Acoustic vs. Electric Guitar: Choose Wisely! ★ Acoustic Tuesday 298 

My guitar journey started back in 1977 at the Coney Grove Bluegrass Festival. My father and some friends got together and decided a bluegrass festival in my grandfather's pecan orchard was a good idea. I was 7 at the time but I still have memories of some of the bands and the art and craft vendors, running around barefoot in cut off jeans... Shortly after that festival my father gave me my first guitar. I had no idea how to play it and wasn't given any lessons. I remember putting on shows for my mother and strumming it as fast as I could. I would run around the house with it pretending to be Elvis yelling, "hound dog". Inevitably being a high strung little boy caught up with me and my guitar and I fell down and broke it one day. I remember crying and showing it to my mother. She tried to glue it back together with Elmer's glue but it just broke again. I have always remembered that guitar and the day I broke it. A memory that's become more profound at this point in life. Learning to play guitar is something that has always been in the back of my mind but have never had or taken the time pursue. A couple of years ago I attended the funeral of the last of my main group of high school friends. There were 6 of us and we were a wrecking crew, the bad boys, trouble makers if you will. Being the last man standing hit me kind of hard. I think there were a lot of people that thought I'd be the first to go, including myself for a time but that was not my fate. Now in my 50s I find myself reminiscing with laughter and tears, thinking of all the friends and family that meant so much to me, the dreams I've realized and the ones that slipped through my fingers. Sometimes I feel very alone. So I made a bucket list! I wrote out all the things that I'd hoped to do in my lifetime and the things that I had always wanted to do but never got around to. I went through the list and crossed out the things that I am no longer physically capable of doing and the things that were just not possible for other reasons. That guitar my father gave me as a child and the thought that I never learned to play it began haunting me. Buying a guitar and learning to play was certainly one of the more affordable and lower risk endeavors on my bucket list and it was already in the top 10. I decided it was worthwhile and set out to realize this lifelong desire and hopefully sooth that ghost. So here I am. I bought the guitar. I started watching videos I learned a few chords but wasn't really getting anywhere with it. I looked into in person lessons and realized that scheduling wouldn't work out for me. I started looking at online courses and reading reviews. Of all the online options TAC seemed best suited for me. I'm about 6 months in and have been very committed to the program. I show up everyday and try my best to do the weekly challenges. I'm working through the skills courses and practice every chance I get. I am seeing progress and since I started with reasonably low expectations I'm not at all disappointed or discouraged. At 6 months, I'm terrible but it's feeding my soul and I couldn't be any happier about that! I want to thank Tony and the TAC Family for being part of my journey and helping me realize this dream. 🎸 Do I win anything for the longest comment?

My experience as a teacher has been that it depends a lot on the age and hand size of the student. Many of my younger students are eight to ten years old, and their hands are simply too small to easily play even a smaller sized acoustic guitar, so a junior sized electric is a much more comfortable option for them, because of the smaller scale length and sloped fretboard that Tony mentioned. Once they grow and become more advanced, they can move into a larger electric or acoustic if they wish.

Great show. Thanks.

Such a great topic thanks Tony, I played for years on an acoustic, and then got a telecaster and enjoy both but notice the difference. Great show thanks.

This is a pretty level-headed discussion. Yes. The discussion and encouragement helped. Thanks for the video.

As usual a great and informative program. Looking forward to episode 299. Yaay 12- strings!

Thank you

I started on a classical, got an OM and then an electric. Each has exposed me to different challenges and experiences. Acoustic was a good starting point, but getting the electric and being able to work up stamina by playing for longer on an easier to play instrument has really helped a lot. I for one would like to hear more about your recent electric adventures. Oh, and next week's look at starter 12 strings is timely!

Great show! Glad I found you. I've been playing a lot lately and really enjoy my cheapo Ibanez I picked up at a garage sale for $40. Go Hawks!

I learned on acoustic, and TAC was a huge help. Learning to play lead now on electric and get bewildered over all the effects that affect tone. Playing metal is fun with overdrive and distortion, but acoustic folk/country/Americana remains my first love.

Been playing acoustic for a few years now, always keen to also get electric too. A good discussion would be things to consider when getting an electric as an acoustic player (beyond the differences you’ve highlighted here). Like ideas of things to play when testing out an electric. Great episode 😊

I agree with starting on acoustic. Learning bar chords on acoustic guitar, then switching to electric a couple years later, fretting bar chords seemed like childsplay. It was just easier after building those muscles in your fretting hand with acoustic.

I’ve always felt starting with the Acoustic Guitar before the Electric Guitar is more important because learning the subtle nuances of acoustic sound is more important to develop than using dozens of Electric Guitar Pedals and Amps ☮️

Another factor to consider (and for the record, I also agree starting on acoustic is pretty much where I land), a crummy first acoustic can be so difficult to play that the new learner becomes frustrated and gives up. Hand pain is not an inducement.

For true beginners, I recommend a solid body with a fixed bridge...like a Tele or Les Paul. Electrics are easier on the fingers and will be less harsh while building caluses. And you will get a better quality electric for your money as compared to an acoustic.

Love the episode Tony. I’m an acoustic player but have toyed with the idea of playing electric. You gave some good info and comparisons.

Nice episode Tony. Sounds like its time for a 2nd channel. Electric Life and a weekly Electric Thursday show, or Electric Friday. What a nice way to kick start the weekend. What are you waiting for? Get to work 😄

Hey Tony! I agree with your final assessment with starting on acoustic, but if picking up electric will get someone playing, then they should do that. There is initially some added discomfort with thicker strings and added pressure needed to fret notes and chords, but once those calluses develop, you’ll eventually become a stronger player. I’d like to add a suggestion, though, regarding tonal options. It’s probably a good idea to purchase an acoustic-electric guitar as a first instrument if a person is able to swing a few more bucks for a pre-installed pickup and input jack (which will cost less than buying a new guitar entirely or purchasing the parts separately and taking the to a guitar shop to modify). Once I got comfortable with playing, a friend asked me if I’d want a small practice amp she had laying around. I didn’t initially understand why I’d need it to play at home, but it was then that I realized the possibility of plugging my guitar into an amp and tweaking the pre-amp that was already installed in my guitar under the sound hole. I later realized that I could plug pedals into my acoustic guitar and have fun with tones when another friend let me borrow an extra Boss DS-1. You should try plugging a distortion pedal into your acoustic sometime! Lots of fun! I still prefer playing unplugged, but it’s nice to have the option to tweak my tones whenever I want to plug in. I hope to eventually acquire an external pre-amp with tones built in or a few traditional pedal effects for acoustic like reverb, delay, chorus, etc. Ultimately less is more when starting off, but buying an acoustic-electric as a first guitar gives players the option to plug the guitar into an amp, pre-amp, and/or effects pedals down the road. It also helps people experience a variety of tones without having to buy tons of guitars that most folks don’t have to space or money to spend. And yes, watch that Icy Hot, Tiger Balm, Biofreeze, etc. That stuff will come back to bite you - less is more! 🥶🥵😂

My initial desire was influenced by a birthday present. When I was 16, my cousin (4 years older than me) gave me Led Zeppelins' first release on vinyl, and that changed my life. I had a Gretsch acoustic and was taking lessons at MAE in Fort Lauderdale. Jimmy played acoustic and electric, so at that point, I bought my first used black Custom Les Paul. To keep it brief, for me, it's always been both!

I started on my step-dad's Yamaha classical guitar then got my first guitar a 70's Gibson The Paul. From there I've owed and played everything from from Metal guitars (Yamaha RGX 112, Kramer, and Jackson) to 12 string acoustics. Currently I'm having a love affair with Offset electrics (Mustang, Jaguar, Jazz master etc...), but I've gotten to the point to where I can switch back and forth from electric to acoustic and I don't really notice the fretting difference anymore. In the beginning that wasn't the case though. Great episode. I found you through your G4V video.

Now, I have not watched all 298 episodes. I haven't even broken 100. But I have watched many. This episode is clearly the best....... B..E..S..T.. !! you have ever done. I am a total newbie, at this point dedicated to nylon string. I am in my upper 70s and just now beginning. I have a gorgeous custom made parlor guitar made for me by a fellow Vietnam veteran. I love the sound and enjoy the struggle of trying to play, etc. I do however wonder about electric. This lecture has given me solid information to consider down the line. But inasmuch as you have opened up Pandora's Box of fundamental differences between guitars, I'd like you to open another. I have to think that I might enjoy an acoustic steel string as well. However there appears to be so much diverse and probably over-hyped discussion of "finger pain" of steel over nylon that I cannot reliably determine the difference between the two. Is there truly a high hurdle of finger pain with acoustic steel strings vs. nylon? There are simply some things that sound better in steel over nylon (may Segovia not break my fingers !) and I have to wonder how big the difference truly is without buying another guitar just to determine the "finger pain" price for myself. At my age, callouses may be more expensive to develop than for me fifty years ago. Do you care to wade into that water? Whatever the case, thank you for this outstanding spotlight on acoustic vs. electric. This is GREAT STUFF ! ( I have not mentioned of course that Emerald offers a nice nylon electric.... :>) . Of course not !

Absolutely correct to start on an acoustic. Strength development is essential but,after some time and the right instructor, you learn that tone comes from your hands.

Very good épisode Tony like it

I am a TAC family member and we were just learning country style guitar along with string muting and this brings up another difference between acoustic and electric. I love the way electric sounds when muting. Acoustic guitars sound good too, but it sounds even better, IMO, on electric but it isn't always as easy to sound good. It has to be done perfectly and more consistently on electric or it will sound awful. One of the reasons it can sound awful is that your picking hand can hit and change the settings on your volume and tone controls. I found this out while playing my Strat style axes. When I picked up my Ibanez Artcore, that problem went away. The controls were well out of my way. This prompted me to research body styles on Sweetwater and lo and behold, almost all ES335 style semi-hollowbody guitars have their controls aft of the bridge and out of your way when muting. Look at the Telecaster style guitars and the controls are also behind the bridge. Now, look at the country pickers from the '50s to today and what body styles are most common? Telecasters and semi-hollowbodys. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I personally started on a nylon strung Spanish guitar (I'm left-handed so my dad re-strung his guitar for me). I've always felt that for a child, nylon strings are a lot easier to get started on as there's less finger pain and less pressure needed to get a sound, which for little fingers makes it more enjoyable. But absolutely, whatever enthuses you is the best option.

Acoustic or Electric? I don't think that's the right question. Should I learn to read music and learn music theory? I wonder how Paul McCartney and many other big names STILL don't read music - astonishing. All the pieces matter imo, you gotta get down and dirty with the stave or you'll struggle.

Hey Tony! I love both although I have to say I play my electric guitars far more though.

I’m a 3rd year beginner. Retired and lots of free time. I started Acoustic because my instructor was a giging musician who played Acoustic. 3 years of regular lessons and I’m splitting time between Acoustic Folk music and Classic Nylon which is the majority of my lessons. But I have a couple of electric too. There’s just too much genre, and not enough time. Best advice is follow your musical leanings.

Hey All, How is everybody doing ,? I have a question that has to do with tuning. I can tune the guitar by ear of course, but this question is with using a tuner. When I'm tuning, let's say the 6th string, with the tuner, I find that the tuner is jumping all over the place. Strings are changed and it still does it. Does anybody know why this is happening? Is it the keys that's causing this ? Thank you for any help and suggestions.

Hmmmmmm. This is a really tough one. I started out with an acoustic because like you said, it was the most accessible price wise because I did not need to purchase extra gear. I could take it anywhere and not need to take time setting up anps and such. But I was/am a huge Waylon Jennings fan and wanted that swirling phase shifter sound he had in the 70s. I eventually did get an electric about five years down the road. For a while it was my main thing but setup and going from place to place with gear was a drag after a while, so I drifted back to acoustic (with a pickup) for more options. The problem I have with acoustic guitars is that I am either a small man or a big boy according to the clothing manufacturers. 😁 Even in my 20s I experienced excessive wrist and hand pain on barre chords and wide finger stretches. Electric did help on that score but because I started on acoustic, I never got the hang of a lighter touch.. I am now 60 and my solution to it all is my guitar now is classical. The nylon strings make it much easier to play. I do a pretty passible Willie Nelson. I still play steel strings, but on mandolin and dobro. I never was a lead player but dobro, classical guitar and mandolin have changed all that. All my acoustic instruments have pickups for added versatility. So the question is far more complicated than acoustic vs electric. it is more like electric vs acoustic, acoustic with or without a pickup, steel string acoustic or nylon (and classical verses hybrid narrower neck nylon) It comes down to three things; your budget, the sound you are looking for and your physical limitations. I mostly agree starting with acoustic is a good choice, but acoustic what?

I played when I was young for several years, then I quit. Now in my 60s, I have gotten back into it, and for the first time, I own a couple of electric guitars along with some acoustics. I agree with you on almost everything. The one point I would disagree on is that electric does not have to be complicated. I have a Fender amp, but I just don't find myself plugging into it. I have a headphone amp that I use (with headphones, of course). I have a looper and a distortion pedal and that's it, but I don't use those. When I feel that I want to get into effects and looping (which I haven't yet), I am more likely to go with the DAW approach. I don't need to buy all that equipment, and I don't need to store it.

I started on acoustic guitar as a kid and I also chose an acoustic guitar when I started playing again last August. Last November I purchased a Yamaha Pacifica as my first electric. It's been fun and for certain musical styles, it fits better than the acoustic. However, I find I'm kind of in the middle. The guitar I really enjoy the most is a Martin D-X2E Sounds good acoustically and I also like to plug it in to my amp as it sounds fanastic. I also have a reverb pedal and delay pedal. The guitar sounds great with a little reverb and a slapback effect when playing rockabilly and some country songs. As to which guitar should you play? Play the guitar that you enjoy and inspires you to play guitar.

Very good episode not at all obvious. For me the best choice to start is a Spanish guitar (in Italy we call it "classical") with nylon strings. It has all the benefits of an acoustic without the difficulty of pressing too hard on the strings like a steel string guitar. Strenght development will arrive.

You can start with any guitar but i started with classical, electric and then moved to the acoustic and i have to say that Acoustic is the BEST GUITAR! Bought a 2018 Breedlove Puirsuit Concertina ( Parlor) and fell in love with it the moment i saw it and the moment i played it i had to take it home! Made me play completely different and i saw a mayor improvement in my playing.

I"ve been playing acoustic (off and on) for 60 years. A few months back I purchased my first electric guitar - a used cheap strat and practice amp. I'm finding it so different to hold and play that I have to sort of push myself to pick it up. I'm thinking I might have been better to start with a larger body electric - something like a Gibson 335. To me, picking up the solid body electric after all those years of playing a J-45 is like learning a completely different instrument.

Please do a show on nylon string guitars

Wow - were I to guess your first guitar, anything BC Rich would have been no higher than 100 on my list - lol!

Tony, thanks. I know a 95-year old piano player that wants to learn guitar. Computer is not available for her and her daughter. Any nylon string starting guitar short of a Furch Red GNc 4 CR? Or maybe a GS Mini with sil and steel strings? All my efforts are volunteer, just trying to help them. TAC playing lesson 1010. I 've thought about an electric, bought a Taylor T5z with table top amp. Most electrics are too heavy for my back.

I have been playing 4 years now. I started with acoustic.. i dreamed about electric guitar.. well i got that but i don't like that so much.. i play that about 1hr per Week.. i just love acoustic sound so much

My first guitar Tony - A $300 Samick (mid 90s). I still have it and wont sell it because it's my first. It hangs on my wall as we speak. I walked into the guitar store and didn't know a single chord. Told the sales guy I want to start and thats what he sold me. First (free) lesson went down in flames. The guy explained to me that the first string and the 6th string were both "E". I asked, Why do they sound so different if they are the same?" His answer didnt register... Nope... didn't work. they still didnt sound the same and I persisted. He got frustrated that I couldn't understand. Got quite rude and I thought, "Well, I guess my days of guitar lessons are over". On to the song book section! Soon discovered that I could play half my favorite rock songs with 3 chords! Well, years later Im still playing 3 chord rocks songs and that suits me just fine. I'll never stop playing! Happy 4th Tony.... "3 Chords and the Truth"... It keeps me strumming..... -Brendan

Like others have indicated, whichever instrument one starts on, it needs to be of good enough quality that the "intonation" is at least close to where it should be, the neck without any strange twists etc. :D A neighbor gave me a very cheap no-name acoustic he'd been given years earlier to try to learn on. I could soon tell it was NOT something a setup or string change would help! No WONDER he never progressed! BUT, assuming it's a workable/functional/playable guitar, even Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones recommends starting on acoustic. :D BUT, as Tony indicated, if someone's only or primary interest is some sort of "Rock", it doesn't make sense to start with a nylon string classical, or even an acoustic steel string with pickup, as they'll just be too frustrated at not being able to get the desired sounds. :D

The benefit of electric first is it is easier on the left hand for the beginner; allowing for longer practice time with less potential for injury.

I started on acoustic, switched to electric 7 years after, then switched to bass. Recently reverted to acoustic.

Start on the acoustic. Learn the open chords and a few scales. You get music without needing to dig into amps and chasing a tone. After you build basic on the acoustic. Get an electric to help you bridge into bending and barre chords. Once you have the basics of these on the electric, transfer them to the acoustic.

I started on acoustic then went electric now play both. Don’t forget you can play many styles on both. Electric guitar isnt only pedals and rock, electrics have other uses like jazz, Brazilian Bossa Nova etc! Electric played on a smaller amp can be as mellow as an acoustic. I played Fender Jazzmasters for years and Strats, Teles and Les Pauls you name it. The tele is probably the most versatile guitar ever made.

I have an entry level electric with a Fender Champion 20 AMP. An amplifier just confuses me all of the different tones, AURGH. So, I have been avoiding it in favor of my acoustic. Can you provide guidance or parameter suggestions?

Also i just wanted to add and of course this is my own opinion. I think learning on an acoustic guitar rather then learning on an electric. The reason being, the neck on the acoustic is wider than the electric, so switching to the electric from the acoustic would be a lit easier than going from elictric to acoustic. Again, thats just my opinion and ive been known to be wrong before. Have a great guitar playing day.

Where's the line between inexpensive and cheap 12 strings??

My first guitar was an acoustic guitar then I moved to electric guitar. I also prefer to play both that makes you more valuable player.

Icy Hot on your back: have someone take as much as possible off with baby wipes, those will clean almost anything. Then you need good soap and a warm shower to take off any remainder.

Another thing to consider is mistakes made while playing. In my experience the acoustic is more forgiving than the electric guitar. When you make a mistake on an electric guitar it’s usually loud and obvious. Don’t ask me how I know 😂.

Glad this didn't turn into one of thos Bob Dylan goes electric type controversial episodes where the purist wonder where Tony's going with this channel!!!

It doesn't have to be either/or. Most of my guitars are acoustic-electric.

Electric is physically easier to master. Learning the mechanics of playing comes quicker. Acoustic is harder physically. The only difference when you transfer is applying more strength. They are both guitars. The differences after you get some traction with your learning really aren't prohibitive.

Why choose? Excellent electric guitars are CHEAP these days! I think the real answer is to play both.

Aite mf i done bought tac i better learn sumn lol