Steel-string acoustic guitar

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Steel-string acoustic guitar

A Gibson SJ200 model
String instrument
Classification	String instrument (plucked)
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	321.322-6 (Composite chordophone sounded by a plectrum)
Playing range
Related instruments
Guitar family (Classical guitar, Electric guitar, Flamenco guitar, bass) Lute (distantly related)

The steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar that descends from the gut-strung Romantic guitar,^[1] but is strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. Like the modern classical guitar, it is often referred to simply as an acoustic guitar, or sometimes as a folk guitar.

The most common type is often called a flat top guitar, to distinguish it from the more specialized archtop guitar and other variations.

The standard tuning for an acoustic guitar is E-A-D-G-B-E (low to high), although many players, particularly fingerpickers, use alternate tunings (scordatura), such as open G (D-G-D-G-B-D), open D (D-A-D-F♯-A-D), drop D (D-A-D-G-B-E), or D-A-D-G-A-D (particularly in Irish traditional music).