Nice To See the Acoustic Section Busy Nowadays

guitarjack66 · June 2023

I think we have sold the acoustic idea to some of those 'we'll take the easy path' electric guitar people on the site. We aren't all Geography teachers wearing cord jeans and tweed elbow patches on our suit jackets,you know. At least not on weekends.

Tannin · June 2023

Nope. Some of us are part-time axe murderers.

(Make your own judgement as to which sense one should take that in.)

thomasross20 · June 2023

It's much more satisfying. Always played acoustic but it's 99.999% what I do play now, to the point that I do still think about selling all the electric stuff (feels like another time in life) to focus solely on acoustic styles & technique plus voice. I have zero inclination to sit and play single note electric lead lines. Playing bass + lead on the one guitar and focusing on the song, interesting bass movement and a more chordal as opposed to scalar approach, is where it's at. No need for a band. Damn .. it's good lol.

TheMadMick · June 2023

Never played anything other than acoustic anywhere near seriously. Just couldn't get along with an electric. That's well over 60 years of playing - mostly cowboy chords but I love it. Prefer guitar to flute which I play occasionally.

guitarjack66 · June 2023

TheMadMick said:

Never played anything other than acoustic anywhere near seriously. Just couldn't get along with an electric. That's well over 60 years of playing - mostly cowboy chords but I love it. Prefer guitar to flute which I play occasionally.

That's a very interesting combination,a flautist and a guitarist.

Mellish · June 2023

@Tannin ; well exactly.

DavidR · June 2023

Guitar section has 1235 pages of threads.

Acoustic section 103.

We are the top 8%. (Most of the sound from an acoustic comes from the top!)

;-)

Tannin · June 2023

guitarjack66 said:

TheMadMick said:

Never played anything other than acoustic anywhere near seriously. Just couldn't get along with an electric. That's well over 60 years of playing - mostly cowboy chords but I love it. Prefer guitar to flute which I play occasionally.

That's a very interesting combination,a flautist and a guitarist.

Back in the day, old Ian Andersoin did better than OK on both fronts.

PS: my father plays the flute, I play guitar. Does that count?

Winny_Pooh · June 2023

Acoustics are not a sexy as electrics, pedals , modding potentials and a fun amp, so they naturally get more traffic. But in reality more than 50% of the music I listen to has an acoustic guitar so.....

guitarjack66 · June 2023

Winny_Pooh said:

Acoustics are not a sexy as electrics, pedals , modding potentials and a fun amp, so they naturally get more traffic. But in reality more than 50% of the music I listen to has an acoustic guitar so.....

You can never beat the convenience of simply picking up the acoustic and playing without messing with an amp and pedals.

bertie · June 2023

I play "guitar" no bias for style or preference towards either TBH - not far off 50 years of playing both, and I pretty much play what I play on either - I just happen to pick up an acoustic more often "cos its there"

rustneversleeps · June 2023

Played acoustic for many years (too many to count)Had a bit a blip at Xmas which I discovered PRS hollowbody which could be described as semi this was down the FB .Back to the acoustics again as I’ve just brought two new ones this month.These could be the last as I think I’am heading towards the departure lounge.

Mellish · June 2023

Played acoustic guitar since 1960, five-string openback banjo since 1975 or thereabouts.

I've never owned an electric guitar. Nothing to do with bias, I often play a borrowed Strat at gigs for things like Little Red Rooster or I Fought The Law.

ditchboy · June 2023

All because of Ed Sheeran.

guitarjack66 · June 2023

ditchboy said:

All because of Ed Sheeran.

I now refuse to play an acoustic guitar!

LastMantra · June 2023

My first guitar was an acoustic and I've always had one since.
I mainly play electric now but I do like a wee strum and perchance even a wee sing from time to time.

guitarjack66 · June 2023

LastMantra said:

My first guitar was an acoustic and I've always had one since.
I mainly play electric now but I do like a wee strum and perchance even a wee sing from time to time.

I would have to really despise somebody before I 'sung' to them.

LastMantra · June 2023

guitarjack66 said:

LastMantra said:

My first guitar was an acoustic and I've always had one since.
I mainly play electric now but I do like a wee strum and perchance even a wee sing from time to time.

I would have to really despise somebody before I 'sung' to them.

I just sing to myself.

Open_G · June 2023

I’m a far better player on acoustic vs electric and end up picking it up to play far more, purely as it doesn’t involve getting an amp, lead, cable etc out of the cupboard under the stairs to set up. I’ve ended up playing finger style 99% of the time as I just don’t have an array of picks to hand. Essentially a style borne out of laziness.

Tannin · June 2023

I like the way @Open_G thinks.

Play acoustic because it saves having to get an amp and a lead out of the cupboard. Tick.

Play fingerstyle because it saves having to look for a plectrum. Tick.

So ... anyone for air guitar?

Devil#20 · June 2023

Neck geometry apart, an acoustic is less forgiving of bad technique and I like to practice stuff on acoustic first. Contrary to the above you don't necessarily need to plug in to an amp if you're just practicing on an electric at home. I suppose I played electric mostly but I think it's more 50/50 now. I always have an electric and an acoustic in the lounge to just grab. However, it's hard to beat the sound of a well sorted acoustic. It's timeless.

thomasross20 · June 2023

Tannin said:

I like the way @Open_G thinks.

Play acoustic because it saves having to get an amp and a lead out of the cupboard. Tick.

Play fingerstyle because it saves having to look for a plectrum. Tick.

So ... anyone for air guitar?

Hahaha brilliant

thomasross20 · June 2023

Thing with electric is, you ultimately really need a band to complete the package. And while that can be great, I'm done with all that and acoustic means I can rely only on myself (good or bad lol)

jaymenon · June 2023

Winny_Pooh said:

Acoustics are not a sexy as electrics, pedals , modding potentials and a fun amp, so they naturally get more traffic. But in reality more than 50% of the music I listen to has an acoustic guitar so.....

Actually singing and playing acoustic guitar will get you more girls...

jaymenon · June 2023

Open_G said:

I’m a far better player on acoustic vs electric and end up picking it up to play far more, purely as it doesn’t involve getting an amp, lead, cable etc out of the cupboard under the stairs to set up. I’ve ended up playing finger style 99% of the time as I just don’t have an array of picks to hand. Essentially a style borne out of laziness.

You could be my twin brother...

sev112 · June 2023

jaymenon said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Acoustics are not a sexy as electrics, pedals , modding potentials and a fun amp, so they naturally get more traffic. But in reality more than 50% of the music I listen to has an acoustic guitar so.....

Actually singing and playing acoustic guitar will get you more girls...

Well, older women in my case

p90fool · June 2023

Devil#20 said:

Neck geometry apart, an acoustic is less forgiving of bad technique and I like to practice stuff on acoustic first.

I think the opposite to be honest. If I hand any of my acoustic-only mates an electric guitar they can't even play it in tune.

Tannin · June 2023

p90fool said:

Devil#20 said:

Neck geometry apart, an acoustic is less forgiving of bad technique and I like to practice stuff on acoustic first.

I think the opposite to be honest. If I hand any of my acoustic-only mates an electric guitar they can't even play it in tune.

I think there is merit in both arguments. On acoustic you certainly can't get away with a lot of the lazy left-hand technique electric players use, and some (not all) electric players last about 3 minutes on an acoustic before their fingers give out.

On the other hand, there are things electric players do as routine which acoustic players don't even have on their radar.

In truth, they are very different instruments requiring quite different playing feel and technique. Many of the skills are transferrable but someone who only plays the one generally makes a right royal mess of the other without some serious relearning.

(Most players have done a bit of both, which obscures this reality. If one had to start acoustic from scratch (or start electric from scratch), only having ever played the other sort, it's a big learning curve. Yep, sure, you'll pick it up faster than, say, an oboe player or even a cellist, but you can't just be handed the other sort of guitar and know how to play it.

jaymenon · June 2023

sev112 said:

jaymenon said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Acoustics are not a sexy as electrics, pedals , modding potentials and a fun amp, so they naturally get more traffic. But in reality more than 50% of the music I listen to has an acoustic guitar so.....

Actually singing and playing acoustic guitar will get you more girls...

Well, older women in my case

I can identify with that. I actually wrote a song about it

https://youtu.be/gsrCvGJbrik

Devil#20 · June 2023

Tannin said:

p90fool said:

Devil#20 said:

Neck geometry apart, an acoustic is less forgiving of bad technique and I like to practice stuff on acoustic first.

I think the opposite to be honest. If I hand any of my acoustic-only mates an electric guitar they can't even play it in tune.

I think there is merit in both arguments. On acoustic you certainly can't get away with a lot of the lazy left-hand technique electric players use, and some (not all) electric players last about 3 minutes on an acoustic before their fingers give out.

On the other hand, there are things electric players do as routine which acoustic players don't even have on their radar.

In truth, they are very different instruments requiring quite different playing feel and technique. Many of the skills are transferrable but someone who only plays the one generally makes a right royal mess of the other without some serious relearning.

(Most players have done a bit of both, which obscures this reality. If one had to start acoustic from scratch (or start electric from scratch), only having ever played the other sort, it's a big learning curve. Yep, sure, you'll pick it up faster than, say, an oboe player or even a cellist, but you can't just be handed the other sort of guitar and know how to play it.

I think this is it yes. As I tend to play both in equal measure nowadays the comment about lazy left hand technique is a no go on acoustic. Acoustics are definitely more of a left hand workout than electric but lower string tension on electrics obviously allow for specific skills for that instrument.

Interestingly, and a slight aside, looking at @allen recent videos comparing various humbucker and single coil guitars went a good way to demonstrate that electrics are a law of diminishing returns. The more expensive guitars weren't as big a difference as you'd expect. Be intresting to take a HBenton and fit it with the pickups and same strings as say the R9 and blind test it. Might not be as nice to play but I'll bet it sounds the same.

With acoustics though, there is a massive difference between guitars and it's a relatively easy job to differentiate acoustics from cheap and nasty up to eye-wateringly expensive and everything in between. With acoustics (unlike electrics) it can generally be said that you get what you pay for, except for the inflated price of some of the usual suspects from the US.. Acoustics also develop better tone over time. What's not to like.

Tannin · June 2023

^ To which I say amen Brother @Devil20.

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Nice To See the Acoustic Section Busy Nowadays

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