Topic: acoustic v electric.

i bought my first acoustic when i was 14 and my first electric at 17. it was a cheap and nasty guitar made by zenta. i battered hell out of it for a couple of years till i really, really had to get a semi decent axe.

at that time (even though i had an acoustic) i spent most of my time on the electric and i must have got to a fairly good standard, which i maintained for a number of years, you want to see the state of the frets on my strat!

then i bought a crafter acoustic with built in pick-up which i seem to play all the time since i got it 4 years ago. the point is; i only play my electric on gigs now or if i'm doing a solo on a recording so i feel my soloing has suffered. this is mainly due to the crafter having 11 gauge strings while the tele has 9 gauge, the latter being easier to bend. i tend to leave the tele as i keep it in it's case while the crafter is sitting right next to my PC, so it's more convenient.

has anyone else noticed their playing has suffered by playing the easy option?

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

Re: acoustic v electric.

I don't claim to be much more than an average guitarist, but I certainly notice that an electric can be far more forgiving of a guitarists technique flaws than an acoustic will be. The string gauge observation makes a lot of sense, and the sustain of an electric vs. acoustic also makes a huge difference. Then there's the HUGE matter of sustain and how that affects playing style. "Dazed & Confused" sounds incredible on an electric, but empty on an acoustic ... because of the sustain & the bending ability.

As a further example, on the acoustic playing open / traditional style chords sounds much nicer, and offers a lot of flat-picking interplay within the chords. The guitarist doesn't need to think much about dampening, as the sustain isn't enough to garble the overall sound. On the electric, barre chords seem to sound much better, and the guitarist must constantly be dampening the string(s) to avoid the cacophony.

I'm not saying that one instrument requires a different skill level than the other, but they both require an adjustment in playing style. An acoustic can function quite nicely as a solo instrument, whereas an electric lends itself better to an ensemble. Apart from the fundamentals, they're almost two different instruments.

Re: acoustic v electric.

i'm so glad that you can see where i'm coming from. both types have merit and stand up in their own right.

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

4 (edited by dino48 2013-02-02 22:14:26)

Re: acoustic v electric.

The electrics cover up alot of my mistakes,alot more if I have my amp. distorted a little. I play my acoustic about 90% of the time.

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Re: acoustic v electric.

I thought, once i got my electric, I would not play my acoustic that much. it turns out that I do play it often. My main guitar now is my electric ( I play alot of hard rock) but I go to my acoustic when I want to work out a song. Or I go to it when I want a different sound. Both guitars offer benefits that the other does not so i will go back and forth.

Re: acoustic v electric.

Hi Phill
Got to be acoustic for me now. Sold my Strat a few years back because I didn't use it much. My electro acoustic suits my recording needs and playing with FX can make it sound much like a solid body in a recording (well to me).
My acoustic sits in it's stand within easy reach and gets played most days without any hassel of an amp etc. Horses for courses I guess.
ark

Re: acoustic v electric.

I'm learning both guitars bar chords are much easer on the electric and then I try them on my acoustic I like both guitars

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Re: acoustic v electric.

Fire art  wrote:

I'm learning both guitars bar chords are much easer on the electric and then I try them on my acoustic I like both guitars

They do seem easier on an electric. I think it is due to the thinner neck and lighter gauge strings. Of course that is on a well set up guitar. if the set up is wrong any chord is hard.

Re: acoustic v electric.

bunbun wrote:
Fire art  wrote:

I'm learning both guitars bar chords are much easer on the electric and then I try them on my acoustic I like both guitars

They do seem easier on an electric. I think it is due to the thinner neck and lighter gauge strings. Of course that is on a well set up guitar. if the set up is wrong any chord is hard.

Electric is easier than acoustic. It is so true that a poorly set up guitar will be hard to play no matter what it is. Acoustic or electric. To repeat myself again. I think of an electric as a car with power steering and an acoustic as a car without power steering.

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Re: acoustic v electric.

I have two 'Strat' style electric guitars, and 3 electro-acoustics; 6 string, 12er and classical (the Samick classical is unusual as it has a neck that is the same width as the electric guitars). I have no difficulty playing chords, barred or open, on any of them however I do find that I can play lead riffs easier on the electric guitars.

Roger

As an aside, I have set up all my guitars so that the action is similar on all of them.

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Re: acoustic v electric.

I like both but I can say that if your recording a specific melodie electric guitars are less forgiving when it comes to making a mistake only because they are amplified but the same holds true for acoustic if its mic'ed.they each have qualities it depends on what your choice of moods are. smile

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Re: acoustic v electric.

thanks you guys for putting forward your thoughts, it's a nice discussion and says a lot about everyone's preferences and style.

i bought some new PA speakers a few weeks ago and i'm really annoyed with the sound i'm getting from them, as i play (or played) guitar as well as vocal and backing tracks through them. i eventually got the vocals sounding OK-ish and the backing tracks sounding OK too. but the guitar sounded awful. so i started taking my peavy amp with me again, and i love the sound i'm getting!

till last night. i knew it was a small venue so i left the peavy at home. boy do i regret that decision! i kept twiddling knobs all night trying to get an acceptable sound, and failed. the amp comes regardless in future, as i get a great sound at any volume.

PS i only play electric at gigs. i used to play my acoustic before i started recording my own backing, so solo's weren't a concern, just a nice rhythm.

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

Re: acoustic v electric.

To make an acoustic sound good you have to have experience, there is no faking on them.

I love the blues, and 70's rock, and can dig the new stuff. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page being my top three, I also enjoy Richie Blackmore, Rory Gallagher, and Santana (got my picture with him).

Re: acoustic v electric.

I prefers to use Electric as compared with Acoustic. Electric Guitar is more easy and simple to play but Acoustic is not for me. I play free on Electric.

Re: acoustic v electric.

you can always string an acoustic up with strings made for electric guitar... makes the acoustic far easier to play

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Re: acoustic v electric.

i can see where your coming from manic, but i tend to get a lot of buzzing and unwanted vibration from light strings on my acoustic, and i use it more for rhythm playing so a load of buzzing doesn't work for me there.

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.