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Acoustic vs Electric, on a soul level
for those who play both, do they feel different? I don’t mean like barre chords are easier on an electric, I mean do they feel different “spiritually?”
To me, the electric is something I get in the mood to play, but there are days I just don’t get in that mood. There is no day I don’t feel the need to at least pick up an acoustic once. It feels less like a thing and more like something that I express “me” with. I almost said “like an extension of myself” but that isn’t quite right, because a given acoustic guitar might have a different personality than another. It’s more like a relationship that brings something out of me.
Another different (and perhaps conflicting) analogy: the acoustic feels like drawing, the electric feels more like painting. The acoustic captures lines, and space, while the electric adds color over that.
There is also this difference in the rhythm/melody dimension. There is an inherent percussive-ness to strumming the acoustic that makes the groove of playing rhythm infectious, it can MAKE you tap your foot. Rhythm on an electric is more a matter of discipline for me, I’m more likely to need a metronome. Melody is the opposite: the potential for unlimited sustain on the electric makes it feel almost vocal, where I struggle to play single note lines on the acoustic because note length is a matter of techniques, discipline, and skill.
There is a “zone” I can get in with the electric when I’m playing blues riffs over a backing track or record that I currently can’t access on the acoustic, and I find it much harder to get in the strum-and-sing zone on an electric.
These are all technical differences, but I still can’t explain the fact that an acoustic feels like a living thing I cooperate with and an electric feels like a tool that I use. Does anyone have a different take or similar dichotomy?
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2 Replies
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I’m actually going to sell my electric guitar and amp. I just can’t seem to bond with it like my acoustic. Yeah, it’s cool, and I can rock the house, but it’s just not the same for me. It feels more mechanical, and not as authentic. I thought the opposite would be the case when I first bought it a few years ago.
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I can’t speak to this very meaningfully, I’m such a novice when it comes to guitars; however, in my limited experience I do somewhat concur with your premise. My first guitar purchase was an electric and my first 4 months of attempting to learn were exclusively on that electric. (That’s ignoring the dabbling with my sisters acoustic as a teeny bopper, which I’m not counting because that was thoroughly without any guidance and it was over 50 years ago). I didn’t really develop much feeling for that guitar and while the online courses at the time got me started to learn a few chords and some rhythms, I lost interest and nearly stopped playing.
Then I discovered Tony’s Acoustic Challenge and began that at first on the same electric. Then I pulled out my wife’s old Takamine Acoustic. I do think I found that easier to be consistent, possibly because you don’t need to turn on your amp and plug in – it’s just quicker getting started. I only had one guitar stand so it was almost always the acoustic that stayed in the stan, while the electric stood close by in it’s case.
I can’t really say I have an emotional connection to any of my guitars. I have since bought a third, a mini because I was wanting to be able to easily take it with me when I’m on the road. I’m hoping this changes as my skills improve on this journey that has now been around 15 months.
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