Acoustic Or Electric

[carlrich]

Hello All,

I do realise when it comes to learning to play the guitar the choice between acoustic and electric depends a lot on the genre of music you wish to play. I want to play a hybrid musical genre of Rock, Blues & Country and whilst I think that an electric guitar would maybe be best suited for the music I want to play I'm thinking of learning on an acoustic guitar.

With an acoustic guitar you don't have to worry about amp settings and the like, you can just concentrate on playing. I know the strings are harder to press on an acoustic guitar, but I'm sure after a while strength will build in my fingers.

In the future I want to be comptent on both acoustic and electric but I'm a little unsure on which to learn first. Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Carl

[Mahesh]

Hey Carl,I say you that if you are starting out,start with an acoustic. Builds your fingers like you already know. My personal opinion is that if you start out with an electric guitar,there will be a lot for you to look at. The amp levels,using different patches on the sound processor,different tones of your guitar etc all this gets included besides actually learning how to play the instrument. When you are on an acoustic you will concentrate mainly on the technique of playing the instrument.

I say learn on an acoustic guitar. But at the end of the night after your practice sessions,try it with an electric just for the feel of it. Obviously you'll find it easier on the electric but dont let that change your practice routine with your acoustic.

[carlrich]

Thanks for replies guys.

Talk of an acoustic guitar leads me onto another question, and that is which one to actually get?. At the moment I only have an electric, which I'm keeping, but with so many different acoustic models out there (Martin, Tanglewood, Takamine, Yamaha to name but a few) any thoughts on which on to get?. Basically I'm looking for something that isn't going to cost a packet (say sub £300) but will last me for a while.

Cheers,

[LayneGreene]

I know it's been said a thousand times, but honestly, go to the guitar store, and if you've learned enough to play a little, try out all the guitars in your price range and buy the one that sounds and plays the best. A guitar is a very personal thing, it's very difficult to say "you'll love this one" without knowing what type of neck you like, the exact tone you want, even things like the look of the guitar. If you don't like how it looks, you aren't going to want to play it!

Good luck though, I think some of my happiest times playing were when I was starting!

[McnaughtonPark]

Oh man, get ready for your finger tips to hurt. I've been playing for an hour per day for four months and while the calluses have formed on my finger tips, they still feel painful when I play. I have one guitar with lite strings and one with medium. I can only play the medium strings for about 20 minutes before my fingers hurt too bad to play. I have to start with one guitar and switch to the other for only a few minutes before quitting. I don't know if it's possible for blisters to form under calluses, but that is what it feels like. I've been thinking about picking up an electric and saying screw the acustic.

I should also say, I don't make much progress day to day. My playing only gets a little better each day. Over time, it has improved, but it is a slow process, and I tire of hearing the same thing easily. Sticking with it for four months has been a big acheivement for me personnally as I have not been able to stick with it this long for over twenty years of trying.

Playing and singing together present another challenge. I have a terrible memory for lyrics, even the ones I write, so I still have to read them from the page while I play. It's a bit frustrating, but I have lived with a bad memory for a long time and am used to working with lists, this is merely a list of words to sing.

It all adds up to work, I could find any reason to quit, but I am determined to play and sing at least one song before I allow myself to stop. So here I sit.....typing.

When do the fingers stop hurting?

MP

[McnaughtonPark]

Thanks Tom, I know my guitar has collected it's fair share of that dust over the years. Once I find my microphone I'm going to start trying to record what I have. Hopefully, playing it back and listening to it will help some too.

Funny story....The other day I hit record on my phone and started playing. After making a few mistakes and restarts I played through most of a song and stumbled into a new idea and persued it for a bit....then remembered I was recording the whole thing. When I replayed it, It sounded like 13 minutes of a drunk sailor riding a bull through a china shop. very funny, very bad recording.

[TapperMike]

It's funny I very rarely record these days. Recording is something one needs to practice at to get better. I'd have songs down pat but as soon as I started recording video all sorts of anxeity would arise. Take 2 leads to take 30.

Rather then jump in from no where If you make recording a daily habid and treat the camera or mic in the same way you treat a lamp things will go easier. Also success builds on success.

[bmawebb]

The trouble with your first guitar, especially acoustic, is that often you don't know enough to know exactly what you want, and so the choice of dreads, OM, OOO, parlours, not to mention pickups, is pretty overwhelming, and that's not taking into account the different wood types.

Like mentioned above. Put your 300 quid in your pocket and set aside a day to play all the acoustics in your price range in all the stores you can reasonably visit. Don't rule anything out. Ply top and sides, solid top ply sides, you might be able to find some all solids for your price. But the one that hits your eyes might not be the one that hits your ears.

Good luck. It's great fun...

[TapperMike]

And as you age you still don't know what you want when you can differentiate between them. I've got 12 guitars and at my peak I had over 50. I'm always thinking about the next two. But I'm afraid once I get them I'll want another two after that.

[davidmichael]

Either one would have its advantages to start on.The electric would definatly be easier on your fingers,but as said ,then you neeed an amp,cables etc.As for an acoustic,it will be harder to play somewhat,but if you ever get an electric afterwards,your hand strength will be more than sufficiant to tear it up.Whatever you get,look for something that has good action [strings fairly close to the fretts but dosnt buzz when playing]and even though it wont be the most expensive guitar in the world,Id look for something you plan on keeping.If you figure out what you want,take the dollar amount ,and look at used instead of new,you should be able to get something pretty nice,

Best of luck !!!!!!

[McnaughtonPark]

Passed a new milestone this morning...strumming without a pick, played until my finger bled. Left hand finger tips still hurt.

[andy5544work]

Put super glue on the splits on fingertips, stings a bit but it works

[timewave]

Hey Carl as all posts have said its a matter of taste but as a long time gtr player I would say learn on accoustic gtr as from there on when you pick up an electric its all down hill from there.I started when I was 7 and my mother had to find someone to teach me at that age cause many said I was to young!? and I learned on an accoustic ,yup your fingers bled ,hated that half hr a day for yrs! Now yrs later and my mother not with us any more( rip mom) I could not thank her enough for making me practice that 1/2 hr a day! I have something she gave me that I love and will always love!

Carl you now how to get to carnigie hall right?

Steve

[TapperMike]

Both electric and acoustic guitars vibrate. However acoustics vibrate more. If you want to develop a good ear and voice it's better to use an acoustic and try to sing/hum along. The sympathetic vibrations of a steel string acoustic make all the difference.

I've got a buddy with amazing pitch recognition that's not "perfect pitch" Everyday rain or shine he plays a scale on the acoustic. Then sings it then sings the note without backup and plays the note to check. He didn't start out having the sharpest ear or the strongest voice but now he can transcribe anything faster then anyone. You can call a note out and he'll be able to sing it damn near perfect using a tuner to compare.

[Rudi]

You got pretty good advice already. Acoustic guitars are great to lay foundations with.

You're going to feel pretty tense while you learn to play. It wont always be like that. One day you will feel relaxed when you play. One day you will fret the strings just firmly enough (and no more). Sore fingers will become a thing of the past (until you play a 3 hour gig or something). If you do get a little sore, it will pass quickly.

When? dunno how much you practice. Dont worry about it. Never hurry towards the next stage of learning. Dont just drill exercises, have some fun. Figure out how to make the nicest sounds by changing picking technique, by moving the picking hand over the sound hole, or nearer to the bridge. Try something unconventional now and then.

Good luck.

[carlrich]

Thanks for all the reponses. I still haven't got that acoustic guitar, but hopefully within the next few weeks.

[LiftedArtifact]

I went through the same dilemma when choosing to learn playing guitar and I chose acoustic. And I dont regret it either. You can always play electric when you get bored of acoustic and you will be amazed how well you can play without your fingers hurting.

[absolute123]

I Like Electric Guitars as comparative Acoustic Guitars.

[pboaz]

The number of guitars I need is always one more than I currently have

GAS is a dangerous disease. Could leave you like me -- scanning Craigslist every day looking for bargains. Tragic

Will be interested to hear which one you land on

By the way, when shopping for an acoustic, get the sales person to play them as well. The sound projects out of the sound hole forward, so it will sound different to the player as opposed to the listener (some guitars even have additional sound holes in the top of the guitar, directed to the player)

I'd also think about getting an acoustic electric for recording purposes. The plugged intone of an AE is never as nice as unplugged, but for recording its much easier to go into a High Z input rather than mess around with microphones

Good luck!

[carlrich]

Hello All,

I finally did get round to buying an acoustic guitar and purchased a Yamaha F370.

On a side note it's been a while since I was last here, due to some personal problems my musical journey has to be put on hold. Thankfully those problems are now resolved and the journey can now continue.