Acoustic Guitar Shapes Explained

What are guitar shapes and names?  There are many guitar shapes and names, this article will briefly review the guitar shapes and names of those shapes.  Manufacturers have different guitar shapes, the dreadnought being the most standard.  The shape of the guitar body affects the loudness and tone that is produced by the guitar.   Here are a list of shapes and their descriptions:

Acoustic Guitar Shapes

Dreadnought Guitar - The dreadnought guitar body shape is the most common guitar shape.  At first, the Dreadnought was introduced by Martin with more rounded shoulders and only 12 frets, but it was updated to its modern form in 1934.  Buy dreadnought guitar for any genre of acoustic guitar music.

BODY LENGTH: 20 (14-fret)

MAX DEPTH: 4 7/8

MAX WIDTH: 15 5/8

0 Guitar - The 0 guitar denotes the smallest size of parlour guitars made by Martin.  By standard it has a 12-fret-to-body design which produces a full-bodied mid-midrange tone.  Buy 0 guitar if you are playing blues and folk styles.

BODY LENGTH: 19 1/8 (inches)
MAX DEPTH: 4 1/16
MAX WIDTH: 13 1/2

00 Guitar or Grand Concert Guitar - Slightly bigger than Size 0, the 00 or the Grand Concert guitar was first produced in the late 19th century. The 1934 14-fret version has a thinner waist and looks more like a smaller 000.  Buy 00 guitar if you are playing  blues and folk styles.

BODY LENGTH: 19 5/8 (12-fret)

MAX DEPTH: 4 1/16

MAX WIDTH: 14 5/16

000/OM Guitar or Auditorium Guitar - The 000 guitar has a 24.9-inch scale length, while the OM (Orchestra Model) has a 25.4-inch scale length. The Martin 000-28 built for banjoist Perry Bechtel in 1929 was the first ever 14-fret flat-top acoustic.  Buy 000 Guitar and Auditorium Guitar if you are playing with a rock band.  Buy Acoustic-Electric 000 Guitar is recommended if you are playing with electric guitars.

BODY LENGTH: 19 3/18 (14-fret)

MAX DEPTH: 4 1/8

MAX WIDTH: 15

Grand Auditorium Guitar - The Grand Auditorium Guitar is the name Taylor gives to its Style 14 body, designed by Bob Taylor in 1994. It’s wider than a Dreadnought across the lower bout, almost as deep, but with a more pinched waist and forward bout. Almost always a CE (cutaway electric-acoustic).  Buy Grand Auditorium Guitar if you are playing live, especially the acoustic-electric grand auditorium guitar.  

BODY LENGTH: 20

MAX DEPTH: 4 5/8

MAX WIDTH: 16

Round-shoulder Dreadnought guitar:  The round-shoulder dreadnought guitar was made popular by the Gibson J-45 and J-50, this shape is descended from Gibson Jumbos of the 1930s (not to be confused with the Super Jumbos). The dimensions, although various, put them in dreadnought range. J-45s/50s/Southern Jumbos have a 24.75-inch scale; the original Advanced Jumbos were 25.5.  Buy round-shoulder dreadnought guitar for strumming and rhythm guitar parts.

BODY LENGTH: 20

MAX DEPTH: 4 7/8

MAX WIDTH: 16

(Super) Jumbo guitar - Originally known as a ‘Super Jumbo’, the term ‘Jumbo’ is used to describe something like the Gibson J-200 from 1937. The Jumbo Guitar has a huge body which yields deep bass and a nice finish of trebles.  Buy jumbo guitar for giant strummed parts.  This body style is not ideal for picking and arpeggiations.

BODY LENGTH: 21

MAX DEPTH: 4 3/4

MAX WIDTH: 17