Are you a beginner guitar player and don’t really know what kind of guitar you should start out on? Or maybe you’ve been playing for a while and what to switch up the guitar you’ve been playing on. Some of you may even be advanced professionals simply interested in trying out newer models just for fun. Regardless of your experience level, it’s of utmost importance that musicians have the right size guitar.
There is a wide range of different guitar sizes, styles and brands available on the market to choose from, making it difficult for some less-experienced people to pick the right one. But with the right expertise and knowledge, you can have the right guitar in your hands in no time.
Having the right size guitar is vital to your guitar playing capabilities as well as your overall comfort and the quality of your music. But what sizes are even available to you? And how do you know which one is right for you? Here are some of the most common types of guitars on the market today. The different types of guitars usually come in roughly the same size according to the style that they resemble, but their exact size can vary depending on the manufacturer that each one is produced by.
Article Overview
Some of the most popular acoustic guitar sizes
Travel Acoustic Guitars
Specifically designed for musicians that are constantly on-the-go or those that want a more portable, easier-to-carry guitar, travellers have a slender body and overall makeup. Typically weighing around just three pounds, travelers are the easiest size guitar to carry around with you either on vacation, to a friend or family member’s house or even to just drive around within your car. Even though they’re the most convenient to carry around with you, travel acoustics don’t offer the full sound quality that other guitar styles deliver. Instead, they have a more thin sound that doesn’t project very well. If you’re not looking for a loud, bassy acoustic sound, then travel acoustic guitars might be great for you.
Benefits:
- Cheap
- Lightweight
- Portable
Miniature Acoustic Guitars
Classified as the best guitar for smaller children, the miniature acoustic features a smaller body while delivering a better tone quality than the travel guitar. Given its smaller size, the miniature guitar is easy to carry around with you in a small car and is perfect for vacationing or bringing to someone else’s house. The smaller body does negatively affect the recording quality of the guitar, but this shouldn’t bother you if you’re not expecting to record music or play for large crowds. The miniature acoustic is essentially a smaller version of the standard acoustic guitar.
Benefits:
- Portable
- Best for children
- Cheap
Parlor Guitars
Similar to the traveler and the miniature acoustic guitars, the parlor guitar style features a smaller size that’s beneficial for traveling and carrying on-the-go. The parlor features a standard 12-fret scale while still having a smaller body, making it beneficial for beginners to have more control over the entirety of the fretboard. Differently than the traveler or the mini-guitar, the parlor delivers a more high-quality recording sound that features more balanced tones.
Benefits:
- Delivers a traditional sound
- Great for traveling
- Has a standard fret scale
Auditorium
If you’re looking for a more middle-sized guitar that delivers a higher quality sound than other smaller ones, then the auditorium acoustic would probably be the best option for you. Essentially classified as the best mid-size guitar, the auditorium is great for beginner or intermediate players that are looking for more balanced sound quality. It’s the smallest type of acoustic guitar that is capable of administering a larger amount of bass and mid-range qualities. Even more, the auditorium also has a better sound projection than other smaller or mid-size guitars. The auditorium acoustic guitar is also available in a grand size as well, also known as the Grand Auditorium. It features a greater projection than the standard auditorium, and it has more distinguishable tones in the middle, lower and treble tones. The grand auditorium is essentially the best for players interested in finger-picking styles.
Benefits:
- Easy handling
- Quality balance
- Comfortable playing
Dreadnought Acoustic
The dreadnought is perhaps the most common type of acoustic guitar size and style on the market. It features a very large body style that’s capable of delivering a loud sound projection with deep, bassy notes. Given that it’s the most common type of acoustic guitar, the dreadnought is the easiest to access and is one of the cheaper versions of larger guitar styles. The large body style of the dreadnought gives it the ability to play a wider range of notes, and this also makes it great for players that want to strum. The high-quality strumming sound of this type of acoustic guitar makes the dreadnought perfect for performances. It’s not as popular or recommended for players that are interested in finger-picking styles of playing or for those with smaller bodies, as the guitar is quite large.
Benefits:
- Most balanced acoustic tones
- Universal access
- Best for performances
Jumbo
Lastly, there are jumbo acoustic guitars available on the market. They’re classified as the largest type of acoustic guitar, delivering the largest bass sound quality out of all the different acoustic sizes. They’re essentially a larger version of the dreadnought acoustic body style, but they have a more defined waist shape than other dreadnought styles. Given their large shape and design, jumbo acoustic guitars tend to be more expensive and aren’t as recommended for younger people or those with smaller body shapes. There’s also a grand jumbo acoustic guitar that features an even larger size than the standard jumbo. This is for players wanting the most bassy tones from an acoustic guitar, and they’re the most recommended for players in a band that want to create a more balanced sound altogether.
Benefits:
- Loudest sound projection
- Most bass tone quality
- Best for larger players
Conclusion
Overall, it’s difficult to find the right guitar for your particular playing styles and body shape. But choosing the right size acoustic guitar is the most vital step to creating the sound quality that you want. You should ultimately think about what size you particularly need according to the types of playing that you’re going to do the most. Are you going to be traveling with the guitar to your friend’s house or traveling to perform for small groups of people? Are you someone that’s more interested in a balanced acoustic guitar for strumming purposes? Or are you looking for a more mid-ranged guitar that’s centered around finger-picking purposes? There are so many different factors to consider before choosing a particular acoustic guitar size. But after reviewing this guide, hopefully, you understand the basics of what guitar sizes there are to choose from as well as what each size offer.
