Many novice guitarists, choosing an instrument for training, wonder how the classical guitar differs from the acoustic one. There is a fairly large difference between them that affects the sound of the instrument.
The classical guitar came to us from Spain and, in its present form, has existed since the 18th century. The acoustic guitar appeared much later, at the beginning of the 20th century. Then it became necessary to increase the volume of the instrument for performance from the stage. For this, the body of the guitar was enlarged and steel strings were used more often.
If you put classical and acoustic guitars next to each other, you can immediately notice the difference in size. The body of an acoustic guitar is significantly larger, making it sound louder and louder. These guitars are usually fitted with metal strings. The classical guitar has a smaller body size. On the classics, nylon strings are installed, which sound softer and deeper than steel.
In addition, differences can be found in the design of the neck. On a classical guitar, it is made from solid wood. A steel truss rod is installed inside the neck of an acoustic guitar to compensate for string tension and temperature changes. The truss rod is also used to adjust the distance between the strings and the neck. Even purely visually, you can see that the neck of a classical guitar is wider and thicker. In acoustics, it looks more like the neck of an electric guitar. In addition, there are differences in the structure of the tuning mechanism.
Due to the design differences, the scope of application of the guitars is also different. Classical guitar is played by classical music as well as Spanish melodies. It is on the classics that they teach to play in music schools and colleges. The acoustic guitar is mainly played in rock, yard songs, pop music, etc.
So, it is clear that there are a lot of differences between classical and acoustic guitars. Therefore, the choice of a guitar depends on what kind of music is supposed to be played on it.