Acoustic Guitar

Acoustic Guitars are a type of guitar that relies merely on acoustic properties. The acoustic guitar uses the vibrations of the string and the sound box (inside the body of the guitar) to generate the sound. Acoustic guitars are similar to classical guitars and are very different than electric guitars.

Acoustic guitars are holllow, have a sound hole, are much bulkier, and does not rely on a pickup to amplify the sound. However, some acoustic guitars have a pickup built in and can be plugged into an amp.(Acoustic-electric guitar) Acoustic guitars can also have a pickup "attatched" to the sound hole.

Acoustic Properties
Since acoustic guitar's do not use any electronics to transmit the sound generated from the strings, the acoustic guitar instead uses the body of the guitar.

When the strings are plucked, they create vibrations. These vibrations cause soundwaves, that enter the ear and then are converted into sound. However, to make these soundwaves stronger, the acoustic guitar the soundhole is where the vibrations enter, and then, inside the soundbox (body) is where the vibrations are mostly ampflified. This occurs because, since the inside is hollow, there is air and it allows the sounds to be pushed, cut, and move around. When the sound leaves the soundhole, is then what the listener hears.

The soundboard (or top of the guitar) also contributes to the guitar's loudness. The soundboard does not create energy, or contribute to making the soundwaves louder. Instead, the soundboard is what allows the vibrations to not just "cut" through the air. The soundboard is what actually allows the strings to make a sound.

And because acoustic guitars do not need an amplifier, acoustic guitars create a unique, clean sound. Even if an amp is used with one, no distortion is added to the guitar's sound.

History
The acoustic guitar can range back to the first guitars, however, those guitars were "acoustic" (An instrument not requiring electric signals to generate sound) they were not the "acoustic guitar". The classical guitar was the most used guitar and the standard in the 1800's. However, when C.F. Martin created the steel-stringed "dreadnought" guitar, the "acoustic guitar" was born.

Acoustic guitars are now part of every pretty much most categories of music. From country, to rock, to blue grass, acoustic guitars are used.

Acoustic Guitar's with Amplifiers
Acoustic guitar can be amplified by using various types of pickups and microphones. However, amplification of acoustic guitars had many problems with audio feedback when they were first being amplified. In the 1960s, Ovation's parabolic bowls dramatically reduced feedback, allowing greater amplification of acoustic guitars. In the 1970s, Ovation developed thinner sound-boards with carbon-based composites laminating a thin layer of birch, in its Adamas model, which has been viewed as one of the most radical designs in the history of acoustic guitars.

The Adamas model dissipated the sound-hole of the traditional soundboard among 22 small sound-holes in the upper chamber of the guitar, yielding greater volume and further reducing feedback during amplification. Another method for reducing feedback is the use of a rubber or plastic disc which fits into the soundhole. The most common type of pickups used for acoustic guitar amplification are piezo and magnetic pickups.

Piezo pickups are generally mounted under the bridge saddle of the acoustic guitar and can be plugged into a mixer or amplifier. A Piezo pickup made by Baldwin was incorporated in the body of Ovation guitars, rather than attached by drilling through the body; the combination of the Piezo pickup and parabolic ("roundback") body helped Ovation to lead the market during the 1970s.[6] Magnetic pickups are generally mounted in the sound hole of the acoustic guitar and are very similar to those found in electric guitars. An acoustic guitar with pickups for electrical amplification is known as an acoustic-electric guitar. In the 2000s, new types of pickups have been introduced to try to amplify the full sound of these instruments. This includes body sensors such as the Taylor Expression system, and systems that include an internal microphone along with the body sensors or under-the-saddle pickups.

Acoustic guitar amplifiers have very clean sound, giving the sound generated through it "clean" transparent acoustic sound.