Electric or Acoustic

Electric or Acoustic

What to purchase when starting out

When your first starting out and are looking to buy an instrument one decision to make is to go with electric or acoustic. There are advantages to both. Let’s take a look at them and come up with a decision that fits well for you.

The acoustic fits well on the body while sitting. The sides of the acoustic are generally much wider than on electric. For this reason electric guitars tend to slide down and tilt up while sitting. Electric guitars are also heavier, not helping the situation. Another issue is the picking or strumming arm. Since the acoustic has wider sides, the upper arm has a place to rest.

The electric works great for a standing posture held in place by a strap. The guitar lays very nicely and doesn’t need the leg to help with balance. This is very good for jamming and having fun. With an amplifier and some effects there are a lot of sounds that you can get that don’t work on acoustic. For beginners it’s easier to press down the strings, but difficult to position in a seated posture.

Ideally, you want to have both. And if you end up liking the guitar and pursue the instrument long-term, you will have both. Starting out though, budgeting for just one instrument, I would say that acoustic is the place to start. If you plan on taking lessons you will be sitting with your instructor. Holding the guitar while sitting tends is a good posture for practice. Hooking up an electric guitar to an amplifier can create a small barrier to practice.

So think about buying an acoustic first and adding an electric guitar after you have gained some skill. The material you learn on acoustic will transfer well to the electric.