Acoustic vs Electric Guitar, Types and Sizes

The short answer

An acoustic guitar makes its sound with a hollow wooden body, so it plays loud enough on its own. An electric guitar has a solid or semi-hollow body with pickups and needs an amplifier to be heard properly. An acoustic-electric is an acoustic guitar with a pickup added, so it works both ways.

For a beginner, neither type is the only right start. An acoustic needs nothing else to play. An electric usually has lighter strings that are easier to press, but it adds the cost and space of an amp, which is why many sellers package one in a kit.

Guitar types on Wiki Shopping

How many of the 1,619 guitars on Wiki Shopping carry each type in their listing, from our page data on October 26, 2026. Each type links to its filter page.

A bass guitar is a different instrument: it usually has 4 strings or 5 strings tuned lower than a guitar, and plays the low part in a band. If you want to learn chords and songs, pick a six-string guitar instead.

Nylon or steel strings

Classical guitars use nylon strings, which are softer on the fingertips. A music shop guide to child guitar sizes notes that most learners prefer nylon for that reason. Acoustic (non-classical) and electric guitars use steel strings, which sound brighter and press harder into the fingers at first.

What size guitar do you need?

Fractional sizes describe how big a guitar is compared with a full-size one. The same music shop guide gives these rough ranges, and stresses that children differ so much that the fit matters more than the age:

The fit test is simple: the player should reach around the body with one arm and reach the first frets with the other hand without stretching. On Wiki Shopping, 1/2 size or smaller lists 16 guitars, 3/4 or 7/8 size lists 39 and full size lists 123 on October 26, 2026. The other guitars do not state a size in their listing.

How long do guitar strings last?

There is no fixed schedule. In a reader answer on the Taylor Guitars blog, Bob Taylor says coated strings can keep a fresh sound for weeks or a month or two depending on how much you play, that he has kept a home set for about three months, and that he would change weekly when playing shows. Change strings when they sound dull, feel rough, or stop staying in tune.

How we count

Each guitar on Wiki Shopping has its type and size read from the store listing. Each guitar has at most one type; guitars whose listing gives no type are counted as "Not stated", and guitars with no stated size are left out of the size counts. The counts change as listings are added or removed.

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More in Musical Instruments

Sources

1. dacapomusic.ca: child guitar sizes
2. blog.taylorguitars.com: changing strings