Acoustic guitars may seem like one-trick ponies to a lot of guitarists. After all, it’s just wood and strings, right?

Not Quite!

There are several important factors that affect an acoustic guitar’s sound.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your acoustic guitar’s tone, volume, and overall performance, then you’re in the right place.

The goal here is to identify the key areas of improvement and explain the benefits so that you can be confident in your experiments. We will be skipping setup and maintenance steps (proper cleaning, truss rod/action/intonation adjustments, etc.) because that’s a whole different article, or job for your tech!

Here are the best ways to improve the tone of your acoustic guitar that can be performed immediately and rather affordably with minimal tools or prior knowledge.

Guitar Pick

That’s right – the pick you pick matters!

This comes down to how the pick material interacts with the strings. Don't believe me? Try strumming with your thumb, and then with a coin so you can hear how different is it - imagine how many colors are between those two extremes!

Here’s a look at some common pick materials and how they will affect your acoustic guitar tone.

• Nylon – Usually a darker tone without a lot of brightness. If your guitar is a shallow-bodied acoustic electric or crafted from brighter tone woods such as maple, then you may consider this pick material in order to bring some warmth to your tone. THis material is commonly used in classic picks by Herco and subsequently Dunlop.

• Celluloid – A classic guitar pick material that was originally used as a substitute for tortoise shell. Celluloid provides an overall balanced tone with a hint of brightness. These are a great option if you want a brighter pick attack without sounding too thin. This material is used in those iconic Fender picks of yore.

• Tortex/Delrin – These polymers were invented by DuPont and have become very popular with guitarists as a pick material. They provide a very balanced tone that can vary a bit depending on the thickness of the pick. Thicker picks provide more warmth while thinner picks will give players more of a rhythmic “jingle-jangle.”

• TUSQ – This is a polymer used by Graphtech to manufacture nuts, saddles, and picks. It is dense and can mimic bone. This density can be controlled in the manufacturing process to make picks that range from very dark/warm tones to very bright tones.

• Ultem/Ultex – This space-age polymer has gained massive popularity over the years. It does not wear as quickly as other plastics and has less flexibility. This means that you have a very mid-forward tone with lots of volume. Pick thickness will affect the tone, so expect a brighter sound if you use a thin (0.50 mm or thinner) gauge.
  
• Rubber - That is right! Imagine a sound even softer than finger picking, rubber strap locks make for an awesome soft acoustic strumming sound that you just can't break.
  
• Boutique options - From Blue Chip to Honey, you can spend a ton of cash experimenting with unique acrylic and similar pick materials that change your sound gently or extremely. Think of these as the overdrive pedal collection of acoustic guitarists.

The easiest, most economical way to change the sound of your acoustic is to experiment with different pick materials.

Nut

The nut is the piece at the top of the guitar neck that keeps the strings in line on their way to the tuning keys.

This is an important contact point for your strings. The vibration of the strings travels up the neck and therefore affects the sound of your guitar.

In order to get the best tone and volume, you want a material that is hard, dense, and stable. Since many budget acoustic guitars come with plastic nuts, the overall sound is severely compromised.

One of the common features on higher-end guitars (such as a Martin D-28) is a bone nut. You can purchase precut bone nuts or blanks that allow you to cut your own string slots with a needle file. Measure the width of the nut on your guitar and find one that matches the dimensions.

Bone is a great material because it does not absorb very much vibration. That means that the string can vibrate freely in the slot. The bone nut helps to transfer that energy into the wood, giving you a louder and more defined acoustic tone.

Another great option is Graphtech's TUSQ as mentioned above for picks, this material is naturally lubricated and is a lot more consistent than bone since it doesn't come from an animal which of course adds inevitable and uncontrollable variation.
Finally, you can try a metal but, most commonly these are made of brass. They can give you an open string sound similar to that of a fretted note. This consistency makes for open chords that have a bright and even voice which is an excellent option for acoustics who use a lot of open tunings and tend to have open strings droning.

Replacing a nut is fairly easy to do on most acoustics. They do require regluing, so make sure you read up on how to do it step by step.

Saddle

The saddle sits on top of the bridge of an acoustic guitar. These are often made of the same cheap materials as nuts are, and therefore are a major weak point for many budget acoustics.

The saddle is the point of contact for the strings as they come out of the bridge pins. The bridge sits on top of the soundboard (top) of the guitar, and all of the string vibrations are transferred from the saddle to the bridge and finally to the top.

Again, bone is some of the best and most vintage-correct material. Saddles are not glued in. As with the nut, man-made metals and polymers can make great saddles as well. They are held firmly to the bridge by the guitar strings. This makes it very easy to change them out.

Just like bone nuts, bone saddles maximize the vibrations of the strings and transfer them to the soundboard for increased volume and tonal balance. You can buy bone saddles with precut slots, but it is highly recommended that you use a needle file to cut your own from a blank. This is very simple to do, and you can use your old saddle as a guide.

Strings

This is the best and most effective way to improve your acoustic guitar tone! Why do you think there are so many string manufacturers out there?

Acoustic guitar strings come in three basic types: 80/20 bronze, phosphor bronze, and nylon. For this article, we’ll focus on 80/20 bronze and phosphor bronze.

Phosphor bronze strings are chemically different from 80/20 bronze strings thanks to the addition of phosphorous in the wound strings. They tend to be much warmer than 80/20 bronze strings with a great mid-range balance, and longer life due to the anti-corrosive properties of Phosphorus. You can change their sound even more by adding a coating to them which makes for an even longer life and brighter sound.

If you like a bit more brightness in your sound, then 80/20 bronze strings are your best choice.

Keep one thing in mind: Not all guitar strings are created equal!

Stringjoy strings are the best upgrade for your acoustic guitar. The use of mathematical formulas and physics put Stringjoy strings lightyears ahead of the competition. No matter what tone you are going for, Stringjoy has you covered.

Bridge Pins

Bridge pins hold the ball end of the guitar string in the bridge. This makes them very important when it comes to tone and volume since they are the very first point of contact that the string makes with the guitar.

Bridge pins can be made of plastic, wood, metal, and bone. Each material has its own benefits.

• Plastic – these are generic, cheap, and easy to replace. They wear quickly if you change your strings a lot and don’t always offer the best sound transfer from the string to the bridge.
• Wood – Wooden bridge pins usually add a darker tone to the guitar. Depending on the wood used, they may not offer much of a volume boost compared to other materials.
• Metal – Metal bridge pins can improve volume significantly, but they can also cause a guitar to sound really bright. These are good if you think your guitar sounds very dark.
• Bone – Just like with the saddle and nut, bone is definitely the go to material for bridge pins. They offer maximum sound transfer without adding untraditional colors to your guitar's tone.

Bridge pins are very easy to replace. If you change your own strings, then you already know how to replace them.

Tuning Keys

Tuning keys, tuning pegs, tuners – call them what you will. These are the last point of contact for the string and often the most overlooked.

Manufacturers will often skimp on the tuners – especially with cheaper guitars. This might not be catastrophic to your tone, however, over time cheaper tuners will often wear out causing tuning instability and even buzzing sounds.

There are tons of tuner styles on the market. Each one has a different “footprint,” or how they screw into the back of the headstock. When replacing tuners, keep this in mind so you can find some that mount up to your current tuners’ footprint.

A general rule of thumb for choosing the right tuners is to buy from reputable makers such as Schaller, Grover, or Waverly. They will typically have the best quality overall.

In addition, you should look for tuners with a high gear ratio. When you are shopping around, you will see their gear ratio as “16:1” or “18:1”. The higher the first number, the more accurate they will be. Many luthiers recommend going with a high-quality set with an 18:1 gear ratio.

Tuners are also very easy to install.

Tips:

• If you don’t feel comfortable performing an upgrade, take your guitar to a qualified luthier.
• You can use your old saddle as a template if you decide to carve your own string notches from a bone blank.
• Never glue the saddle to the bridge!
• If you still get a buzzing sound after installing new tuners, check to make sure the button (part that you turn to tune the string) is tightened up on the tuner and that all screws are snug. Do NOT over-tighten them!
• When changing strings, change one string at a time and never all of them at once.
• Change your strings starting with the outside strings and work your way in toward the middle. For example, the order would be low E, high E, A, B, D, G. Tune each string to pitch after installing.
• If your new bridge pins are bigger than the holes in your guitar’s bridge, do not try to force them! Instead, grab a piece of 120 grit sandpaper and carefully sand the pins down to fit your bridge pin holes. Never make your guitar fit to the bridge pins!

Conclusion

When it comes to acoustic guitar tone, there are a lot of little things that can make a BIG difference! Although you can’t change the construction of the guitar itself, you CAN change the materials that make up the crucial contact points that allow the string vibration to transfer to the guitar body.

This means that you can really make a budget-friendly acoustic wake up and sing just by performing some simple upgrades.

Your tone is an extension of yourself. Let Stringjoy help you find it!