Electric easier than acoustic?

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by Wardo

Full tone double stop bends on an electric with 10s on it require a bit of strength.

I play 11s on electric and acoustic guitars

My bends (rock/blues) are usually 2 half-steps and sometimes 3 if I need to mimic a slide guitar riff without a slide (like E up to G and back). It takes some getting used to and I'm usually tender for a day after a gig or long practice.

This (with regular medium-size hands) is just something I've made a point of getting used to. 11s on everything because they feel about the same when I switch guitars (and I think they sound beefier than 10s). YMMV, but I've gotten used to a lot of things with practice.

It just comes down to preference. SRV played INSANE bends on 13s and Billy Gibbons has been known to use 8s. I'm way too weak for one extreme and too sloppy for the other. We mortals gotta find some happy medium.

Back to the original post, this question depends a lot upon the desired style of music, too.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

I play 11s on electric and acoustic guitars

My bends (rock/blues) are usually 2 half-steps and sometimes 3 if I need to mimic a slide guitar riff without a slide (like E up to G and back). It takes some getting used to and I'm usually tender for a day after a gig or long practice.

This (with regular medium-size hands) is just something I've made a point of getting used to. 11s on everything because they feel about the same when I switch guitars (and I think they sound beefier than 10s). YMMV, but I've gotten used to a lot of things with practice.

It just comes down to preference. SRV played INSANE bends on 13s and Billy Gibbons has been known to use 8s. I'm way too weak for one extreme and too sloppy for the other. We mortals gotta find some happy medium.

Back to the original post, this question depends a lot upon the desired style of music, too.

It sounds like SRV eventually switched to 12s. He also played in 1/2 step, which decreases the tension.

I question how much his hands would have tolerated his playing in the long run. I've been in enough bands with guys who have had to have surgery.

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by s2y

It sounds like SRV eventually switched to 12s. He also played in 1/2 step, which decreases the tension.

I question how much his hands would have tolerated his playing in the long run. I've been in enough bands with guys who have had to have surgery.

SRV did play down a half step, Eb. A couple of my bands did that too, but more to accommodate husky-voiced singers. The relaxed tension might've been when I went (up) to 11's on my electrics, which added some pleasing growl (especially on the neck position single coil). All the keyboard player did was flip a switch or something so he didn't have to transpose scales and chords.

I didn't know that SRV switched to 12s (from 13s), but I did read somewhere that he was known to super-glue his wounded calluses now and then. I can take a couple days off after I tenderize/shred my fingertips, something he maybe didn't have the option to do on a touring schedule.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

This may/may not help.

As a 1955 model, I take the 1970s "enduro bike" approach with my guitars (if I may use a motorcycle analogy). The enduro is not a dirt bike and it's not a street racer. It does a little of both passably well.

By that, I mean that I buy and set up my electrics and acoustics as similarly as possible. Same size/shape neck, relief, string height, gauges, pick, etc.

Rather than 12-13s on the acoustic and slinky 9-10s on the electric, I play 11s on both so they're not that different tension-wise. And they bend the same.

It comes down to what you'll be playing, too. Are there songs I reserve for one guitar or the other? Yes.

- Classical Gas isn't terribly pleasing on the electric.

- And aggressive hard rock doesn't always translate well on acoustic (though it's surprising how much of it actually does now that I've quit bands and gone the quieter route - and what a relief to stop lugging amps and pedal boards around).

Whatever I play, it's gotta have some radius on the frets. I find that my mistakes double/triple on flat nylon strung classicals and 12-strings. And they're both fatiguing (sore hand muscles after awhile) compared to my trusty "enduro" guitars.

Bottom line? There is some middle ground between an Ultra-Slinky shred sled and a booming dread with 13s. If you're near a guitar shop, go put your hands on a bunch and see what feels comfy.

I take a very similar approach, I have a few electric guitars setup with the same strings as my acoustics (D'Addario 12-52 balanced tension nickel bronze) and they sound surprisingly good on both acoustic and electric guitars. I find it easier to go back at forth between these guitars. These gigging acoustics all have magnetic pickups on them. The acoustics have Seymour Duncan SA-6 Mag-Mic, which I just started using heavily for my winter gigging season, and that's what started me using these strings. And the electrics also do well with the balanced response of the nickel strings, They nickel strings also sound good on two of my Resos (National M2, and Western Model D), and both of them have magnetic pickups (the Western D also has a Highlander, which I can blend in).

Although the neck shapes are close on the acoustics and electrics, they a little different with the resonators which are are a bit chunkier.

That said, on all my electrics that I don't gig, but record frequently with, I use .09's on 25.5 scales, .010's on the 24.75" and 25" scales, and .011s on my short scales.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by TDavis

Since this is a sub-forum on an Acoustic guitar web page...I'm reckoning that most here play both acoustic and electric.

Have most of you found that electric is easier or more difficult to play effectively than the acoustic...or the other way around?

I've dinged around with an electric guitar from time to time...but now that it looks like my left hand won't get much better (nerve damage from auto accident), I've pretty much put down my acoustic and am considering picking up the electric full-time...if it's going to be easier for my hand to chord & play in general vs. an acoustic.

What say you?

Electric is easier, no doubt; but you'll need to play it different. And that requieres other skills you may not need if you solely play acoustic.

[Telecat6]

There is a lot of good information here. I have a unique perspective of this question that I thought I should share even if its relevance is negligible. I have played both electric and acoustic guitars for over 40 years. My band and I play out quite a bit. I have been primarily playing the acoustics in a very flatpicky style and have developed that into a signature sound. I set up my tele and gretsch yesterday both having 11’s on them. I play 13’s on the acoustic. After mucking about for an hour I could not get the “bounce” on the electrics the way I can on the acoustics. My main acoustic is a custom Adirondack top and Mahogany sides cut away with dual source k and k and highlander. My style depends on the guitar fighting back a bit. I still play some electric on our records but for the most part I am ruined. This has been going on for the last 20 years or so. I’m finally settling in to the inevitable fact that I’m an acoustic guitarist. Anyone else have issues like that?

[leew3]

in contrast, B.B. King reportedly play .07s on Lucille so YMMV.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by Telecat6

I set up my tele and gretsch yesterday both having 11’s on them. I play 13’s on the acoustic. After mucking about for an hour I could not get the “bounce” on the electrics the way I can on the acoustics. My main acoustic is a custom Adirondack top and Mahogany sides cut away with dual source k and k and highlander. My style depends on the guitar fighting back a bit. I still play some electric on our records but for the most part I am ruined. This has been going on for the last 20 years or so. I’m finally settling in to the inevitable fact that I’m an acoustic guitarist. Anyone else have issues like that?

I don't know what you mean by "bounce," but I use D'Addario flatwound 12-52 Chromes on my Gretsch, and the "feel" is very similar to my Martin. I've always used mediums on the Martin, but some time ago I switched to Magma 12-52 flat ground phosphor bronze. I find it easy to switch back and forth between the two guitars.

[Glennwillow]

I do think electric guitars, with thinner strings and lower action, are easier to play than acoustic guitars for those with physical or medical issues.

- Glenn