Acoustic vs Electric Guitar for Solo Performing 

I was wondering why I kept getting new subscribers... then I saw you posted our collab! Haha fun times bro

My siblings and I recently hired a guy to play for our parents' 50th anniversary and I was surprised to see he was playing an electric. But he was very talented and had a massive rack of pedals which he used very skillfully. It was a fairly small venue but there were a lot of people and I was extremely impressed at how good he sounded (having an amazing voice never hurts also!). It definitely is more of an art form than a science to be able to pull that off, he clearly knew what he was doing.

These little chats are great. Appreciate that you share your gigging experiences.

Great video! I’ve not seen this topic covers anywhere else - great advice! Would love to see more like this - gigging tips. Thanks guys!

Both guitars can work really well for solo performances. An electric guitar just has to be played different. Basically, play it clean when singing along and avoid open chords. Going for fewer strums and adding a chorus effect makes for a heavenly sound.

Very true; however, turn you amp around to face the back wall. That reflection helps substantially. 🤘

Andres Great for you share your knowledge! Thanks 👍

Look at you with your multiple camera angles looking all professional. Ahh. They grow up so fast don't they?

I gig with with a semi-hollow. Definitely difficult to control. The looper pedal, acoustic amp with simulation and slow chorus that I use liven things up a little bit. I've been thinking about trying hybrid or full acoustic, but I became too dependent on OD. Greetings from Mexico

Love the videi lots of good points but im getting an alto uber fx 100w to perform/busk with and will probably also buy a 335 semi holow body and try make it work. You know compressor graghic eq pre amp digital modeling what ever will help. Acoustic is well rounded but i love the idea of being different. Fingers crossed i can find "the tone" lol

9:37, 10:22 haha Sean, your uh's were out in full force in this video.

Being an older cat (still kitten frisky at times), I can relate to what Greg Allman said about why he plays acoustic, over electric. He said, "Electric guitar is like grabbing a dragon by the tail." I can relate to that. I play a little jazz on my electric Ibanez, but it's runs about 98 to 2 acoustic over electric. I've long been impressed with how someone can make a living with just their voice, a wooden box and some wire. Awesome.

Thanks for the tips. Useful. I use a Godin LGX-SA for my solo gigs. 2 humbuckers and a bridge piezo. Acoustic and electric in one guitar. :-)

Hmm... Had never given it any thought. Makes sense. Very interesting!

Good information.Thanks for sharing.

So I have an Ibanez af75g hollow body that i would like to use at small solo gigs. i would like to run it into my pa. what would i need to do that.

For me i like both electric and acoustic for different sounds they produce. To me its like a pen vs a pencil, what do you want to use or need to use for whatever it is you want to write? both are great depending on the venue, the sound you want in your song or cover, or sometimes as silly as it sounds what you have with you at the time. Sometimes i just randomly pick up whichever of my 2 guitars are near me and play them (I own a Gibson SG faded, and a Fender CP-60 which is a small body bluesy kind of guitar). However there are times you need either an electric or acoustic to get a certain sound you want. For Fleetwood mac stuff i always pick up my acoustic or if i want to play some old school blues songs. For everything else its usually electric.

Hey Sean, what chords are you playing at 3:13? Is that from one of your songs?

In a band I’ll play my Taylor T5…solo I’ll play my 324ce. The Roland AC90 is my secret weapon, tho. It fills out the acoustic with wonderful sustain with a nice chorus and anti-feedback that works. Still love my Tele.

What about the Fender Acoustasonic?

Let's put it this way: Sean is good in electric guitar, but Andres is a master in acoustic guitar, that's why they both complement each other.

Hey Sean, I just got an electroacoustic after playing classical nylon string guitar for a long time. What amps do you recommend for acoustic? Also do pedals work or is that just for electric?

I have an electro-acoustic guitar with a piezo pickup and a neck single coil.

Billy Bragg is probably the best example of using an electric guitar for solo gigs. He uses an acoustic sometimes but mostly he just sues an tele through an amp with lots of spring reverb

Aces thanks so much!!

I'm a little confused. If you played an electric solo with a great sounding 40 watt or more tube amp, and no PA or sound guy, just the amp cranked up, wouldn't that cut through any crowd in a bar?

I get better at guitar every time I watch your videos..

So,I first watched this 4 months ago, I still have not decided which guitar I should use live.. I had my set list down on electric and then I watched this and switched whole set to acoustic.. Now I'm playing live in a small-ish room soon and I still don't know what guitar to bring.. I sing with a mic when electric but no mic acoustic because my acoustic is not electric.. Blah blah blah, anyway.. Does playing non electric acoustic and singing with a mic work better in small room over playing electric guitar?

Best video on acoustic vs electric for beginners

Finally I got that the electric guitar can be strummed like acoustic and it can sound like that as well... But amplification is needed...

By any chance is that a Tokai 335 in your guitar rack?

agree ! 👍

I’m planning on playing for open mic night and it’s in 2 days. And I’m going to be playing alone with my Telecaster and my Distortion and Overdrive pedal. And I don’t have my acoustic with me at the moment because of a needed restrung. What should I do in terms of playing it regardless or just not performing at all?

Even when I had a collection of acoustic guitars,I played everything even solo playing on my Electric until I met the Ukulele, now I am back to enjoying acoustic sounds again

I completely agree with u....but is nice to have an electric too...😀😀😀...How r u my friend?

playing an electric guitar solo at a gig takes a very high level of mastery on the instrument like a Ted Greene.....acoustic guitar is more friendly in the sense that people don't expect a virtuoso ...they just want some camp fire stuff ...I've never seen an acoustic guitar player at a gig do some James Taylor or some Jim Croce..it's usually everyday pop stuff

S E A N ? How come more A/C ARCHTOP Guitars are Not Used More ? Aqre they to Expensive ? ol west

would you ever like to compete with John Mayer...??

Interesting talk, man

With a little work with the electric you can get an all around solid sound, but I think it has alot to do with gear. This whole video doesn't even fight for a reason to use an electric.

Thank you for this video.⭐ I play acoustic guitar with an E Guitar Amp in my Band and it kinda works. Really want to play acoustic guitar in the bands but the only amps are for e guitar, what do you say about that? Thanks Admir Does this really work in your opinion?

JM also has several thousands dollars worth of pedals. He is known for a bleep ton of talent and a bleep ton of gear

Have a listen to Jeff Buckley live at Sin E. A great example of how someone can sound using just an amp and a telecaster...

Anyone else notice that the guy on the rights voice does something weird at the very end of sentences where his voice goes really high for a split second sometimes. Am I the only one that notices stuff like that?

Please do a strumming vid with nails

El Mejicano, play some mariachi! arriba arriba!

Ive learnt alot from you and enjoy your videos. But I really dont agree. If you cant play electric guitar confidently in public you should maybe consider not playing in public. Go watch some tom misch

Just beginning guitar, im on chord 2, former drummer and piano. "Specialized" and "Are you in a band?" are the 2 focal points of this. To me, if you are in a band, that's where an electric sounds amazing out of this world. On that note, two players two acoustics amp'd up is also just as good for some genres styles. But the point is, an electric is highly specialized, it's meant as a group-instrument, outside of showing off solos and 'sounds' like harmonics and pedals and whatever. Acoustic does not say "where's my bass player!" as badly as an electric does (and a mic). Now, these acoustic parlor guitars and such do scream for a bass / middle body, i think they aren't even guitars. I'm talking about actual acoustics like a dread or so not a money-grabber mini-guitar. The two reason's an acoustic sounds better solo are 1. Electric is specialized, it needs a bass guitar, acoustic also needs a bass guitar badly too, but the acoustic can get away without having one better than an electric does. And 2. An acoustic cover of a non-acoustic song sounds "different' than what we are so used to, so the acoustic is more 'entertaining' to listen to for that reason. It makes up for not having a band somewhat. Whereas an apples-to-apples electric cover of electric is like screaming "where is my bass player!! Where is my drummer (sort of)". So If you aren't in a band, don't go electric. That's how I see it.

Like for the Godin

jeff buckley anybody

My wife and I watch a lot of live music. If we walk into a place and see someone playing solo using an electric guitar, we will move on to somewhere else.

Its two things. 1, it's the aesthetic and tradition. Everyone expects it, and has been told that's how it should be. The look puts you into the same group as everyone who's ever done it. 2. Simplicity. You have to try to screw up the acoustic sound enough to matter. Any idiot can get a decent sound with an acoustic. An electric has so many options that you can screw up your sound in about a million ways. So, in short, you're supposed to use acoustic because that's what's always been done. There's no good reason, its entirely perception. It has nothing to do with the sound, the instrument being better or worse, or any technical issues. The only benefit is keeping your own stupid self away from the many options and the versatility that an electric offers. With great options and versatility comes the responsibility to actually learn how to use them in a way that sounds good.

Are you gonna just talk, or play something

BS