Acoustic vs Electric?

Hello everyone, my name is Ben and I just had a general question to you all about the pros and cons of learning guitar on an Acoustic and/or Electric guitar. I have been going through the beginning lessons with my father's Yamaha FG-325 Acoustic guitar but the music I listen to and am interested in playing later on is usually played on an electric guitar. (i.e. Blues, The Black Key's Dan Auerbach and Stevie Ray Vaughan are my favorite guitarists). Is there any marked disadvantage or bad habit I may pick up learning to play on an acoustic guitar over an electric?

Thanks in advance.

I would suggest getting an electric and amp. Figure out what you have for a budget, then start looking at guitars you like. The amplifier is another expense on top of the guitar.

There is not likely to be any drawback to learning on acoustic first. That happened to be what I did, though for different reasons. I did develop a style of play that was a little hard on the electric and I had to tone my enthusiasm down a lot.

Look at it this way: you would not learn piano to play trumpet. So, while a lot of the skill set is transferable, things would move more quickly if you just started with the trumpet in the first place, right?

Pros of acoustic is no cables no amp needed and just pick up and play.

the down side is the strings tend to be further away and heavier which makes them slightly harder to play.

Having said that, you are looking at Yamaha and I swear by these guitars.

Originally Posted by: soyunperdedorbut the music I listen to and am interested in playing later on is usually played on an electric guitar.

That pretty much says it all. Razbo is right, you be happier taking the most direct path to the style of music you want to play. Another thought to though, don't sweat that first electric guitar/amp purchase too much... virtually all the guitar greats out there started with something that fell into "at least it works" category. Once you play for a while and get the basics down, you'll be able to make a more informed opinion as to what you're looking for in a guitar & amp.

Also, keep playing the acoustic... you never know when some acoustic skills may come in handy, when you'll be asked to do an "unplugged" session, and besides, chic's dig it! :)

Originally Posted by: Slipin Lizard
Also, keep playing the acoustic... you never know when some acoustic skills may come in handy, when you'll be asked to do an "unplugged" session, and besides, chic's dig it! :)

Great point! :D

Best is to go direct to the right tool for the right job, but meanwhile keep on jamming until you get the electric 'n amp (no need to be expensive stuff for the start), as all the above kind gentlemen alluded to:)

I agree, that you should probably try and get yourself an electric and an amp. But I also think that learning on an acoustic is a good thing as when you switch to an electric, you'll find it easier to play. As far as bad habits, you can learn those on either guitar and once learned they are hard to break so whatever you are learing and whatever you are learning on, make sure you are learning it the correct way. Just keep in mind that a lot of guitar players have learned on an acoustic and also write songs on them, so there is nothing wrong with that. Your best bet is to eventually be able to play both. As far as chicks digging it, well I happen to be one and love it when a guy can shred on an electric, as I play metal, but my BF plays a classical guitar and I happen to really dig him. ;)

I say go with what you love, it will keep you motivated and excited about the guitar.

An acoustic forces stronger muscles but you won't miss out on anything by learning on electric.

I've just started in on the guitar learning myself. My wife wound up getting me an acoustic for Christmas (Was bought from a friend of my son for $20 but hey, it's a guitar) and I messed around on the internet looking for information on how to play etc.
Found this site here and was learning off Lisa McCormick's free lessons. I Then decided to quit paying for one of my online games and bought the membership. Great investment.
That's when I discovered that I was going to need an electric to learn to play some of these other songs that the instructors were playing.
I bought my Axl Stratocaster type with a Peavey Amp at a pawn shop for $118 total I believe it was.
The electric is MUCH easier to learn on than the acoustic. As someone said in an earlier post, the acoustic strings are much harder! With the electric, I was able to start learning chords easier since the strings weren't tearing my fingers up. BUT I still go back to the acoustic to get the finger picking techniques down.
So, I'd go with a simple setup like that as my suggestion. ALSO, I've found that with other instructors teaching on here with different types of guitars, ie Hornbuckle Pickups, Semi- Hollow etc... There are programs out there that you can download and use for free to get that electric of yours to play and sound like other types. All ya need is the adapter to take your guitar jack down to a 3.5mm for the line in or mic jack on your computer.

Hi Ben,

After many years of not playing anything, I bought an accoustic (Yamaha) - in part because I also had a piano from them. Ditto on they make great instruments for a reasonable price. Deep resonance and tone for about $150. After a few weeks, wondered exactly the same thing -- wanted to learn new stuff, and some songs are more deemed for electric. Now I have both; the electric is a basic Fender model I picked up for about $100, with a small, but powerful amp for about $30 (which, when I use, the volume is set to about 1 or so on both). It's plenty. Also, per the prior posts, and with my fingers just about bleeding I'm having so much fun "picking" up an old passion, the electric is a little easier on those numb guys, and I'm exploring all the nuggets of knowledge into new areas..from folk, to metal, country - whatever is fun. The guitars were purchased at Ron Zehel.

Live in an apartment - an added benefit of the electric is you can get a head amp and not disturb neighbors...so that's my next step if you have that one song rumbling through your head like I do, and expanding your horizons.