If you are inexperienced, one guitar is the same as any other. Of course, there is the obvious difference between an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar. But, aside from this main characteristic there are many important differences in guitars. The importance of these variations are determined by the style of music to be played. For example, country musicians will use a different type of guitar than a classical musician or even a rock guitarist. And jazz players will use a different style of guitar than either of the three above. Another important distinction of electric guitars is that some have a hollow body and some have a solid body. Each type of body delivers its own unique sound.
Acoustic Guitar Body Styles
Classical guitars have a very wide fingerboard and use nylon strings and, since a pick isn't used on a classical guitar, it doesn't have a pick guard. Usually, the classical guitar rests on the left knee with the neck angled up. It is not necessary to play them this way but that is the traditional position. The wide fingerboard makes it easier to place your fingers on a string without touching the other strings. Plus, the nylon strings aren't as hard on the fingers while plucking them or creating notes on the neck.
The dreadnought is a large six string guitar and is the style that is typically used for country and other styles of music. A jumbo guitar is a bit larger than a dreadnought and is more curvy and rounded. Some basic guitars are smaller in size. Guitars called 1/2 or 3/4 guitars are designed for small children. Also, some guitars designed for travel and back packers are more compact in size.
A cutaway guitar is one that has part of the body cut away where the neck joins the body so the player can get to the higher frets. These guitars are often equipped to be amplified.
Electric Guitar Body Styles
Blues and Jazz guitar players often play an f hole guitar with an arched top. The "f" hole are two "f" shaped holes in the top of the guitar. These guitars are hollow bodied or semi-hollow bodied and are usually thinner than an acoustic. They are equipped to be amplified.
Electric guitars with solid bodies can have a variety of different shapes. Many have the traditional guitar shape but some look like arrows or squares even circles and many others.
Guitars typically have either six or twelve strings. The most common guitar is a six string. The twelve string duplicates the all of the strings with the lower four pairs being an octave different.