Acoustic/Electric and Me

Its a pretty strait forward question that I know has and will be asked a trillion times but still I will go ahead and ask...

As a semi beginner but still a complete rookie (I know some chords and songs) is it really that much better to start with the acoustic guitar rather then electric? Should I go through the Fundamentals 1&2 before proceeding to electric guitar?

Don't get me wrong, I like the sound of both...but electric sound is just something that I cant resist when I hear it...I start playing the beloved "air" guitar, when no one sees me that is ;)

Doesn't really matter. Pick whichever you want.

Only thing I'd say about electric is don't "hide behind distortion". Distortion hides a lot of the imperfections, so you might be playing wrong and not notice. Play on clean when you practice to hear your mistakes and correct them.

Practicing with an acoustic is sort of like using ankle weights, as the strings are thicker and it's tougher to play then an electric overall.

If you can finger chords and work through things on the guitar with an acoustic, the electric will be that much easier to play. I would practice on an acoustic as much as you can.

Whenever I am practicing, I use an acoustic to really get my fingers moving. Give it a try and see how it works for you.

:eek:

PS - I also agree with hunter. Don't hide behind distortion when playing with electric. Play everything clean, and then crank it up! :D

If your passion is electric, then just start with an electric. It tends to be easier to play, and there are some techniques which you just won't be able to do with an acoustic.

Play with a clean tone to start with to learn good technique, and then experiment with what you love.

You can never go wrong by studying the fundamentals over and over. Bad habits develop when you get lazy or distracted and learning music theory helps in the future no matter what style you want to play.

Acoustic and electric plugged and unplugged.

When I dug my guitars back out of the closet after they sat there for years I concentrated on my electric. I improved slightly with practice but not much. When I started practicing on my acoustic more I noted my electric playing improved at a much better pace. I try to always practice my scales and picking technique on the acoustic. My electric playing skill has improved by practicing on the acoustic.

Thanks for all te replies guys.

I will just go ahead and practice on the acoustic and electric (once I acquire one :)).

I'm not very far ahead of you, and started out with a very cheap acoustic with high action that made it very uncomfortable to get a good start at practicing for a decent period of time before my fingertips were too sore to go on. I bought an electric and found it much easier to fret. I bet that alone discourages first time players who don't know that they can get something that is a lot easier to start out on for a just a few bucks more.

I'm not as much interested though these days with the harder sound from an electric as I once was and have a desire to learn more folk/blues/country acoustic more. I was also living in an apartment which made it a bit more difficult to play with any power. So I ended up buying a nylon string Ibanez AEG10NE electric acoustic. What I liked about that was that the nylon stings have less tension and are easier to fret than the steel string acoustics but the neck is closer in size to steel string acoustics and electrics than it is to other classical guitars.

Later, as my fingertips toughened up, I bought a steel string Ibanez AC300-NT with medium action and I can switch pretty easily between the two acoustics without missing strings. This is the one that I use most often now, but I like the sound of both in different situations and the electric has been sitting in the closet for quite a while now. I keep thinking about pulling it out to see if I can play it more smoothly since I know it's easier to fret and the neck is thinner depth-wise. Maybe I'll get around to it this week.

Marko,
The difference between the two guitars is all a preference in playing style, what kind of tone you're looking for, who you're playing for.
When I practice with my electric (as I always do) I practice with both clean and distroted tones. On a clean tone I can hear if I'm fretting properly and if the notes I'm playing are coming out cleanly or not and at an even dynamic, especially if I'm practicing at higher speeds. On a distorted tone I can hear if I'm hitting any unwanted strings or leaving any other strings open and ringing producing a sloppy sound.
Even when practicing chords, although you won't hear the quality of the chord as much, with distortion you can hear if your hitting any unwanted strings.
What the instructors said about practicing on an acoustic still stands of course, if you can play your scales, chords, modes, inversions, WHATEVER, on your acoustic then I am completely confident you can do it EVEN BETTER on your electric.
Hope this helps :)

Originally Posted by: Douglas ShowalterIf you can finger chords and work through things on the guitar with an acoustic, the electric will be that much easier to play.

I go with this. I am an intermediate guitar player. Me and most of my friends who already have a performing band went through acoustic with the basics. :)


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