Beginning guitar purchase. Acoustic vs electric?

I'm wondering what is good to start with. I have a friend who is very talented, and teaches occasionally on the side, and he recommended that I start with an electric (Which IS what he plays though) I was wondering if anyone could give me some pros and cons? I like many different types of music, but I don't plan on singing at all...

hmmmmmmmmm

well first of all,
u can find an acoustic anywhere for a very good price
and no need wiring and carrying heavy gear
but u only get like one basic acoustic sound

for electrics
you hav to buy an amp
the guitar alone is expensive then a $300 amp thats small as heck
but u get a plethora of varieties of sounds with it
but if you rock out to hardrock::music!!!!!!!
and ur gear breaks and da warranty is over
u can either get a 400 dollar repair job or buy more expensive gear =(

so to sum it up
'lectric+amp+a few pedals(0ptional)+more speakers(optional)=a lot of $$$
acoustic= no stress, a classy acoustic sound on a budget, a traveler, and maybe the ladies that come swooning by ur frikin aWsum talent

but its ur choice
wateva u pick
im cool wit it

Dane, an electric is usually easier to play than an acoustic, especially so in the cheap range. The strings are lighter and can be set up a lot lower on an electric. Other than that, it all depends whether you want to have the acoustic sound :music: :uhoh: :rock: or the electric sound.


J.J.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rogue-Grand-Concert-Cutaway-AcousticElectric?sku=519196


You can't lose with this very inexpensive but well built acoustic/electric. Put some lightweight strings on it and learn away. My friend has it and was at a talent show....people with Martins were asking to borrow it for their numbers because it performed so well.

One of my J's says:

"Acoustic is good to start out with because it's cheaper and it helps build finger strength, but an electric is easier to play because the neck is thinner and the strings are easier to press and you can buy a cheap electric and amp on eBay for less than $150. "

I have an acoustic classical guitar that he tried for a few months and found it too hard to play bar chords. We got him an electric for X-mas last year and he really loved it. We paid around $400 for a Ibanez, VOX DA5, case, strap, etc.

for the price of one midrange quality acoustic or electric guitar, you can get both an acoustic w/ pickup, an electric, and an amp. all it takes is a little bit of patience and some research to know what you should be looking for in a quality instrument.

examples:
acoustic: i picked up my crafter acoustic guitar on craigslist for $100. they sell for $350 new. but after doing some research on them i found that they are actually decent guitars. just fairly unknown due to them being manufactured in korea under a well known korean guitar company. mia rose of youtube fame plays a crafter. too easy to find good acoustic guitars for sale for real cheap.
amp: i got a peavy 15w amp from toys r us, of all places, for $60. for the price, its actually a decent amp. and when Almost Islanders wasnt "Almost Islanders" yet, i actually used that amp on stage at our very first performance as a full band (small venue).
electric: most people with scoff at you, but if youre just getting into it, you can get a fender squire stratocaster new for about $100-150. do some research on how to set it up. and you'll have a decent guitar that wont get you high fives from eric clapton, but will do the job.

so thats everything you need to experiment with. and it cost less than most brand new ibanez acoustic/elecs.

of course later down the line, you will want to invest in good strings, cords, effects pedals etc. but they are investments into your investments. as long as youve got the tools to start with.

my first guitar was an acoustic guitar with "Fender" on the headstock. i could scratch it off with my nail. it had brass frets. intonation was horrible. the first fret was too far from the nut. it cost $20. but it started my brother and me off with the guitar. and neither of us will ever forget that guitar as much of a POS as it was. we still learned a lot off that sucka.

heres an acoustic i bought to learn on linkage i like it, but ive learned that my fingers are wimpy compared to a guitarists. the action is a little high to me, but ill get over it.

Kaneohe til the end said:

heres an acoustic i bought to learn on linkage i like it, but ive learned that my fingers are wimpy compared to a guitarists. the action is a little high to me, but ill get over it.

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Watch out if you get a dreadnought and you're a uke player......their HUGE!

salukulady said:

Watch out if you get a dreadnought and you're a uke player......their HUGE!

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How are they compared to the other acoustics? Most of the guitars that I've held have been electric, so I don't really know much.

the best thing to do is go to a music store or guitar shop. you can try many on for size. makes deciding that much easier.

russ_buss said:

the best thing to do is go to a music store or guitar shop. you can try many on for size. makes deciding that much easier.

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Good advice....dreadnoughts have a bigger body and bigger sound........

i know this has been said before, but since your are looking for personal opinions... To me acoustic is the smartest way to go. yes its a bit tougher to play but it will build your finger strenght, and yeah you only get that "Acoustic Sound" but it still sounds like a guitar. to me atleast i say go acoustic, then use it as a jumping off point or save up a bit and buy both. thats an easy way to settle the whole thing.

check out this, read some reviews and get groovy Acoustic Guitars

and if you decide to go to the electric "Dark side" here is this.
electric guitars

I own a few high end ukes and wanted a guitar with great sound but didn't want to spend big bucks. I picked up a Alvarez RD20 for under $300 and the sound is amazing for such a "cheap" instrument. The top is solid and just gets better and better. The shop I got it from adjusted the trus rod so the action is nice, I love it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good sounding acoustic in the $300 range. Get the shop to throw in a gig bag and tuner too. The Elixir strings last long being that I live in Hawaii near the ocean.

As for the size, it's huge compared to my tenor and baritone, but your fingers will get use to it and will probably make playing the uke even more enjoyable. I practice both daily.

I went to the acoustic shop today (This company has an electric and a acoustic shop) And I got some help with different guitars. I definately don't want to go dreadnaught or above. I played what I would consider to be a "normal" sized guitar in my opinion. I also played another guitar which had a smaller body, it was nice, but the tuners were to heavy that the neck outweighed the body, and it felt really weird in my left hand. I kind of liked the other size. I thought I wouldn't like acoustic much because of the size of the bodies, but I was a bit suprised... and I could play some of my favorite chords on the first 4 strings!

AND to my suprise... I found out that they actually have a uke instructor there!! I had called several times before and they had kept saying that they didn't even know of any. BUT it's geared towards beginner beginners....

maybe you should offer to teach an intermediate class.......

Haha yeah I wish... that would be nice. I wouldn't even classify myself as intermediate... I'm still a bit below.

Dane said:

Haha yeah I wish... that would be nice. I wouldn't even classify myself as intermediate... I'm still a bit below.

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Hey, don't sell yourself short. I've only been playing since last January and I'm going to be teaching kids uke thru our local recreation center this January.

Well it would be a little bit difficult. My school is very intensive, and I'm pretty much busy every day running around town doing assignments, getting gear, spotting locations, etc etc. Maybe in the future though.

I would recommend going with an acoustic. There's no shame in small-bodied guitars! Acoustics are harder to fret than electrics, so there will be a BIG difference between guitar and ukulele. But if you can play an acoustic, moving over to electric will be a piece of cake.

Give this guitar a look:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seagull-Grand-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=512124

It's relatively small, very well made, and very affordable for something made in Canada.

I started with an electric. It fit the music I liked back then. Also really helped me get into the whole string instrument scene. Started out with that electric and a cheap amp and cables. Came about to about $300 or so. The big thing for me was that I was able to practice at night(before that I used to play drums, harmonica, sax, etc etc). I eventually bought effect pedals and such, which lead me into repairing my own guitar. And that lead me into building them. Which eventually lead me to the uke.

Electric
-----------------
pros - relatively silent when not plugged in, easier to press, sturdier, a bit more forgiving, (generally) lower action for easier bending, thinner strings
cons - heavier, require electricity/gear to make some actual noise, harder to practice certain techniques like volume control, once you get into effects it gets pricey, forgiving(yes, it's a pro and a con)

Acoustic
------------------
pros - that nice acoustic sound, can have a "personal" sound(like mellow, bright, etc), IMO better for a beginner, easier to hear things like tone and such, more tempting to play a wider range of music on
cons - not very silent, more taxing on a beginner(but for a good reason), must look for a certain sounding acoustic(for picky people like me), not as sturdy but definitely lasting, bigger size