Learning: Acoustic or Electric?

I've heard a lot of different things about what is better to learn on. Many have told me that Acoustic is the only way to go at the start, but some have said otherwise. I've heard that acoustic is harder than electric, and I've heard that it all depends who you talk to. Opinions?

Well, acoustic guitar is harder work because you've got greater string tension, typically thicker strings and a higher action to deal with, so you'll build strength in your fingers faster. I think you should start playing whichever fits the style of music you aspire to... you need to be inspired, and playing Slayer on an acoustic might not do it for you...

If you play electric only, the effort needed on an acoustic will surprise you... As an infrequent acoustic player, it does me...

I play both electric and acoustic. I find myself playing the acoustic more, mainly because I like the mellow sound and the convenience. You can take an acoustic anywhere. You can practice anywhere, at work during lunch, in a park, jam in a parking lot, anywhere! You don’t have to plug it into anything. Of course, most of the music I write and play is Americana, Folk, Bluegrass, Old Country, etc.

As far as which to learn on, it’s definitely the acoustic. The acoustic will strengthen your fingers and build callous much quicker. Of course, if you have both electric and acoustic guitars now, play both, but the acoustic will improve your mechanics much quicker and better.

Good luck!

Acoustic will definitely help you build strength and calluses, but practicing on a pluuged in electric with distortion can help you learn to play much cleaner and more more exact.

I guess it depends on what you want to learn ya know? Acoustic is in my opinion the harder guitar to play. I learned on an electric and I'm doing just fine, but a lot of people I know start off with an acoustic. Just do whatever you want to.

So wouldn't it be true that learning on an acoustic will help you to be more technically proficient? I don't mean to dog on the electric. I love electric guitar and hope to have one in the future, but it seems like the really fun stuff on electric guitars requires a high degree of technical proficiency. Will playing acoustic first actually allow you to play electric better when you get there?

I've now be playing for three years. And from my personal experiance i would say that beginning on an acoustic will truely help you. But it can't help you that much if you don't practice. When ever i slack off and don't play for awhile and go back and play i really suck. So learn your chords and very importanly your scales. I know they arn't fun. But they help you so much.

also if you looking for a great electric to start from I love my Epiphone LP-100. I personally think that it plays better than other guitars in that same price range.

I don't think I can say whether playing acoustic first makes you a better player overall. Most people start on acoustic because it's generally cheaper I would think. I started on classical because that's what they did at school.

As Draven says, electric guitar is a very different instrument - you'll need to mute a hell of a lot to control the noise, and you use techniques you might not on acoustic. I think it's more important to play the music you want to play, and pick the instrument that fits that style. Simon and Garfunkel material is dodgy through an overdriven electric rig, and Iron Maiden just ain't the same 'unplugged'...

You'd have to play for ten years on an acoustic, record your opus, forget everything you ever knew, learn again on electric for 10 years and record opus II then compare the result to answer that question... ;)

LOL, never thought of it that way Ren, 10 years per playing style just to compare which way you learnt best. Then again you would also have to inflict a head injury on yourself to make sure you forget everything from the previous instrument for the experiment to be a success :p

Back to the thread topic though...
Easy way to answer this questions is what type of music do you like and want to play?
Also bear in mind that with an accoustic you are limited to the sound the guitar generates whereas you can play an electric you have have not only clean or distorted but you can go through tone generators and fx processors to create any sound you want.
Accoustics have tonal qualities all of their own which are great and suit certain styles, they are also great for parties and busking because they don't require an amp. It all comes down to the type of music you want to play and learn.
For me it got to be an electric because I play rock/metal and am not interested in strumming chords.

I agree with ren and superhuman.

I started on electric because my brother already had one he didn't use. I probably would have anyway though. If I had started on acoustic I really doubt I would still be playing honestly. I fell in love with the guitar because of the instrument and acoustic and electric are two different instruments. Look at the style of music your into and pick one.

It is true that acoustic will build finger strength and such quicker but it won't make a you a better player. I know plenty of acoustic only players who can't do anything with an electric at all. They just don't know how to play it. It works the opposite too obviously.

I would say learn on what is going to inspire you to play. And then later if you want to expand to the other than thats what you should do, my friend is giving me her acoustic in a week or so cause she never uses it. I've been playing a few years and think I am a pretty decent guitarist (electric) but I am pretty crappy when it comes to acoustic mostly just because I play on a electric, usually in drop d or Eb standard and use .10 gauge strings with pretty low action. Acoustic is almost the opposite of that. But my guitar is perfect for the kind of music I am into so it works out.


Like I said pick whatever is going to inspire you to play because thats the important part. That you want to play and it is never a chore, it won't matter what instrument you start on if you don't like playing it.

I just bought acoustic because it's cheap and easy to practice on. just grab and play. I use it to learn all the chords, fingering, etc, etc. Yes, it hard on the finger - but I'm used to be a machine technician before doing paperwork in office, so I have strong finger.

But I do try electric in shop and yes, the string is soft :-)

Electric is expensive, and if you're left handed - it even more expensive and harder to find. It's not unlike Kapok (China made cheap acoustic guitar) that you just restring, you just need left handed guitar - specially if you want to fret closer to the body - you need the cut-out.

So right now I'm learning on acoustic while saving money on left handed electric. it's a good thing since you can really try before putting large money into it (unless you're right handed, as Craftman has pretty low priced electric).

I mean, a few minutes after I bought the guitar and a book on it, I was like - OMG - that's a lot of things to learn - like hundreds of fingerings and chords. It just unlike piano (actually, I have sound blaster MIDI keyboard). mute, wrong fingering, strong, finger and all. Almost give up at first. But after a few practice, I'm getting used to it.

Oh, if you just bought an acoustic - try playing Nothing Else Matter. It use a lot of open string, and suddely it make you feel you can be just like Metalicca (kirk and the other guy :-) - i wasn't good at names. Hetfield?

Bye.

http://www.fablefox.com

Hello All

Just a quick hello as my first post on this website :)

I'm a total beginner, only recently starting to learn the guitar over the last month.

This question was a question that made me think for some time, All of my friends were of the persuasion that I should learn to play on an accoustic for many of the reasons mentioned by previous posters, generally being harder on the fingers, building up strength, being portable etc.

However my passion has always been to learn the electric lead guitar, yes i'm sure i'm not the first, nor the last.

What swayed me towards going for an electric (after trying both accoustic and electrics at friends homes) was the very low action, narrower neck and the shear variety of sounds you can get out from an electric guitar. The electric suited my music preference as well (rock/metal)

I have only had my own guitar for 3 days now but cant put it down, just waiting for the christams break to start so that I can get some "proper" practise in!

Anyway enough from the (over excited) newbie.

MjrTom

There are advantages and disadvantages to both of course. I would put it this way... What is your dream? Do you want to start on an electric or an acoustic? Start from there. If your dream has always been to play an electric, I would not hesitate. You can always change over later if you fancy the other.