Something different: The tenor acoustic guitar

Above is the Ibanez AVT1NT tenor acoustic guitar. Worth getting for having something different? It just might be.

Why does the tenor acoustic exist?

For those that play mandolin, ukulele or banjo, this is a type of acoustic guitar they can more easily transition to before moving up to a 6-string.

What advantage does having a tenor acoustic give a guitar player?

There are three good reasons why having a tenor acoustic can work well for a guitar player. But before I get into that, here's what one sounds like.

Reason 1. Very easy to switch to alternate tunings.

You can tune the tenor the same as the strings on a 6-string, which is D-G-B-E, or you can experiment with alternate tunings such as 5ths (shown in the the video above,) which is C-G-D-A.

Because you only have 4 strings, you can change up tunings quickly and easily.

Reason 2. Holds a capo very nicely with little or no fret buzz.

This is also shown in the video above. Sometimes it's tough to get a capo to hold the strings on a 6-string correctly where there is no fret buzz. On a tenor acoustic, much less pressure is required to hold the strings down, hence much less buzz happens.

Reason 3. Really easy to play.

Tenor acoustic guitars are usually on the small small side, ordinarily with just 14 playable frets. And believe me, you don't need any more than 14 frets on a guitar like this. What you get works just fine and sounds great.

Any guitar player can pick up one of these and get used to it very quickly, as it is a very easy instrument to get along with.

There is also an 8-string version:

Luna High Tide Series 8-String Mahogany Tenor Acoustic-Electric Ukulele

This guitar leans more towards being a ukulele, hence it's small size, but it acts like a tenor acoustic. Also it's also electrified so you can plug this one in. The price is good, too (less than the price of the Ibanez listed above if you can believe it.)

The 8-string is of course more difficult to play because you're holding down double the amount of strings, so bear that in mind.

No matter which you get, if you wanted something acoustic but different where you get some interesting sounds out of it, the tenor acoustic is a good buy. Relatively cheap, easy to play, easy to switch tunings, and you basically already know how to play one if you play guitar now.

Published 2015 Jan 1