Members mbengs1 Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 no distortion and sustain, thicker strings so harder to play, no effects,more fragile, takes more space. I have only one acoustic guitar that i use to come up with stuff. i want to get a really nice acoustic one day but i'm sure it will cost an arm and a leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FretFiend. Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 no distortion and sustain, thicker strings so harder to play, no effects,more fragile, takes more space. Not meaning to be too argumentative, but if an acoustic guitar has so many disadvantages why would you be wanting to spend an arm and a leg on a nice one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members naboutboul Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 Guitars are tools. You use the right one for the job. It's not a disadvantage if you don't need any of those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbengs1 Posted May 6, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 Not meaning to be too argumentative, but if an acoustic guitar has so many disadvantages why would you be wanting to spend an arm and a leg on a nice one. coz they look pretty cool. the higher end models in particular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Blanchard Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 I have been an acoustic guitarist for about 48 years and find no downside, but they do exactly what I want. I own two electrics that are basically wall hangers as I have little reason or occasion to play them. It is all a matter of what you want and like, I'd imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 I have been an acoustic guitarist for about 48 years and find no downside' date=' but they do exactly what I want. I own two electrics that are basically wall hangers as I have little reason or occasion to play them. It is all a matter of what you want and like, I'd imagine.[/quote'] More or less the same here. I do play my electric guitars fairly often but if I had to choose between electric and acoustic it would be acoustic without hesitation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 no distortion and sustain' date=' thicker strings so harder to play, no effects,more fragile, takes more space. I have only one acoustic guitar that i use to come up with stuff. i want to get a really nice acoustic one day but i'm sure it will cost an arm and a leg.[/quote'] Apples and oranges. I like both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 To me the whole string attachment nut to bridge system seems ready for innovation. Adjustments to action height and intonation could be so much easier. Also, some kind of fine tuning knob near the bridge would be nice for "sweetening" fretted notes. Bridge pins, saddles and nuts will always be with us, but I wouldn't mind seeing them become more of a niche market for purists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 More or less the same here. I do play my electric guitars fairly often but if I had to choose between electric and acoustic it would be acoustic without hesitation. ^ This. I have an electric that I play in worship sometimes but I'm primarily an acoustic player. The things you dislike about the way an acoustic sounds ("no [artificially induced] distortion and sustain . . . no effects") are what I like about it. As for "takes more space" don't forget the space required for an amp. Try playing your Les Paul unplugged (I know you have one from hanging out over in Electric Guitars) and see how it sounds, then play your acoustic. One is pretty much useless without an amp, the other isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members recordingtrack1 Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 I like this thread. It certainly drew out some opinions. The OP may not have presented his idea smoothly, but he got his point across. He's obviously trying to convince himself that there is more to playing acoustic than he has actually discovered at this point. I get that. and I'm sure that he'll begin to embrace the intrinsic value of acoustic music if he can maintain his interest. By the process of elimination, he obviously likes electrics and clearly values the qualities of that genre (distortion, sustain, effects) and hopefully, can be open minded enough to meld the two into a broader palate of music making tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 Electrics guitars were created to make acoustics look good and sound better. That's what happens whenever one happens to find its way into my hands, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 6, 2015 Members Share Posted May 6, 2015 Another thing I'd suggest is that you have your acoustic set up properly with light gauge strings (closer to what you're used to on an electric). That will make it easier to play and may make it sound better although it still won't sound like an electric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members camer138 Posted May 7, 2015 Members Share Posted May 7, 2015 No downside. sure they aren't as easy to play as an electric but they achieve a very different result, you can't call it a downside in that case really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbengs1 Posted May 7, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2015 Another thing I'd suggest is that you have your acoustic set up properly with light gauge strings (closer to what you're used to on an electric). That will make it easier to play and may make it sound better although it still won't sound like an electric. I currently have 10's on my acoustic i believe and its still hard to bend. but the third string is wound so i'm not sure. i know it said 10-46 in the pack though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted May 7, 2015 Members Share Posted May 7, 2015 Both are good at what they do. If you're trying to play an acoustic like an electric, you are likely using the wrong instrument for the wrong job. An acoustic will do the country picking thing well but bends are very limited. There are things you can do on an acoustic that cant be done well on an electric and vice versa. If you want to be able use both techniques on the same instrument then get something that's middle of the road like an F hole Jazz guitar. Its got the build to satisfy both acoustic and or electric playing. You can play your electric riffs yet do things like fingerpick with heavier gauged strings as well. Acoustics need heavier strings to get optimum chamber resonation. Because the strings are thicker you don't need as much intonation compensation nor the fine tweaks needed for thin strings. A jazz guitar is the middle of the road. Its often got a fixed bridge saddle but the bridge floats and can be tweaked to accommodate different string types and gauges. Each of these instruments accommodate different playing styles better then others, or you can swap the chicken and the egg and say its the playing styles developed around the instrument. If you like the acoustic body and like flexible strings a classical or flamingo guitar with gut or nylon strings is tough to beat. They don't bend easily in pitch but many other items like vibrato can be mastered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigald18 Posted May 7, 2015 Members Share Posted May 7, 2015 By your train of thought, an electric hollowbody would be the perfect instrument. But what's wrong with them??? Bridge can move, impossible to get a 99% accurate intonation. BigAl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mickey Maguire Posted May 7, 2015 Members Share Posted May 7, 2015 I currently have 10's on my acoustic i believe and its still hard to bend. but the third string is wound so i'm not sure. i know it said 10-46 in the pack though. Yep. That's why few guitarists bend the strings as much as they do on electric guitars. However, go to YouTube and search for Tommy Emmanuel and prepare to have your socks knocked off... best acoustic player in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 7, 2015 Members Share Posted May 7, 2015 I currently have 10's on my acoustic i believe and its still hard to bend. but the third string is wound so i'm not sure. i know it said 10-46 in the pack though. The fact that you have thin strings on your acoustic doesn't mean it's been set up properly. You're never going to get the easy playing of your Les Paul but it could possibly be better than it is now. Or you could follow WRGKMC's suggestion and get a hollowbody electric or nylon string acoustic. But be aware that nylon string guitars usually have fairly wide necks. Or you could just accept the fact that the two are different and play whichever guitar is appropriate for the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted May 8, 2015 Members Share Posted May 8, 2015 They're not loud enough to play with horns, reeds, or percussion instruments. Actually, I'm hard pressed to come up with a more quiet instrument. It's never too late to take up the banjI, I suppose. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted May 8, 2015 Members Share Posted May 8, 2015 Banjo! Lame-ass site won't let me edit on mobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted May 9, 2015 Members Share Posted May 9, 2015 Good gravy, jamesp, who do you know purposely playing acoustic guitar with blowpipes and skins? If anything I'd think other stringed instruments would be proper accompaniment. I also think the harmonica needs to be found out of fashion and quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members recordingtrack1 Posted May 9, 2015 Members Share Posted May 9, 2015 "Banjl" I actually liked it. At first I thought it was a southern hillbilly slang term from them good ole' boys that know what a bangl is really fer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted May 9, 2015 Members Share Posted May 9, 2015 The band before last I was up against a fiddle, hand percussion and an accordion. Without a amp I didn't stand a chance of being heard when the dynamic got forte. With an amp what is a guitar but electric? I'm just listing what I think are very real disadvantages. I prefer playing acoustic guitar sure, but the allure of Dixieland will always be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ski219 Posted May 9, 2015 Members Share Posted May 9, 2015 OP should go to youtube and check out the John Butler Trio for an acoustic player that blows his original post completely out of the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted May 11, 2015 Members Share Posted May 11, 2015 Couple months ago a Brit got in a dust up with Thai wank over here. Thai's buddy decided good idea to whack Brit from behind with POS acoustic guitar, which proceeded to break & splinter on Brit's shoulder. I was observing with another Brit, chatted about choice of guitars. I suggested a telecast as much better: solid body, bolt on neck in case broke off for easier repair. He agreed although thought strat could also serve well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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