Electric vs. Acoustic: the best guitar for a beginner?

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You want to learn how to play the guitar, but don’t know whether which guitar you should use. An acoustic guitar might appear simpler to handle but on the hand an electric guitar probably looks much cooler. So what do you do? What do you base your decision on? Is there a correct answer? The debate continues…

 

How Is The Acoustic Different From An Electric?

 

An acoustic guitar is the most commonly used guitar. The sound is produced by the resonance produced due to the vibration of the strings. An electric guitar is not hollow, so the resultant sound is different and much quieter than an acoustic. Of course, there is no doubt about the fact that an acoustic guitar is a little harder to play than an electric guitar. The strings on an acoustic guitar need to be pressed down much harder to produce sound. While an acoustic guitar is generally used to play chords, a lead guitarist would choose an electric guitar (more here).

 

What Kind Of Music Do You Want To Play?

 

This is the most important question which needs to be addressed. When you start playing the guitar, you obviously look up to someone. When you’re learning to play the instrument, you probably dream about sounding like someone. You need to be sure about this before you buy a guitar. If you want to produce sound like Dave Matthews or Bob Dylan, then your choice would be an acoustic. But then, your ideal guitarist might be James Hetfield or Joe Satriani. You would then need to learn how to play with an electric guitar. This is necessary because motivation is important in maintaining the interest and passion for the instrument. The basics of both guitars are the same – the chords, the scales, the tuning are the same. Only the sound is different and when you like the sound your guitar produces, you’re bound to want to play it more (more here).

 

 

How Easy Do You Want Life?

 

Playing an instrument is no cake-walk, but of course you might be looking for the easiest way out. This determines the guitar you need as well. If you want to learn the instrument faster, the electric guitar is probably better for you. It is easier to press down the strings on an electric guitar because its strings are thinner. But if time and patience are not issues for you and you want to sound like The Beatles, then of course you should pick up an acoustic. Also, if you start with an electric, you might need more hand strength when you start playing an acoustic (more here).

 

So Why Do Most Start With An Acoustic?

 

An acoustic guitar is generally used by learners because it produces a cleaner sound. Also, when you’re a beginner, you’re bound to make a lot of mistakes and because the pickup on an electric is much better, it seems to amplify every little sound made by the player. The sound on an acoustic is much more subdued. This of course is considered a big advantage of acoustic guitars. An electric guitar has to be played with an amplifier, and often you might be disturbing your neighbors! With an acoustic guitar, it’s very rare that someone will ask you to “turn it down” because you’re not very loud in the first place.

 

Also, acoustic guitars are cheaper than electric guitars. An electric guitar is accompanied with its amplifier and cable, without which it is pretty useless. Thus starting with an electric might turn out to be more expensive than an acoustic, and people generally don’t want to pay a bomb for their first guitar.

 

Also, an acoustic guitar is more portable. An electric guitar is heavier, and of course, its amplifier needs to be carried as well. Hence, the acoustic is often preferred for this reason because you can take it and perform wherever you like without worrying about an electricity source.

 

Yet, at the end of the day, based on all the factors above, it’s your choice, and there is no right and wrong answer.

 

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