guitars that areheld like an electric bass but are intended for playing softer music.
- Smaller Instruments. Three-quarter-sized or half-sized guitars are made, often forchildren. The Martin Guitar Company recently introduced a specially sized guitardesigned for women players, who tend to have smaller hands than men.
- Acoustic-Electric Guitars. This simply describes an acoustic guitar with built-in electricpickups, designed to be played through an amplification system. These are particularlyattractive to people who like to play folk-style music, but the instrument needs to beheard in a club setting.
- 12-String Guitars. These large-bodied, double-strung guitars were much favored by bluesplayers because of their loud volume. The strings were tuned an octave apart, giving theinstrument a booming bass sound.
- Guitar Synthesizers. These instruments enable guitarists to enjoythe wide world of sounds available through synthesizers. Theyfeature guitar-like construction and are held and played like aguitar, but actually they contain or connect to a synthesizer,which creates a variety of sounds.
There are also a wide variety of other guitar types—from tenor guitarsto harp guitars—that were popular at one time or another, althoughthey are rarely played or heard today.
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