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Acoustic or Electric Guitar? Which one is best for a beginning student?

As in most things, there are varying opinions on this subject. And since our opinions are based on each of our individual lifetime experiences, everyone has a different one! Some may say that an acoustic guitar is best to start with, while others will swear by electric.

Let’s take a look at both, and hopefully this little bit of input from a seasoned guitar player will help you to make a more educated decision when you make your purchase.

To start, the sound of the guitar is important, but not everything. Sure, the better the guitar sounds, the more likely you are going to play it. But, you don’t really have to spend a lot to get something that sounds pretty decent. Granted, a $200 electric guitar and amp combo is not going to sound like “Eddie Van Halen’s” rig. But it’s not going to sound that bad for a beginner to play some decent tunes.

When I was first learning, a guitar player visited my home with a mutual friend. I’ll never forget. He picked up my $14 guitar, the same one that didn’t seem to sound so good when I played it (due to my inexperience). He banged out a couple of tunes, and it sounded great. His performance really inspired me! If “Eddie Van Halen” was to play on my $14 guitar, it would sound awesome. The point I am trying to make here is that it is not the guitar that sounds good, it’s the guitarist!

Acoustic or electric? First let’s look at cost.

An acoustic guitar is going to be the cheaper route. You can get a half decent sounding acoustic for under $100. My first guitar, an acoustic, cost $14  brand new at Kmart (the guitar mentioned above). Of course that was in 1975. The same quality guitar in today’s dollars would probably be around $60. My second guitar was a step up from that. It was a “Kay” brand guitar which I bought for $69. That was a while back also. The same quality guitar in today’s dollars would probably cost around $150. It has a very nice tone for an inexpensive guitar.

You are probably going to have to spend more with an electric guitar set up. Mainly because you have to buy an amplifier and cables. Below are some inexpensive package deals that include a small practice amp that are highly rated based on customer reviews.

If you go the electric route, I recommend getting “lifetime warranty” cables such as “Monster” brand from the start. They are a bit more pricey than a lot of the cheaper ones available, but you can trade them in for a brand new cable when they mess up. I say “when” and not “if”, because all cables seem to go bad over time. The cheaper cables will not only go bad fairly quickly, but you have to repurchase in order to replace them. With “lifetime warranty” cables, I have never had a problem. I am fortunate to have a “Guitar Center” about 3 miles from my home, so I just take them down there. They exchange them at no cost to me. I also use the “Planet Waves” brand cables. Same deal. I spent a lot of money on cheap cables before learning this. I haven’t bought one now in ages. I just “trade” when one goes bad.

Some things to consider when purchasing either an acoustic or electric guitar.

What are your goals as a student? Do you have a desire to play lead in a heavy metal band, or do you just want to strum a few chords and sing a song or two while relaxing on the back porch? What type of music do you like to listen to most? This will definitely give you a clue. Which instrument do you daydream about playing in a performance? Listen to your higher self. You are trying to tell yourself something here! Don’t ignore this. Daydreaming is good. It tells you a lot about yourself! If the student is your child and is too young to understand these things yet, it is probably best to go with an inexpensive acoustic and see how it works out.

To the parents out there with a child that wants to play the electric guitar, but you don’t want to deal with the noise, keep this in mind. Electric guitars can be turned down where an acoustic guitar cannot. You can use headphones or ear-buds with an electric guitar, but not with an acoustic (unless it is an electric acoustic guitar). If your electric guitar has “active pickups”, you can plug your headphones or ear-buds directly into the guitar to practice without the amp. You can also play the electric guitar quietly by not plugging in to the amp, but what fun is that?

With an acoustic guitar, it is physically harder to play the notes. You have to pick, hammer on or pull off the strings with more force. With an electric, just a touch can ring out. Therefore, if you can play it on an acoustic, you can generally play it on electric, but it’s not as easy the other way around. On the other hand, with an electric, since just a touch can ring out, you have to learn how to mute some of the strings with your hands and fingers while playing to keep them from ringing out.

It is a whole different world out there between acoustic and electric. Just all the different settings on an amplifier can be mind-blowing. Then add a floorboard and pedals. These days, you can make your guitar sound like anything. My son has a midi computer interface on his electric guitar that can make it sound like any instrument, even drums. Just that one piece of equipment is a whole world on its own. And then there is the electric acoustic guitar which is in between, but that is a whole different article.

In the links below, I have picked out some inexpensive acoustic guitars, electric guitars and amplifiers for sale at Amazon.com for your convenience. All are highly rated based on customer reviews. In upcoming blogs, I will be reviewing any of them that are available to test drive at my local Guitar Center to further assist you in making the right purchase.

Keep in mind, this blog is based on my opinion and my personal experiences. If you agree or disagree, or have anything to add, please comment below. I would love to hear from you!

Highly Rated Beginner Acoustic Guitars!

Highly Rated Beginner Electric Guitars!

Inexpensive Highly Rated Practice Amplifiers!

 Lifetime Warranty Cables!

"Monster" Brand "Planet Waves" Brand