Editing Steel-string acoustic guitar (section)

=== Assembly ===
{{For|more details on the construction of acoustic guitars|Guitar#Construction}}
The steel-string acoustic guitar evolved from the gut-string Romantic guitar, and because steel strings have higher tension, heavier construction is required overall. One innovation is a metal bar called a [[guitar#Truss rod|truss rod]], which is incorporated into the neck to strengthen it and provide adjustable counter-tension to the stress of the strings. Typically, a steel-string acoustic guitar is built with a larger soundbox than a standard classical guitar. A critical structural and tonal component of an acoustic guitar is the [[Guitar bracing|bracing]], a systems of struts glued to the inside of the back and top. Steel-string guitars use different bracing systems from classical guitars, typically using X-bracing instead of fan bracing. (Another simpler system, called ladder bracing, where the braces are all placed across the width of the instrument, is used on all types of flat-top guitars on the back.) Innovations in bracing design have emerged, notably the A-brace developed by British luthier Roger Bucknall of Fylde Guitars.

Most [[luthier]]s and experienced players agree that a good solid top (as opposed to laminated or [[plywood]]) is the most important factor in the tone of the guitar. Solid backs and sides can also contribute to a pleasant sound, although laminated sides and backs are acceptable alternatives, commonly found in mid-level guitars (in the range of US$300–$1000).

From the 1960s through the 1980s, "by far the most significant developments in the design and construction of acoustic guitars" were made by the [[Ovation Guitar Company]].<ref name="Denyer 1992">{{Cite book
 | title = The guitar handbook
 | first = Ralph
 | last = Denyer
 | others = Special contributors [[Isaac&nbsp;Guillory]] and <!-- NOT [[Alastair Crawford]] -->Alastair&nbsp;M.&nbsp;Crawford; [[Robert&nbsp;Fripp]] (foreword)
 | pages = 48
 | chapter=Ovation guitars (Acoustic guitars)
 | isbn = 0-330-32750-X
 | location = London and Sydney
 | publisher = Pan Books
 | edition= Fully revised and updated
 | year = 1992
}}</ref> It introduced a composite ''roundback'' bowl, which replaced the square back and sides of traditional guitars; because of its engineering design, Ovation guitars could be amplified without producing the obnoxious feedback that had plagued acoustic guitars before. Ovation also pioneered with electronics, such as [[Pickup (music technology)|pickup]] systems and electronic tuners.<ref name="Denyer 1992"/><ref>* {{cite news|date=1 October 2004|title=Ovation's encore: How a host of product refinements have rekindled growth at Kaman&nbsp;Music's flagship guitar&nbsp;division|series=The Guitar Market|newspaper=[[The Music Trades]]|access-date=1 May 2012|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-124136480.html|archive-date=28 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228012553/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-124136480.html|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|last=Carter|first=Walter|year=1996|title=The history of the Ovation guitar|editor-first=Jon|editor-last=Eiche|publisher=[[Hal&nbsp;Leonard Corporation]]|series=Musical Instruments Series|location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin|isbn=978-0-7935-5876-6|edition=first|pages=1–128|id=HL00330187<!-- Hal Leonard -->}}
* {{Cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60D15FA3A580C7B8CDDAB0994DE494D81 <!-- alternate link: http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/08/nyregion/from-the-ratcheting-of-helicopters-to-a-guitar-s-hum.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm -->|title=From the ratcheting of helicopters to a guitar's hum|first=Valerie|last=Cruice|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 8, 1996}}
* {{cite news|date=30–31 May 1999|last=Marks|first=Brenda|title=Connecticut&nbsp;firm makes guitars, helicopter&nbsp;blades from same fiberglass|publisher=Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News|location=New Hartford, Conn.|newspaper=[[Waterbury Republican-American]]|access-date=24 April 2012|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-54758412.html|archive-date=23 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223133014/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-54758412.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>