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As a guitar instructor, I’m often asked which type of guitar you should start with, electric or acoustic?  Here’s a rundown of the pros and cons of each and how your decision should be formed.

Neither type of guitar is “better” than the other.  They are simply different versions of the same instrument.  Both have six strings and are tuned exactly the same way.  So, on the surface, both types of guitar are played exactly the same way.

Here’s some of the main ideas to think about in making your decision…

1. What kind of music do you want to play?  If you’re super interested in death metal, punk, or the like, then you’ll want to go with electric.  If you’re a fan of classical, delta blues, country, etc, then you’ll definitely want to start with acoustic guitar.

2. Where do you like your difficulty?  No doubt about it, acoustic guitar is a somewhat more difficult instrument due to a few factors I’ll talk about below.  If you’re the type of person that would rather get the hard parts out of the way and take it easy later, start on acoustic.  If you’d rather take it easy at the beginning and work your way into harder things, start with electric.

Acoustic Guitar
Pros:
- Builds better hand strength
- Encourages better tone because you’re not being helped by technology
Cons:
- Thicker strings can be harder on your hands and fingers until you build up strength and callouses
- While rather quiet, it can’t be played silently (a concern for apartment dwellers)  Read more...

For a beginning guitarist, the difference between and acoustic and an electric guitar may not appear to be so obvious. I mean, they both have six strings and frets right, so why should you have to choose?

Well, the main difference between the two instruments is that making your decision will set the course for whatever style of music and career you may engage in from then on. Here are some detailed differences between acoustic and electric guitars.

1. There’s a difference in playing precision needed.

With electric guitars, due to the distortion and effects available, the amount of precision to make a guitar riff sound good is less. When playing on an acoustic guitar, the tones are very pure and mistakes can be heard much easier. Acoustic guitars are good to start with since they allow the player to know what skills and talents need to be improved upon.

2. Obviously, they’re made of different materials.

With acoustic guitars, the instrument is usually made up of mostly wood. There might be a plastic back depending on the model, but the amount of electronics used is minimal or non-existent.

For electric guitars, the materials used can be wood, metal, and quite a few electronic pieces installed throughout. Either way, you should keep some consistent maintenance on the instrument you choose.

3. The craftsmanship of the instrument varies.  Read more...

The differences between acoustic and electric guitars are myriad. In addition to one requiring electricity to be heard and the other one not requiring anything but a skilled set of hands, the way in which each one is made and the uses of each one stand in stark contrast to one another.

An acoustic guitar is a hollow-bodied, six-stringed instrument. The sound produced by an acoustic guitar comes from the vibrations created by a note or notes being plucked or strummed on the strings and echoing throughout the hollow inside of the instrument’s body. Steel-stringed acoustic guitars are made of wood, and the tops of acoustic guitars are usually made from spruce, although some are made from rosewood or maple. Other acoustic guitars are nylon-stringed, or classical, guitars. These are usually smaller, and the strings are tied to the bridge in a knot rather than held in with a peg like on steel-stringed acoustic bridges. Classical guitars are used in a variety of musical applications from jazz, traditional latin folk music, to, of course, classical guitar compositions. Classical guitars are most often played with the fingers, but a plectrum may be used to play either steel-stringed or classical acoustic guitars. Blues, rock, and most Western folk music is played on steel-stringed acoustic guitars. While acoustics are traditionally played without the need for electric amplification, acoustic-electric models–acoustic guitars equipped with electric pickups–are quite popular for acoustic artists whose professional needs call for amplification.  Read more...

Despite what the salesman at your local A/V shop tells you, sound proofing and sound treatment are not interchangeable terms in acoustics. Sound proofing is the process of creating a space that prevents any form of sound from escaping it, while sound treatment is the manipulation of a room’s response to particular frequencies to create a balanced sound within the room. Although there are similar materials for both procedures, their expected outcomes and processes are nonetheless very different.

Sound proofing a room

If you’re creating a space that will be used to contain a huge amount of sound and noise (like a death metal band’s rehearsal space), the best way to do this would be to build a room within a room. The room itself should have a thick cement floor, walls and ceiling. This forms an outer shell which is the space’s last line of sound proofing, and must be dense enough to absorb even the loudest low frequency sounds.

Within it, another room must be made whose walls, ceiling and floor (ideally) may be made of cement as well to ensure maximum density. Drywalls filled with sheetrock or fiberglass can also be used. This inner room must be smaller than the outer room and is generally placed in the middle of it, allowing for a space between them where the resultant escaping sound is trapped even more. This ensures that only a minimum of sound meets the walls of the outer room, thus increasing the chances of a 100% sound proofed room.  Read more...