Electric acoustic easier?

[Deimos]

Hello,

I'm a newby in the guitar scène.
Learning a bit of playing on the old (50yr) Eko of my father.

He bought a yamaha apx900 witch i played recently.
I found the yamaha mutch easier / lighter to play.

Is this with all Electric acoustic guitars? Or just the yamaha?
I'd like to go out to look for a Takamina.

Because im a newby im hoping for some guidance.

Tnx
Deimos

[Talk2Me]

"Electric acoustic" just means that guitar has the ability to be plugged in. Nothing else particularly making it easier (or harder) to play. You should go into a large(r) guitar store and check out many of the brands. Some will feel better (to YOU) than others. Some will sound better to you than others. You're looking for the combination of playability and sound. Don't let other people's opinions sway you too much. Everyone is different. Go try a whole lot of them and have fun!

[frankmcr]

The yamaha was probably easier to play because Yamaha makes excellent guitars.

The majority opinion here is that Yamaha guitars give the highest quality for the money, especially among beginner guitars.

[Deimos]

Every one in all these stores ar pretty well in playing.. and im a bit less.
Just gotta do it i guess.

The reason i thought it had to do with acoustic electric is cause the often
Look a bit smaller.

Tnx

[warfrat73]

The Yamaha probably just has a better setup.

[brad4d8]

Originally Posted by Deimos

Hello,

I'm a newby in the guitar scène.
Learning a bit of playing on the old (50yr) Eko of my father.
....
Tnx
Deimos

Could be the Eko needs a setup. A singer/songwriter I played with in the '60s had an Eko, don't remember it as being particularly hard to play, so a setup by a competent tech would probably make a difference and not cost a whole lot (unless it needs more than just a setup).

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Deimos

Every one in all these stores ar pretty well in playing.. and im a bit less.
Just gotta do it i guess.

The reason i thought it had to do with acoustic electric is cause the often
Look a bit smaller.

Tnx

Acoustic electrics come in all sizes, but that Yamaha you played is a smaller, shallower body.

Agree with what other says about the Eko needing a setup and Yamaha making outstanding guitars in general. I have two Yamaha nylon strings and they are just insane values...you get a LOT of guitar for the money.

[A Scot in Otley]

Originally Posted by Deimos

Hello,

I'm a newby in the guitar scène.
Learning a bit of playing on the old (50yr) Eko of my father.

He bought a yamaha apx900 witch i played recently.
I found the yamaha mutch easier / lighter to play.

Is this with all Electric acoustic guitars? Or just the yamaha?
I'd like to go out to look for a Takamina.

Because im a newby im hoping for some guidance.

Tnx
Deimos

My wife used to have an APX. The neck on those are the easiest I've ever tried to play - pretty much like an electric. Could play any barre chords (minor/maj 7ths anywhere up the neck. So, in short, even where another acoustic guitar is nicely set up, you'll struggle to get the APX neck playability in other more 'normal' acoustics. I believe the APX was specifically designed for ease of transfer for electric players to get an acoustic thing going plugged in. They ain't much cop purely acoustically, but that's not what they were designed for.

That's my belief and experience anyway. They are great wee guitars plugged in, though. All the best.

[Deimos]

Its really an old guitar.
There are cracks in the top layer.
So it will need problaby more than just a setup.
But ill look into that.

And perhaps look for yamaha instead of Takamine.

[gurroz]

Originally Posted by warfrat73

The Yamaha probably just has a better setup.

What he/she said!

[Br1ck]

I remember when, and this from someone thirty years in, my Guild D 35 was unplayable for more than two minutes. $1100 later, it's the easiest playing guitar I have. Many old guitars are not economically worth it unless you have very sentimental feelings toward it. Considering you can get a fine playing guitar for $500, and a good sounding and playing guitar for $1000, it might not make sense.

[Wade Hampton]

Not to be churlish about it, but I’ve never played any of those old Italian-made Ekos that were worth spending any money on to fix up. I mean, get it set up if it’s your only instrument and you can’t afford the Yamaha, but otherwise leave it alone. Even as optimized as it can be, an old Eko is not going to give you a decent sound. They’re junk guitars, frankly.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Deimos]

I wasn't planning to put a lot of money in it.
Might wanne check out an apx like the 600 or 700
In a store to see how it feels/sounds.

[Vol46]

There are several things that go into making a guitar easier/ lighter to play... shape of the neck and size& shape of the body, as some have pointed out... distance of the strings from the fretboard ( generally closer to the fretboard requires less pressure, but if they’re a little too close, it will cause a buzzing sound....size & type of strings (thinner strings are easier to play but will sacrifice volume and bass response)
Your best approach to getting a guitar that’s easy for YOU to play is to try out as many instruments as you can in your price range and find the one that feels the most comfortable and sounds best to you - then get it properly set up ( this might cost $50-$100). This will assure that the guitar is comfortably playable and also produces good sound quality..

[Wardo]

Find one you like that has a good setup. Then put in the time and your hands will get stronger making it easier to play. Setup is important though.