All About Folk Guitars

The guitar has long found many fans around the world due to its unique sound. She can act both as an accompanying and as a solo instrument. She is able to play melodies of various styles: from folk to jazz. There are several types of guitars, among which there are folk guitars. What kind of instrument it is, what are its differences and features, about its varieties and sound, is described in the article.

Folk guitar is a kind of acoustic or semi-acoustic six-string instrument, including a classical one, but adapted only for metal strings. It has a fairly strong and rigid body due to a specially designed springs fastening of the top deck, a narrower neck, reinforced with a central anchor bolt, a cutout (catavei) in the body under the neck for free access of the left hand fingers to the strings behind the XII fret.

As early as the 19th century, it was proposed to replace nylon strings with metal strings on acoustic guitars. The reason was the desire to make the sound louder and more sonorous. However, this is not the only difference. The creator of folk guitars is Christian Martin, a guitar specialist. It was he who made significant changes to the structure of the instrument. He was prompted to do this by his serious attitude to the problem of deformation of the top soundboard and sagging of the neck of a classical instrument due to the strong tension of steel strings.

The folk guitar differs from the classical one in the following points:

• neck - narrower, has a rounded surface;
• the bridge (lower tailpiece) is moved from the center of the lower oval closer to the resonator hole;
• larger dimensions of the body and the tool as a whole;
• the number of frets is 20-22 versus 19 on the "classic";
• strings are made of metal or bronze.

Since the strings are made of metal, this means they are more difficult to clamp. For this reason, it is not recommended to start learning folk guitar right away. This decision can complicate the learning process. And children can start playing on it only from the age of 12. It is better to start with a guitar with nylon strings (for both children and adults). The classical guitar is a softer and more pliable instrument for learning.

As a result of the changes made by K. Martin, a model with a reinforced top deck was obtained. And also a completely new design was developed for attaching the neck to the body with an anchor with adjustable height of the strings above the neck of the instrument.

There are additional characteristic features of folk guitars that distinguish them from other models, as well as aimed at expanding the functionality and improving the sound. Let's list these features:

• the presence of a pickguard - a plate that protects the soundboard located below the outlet from contact with the musician's fingers;
• the presence of a cutaway - a cutout in the lower part of the guitar body under the neck for more convenient and comfortable playing at high frets;
• oval-shaped CFRP back (only found on Ovation models).

According to the structure of the body, folk guitars are divided into 3 types:

1. Dreadnought (or Western guitar): features a large body with a low deep sound, ideal for playing country music or blues;
2. jumbo: a guitar with a large pear-shaped body, where smooth rounded shapes prevail (there are guitars with an even larger body and an even cooler sound - super jumbo);
3. flattop - a model with a flat body.

Folk guitar sounds loud and loud, and this allows you to play jazz music perfectly. The sound is also different depending on the type of housing. So, the dreadnought remains the most common type to this day. It is popular among professional musicians, as it has an immediately recognizable and deep sound peculiar only to it. However, this option is more suitable as an accompaniment than performing a solo piece.

But the orchestral models of this type of instrument have a smaller body. But they have a smoother and softer sound, balanced in frequencies. This folk guitar variant is an excellent solo instrument. It is convenient to work with him in the studio.

Jumbo - Guitars with the largest body, allowing you to produce the most powerful, juicy sound.

Flattop guitars have a hollow acoustic body that makes the sound strong and loud even without additional electric amplifiers.

The sound of folk guitar as a whole is objectively louder and more sonorous. These guitars are ideal for accompaniment, strumming, fast, rhythmic, dynamic compositions.

Folk guitar is a great option for those who love rock, singing, gathering around the fire in a friendly company. Knowing how to play this type of instrument, you can easily play the electric guitar, since they have the same neck. But for novice guitarists, this type of instrument is not suitable due to the fact that strings made of metal or bronze are very difficult for beginners - they can create big problems at the initial stage of training.