You might make this comparison in your head of acoustic guitar vs electric guitar and ask yourself questions like:
Is electric guitar more comfortable to play than acoustic?
What is the difference between electric and acoustic guitar playing?
If I can play acoustic guitar can I play electric?
I made this comprehensive article for you, based on the experience of mine and the guitarists I know,
so after you read it, you can decide what is the best guitar for you.
Your musical style
What style do you like?
First, you choose a guitar that is most common played in the songs you love and the style you see yourself playing.
An enjoyable guitar learning process of relies, among other things on playing the songs you like.
Therefore matching the guitar to your favorite music style is a very practical thing to do.
For example, if you find yourself listening to songs like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen then I would go for an acoustic guitar.
on the other hand, if you like the Guns and Roses mainly for Slash’s electric guitar solos
(the guitar idol of my youth) you probably have better start playing the electric guitar.
Your Goal
On the other hand, if you see yourself playing in a rock band and playing guitar solos as well,
the electric guitar should become a better solution for you.
An acoustic also gives you the option to accompany yourself on vocals in a more
pleasing manner than with an electric.
Your Budget
Are you under budget?
Getting started with an acoustic guitar generally doesn’t cost as much as electric guitar
where you’ll need an amplifier and other gear.
At a price of up to 200$, you’ll get an acoustic guitar at a higher level than an electric guitar at that price.
Tip from a guitar teacher: If I were you, the most important thing I would check is that the guitar is comfortable. Read reviews from people who have already bought the guitar and addressed this issue.
Which leads me to the next point.
Playability
Acoustic or electric guitar, make it easy to play and it will be fun.
If it’s not easy to play on it can be discouraging for you.
In this aspect I would recommend you to look for two main parameters:
– A low action of the strings.
The higher the distance between the strings and the fingerboard the harder you need to push them down.
Whether the string gauges are bigger or smaller, this will manifest in pain at the fingertips and palm.
I do not want to sound scary, but long training on such a guitar can cause inflammation.
So go to a guitar Technician to check it out and you need to, invest several tens of dollars for setting the action.
– The body size of the guitar.
The body size of the electric guitar is much narrower than the acoustic guitar but heavy to hold.
Because of that, I don’t tend to recommend it to children.
Acoustic guitar can reach different sizes so you can fit it to your body.
Personally, I prefer the compact size of 7/8 guitars or folk guitars over the dreadnought acoustic guitars
because it’s much easier to grab it without twisting your back and over-lift the shoulder of the strumming hand.
The fundamentals
On both guitars the fundamentals are more or less the same:
The tuning, hand positions on the fingerboards, scales, chords, fretting, soloing, fingerpicking, using a pick, the chord placements and more.
As an acoustic guitarist, you’ll find yourself you can build a strong technical foundation if you play acoustic guitar with the raw sound of the guitar rather than playing effects and playing less guitar.
Since you hear the natural and direct sound projection You’ll become more aware of your guitar technique and concentrate on building your organic personal sound which is essential for a true musician. However, guitar effect can give you inspiration as most of the most famous guitar solos of all time are distorted with this effect or another.
A tip for you: If you start with electric please don’t distract yourself with all the different sexy guitar effects
because if so, you end up messing around with that rather than learning the basics of guitar playing.
Equipment
Electric guitars work only when they are connected to an electric source which produces and convert the sound, like an amplifier, effects or maybe your computer using music software.
You can play acoustic guitar anywhere with the freedom and convenience of just picking it up to play with no need to connect it to an amplifier or being dependent on electricity.
If you do go with electric, I recommend that you take advantage of the first period of your guitar playing to investigate your amplifier and effects so you’ll find the sound that fit your taste and that will give you this uplifting feeling that would light up your guitar experience.
It is not customary to talk about divorce while you want to get married but in case your love affair with the guitar will end after a short time you’ll have less equipment to get rid of.
Maybe it sounds marginal, but a lot of who is starting to learn guitar, especially if his main motivation was the cool image of knowing how to play electric guitar, give up after realizing that it is not what he thought it would be then. Then those people are looking to sell their almost new guitar even at a price significantly lower than the price they first bought it.
The teacher
I guess if you’re looking for a guitar, you’ve also started looking for a guitar teacher, a group course or an online course.
If so, make sure that the guitar you buy is suitable for the one with which you are going to study.
Conclusion
So, did I answer your acoustic guitar vs electric question?
Both types of guitars have pros and cons for their differences, so use those factors I’ve listed above to consider the right guitar for you, the one that will inspire you and keep you motivated.
And that what a good guitar does.
I hope you will have a constructive experience with the guitar and if that is the scenario
, then you’ll probably find yourself expanding your guitar arsenal because you’ll develop an ear to sound qualities and characteristics and you’ll know which guitar is practical for you with the right sound you’re looking for.
I hope I helped you and if you have anything to say I’d love to hear from you in comments below.
Please share this article with someone that it can help him.
Enjoy the guitar! 🙂
Roy