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Ovation Acoustic Guitar

Ovation acoustic guitars are different from the standard acoustic guitars in that the bottom and sides are combined in one bowl shaped structure, much like the lute. Specifically the shape of the composite bowl is semi-parabolic. The peculiar shape of the Ovation acoustic guitar contributes greatly to the durability and ruggedness of the guitar. The shape was designed by aeronautical engineer, Charles Kaman who applied his knowledge of aerodynamics to improve the flow of sound in the bowl.

The bowl comes in 4 variations:

  1. The Super Shallow bowl acoustic guitar is a very thin structure which gives off a distinct acoustic sound. Because of the shape, the bowl makes the guitar easy to handle and easier to manipulate while playing. When plugged in, the super shallow can produce an adequate sound for any playing venue.
  2. The Mid-Depth bowl acoustic guitar is slightly deeper than the Super Shallow and therefore can project deeper tones. The smaller size fits more players than do the other sizes.
  3. The Deep bowl acoustic guitar has the full range of acoustic sound and a deep tone for bass notes. The sound produced by the bigger sizes is favored by creative acoustic artists for the sonorous bass tones.
  4. The Contour bowl acoustic guitar is capable of the widest acoustic effects combined with the convenience of a smaller body.

The soundboards of Ovation acoustic guitars are carefully chosen from fine wood which can produce the vibratory effect that is the hallmark of Ovation guitars:

  1. Spruce produces an equality of tone, fullness and power that is characteristic of Ovation acoustic guitars. Spruce is particularly appropriate for solid mid-range and shimmering high-range tones. In choosing the wood for their sound boards, Ovation takes into consideration the consistency of color and the tightness of the grain. Wood with a firmly packed grain produces better resonance.
  2. Bearclaw spruce has the characteristics of ordinary spruce. However the grain pattern shows what looks like a bear's claws. The aesthetic appeal of this peculiar grain pattern gives the guitar a distinctive look.
  3. Cedar wood guitars produce sound that is richer for the lower tones while still retaining an overall balance of resonance.
  4. Figured koa is wood that is of Hawaiian origin. The wood itself is infiltrated with complex patterns and many color variations which makes a figured koa guitar visually interesting. High resonance characterizes this wood, particularly for the higher tones.
  5. Quilted maple tops are sure to capture the attention of your audience. They are the choice of musicians who want to be seen as well as heard.

Besides the conventional center sound holes, Ovation guitars come with multiple circular perforations called epaulets. Usually one epaulet is placed on the bass side of the strings and another on the treble side. However, guitars with bass epaulets are appropriate for bass guitars.

Ovation acoustic guitars are used quite often in recording studios in which the refinement of tones characteristic of Ovation acoustic guitars, allows the producers to choose a different type of guitar to produce a different musical effect.

Epiphone Acoustic Guitar

Epiphone acoustic guitars will have you playing better than you do. If you are just a beginner, you will be playing like a professional strummer in no time at all. If you are a professional, the special sound that comes out of an epiphone acoustic guitar will be sure to entrance your listeners. Take it from the legendary pop musical stars!

The Epiphone acoustic guitar, Texan, introduced in 1958, instantly became the favorite guitar model of many renowned musicians and guitar artists, like; Paul McCartney, Peter Frampton and Noel Gallagher. Paul McCartney's 1964 Texan was the guitar he used in recording his famous song, "Yesterday."

Since those days, Epiphone has improved fantastically on the Texan! They have made it even more bell-shaped with a rounded top, resembling the top of a bell. The waist is hardly there. And the guitar's lower half is, compared to other guitar models, much wider than the top. This bell-like shape produces crystalline upper tones, deep bass tones with very distinct middle tones.

Made entirely of solid wood, the Epiphone acoustic guitar, Texan, has mahogany back and sides, and a fine quality spruce front. The use of hard wood allows the guitar to mellow and give a better resonance with age. Also made of mahogany, the neck is custom shaped according to the specifications of SlimTaperTM in order to provide great ease for the hands and fingers. Rosewood fingerboards are inlaid with mother-of-pearl slim parallelogram inlays in between the frets. The tuning rods are sturdy 14:1 ratio vintage tuners.

Some great accessories may be added to this epiphone acoustic guitar. For one, the Sonic TM revolutionary  preamp system with a state-of-the-art under-saddle NanoFlexTM low impedance pick-up for "plugging in." Effectively hidden just inside the sound hole, this preamp allows adjustment of volume. The NanoFlex pickup is special because it gets not only the sound from the strings but also from the movement of the resounding board. This provides a totally acoustic character to the guitar's tone. The guitar is also protected from signal loss and hums. The system runs on 2032 lithium batteries. An LED battery power monitor will turn on if the battery power is low.

What is more the entire electronic system had a worldwide 5-year limited warranty from shadow for labor and parts. The revived Texan is also covered by Epiphone's Limited Lifetime Warranty. The new Texan comes in Antique Natural (AN) or Vintage Cherryburst (VC) motif.

The new Texan guitar from Epiphone Acoustic Guitars is the ideal guitar for enhancing your skill in guitar playing because of the ease with which it can be handled and its light weight. The truly acoustic tone of the guitar will provide any amateur with the inspiration to go on practicing. For professionals, the modern features for enhancing the sound makes the Texan the perfect instrument for delivering the kind of sound that people like to hear from acoustic guitars, shimmering, sonorous and clear. And the hard wood will mellow with age. This is also a great investment.

Washbun Acoustic Guitar

Washburn acoustic guitars are among the world's best selling and popularly acclaimed acoustic instruments. In fact, one of its models is actually, the world's best seller, and this is the Washburn D10S acoustic guitar. For its artistry and expertise in construction, excellence of tone and reasonable pricing, this guitar is the most sought after in the world. It is acclaimed as the best Washburn acoustic guitar to buy...under $500. It features solid spruce wood for its top, unquestionably the best material for use in sounding boards. With age, the tones produced by spruce sounding boards improve.

The back and sides are solid mahogany for durability and handsomeness. The neck is also solid mahogany with a rosewood trussrod, fingerboard and bridge. The mahogany back and sides are of natural or buffed gloss, while the neck is stained mahogany or buffed gloss in texture and color.

The D10SDL Deluxe Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar is the embellished version of the D10S. While having all the excellent worksmanship of the D10S, the Deluxe version features rosewood back and sides with an abalone rosette around the sound hole and abalone inlays on the finger board.

The Washburn D56SW Timbercraft likewise features rosewood back and sides with a solid spruce top. The rosewood brings out a vibration that is both solid and warm. This guitar is perfect for solo playing or for playing main guitar in an ensemble.

The D52SW Acoustic guitar has a spruce top and sold mahogany back and sides. The tone of this model is bright and equally mixed. This is the best selling mahogany Washburn acoustic guitar over $500.

The J28SDL Cumberland Maple Jumbo acoustic guitar has powerful bass tones and singing upper tones. The back and sides are of maple and the top is solid spruce. The sound hole is embossed with an abalone rosette which echoes the inlaid abalone on the fingerboard.

The D10SBQ acoustic guitar features the standard mahogany back and sides, this time paired with a quilted maple top. It is available in a stunning sunburst finish. This guitar combines classy looks with great sound and a low price to make it one of the best sellers of Washburn Acoustic Guitars.

A Washburn acoustic guitar comes in various materials and designs to make sure that the clients will find exactly what they are looking for in an acoustic guitar. Together with the variety of materials, their guitars also produce a wide range of tones for people to choose from. There will be models suitable for wide open spaces, or...enclosed rooms.

Through their long historical involvement with the development of guitar blues, Washburn acoustic guitars have earned the reputation as instruments that add fire to your music and passion to your art. They make the perfect gift for people you care music.  The materials of which they are made improve the sound of the instrument as it grows older. Not only are they excellent gifts, but also sound investments.

Acoustic Guitar Strap

Acoustic guitar straps can lead to more discomfort and inconvenience for you if you intend installing them on light guitars. Because light guitars are easy to handle and can be moved around quite readily, the fact that it has a strap will often be overlooked. In such cases, the strap will be a nuisance accessory that can get your neck entangled when you try to pass the guitar on to someone else and forget that it has a strap. Another thing we have to look out for when using strapped, light guitars with a bulky headstock is the tendency for the guitar's headstock to drop down if you are not holding the neck. To prevent this, the portion of the strap that touches the shoulder should have a coarse surface that will hold the strap in place. The width of the strap for a light guitar is significant.

For heavy guitars, be careful not to use thin acoustic guitar straps or they will be eating into the flesh of your shoulder before long. Besides being a great discomfort, this can affect the veins and other blood vessels located on the shoulder and prevent the proper flow of blood through them. The aftermath of that situation is that you will quickly experience weariness and muscle pains from playing the guitar. The rule is that the heavier your guitar, the wider should be the straps. It might even be a good idea to line the insides of the strap with spongy material so that the shoulders don't absorb the entire weight from the guitar.

For adjusting the length, use acoustic guitar straps with slots punched into them. The length of the strap depends on which slot you inserted the opposite end into. Metal buckles used to be popular. These straps work in the same way as belts do. However, metal buckles won't scratch your waistline, but they can scratch or even damage your acoustic guitar. So always look for a slotted strap for your guitar.

If your guitar doesn't have the devices, called strap buttons, for holding a strap, attaching the acoustic guitar strap to your guitar is something you shouldn't attempt to do yourself if you haven't done it before. These strap buttons are found at the bottom of the guitar and at the base of the neck. If you don't have these buttons on your guitar, the first thing to do will be to ask your vendor how to attach strap buttons. Because installing buttons will involve screwing them in place into the wood, this operation will require some experience to pull through without damaging your guitar. Most vendors have strap button installation services that you can avail of for a small price.

In some cases, people don't place buttons at the base of the guitar's neck. Instead, they tie the acoustic guitar strap under the steel cords at the headstock, above the top fret of the guitar. Doing this will minimize the need to punch holes into your guitar and if you tie the straps tight enough around the area, this kind of attachment is stable.


Best Acoustic Guitars

While looking for the best acoustic guitars make sure to check out the following manufacturers:

  • Ibanez
  • Fender - You know them for the Stratocaster, but Fender also has a wide range of acoustic guitar models
  • Epiphone
  • Alvarez
  • Gibson
  • Takamine
  • Many, many more . . .

The best acoustic guitars will have even tonal gradations.  This means that you should not have any area where the tone or volume will change abruptly.  Having different tonal qualities is what separates different brands and different models of the best acoustic guitars, but you just want to make sure that the tonal gradations are even.

Unlike electric guitars, the best acoustic guitars will all have about the same shape.  This is because the sound is "shaped" by the guitar's body.  With an electric guitar you can have wild and varied shapes because the body doesn't really affect the sound.  As with electric guitars, the best acoustic guitars create sound through the vibration of the strings.  With electric guitars this vibration is picked up and amplified.  With acoustics the sound travels over the soundbox which amplifies the vibration.

Acoustic guitars are used throughout all music genres.  You may associate acoustic guitars with country or even folk music, but when you really think about it, they are used in rock, pop, even hip-hop.

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