Finding the Easy Way Out06/06/06Finding the Easy Way OutA few weeks back, I bought myself a new acoustic/electric guitar. Why did I buy another expensive guitar, when I already have a nice electric guitar that I can't even play? Well, I bought it because I wanted something 'easier' to learn on. It turns out that 'easy' is a matter of opinion. The acoustic is easier from a setup point of view. I love how you can just pick it up, and start playing. You don't have to worry about connecting cables, plugging in the amp, adjusting the settings on the amp for the sound you want, etc. You just grab it and go. While it is easier to setup, it's not necessarily easier to play. The body of the acoustic is much thicker than an electric, which means you have to struggle with reaching around that big thing in order to play. It involves having to find an entirely different position to play in, where you can comfortably play without that fat body getting in the way. Also, the action (the height of the strings) is higher. This means you have to push farther down to properly fret the strings. The electric, while being much more involved on setup is much easier to play, especially on my PRS. The action is much lower and the guitar is much thinner. A lower action means its easier to play, and a thinner body means that it doesn't get in the way like the acoustic's body does. The odd thing that I am discovering is that at least right now, I'm enjoying the acoustic more than the electric! I never expected this. I've always loved the electric guitar (and I still do) and found acoutic guitar kinda boring when I listen to it. Now I find that the sound from that acoustic is much cleaner and downright beautiful compared to the sound from the electric and the amp. I'm beginning to wonder if the sound coming from the amp sounds so bad because I'm trying to play a high quality guitar through a cheapo amp... Maybe I'm developing a case of GAS (Gear Aquisition Syndrome) again. That Fender G-DEC is looking more and more appealing... 2 comments
Comment from: john [Visitor]
 First...you are 100% right that an accoustic is harder to play on. I always tell beginners to start on an electric.Second...the acoustic sounds better because it is much more forgiving than an electric. Unless you are very practiced with various muting techniques and have polished your playing somewhat where you are not 'fumbiling' about...all those extraneous sounds are getting amplified...especially if you are using a lot of gain/distortion. Now, that said, I think that furthers the argument for beginning on the electric because it is so unforgiving. It really keeps you honest. If I haven't played for a while and I pick up an acoustic guitar, I think to myself 'wow, I still sound pretty good!'. Then if I try to go to my electric I can really hear how out of practice I am. Buying gear is a lot of fun and very addicting. Especially when you are single and making a good buck. Here's my two cents worth on gear: Buy used whenever possible. Most anything, even recently released gear can be found on ebay or harmony-central (if you are not familiar with harmony-central, check it out. largest music gear review and classified database out there. olga.net is also a must...largest tab database out there). The only time an instrument depreciates (generally) is out the door the first time. I've bought and sold a lot of stuff through ebay in particular and haven't had much disappointment. The reason I always buy used is that you can always get your money back out of it. Whether you want to quickly turn it around because it just isn't what you were hoping or you had your chance to play with it for a year or more and want to move on to something else...you usually wind up even-steven. A great way to go through a lot of gear without going broke.
06/07/06 @ 14:55
 John,Thanks for the fine comments. Yes, I've noticed that the electric is a lot less 'forgiving' when it comes to the sound. Whenever I play the electric, I can definately hear my screwups much better. I still have a LONG way to go. I know that. I'm just enjoying the fact that things seem to be getting better and easier over time. As for buying hardware used, I'm fine with that. I've looked at prices on the G-DEC on ebay and found very little difference there between new and used price. I wasn't aware harmonycentral.com had a classifieds section. I'll definately check that out for the possible G-DEC.
06/07/06 @ 15:10
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