- Spanish Guitarguitar strings image by Elena Koulik from Fotolia.com
Originally, this kind of guitar was strung with gut strings made from the intestines of animals (usually sheep or goats). Although these strings can still be found, they have mainly been replaced with nylon strings. The lower-toned strings, which have to be thicker, are wound with wire. Usually a standard classical guitar string is 26 inches long, while a child-size guitar would require 22-inch strings. - Folk or country guitars are usually strung with steel strings with the lower tone strings wrapped with wire or metal tape. Steel strings have higher tension and need more support from the instrument. These strings are plucked with a pick or plectrum.
- Twelve-string guitars are also strung with steel strings, but in pairs. Sometimes the pairs sound in octaves with the higher string situated nearer the bass side so that it is hit first when strumming. Occasionally an alternate tuning is used with a 12-string guitar where each string is tuned a third lower than usual. This is called C tuning.
- Electric Guitarelectric guitar image by Jeffrey Zalesny from Fotolia.com
Electric guitars use metal strings made with steel or nickel alloy, and are plucked with a pick. Instead of being heard through a soundbox as with the acoustic, folk and classical guitars, the string vibrations are sensed by electromagnets (also called pick-ups) and sent to an amplifier. - Bass Guitar Stringsbass guitar image by Istvan Ferge from Fotolia.com
The bass guitar has four strings tuned the same as an acoustic double bass: E-A-D-G (from lowest to highest). These strings are thick and covered with metal tape. They are longer than other guitar strings at 36 inches.
The Classical or Spanish Guitar
Folk Guitars
Twelve-String Guitars
Electric Guitars
Bass Guitar
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