The Features of Folk Guitars and Points to Note When Purchasing

The neck of a folk guitar is rather slender. The width of the fingerboard at the nut is 42mm, and there are 14 frets from the nut to the body. There is a crescent-shaped pickguard on the guitar body. It is played with steel strings. There are strap buttons at the end of the guitar, and usually, there is a pickguard on the soundboard as well. It can be played either with fingernails or picks.

The tone of folk guitars is mellow, bright, and penetrating, with a rich and deep sound quality. It is mainly used to accompany singers and fits well in folk, country, and modern music. The playing style is relatively relaxed and casual.

This type of guitar boasts an enormous body that no other guitar types can rival. The large body leads to an outstanding resonance effect, ensuring abundant volume. The design of its slim waist endows it with some tonal features similar to those of the Auditorium type, and it can be applied to a wide range of musical styles. Elvis Presley was particularly fond of using Jumbo guitars.

Commonly known as the “folk guitar”, the D type is usually 41 inches in size. It has a relatively large body with an unobtrusive waist. Thanks to its large body, it has an excellent resonance effect and produces a thick bass sound, making it ideal for singing and accompaniment.

For the OM type guitar, the difference in the area between the upper and lower parts of its waist is not as significant as that of the Auditorium type, and its tonal characteristics are close to those of the Auditorium type. Hence, it is highly suitable for finger-style playing.

Compared to the D type guitar, the A type guitar has a relatively smaller body and a more pronounced waist curve. Although its resonance is not as good as that of the Dreadnought, its tone is balanced and soft, which makes it a great choice for guitar playing, especially for finger-style players.

Select a color that you like. Generally, each guitar comes in several different colors. If the music store doesn’t have the color you prefer, you can ask them to order it for you, unless you don’t really care about the color.

The fingerboard is a crucial part of the guitar. When choosing, you should focus on it. Generally, the thinner the fingerboard, the better. However, if you have large hands, a slightly thicker fingerboard might also be fine, which gives you more choices. Check whether there are scratches on the front and back of the fingerboard and whether the harmonic points are flat.

When checking for fret buzz (strings hitting other frets and creating noise), play all the frets to ensure that there is no such issue when playing any string at any fret. Examine whether each fret is smooth and flat. When viewed from the side, the reflections of each fret should form a straight line, and the inlays of the frets should be neat. It’s advisable to choose a folk guitar with wide frets as they are more wear-resistant. Run your hands along the fingerboard and slide up and down to check if there are any protrusions or depressions, if there are any protrusions at the ends of the frets, and if there’s any discomfort like a cutting sensation when sliding.

Twist each tuning peg to check if there’s any difficulty in turning and if the electroplating is peeling off. Shake the tremolo bar to confirm the strength of the springs and then check if the intonation changes after shaking. Inspect whether the electroplating on the bridge and its screws are rusted. Also, pay attention to whether the stringing and locking devices are convenient to use, whether the strap buttons are sturdy, how the tuning pegs feel when turned, and whether all the attached accessories are complete.

After checking the above aspects, play a song that you are proficient in to feel whether it’s comfortable to play and whether there’s any roughness when sliding, so as to determine whether the guitar suits you well.