[Stratcat77]

Great topic!

I find it interesting that some others here seem to have the same background as I do. I played primarily electric for 35 years, then switched to 100% acoustic about 5-6 years ago. I have to wonder if this is a pretty common trend with those of us who grew up playing rock-n-roll and are now in our 50-60s and no longer want the rock-band gig and all that goes with that (late nights and heavy equipment)? I was playing in bands with a truckload of gear including big sound systems and late night gigs that sometimes meant driving home at 3am. Now most of my gigs are over by 10pm and I can get my entire setup in my car.

I think playing acoustic has made me a better player because you have to play it differently. You certainly can't go from being an acoustic strummer to an electric player without changing your technique! Strumming an electric sounds horrible... That said, I probably sound like an electric player playing an acoustic on a lot of things. But the result is different. And on acoustic you can't hide behind effects and rock band volume which masks so much. With the electric and the sustain and thick amp/distortion tones, I relied much more on bends, quick hammer-ons and pull-offs, slides, etc to spice up my playing. On the acoustic, you just don't have as much freedom to do that easily. So it's forced me to actually get to know the fretboard better and think about how to spice up my playing in different ways with different double-stops and chord voicings. Instead of bending and sustaining with big vibrato, I have to play chosen notes more carefully.

I think it's made me a better overall player. I do not know if it's made me a better electric player because I really don't play electric anymore. My assumption is that if I did, I would be better in some ways, but I don't know.