In the modern history of the acoustic guitar, there a handful of key body shapes and styles that can serve as one of the key differentiators for players looking to pick up a new instrument. While the exact definitions vary brand to brand and era to era, most guitarists know what you mean when you refer to a guitar as a dreadnought or a jumbo or a grand auditorium.
In the video above, we're taking a look at some of these main categories and offering a sampling of different guitars that fall into each. Here are the guitars featured in the video:
- Dreadnought: Martin D-18
- Grand Auditorium: Taylor 214ce
- Orchestra: Guild OM-140
- Concert: Martin 00-28
- Jumbo: Gibson SJ-200
- Parlor: Waterloo WL-14
- Mini: Taylor GS-Mini Koa
For further information on how these body shapes break down, and how to choose the type that's right for you, take a look at our complete acoustic buying guide.