---
url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-int/faq/instruments-artforms/what-is-the-difference-between-a-classical-and-an-acoustic-guitar'
title: 'What is the difference between a classical and an acoustic guitar?'
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date: '2026-10-19T14:55:36+00:00'
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summary: 'A classical guitar has nylon strings, lighter bracing and usually no truss rod, while a steel-string acoustic guitar has heavier bracing and a truss rod.'
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 FAQ · Instruments & artforms

# What is the difference between a classical and an acoustic guitar?

 Updated 19 October 2026

 

A classical **[guitar](/en-int/instrument/guitar)** carries nylon strings, and nylon's lower tension lets it use lighter internal reinforcement than a steel-string acoustic guitar. The bracing pattern is one of the main differences between the two. Classical guitars also generally lack an adjustable truss rod, which steel-string necks typically carry, though some modern nylon-string models, Taylor's among them, include one adjusted at the soundhole.



 

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