Members openedskittles Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Whats the difference between a folk guitar and an acoustic guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BROLEX Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 the spelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarist21 Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 "Folk" is a term that is thrown around a lot and it's hard to say exactly what it means without knowing the context. "Acoustic" is a term that, when referencing instruments, basically means an instrument that doesn't need external electronic amplification to perform. (i.e. an acoustic piano instead of an electric keyboard, an acoustic guitar instead of an electric guitar and so on) The specifics are often debated (is this guitar truly acoustic, etc). Hope this helps! Ellen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bjorn-fjord Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Folk guitar is not a term you hear much anymore. Acoustic is much broader term that includes all steel string guitars, nylon string guitars, and resonator guitars. When I think of a "folk guitar" I automatically picture a Martin style dread or 000 because that's what most folk musicians play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Whats the difference between a folk guitar and an acoustic guitar? It depends. Some manufacturers call smaller bodied guitars "folk guitars". My Alvarez RF-20SM is called a folk guitar. It is slightly smaller than my Larrivee OM-03R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C70man Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Folk can be acoustic...acoustic doesn't have to be folk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members openedskittles Posted March 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Thanks guys. I was just wondering because I noticed a yamaha that was called "folk" as opposed to their other acoustics that are called "acoustic" and i noticed they didnt show up on musicians friend if i tried to get to yamaha through acoustic guitars, but they did show up if i got to acoustic guitars through yamaha and they look exactly the same I was just not sure if there was any real difference besides the name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarist21 Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 but they did show up if i got to acoustic guitars through yamaha and they look exactly the same I was just not sure if there was any real difference besides the name. I'm going to go with no real difference in this context. Ellen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Thanks guys. I was just wondering because I noticed a yamaha that was called "folk" as opposed to their other acoustics that are called "acoustic" and i noticed they didnt show up on musicians friend if i tried to get to yamaha through acoustic guitars, but they did show up if i got to acoustic guitars through yamaha and they look exactly the same I was just not sure if there was any real difference besides the name. Yamaha seems to call most of their acoustic guitars "folk" guitars. The FG720 is a dread, the FS720 is an OM. They call both of them folk guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C70man Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 I'm kinda surprised they can spell it correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 The term "folk" to me usually implies "non-electric", that is, the same meaning as "acoustic". Most folk songs, but not all, are played on an acoustic guitar or other similar non-electrified instruments such as banjo, mandolin or fiddle. It is implied that a "folk" guitar is suitable to play Peter Seeger, Kumbaya, early Bob Dylan or Joan Baez songs etc. But no guitar is limited to any particular advertised genre. Just watch Rodrigo y Gabriella as an example of what I mean. Clapton would just as surely rock out on a Ramirez classical as with his Martin 000. It's strictly up to the player to decide what to do and what to play with his guitar, no matter what kind of guitar it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Here is a picture of my Alvarez folk guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Here is a picture of my Alvarez folk guitar. But wouldn't the OM-03R serve as a nice "folk" guitar as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C70man Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Hey Hud,ya gotta love that bridge!I bet "she" sounds sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 But wouldn't the OM-03R serve as a nice "folk" guitar as well? I'm just going by the name Alvarez uses for that body size. The better question is why do they call it a "folk" guitar? It's a bit smaller than my OM-03R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Hey Hud, ya gotta love that bridge! I bet "she" sounds sweet! Yeah, I like the bridge. It's a nice guitar. It plays smooth and sounds great. I got it for Xmas from my wife and kids. They even bought the Alvarez arch top case to go with it. I removed the stock black pick guard and glossed the satin finish. I regret glossing the finish because it looks a bit cloudy at certain angles. Live and learn.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 That bridge is sweet looking. Never seen that shape before. Kind of cross between a Taylor and a Breedlove. Is it wood (what kind) or a nice looking and sounding lam. I need to address the next Christmas gift issue with my wife and daughter, though. I have enough sweaters to last a lifetime, plus I live in LA where you never NEED a sweater, or at least usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 That bridge is sweet looking. Never seen that shape before. Kind of cross between a Taylor and a Breedlove. Is it wood (what kind) or a nice looking and sounding lam. I need to address the next Christmas gift issue with my wife and daughter, though. I have enough sweaters to last a lifetime, plus I live in LA where you never NEED a sweater, or at least usually. It has a solid mahogany top and laminate mahogany sides / back. It has a rosewood fretboard and a rosewood bridge. It's a nice guitar for the money ($219.00). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Love mahogany. Must sound like one of the Martin 15 series with a hog top, nice and woody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Love mahogany. Must sound like one of the Martin 15 series with a hog top, nice and woody. It sounds nice, but it lacks the fullness on the bass end that you get with Martin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 It sounds nice, but it lacks the fullness on the bass end that you get with Martin. Well, I guess you would expect that. Still looks like a lot of fun to play on the couch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 Well, I guess you would expect that. Still looks like a lot of fun to play on the couch. I like it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DrPotts Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 I remember when I bought my guitar the guy at the store asked me if I wanted a dreadnaught, and I was like "um... I want an acoustic"turns out dreadnought was exactly what I meant, I'd just never heard the term before. http://www.folkofthewood.com/page4435.htm I found this article when searching for the correct spelling of dreadnought. It seems to be addressing your question, skittles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarMasterNot Posted March 19, 2008 Members Share Posted March 19, 2008 folk guitar. I haven't heard that term in ages! When I was younger I knew two types of acoustics. Folk guitar (steel string) and classical guitar (nylon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrldev Posted March 23, 2008 Members Share Posted March 23, 2008 Whats the difference between a folk guitar and an acoustic guitar? Folk refers (in musical circles) to the "style" of melody such as "rock" "classical" "western" "soul" "spiritual" "folk".etc. "Acoustic Guitars"is a guitar where the "sound" comes out from the body (box) of the guitar thru the sound hole on top of the guitar body(box).ALL Guitars (except the flat-board electric guitars) are acoustic guitars.You can play any style of music as described above on any acoustic guitar.However,there is preference amoung players base on the style of music theyare interested to play.With the exception of the flat-board electric guitar that is prefered by most "rock" musicians due to the amplification of thesound via the additional amplifier-box necessary for this type of guitar.The acoustic are found with nylon strings-preferred by most classical music players (the "classical guitar") and the guitars that have steel-strings whichis preferred by most -other than classical music -players. Either one of thisguitars (nylon or steel srings) can be used to play any style but the timbre issomewhat different- the nylon tend to give a "mellower" sound and the steeltend to give a "brighter tin-like sound". The body (box) of the classical guitartends to be somwhat smaller than the body of the guitars made to be playedwith steel-strings. The scale-lenght of the guitar is a very important factorin selecting the instrument. "Scale-lenght is the distance between the "NUT"and the "top of the saddle" of the guitar.Players with short fingers could benefit with a short-scale lenght and likewise players with long fingers could use a longer scale-lenght.Most manufactured guitars (guitars not made to order by a Luthiers) have a 650mm scale-lenght. This is about 25.6".The width of the fretboard at the NUT is also a factor in selecting a guitar if you have small hands/short fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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