acoustic

In music, acoustic refers to instruments and performances that produce sound naturally, without electronic amplification or processing. An acoustic guitar, for example, relies entirely on its wooden body to project sound, in contrast to an electric guitar that uses pickups and amplifiers. The term has taken on cultural significance since the rise of electronic music. MTV Unplugged, which launched in 1989, popularised acoustic performances by rock and pop artists, and the word acoustic became shorthand for stripped-down, authentic music-making. In physics, acoustics is the scientific study of sound — concert hall design depends heavily on acoustic engineering.