The Types of Western Guitars

If you’re about to buy a western guitar, it’s important to consider what you want in a guitar. It’s important to choose a guitar that fits your own character. There are three elements influencing sound: the shape, the material, and you, the player. Below, we provide an overview of the different models and their corresponding characteristics. An explanation of how the different types of wood can influence sound can be found here.

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Parlor

The parlor guitar, like the Lâg T90PE or the Eastman E20P, is the smallest western guitar. The volume of the guitar’s sound depends on the size of the body. Because the parlor is the smallest model, its volume is also the lowest. However, the guitar has a very balanced sound and can handle middle and high notes perfectly. This makes the parlor ideal for blues guitarists, but also for guitar players with smaller hands. You can check out our selection of parlor guitars here. 

Double 00/Concert

The double 00, also known as concert, is the next model after the parlor when it comes to size. The number of 0’s in the name signifies the size of the body. A single 0-model is rarely seen, which is why we skip right to the double. These guitars have a wide bottom that comes quite far in, as is apparent with the Yamaha FS830DSR and the Art & Lutherie Legacy Q-Discrete, which means they are good at projecting high notes. Middle tones are also emphasised. The low bass notes are somewhat difficult to project due to the build of the guitar, but this is a conscious choice in order to achieve a beautiful contrast. It makes the 00 guitars very suitable for fingerpicking and blues. The two 0’s signify the width of the underside, which is approximately 34 centimetres. You can check out our selection of concert guitars here!

Triple 000

The triple 000 model was originally designed by Martin. Martin still offers many different triple 000 guitars, such as the popular Martin 000-13E, but also the Martin 000-28EC Eric Clapton Signature. Its form is very similar to a classical guitar, but this model is slightly larger. The width of the guitar is about the same as a classical guitar. In terms of qualities, this model is the same as the double 00, as described above. The only difference is that this model has a width of 36 centimetres. Check out our selection of triple 000 guitars here!

Orchestra model

The orchestra model, better known as the OM guitar, was also designed by Martin, just like the triple OOO. There are many similarities between the two models. In terms of sound and appearance, they are barely distinguishable from one another. There is one clear difference though: the official OM-model has a longer string length, 25.4 inches instead of 24.9 inches. However, this is not standardised and even the best brands confuse and treat these two models as the same. We also offer these guitars under the same category, but there are orchestra models with a string length of 25.4 inches, such as the Eastman E40OM and the Martin OMCXAE-BLK. You can check out our selection of orchestra guitars here. 

Grand Auditorium

The grand auditorium guitar is a size up from the triple OOO and OM-models. This guitar has a larger underside and is slightly wider which gives its sound more volume. It has a small middle, which means that in terms of sound range it’s similar to the two previous models. Two popular auditorium guitars are the Lâg T88ACE and the James Neligan DEV-A BBST. Click here to see our selection of auditorium guitars!

Dreadnought

The dreadnought guitar is one of the most famous guitar shapes for western guitars. This model was brought on the market in 1916 by Martin. At the time, the size of this model was unique and they named it after a large English battleship. The dreadnought has grown to become the standard and is unavoidable on the market. Consequently, many popular acoustic guitars are dreadnoughts, such as the Eastman PCH1D and the Art & Lutherie Americana. Click here to see our selection of dreadnought guitars.

Jumbo

The jumbo guitar is a little bigger than the dreadnought, but there aren’t many differences between them. The most important difference is that the middle is smaller than a dreadnought, which takes away some of its bass sound, but the body is still large. This combination gives it a beautiful, warm and full sound, like with the Lâg T177JCE and the Yamaha CPX1000. Check out our selection of jumbo guitars here!