Don't fret the Guitar
by Joel Bourque

He’ll If you want to make you stop what you’re doing and say “Hmm….” hear someone do amazing things with an acoustic guitar, check out Monte If you’re interested in the'I believe everybody should own one. Montgomery. guitar, you owe it to The same applies to the yourself to check them out. guitar. There is a HUGE difference between a Wal Mart special and a quality, American made acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar is here If you were to go to a real to stay. furniture store and purchase a quality desk for $1000, it will last a lifetime. You are playing for It’s made the quality of the wood and the skills of the craftsman who built it. You can go to a of particleboard and will last a few years then fall apart. Think of it like it’s furniture. big box store and buy a desk for $25. So why does a $100 acoustic guitar and a $5000 acoustic guitar look Rosewood is generally the best sounding, best looking and most exactly alike? A Rosewood, mahogany and maple are the most commonly used woods. expensive wood. A cheap guitar is quality acoustic guitar is constructed from solid wood. going have laminated back and sides, This is also where basically plywood. Sometimes cedar is used for a warmer most of the expense lies. tone. Much of the sound from an acoustic guitar comes from its back The most common wood for top construction is spruce. This is a light and sides. The most colored, almost white wood. noticeable piece of the acoustic guitar is the top. The top contains the soundhole and the bridge (where These are hardwoods that can handle the tension of the strumming arm rests). The better the wood, the more expensive the guitar. The acoustic the strings. guitar consists of a neck, back, sides and top. Most necks are made from Some are made from solid wood and some are made mahogany or sometimes maple. Above all, acoustic guitars are just plain fun. from laminates. Every tune can be reduced down to open Acoustic guitars are made of wood. I’d like to see the guy who can sing and chords to create acoustic versions. All that’s needed to make music is you blow the harmonica at the same time. and the guitar. You can sling a guitar across your shoulder but it’s “unplugged” was added to our musical pretty hard to tote a piano around. vocabulary and acoustic guitars were everywhere, in all kinds of music. I believe the acoustic guitar is so popular because it In the rock world, After that song, is the ultimate portable instrument. There were more without a doubt, it was the Guns N’ Roses 1989 hit “Patience”. saxophone solos than guitar solos. In 1986, Dwight Yoakam came out with the album Guitar, Cadillacs, Etc, Etc and brought the acoustic guitar back into the During that time, it was hard to find a country tune with acoustic limelight. We didn’t see much of them during guitar (excluding the great George Strait). the hugely keyboard dominated 80’s. No acoustic guitar on “Beat It”. Acoustic guitars are more popular than ever.