Are you converted?

[Hasbro]

Originally Posted by Jambi

My story is similar to yours. For many years I thought acoustics were 'grandpa guitars' (Metalocalypse reference) and were only suitable to the occasional ballad. I quick playing all together for a few years until I stumbled onto the Mike Dawes/Andy McKee/Erik Mongrain scene. The idea of percussion intermingled with the guitar sparked a keen interest and I quickly became obsessed with the idea of a complete, full sounding piece of music played on a single guitar.

Now that I've gotten better at the style I've come to find it easy to overdo and now I'm redoubling my efforts on subtle percussion and fundamentals of acoustic, like finger patterns. Every bit is incredibly rewarding as I had reached the place in electric that I was happy with and began to stagnate.

Similar experience here. Jimmy page got me to pick up electric guitar, its ALL i cared about wrt guitar for nearly 10 years. Then i heard antoine dufour, went off the acoustic deep end. Im not learning that percussive style much more, but my intrigue with the acoustic guitar persists.

A big factor is life stage, small kids, not in a band anymore. Biggest factor is the strong reliance on melody with solo acoustic guitar instrumentals. And so many inspirational players to listen to on spotify

[Shades of Blue]

I was an electric player for years, but grew tired of it for the reason the OP listed. I was tired of amps and pedals, and really sick of the gear overload associated with playing electric.

There are youtube channels devoted to pedal boards, and there is an emphasis being put on the signal chain that is just over complicating things.

When I hit 30, it was like I hit a brick wall of change in musical taste. Been primarily acoustic for years now and loving it. I have been debating selling the electric rig, but I've got some irreplaceable electrics.

[Steadfastly]

I started with a Simon & Patrick Cedar 6, then went with hollow body electrics after that. I have never owned a solid body electric but would like a tele someday. I am now back to acoustic only but in addition to the tele, I would like another hollow body or semi-hollow with the exact specs I feel are for me. So, am I converted? Hollowedly.

[Brick is Red]

I clearly fit your definition of a convert. I played almost exclusively electric, then a few things happened:

I went law school a decade ago and, with little time to play, too much of it was spent on setting up, tearing down, and dialing in tone and messing with pedals. Going acoustic was pragmatic, but also a decided embrace of purity, if not simplicity.

I took to playing finger style very fast. The bottom line is that I'm simply better on acoustic than on electric. I can do more on it and I get a much better audience reaction playing solo. I don't exclusively play finger style, but I do at least 50-50 as compared to playing with a flat pick.

I've come to love the sound and feel of an acoustic guitar as far as to the point where I've basically lost interest in playing electric. I owned higher end electric guitars, larger Fender amps, and a wide range of pedals. Part of simplifying for me was embracing this idea of carrying nothing more than one or two guitars at any one time. It was about not getting bogged down with stuff and having as little as possible between me and the tone coming from the guitar.

I've been 100% acoustic for the past four years and mostly acoustic for the last nine. I will say this, I do expect some day to take an interest in playing electric guitar again. I haven't produced a sound any more pleasing than that which came from my Epiphone Elitist Casino into a Maxon compressor into my '65 Super Reverb reissue amplifier. It's hard to imagine not going back to that at some point in time.

[Kip Carter]

I crossed over to electric from acoustic about a year ago. It's a different play with different capabilities and limitations.

Up till last week I had 1 electric to 5 acoustics (not counting my electric bass guitar).

I just acquired a Les Paul and I have the Archtop electric up for sale now.

So while I have electrics I continue to be an acoustic guy.

[mercy]

I used to be totally electric then into acoustic with an electric now and then but recently all the electrics except the two Im building are gone. These two will be also as soon as I finish them.
Converted

[Mr. Jelly]

Yes I have been through the changes. Started on electric. Moved to acoustic when the kids came. Then got into electric again with the whole band gig thing for years. Then I slid into the acoustic gig thing for awhile and now I'm mostly all acoustic. Though I have K & K pickups in them and a acoustic gig amp set up in the corner.
That's how I was able to afford my expensive acoustic guitars. I sold all the electric stuff. I got some good money off those pedals from the old days.

[donlyn]

Been over 99% acoustic since the late 80's. Mostly, just because. However like the guy said about the movie role, Never Say Never Again.

* * *

My Gibson, Epiphone, and 12-string have no on-board electronics. For the other Taylors, the '-e' is incidental, as in that's the way they came. Bought for acoustic sound, so not a deal-breaker either way. But if I get the itch, still have an LP and an amp.

[muscmp]

no! each is exciting in its own way. i'll play a song i'm writing with an acoustic and then play the same song with an electric. that gives me ideas to include in the song i'm writing. my need is for both. guitars are guitars.

play music!

[chitz]

I've been 100% acoustic for 45 years. I dabbled with a tele for a short while, traded it for another acoustic.

[RP]

I would consider myself an acoustic player who has tried at various times to creep into the electric camp but don't stay there for very long. I'd like to think that I'll stay 100% acoustic and electrics will remain something I might wish I had rather than something I have that I don't want...

[Quickstep192]

I've only ever played acoustic. A friend takes me to a really nice event at Paul Reed Smith guitars where they have lots of electric guitars displayed. I pick them up because they're beautiful, but I don't know what to do with one...

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Stratcat77

...About 5 years ago, I made the switch from being nearly 100% an electric player to a 100% acoustic player. Never dreamed I'd be happy just playing acoustic, but I really have fallen in love with it and don't miss firing up my electrics for a number of reasons:

• weight and complexity of set up
• endless search for the holy grail of tone and as a result
• a never ending GAS issue with amps and pedals
• the late nights that come with band gigs
• the trailer full of gear that comes with band gigs
• I've really fallen in love with everything about my Taylors

In order:

• Been playing electric since 1964, done all my own setups as well as several former bandmates'; frankly, I find less potential for error (and more potential for correction of said error) in a typical electric setup - turn these screws, tighten this nut, give this saddle piece another quarter-turn - than the filing/notching/carving/sanding involved with an acoustic (I do those too, BTW), and a 3"-4" strap can handle the weight of anything I've ever encoiuntered
• The Holy Grail of electric guitar tone: good guitar, good cable, good tube amp (with good tubes), and some old-fashioned practice until you can get the same subtleties of tone and dynamics you would from an acoustic, period - just the way it was done before the '70s, and anything else is simply icing on the cake
• Um, just how many acoustic guitars does the typical AGF'er own?
• If you're young/strong enough, that's at least half the fun - we used to hit the 24/7 basement dives in Chinatown for a 4AM dinner/breakfast, go home, sleep till 5PM, then go out and catch one of our competitors' gigs
• Again, goes with the territory; in the mid-70's I had a trio and a '69 Checker that served as our "bluesmobile" - three guys in the front seat, all our gear in the back (mine never was a taxi - no jumpseats) and the trunk, no problem
• Got a first-run '07 Solidbody Custom to complement my three acoustic Taylors, so that angle's covered nicely

FYI it's not all about volume: set up one of your P-90 or humbucker axes with flatwound 12's, run it straight into a nice tube amp at a comfortable level, kick in the neck pickup and do some chord soloing - and listen to it purr in a way few if any flattop acoustics can...

[arwhite]

I started on acoustic. Dabbled in electrics over the years. Finally settled on a Telecaster being what I liked best. Sold the last one a few months ago, sold all my amps (even the ones I built), and acoustic only now. I never was a very good electric player anyway. I do love a Telecaster though.

[JNowlin]

I started out on Electric when I was younger. I mostly listened to heavy metal and hard rock styles so it made sense. Eventually I got an acoustic and fell in love with it. By the time I started playing mainly acoustic my musical tastes had changed. I was more into music that had more complex harmonies. Now it's 99% acoustic jazz, blues, country and pop. I hate dealing with amps and pedals and I still don't have a great electric tone but when I grab one of my acoustics it sounds heavenly.