Acoustic or Electric - Which should I learn on?

As a rank beginner, what is the best guitar to begin with. My goal is to end up playing electric guitar. Thanks

In my opinion, if your aim is to play electric...start with electric!

Hope it helps, regards
Carmine

Lets be honest here. This guitar thing is bigger than all of us and you will end up with more than one guitar. I have found that the money I waisted on cheaper guitars would have paid for a nice (maybe used) Fender. So save your beer tickets and get a good flat top. I got a Martin DX1, not top of the line but nicer than any of the 3 or 4 flat tops I had owned up to that time. And save again for the electric. Once again save until you can afford the guitar you really want. WHY? Because if you get a POS axe because you can afford it right now you will not "want" to play it. If you don't want to play it you wont play it and there for you will not get any better at playing. Why get the flat top first. Good question. The electric has a lot of extras you will need buy such as the cords and stomp boxes and all the other shinny things we seem to end up with. And a decent AMP will set you back almost as much as your electric guitar.

Your milage may vary. Just my 2 cents

two important points
1 the most important thing in learning is getting a guitar thats suitable.
stay away from the classical guitar which generally has a real fat neck that you will have to use bar chords all the time
2 whether its electric or acoustic getting a guitar setup is most important
all guitars need a setup.

some of you will respond my guitar did not need a setup etc fine . my ca cargo and larrivee alll where easier to play after a setup.
my fingers DID NOT HURT ,the intonation was correct., easier to tune

Originally Posted by: rising1000
my fingers DID NOT HURT ,the intonation was correct., easier to tune

Not all of my guitars needed a set up, that's for sure, but that's pretty hit and miss. Most needed something or other to suit my personal taste.

However, your fingers, as a rank beginner, are definitely going to hurt. But it goes away as you build up some callous. I wouldn't want to see a beginner spend lots of money getting guitar set ups because they thought their fingers wouldn't hurt,

Originally Posted by: t-dogdeluxeAs a rank beginner, what is the best guitar to begin with. My goal is to end up playing electric guitar. Thanks

My answer I think is kinda key to the question; you want to learn on the instrument you will gain the most joy from it. While, I sense, you thought is good to find out what instrument will be best educationally, the idea is to enjoy the playing both when you are challenging yourself or 'just playing'. The process of learning guitar is never ending and usually pretty fun along the way. Choose what you will most enjoy.

If that means electric, I would go with that. It is your end goal. If you start getting good on the instrument, likely you will get an acoustic anyway at some point.

Acoustic will challenge you the most from a physical standpoint since string size/tension etc provide a greater physical resistance when playing but that may not be what you need right off the bat if electric is your hoped end state. An electric will be a little easier on your hands and callous' development.

So, not an answer so much as a little extra thought to add to the others.

Most of the issues have been raised here. If you want to play electric guitar, it would make sense to purchase an electric guitar. Eventually you'll wind up with an acoustic, and another electric and more stuff.

As for cost.. Merlin has made a good point. A lot of cheap guitars are cheap. But to put off playing while amassing enough for a $700 Fender Strat plus another $700 for a amp is probably not the best way to go right now. There are plenty of guitars that are inexpensive yet not cheap.

The trick is to find one. There your best bet is to have someone that knows how to play, how to tell if a guitar is in good condition, and then have a go at the local papers and Craig's List. In this economy a lot of people are getting rid of unwanted gear and deals can be had. Loads of decent Fender Squires can be found, Yamaha Pacifica is also a nice entry level guitar. It's what I started on and I never felt like I wasted my money.

As for the amp, I suggest a small amp with digital modeling. It's not a tube amp but you'll have a lot of different sounds and tones to play around with and it can substitute nicely for $100's in pedals while you're in your learning phase.

Then again I could be wrong and money might not even be an issue, in which case I'm up for adoption.

Buy a guitar based on feel first - looks second.

Ask yourself who your favorite artists are - do you want to play like them? learn their songs perhaps? then get a guitar based around their set up.

Are your goals based around finger picking or guitar shredding?

Get a piece of paper and set some definitions.

After getting whatever guitar you select, I suggest you also spend 15 bucks for a cheapy little guitar stand. Why? Because your guitar will now sit next to your easy chair, ready to play, just pick it up and go.....other wise, if you have to walk back to the bedroom, get it down from the shelf in the closet, take it out of the case, etc etc.you will do alot LESS playing, and maybe one day it will just stay in the closet.

My little squier sits next to my laz-e-boy in it's stand, plugged in. I just pick it up and turn on the amp and play in between TV shows, during commercials.....when my wife is watching something I'm not interested in....hehe..

GG

Good point, about keeping guitar handy and ready for a quick chord or two. I always used to put it in the case, but then as you say it was a concious effort to pick it up.

Baz

Mine gets put away at bedtime! I tend to pick it up several times during the day, until my fingers hurt too much to carry on!! Two months into learning now and the callouses are coming - albeit slowly!! :)

I agree, I keep mine out and consequently pick it up often for short plays during the day. It gets too iffy if I have to pull the case out from under my bed, get the guitar out, strap-in etc. I do the same with my camera, it's always out and therefore gets much more use than it would if it was in its case -sorry I think I got off topic a bit...

When I was a little girl my father gave me my first guitar, it was acoustic. He had played for several years, and his point of view was that an acoustic would give me a better learning experience because it is more difficult. You have to press a bit harder to make the notes ring out, and thus I would form better habits and stronger fingers, and on the whole he was correct.

However, if you believe that the added frustration that an acoustic might bring would dissuade you from learning, then by all means, pick up an electric first.

Just MHO,
Victoria

Be prepared to do a lot of research and really decide what guitar sounds/feels best to you. I concur if you want to go electric then just go ahead and go electric. The trouble you may run into is, without a bit of playing experience it's difficult to know what you like/need at the moment.

I ran into that problem and started on a very cheap guitar that didn't play very well. However, I cherish the experience because within a few months or so I really figured out what I needed/wanted and was able to secure a much nicer guitar for a killer price(check for sales on amazon, etc.).

Have fun and enjoy the journey!

I recently bought a guitar from Lidls which is a cheap grocery chain here in Europe, they were selling a Clifton guitar including bag book AND tuner for £30 !
I've been practising ever since (approx 3 months), a month ago I bought a Fender Squire including amp and bag from our local music store, this was for £140 I've loved playing them both very much! last night I was at a mates house for New Years celebrations and there was a guitar there, however it was strung with steal strings. I'm now buzzing to get an accusitc with steal strings or perhaps restring mine (But I need help with this)!

I guess what I'm saying is, I just went with the flow, If you really want to get a guitar get whatever comes your way first !