Why Do I Like Acoustic Guitars More Than Electric?

[rgregg48]

Both acoustic and electric have their place.
The acception is DISTORTION
a distortion guitar note is not music,
It's noise!

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by rgregg48

Both acoustic and electric have their place.
The acception is DISTORTION
a distortion guitar note is not music,
It's noise!

Unless it’s used musically, in which case it’s music. That you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not music - just means you don’t like it. Purple Haze, Satisfaction, A Tribute to Jack Johnson may not be music you choose to listen to, but to claim they’re not music is patently absurd.

-Ray

[jbeecham]

The advantage of an acoustic guitar over electric guitar can be summed up in one word, simplicity. That's not to say playing acoustic guitar is a simple task, it isn't. Playing electric gets complicated with all the amps and pedals, etc. I love electric guitar but I am rarely satisfied with my sound. So I guess I can sum up my experience with electric guitar as frustrating and acoustic as simple and pleasing.

Jerry

[J Patrick]

…I play and have pretty much always played both electric and acoustic guitars….but I rarely play them interchangeably…..i play them for different situations…if a player has no reason to play one or the other than it would make no sense to play both….plenty of notable players play both….Mark Knopfler and Julian Lage come to mind….

[davenumber2]

I have played both my entire playing life. I'll go through long stretches where I don't touch an electric and then something will spark and it will flip. No acoustic for awhile. I love them both equally and have about the same number of acoustics and electrics. Very different approach to the playing but equally satisfying. In my opinion, if you're going to be in a rock band with bass and drums, unless you're the rhythm only player/singer then an electric guitar is a necessity.

[mawmow]

A basic electric and ampli set is louder and would cost less than a good acoustic guitar.
Sure, you can play silently with headphones, but you can also "need" a buch of pedals...

I had an Epi dot on which I had the pick-ups change to make a versatile jazzy-blues guitar :
I finally sold it because of the narrow nut width and I could not fret gently enough to avoid notes going sharp...

What I love about acoustics is you can find the most comfortable model for you.
The sound ? Well I have a bunch of acoustics with a bunch of different string sets...

[Silly Moustache]

One of the reasons I took up acoustic guitar and forsook pretty successful gigs s a drummer, was a) the noise levels, and b) lugging the stuff around.

I did flirt with a Fender Tele, a Peavey copy of a Gretsch thingy, and my fist Eastman archtop had a floating p/up, but its really just not my "thing".

"Organic" is a good word for acoustic guitars. I used to bug them up but don't bother now. If a good condenser mic doesn't work for the gig, then the gig is too big for me!

My luthier/tech friend only makes Solids - "reliced" copies of famous shapes, and winds his own p/ups, and will happily lecture me for ages on he respective merits of such things. Just doesn't ring my bell!

[KevWind]

For me I enjoy both immensely.. they are like Dark Chocolate, the difference being in serving it up..

Electric = Dark Chocolate Cake. You open up the container cut the cake put it on a plate, enjoy
Acoustic = Dark semi sweet chocolate bar. Unwrap, enjoy

[Spats Davenport]

I like both. When I turned 50 a few months ago I did an open air gig, attempting to be 23 again. Cream, Black Crowes etc. Great fun.

But, a lot of the time, I use my Strat, as Leo intended, for Western Swing. It’s super easy to play swing chords and flatwounds keep the squeak down. I even play it occasionally with the strap at the headstock, lest it damage my boutonnière. First things first!

So yes, there is the fact that once people see you opening and electric guitar case, they’ll tell you to turn that confounded thing down. Play what you like, unless you’re getting paid, I suppose.

[Spats Davenport]

Originally Posted by Goat Mick

I love the sound of a telecaster into a clean Fender amp, but I'm mostly banging out cowboy chords and that doesn't transfer to electric very well. I probably need to work on that. Let me get my amp and guitar cable. Dang no open outlet in this room, what can I unplug? Screw it my old Gibson is handy...

I’m new here, so I hope it’s OK to comment on your post; wasn’t the Telecaster invented for banging out cowboy chords?

My point being, the electric guitar now has a reputation for being noisy, and it doesn’t have do be.

[Goat Mick]

Originally Posted by Spats Davenport

I’m new here, so I hope it’s OK to comment on your post; wasn’t the Telecaster invented for banging out cowboy chords?

My point being, the electric guitar now has a reputation for being noisy, and it doesn’t have do be.

Actually it was and it was invented by a man who didn't play guitar. LOL One of the things that keeps drawing me to a telecaster is it's ability to be played more like an acoustic. But still it sounds better being played by someone who does a lot more than cowboy chords.

[bufflehead]

I'm not a fan of listening to electric guitars, let alone playing them.

[PappyVanWinkle]

I like acoustic guitars for the same reason I like vinyl records, film cameras, and mechanical watches.

[Garlic Breath]

I like guitars, period. My acoustic is an old friend that can be seduced to give back really special tones. My 53 year old Rick and 42 year old les Paul are something else. I’m not prejudice, I love them all...like Ginger and Marianne

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by aeisen93

...I'm 28 years old, and it seems like people around my age are more into playing electric...I enjoy playing electric with a band, but when I'm playing alone, I always prefer acoustic.

I'm 68 years old - the generation that brought the acoustic guitar back into prominence after the first plugged-in wave of 1955-1966; my first grab for the last decade has always been an electric of some kind - and when I'm playing alone, I always prefer Bitburger Pils...

Originally Posted by jbeecham

The advantage of an acoustic guitar over electric guitar can be summed up in one word, simplicity...Playing electric gets complicated with all the amps and pedals, etc. I love electric guitar but I am rarely satisfied with my sound...

Just like any other acoustic instrument - banjo, mandolin, upright bass, and even archtop guitar - it's more a matter of how you approach the instrument. I've been playing since 1962, electric since 1964, and speaking as a summa cum loudly graduate of the Hard Knocks Experiential School of Electric Guitar Tone (class of 1966) not only is an old-school guitar-cable-amp setup no more (and frequently far less) complicated than many home-entertainment systems, but once you master the idiosyncrasies IME you'll find that you really don't need a pedalboard the size of the Ponderosa to get "good" electric guitar tone. Watch most of the older guys - and all of the jazzers - and you'll soon see that, as with an acoustic guitar, the real tonal and emotional magic is all in your fingers...

Originally Posted by mawmow

...I had an Epi dot on which I had the pick-ups change to make a versatile jazzy-blues guitar :
I finally sold it because of the narrow nut width and I could not fret gently enough to avoid notes going sharp...

...I have a bunch of acoustics with a bunch of different string sets...

- and therein lies the secret: nothing - NOTHING - says you can't go up to a heavier gauge for a jazz/blues axe; remember that guitars of this type were shipped with flatwound 12's back in the day, and if you're an acoustic player by trade you'll find the heavier strings less of a learning curve than the 9's/10's that come standard these days...