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  #16  
Old 04-26-2022, 11:06 AM
J Patrick J Patrick is offline
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…it’s a different instrument in that some and maybe most of the stuff you play on an acoustic won’t transfer to electric without some changes in technique and chord voicings…
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  #17  
Old 04-26-2022, 12:42 PM
egordon99 egordon99 is offline
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I liken it to the difference between an acoustic piano and a Hammond B3. Obviously they both have keys in the "same order" but the approach to playing them is completely different.
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  #18  
Old 04-29-2022, 10:02 AM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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I think that an electric guitar is different from an acoustic guitar just like a 12-string is different from an acoustic 6-string. The strengths of each of these instruments is different and so, I tend to play them differently.

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  #19  
Old 04-29-2022, 03:43 PM
Wardo Wardo is offline
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My Broadcaster is very different than my HD28V - that's one of the things I know for sure.

Sometimes I can fake an acoustic strumming sound from my LP Jr.

The only difference between a chain saw and a banjo is that the chain saw has an on off switch ... lol


* Actually I like bluegrass music and banjos are awesome.
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  #20  
Old 04-29-2022, 03:51 PM
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ssstewart ssstewart is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont View Post
Totally depends on how you play.

To me, they're more like different colors in a pallete, not different instruments.
agree completely
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  #21  
Old 05-01-2022, 03:18 PM
pickinray pickinray is offline
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Electrics and acoustics aren't completely different instruments, but I think you do approach playing them a little differently. With electrics, I play more barre chords and fewer open chords. I also utilize more of the neck on electric. Acoustics are great for strumming and finger picking. Electrics are great for lead playing and playing barre chords up the neck. But you can also strum and finger pick on an electric, if you want (Lindsey Buckingham comes to mind). I prefer 10's on my electrics. 9's are just too light for me. I've found that electrics sound better when played with a light touch - you don't have to press the strings down as hard as you do with an acoustic. Regarding pedals, amps, etc., you don't need to make it complicated. You can do a lot with just your guitar and a good sounding amp.
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  #22  
Old 05-01-2022, 07:15 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Default Should I consider electric guitar a whole different instrument from acoustic guitar?

Quote:
Originally Posted by phydaux View Post
I've always considered electric guitar to be "the same but different" as my acoustic guitar. But lately I'm starting to wonder if that's a wrong approach.

For example, string muting. When you play a C chord you don't want to play the 6 string, and when you play the D chord you don't want to play the 6 or the 5 strings. Fine, on my acoustic guitar I just don't strum those strings. But "they" tell my that it's no enough to just NOT play the strings, I have to mute them also.

And for strings, I play 12s on my acoustic guitars, and right now my ES-335 has 10s. But in a recent Rick Beato video I watched he was experimenting with 9s and even 8s. Meanwhile a video from a jazz teacher said I should go to 11s, and 12s would not be a bad idea.

And don't even get me started on pedals! Right now I don't own any. But it seems like if I break down and buy one, then next thing you know you've fallen off a cliff and spent hundreds of dollars.

I just want to play music I like. Sometimes that country, sometimes that's blues or classic rock & roll, and sometimes that's jazzy-sounding stuff.
My admittedly subjective thoughts, filtered through six decades of experience and sometimes questionable lucidity:
  • If you started out on archtop acoustic (typical if you grew up in a large Northeastern city before the late-1960's) it's not that much of a leap: both instruments require the same clean, focused picking technique and right/left-hand coordination, whereas the softer attack and longer sustain of a larger-bodied (000/OM and above) acoustic can - and often does, whether players admit it or not - cover a multitude of sins, which an electric will bring into painfully bold relief ,,,

  • Pursuant to the above, unless you're using power chords for heavier styles you generally won't need six-string forms all the time - use three-/four-string and "inside" chord inversions and let the guitar/amp do the work of filling sonic space - and unless you're fingerpicking Travis/Atkins-style, damping all those sympathetic resonances that give fingerstyle flattop its character, first-position open chords are also a no-no as is cowboy strumming; while some players do either or both, just because you can doesn't mean you should...

  • If you switch off regularly between acoustic and electric on a gig - and don't bend up a fifth and/or dive-bomb the trem on every song (and given your preferred styles I'm thinking you don't) - IME I'd go with the heaviest string that still allows you to execute the electric-specific techniques you're after. FWIW there are a few advantages to this approach: consistency of feel between your acoustic and electric instruments, as well as increased tuning stability and evenness of tone (especially if you use a wound G - a plain string can sound kinda wonky with certain pickups/guitars); if you're playing a "classic" electric guitar (Strat/Tele/Jaguar/Jazzmaster, LP/SG/ES, vintage Guild/Gretsch designs, et al.) bear in mind that these instruments all came from the factory with flatwound 12's back in the day - IME a set of heavier strings can keep your single-coil or minibucker-equipped (Gretsch Filter'tron, Guild LB-1, Firebird/Johnny Smith, etc.) guitar from sounding thin and edgy, and if you bought that hollow or semi for something more than the classy looks a heavier set will help you get that jazzy, woody resonance into your amplified tone (BTW works great on solids as well)...

  • There's a story about how when Dhani Harrison expressed an interest in learning to play guitar, Papa George (whom I understand knew a little bit about good electric guitar tone ), gave him a Strat, a tweed Bassman, and a cable, with strict orders not to ask for anything else until he had mastered that combination and, quite frankly, I'm in 100% agreement. As a newcomer to the electric world - and in view of your preferred styles - I can't say it strongly enough: you don't need any pedals right now; as you develop your technical prowess and signature tone[s] over time, there's a better-than-even chance that you won't need anything more than a couple basic boxes - OD if your amp doesn't have channel switching, reverb and/or a modulation box [tremolo/vibrato, chorus, phase, etc.] if your amp doesn't have it, and possibly a slapback delay if you do a lot of rockabilly. I'd also go with a good low-/mid-powered combo amp (tube or analog solid-state) with WYSIWYG controls, a minimum of bells-&-whistles, and sufficient headroom to let you get the "big-clean" tones you need for jazz/country/clean blues without breakup; while the current generation of modeling amps (with one notable exception - see below) offers instant gratification for your typical Saturday-afternoon GC customer as well as quick access for cover-band/studio players who need "that sound" right now, the seemingly infinite number of preset voicings - not to mention the potential options available to the more technically minded - is a rabbit hole that you probably don't need to be exploring at this stage of the game. That said:

  • Recent conditions in Eastern Europe and Pacific Asia have led to major price increases on both tube-powered amps and the little glass tone-bottles that power them, and for the first time in 30+ years - after the US/EU tube manufacturers ceased operation and before the former Soviet Bloc countries and China stepped up to take up the slack - there's a real chance that tube amps will either become obsolete or prohibitively expensive to purchase/maintain. Fender's ToneMaster Series - single-purpose modeling amps based on several of their most iconic tube combos - could well be the wave of the future: they've got the looks, they've got most of the tone (IMO that'll change as the speakers break in, or owners pop for a set of the same Jensens used in the tube versions - not necessary in the TM Super Reverb BTW), they're about half the weight of the tube stuff (a selling point that can't be underestimated, as we age out of being able to schlep a 65-pound Twin/Super in and out of a gig), there's a built-in 6-position attenuator that lets you get into the "tone zone" without PO'ing your S.O./kids/neighbors/cat/local constabulary, and they're easier on the wallet by about 30-40%. Not exactly cheap, mind you (the base TM Deluxe Reverb can be had for around $900 and it goes up from there depending on model/speakers/trim), but this lifelong tube guy is seriously considering selling off his 65-pound '65 Super Reverb RI in favor of a blonde TM Twin; FYI I've seen them customized with creme barrel knobs and a brown '63 logo, and the look is beyond cool - pry off the ToneMaster label and all but the most knowledgeable gearheads would have a hard time distinguishing this one from a gennie '62 Twin from beyond the third row:





- and here's a rare-as-brontosaurus-turds, real-deal Fullerton original in dead-mint condition (asking price $12,500 ) for comparison:





Besides, it also makes a nice period-correct visual complement to my double-cut '62 White Falcon tribute...
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  #23  
Old 05-01-2022, 10:01 PM
C-ville Brent C-ville Brent is offline
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I’m with you Pickinray,

I play mostly open chords on acoustic as vocal accompaniment. Electric is almost all barre chords for rhythm playing and often not even the whole form. I play mostly acoustic and if I haven’t picked up an electric in a while need to make a concerted effort to adjust my right hand for smaller, lighter movements.
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