All the same? You can only go so far on an accustic guitar, and things to play are virtually endless on an electric guitar. Does an accustic guitar have a whammy bar? Can you use effect pedals on an accustic guitar? Does playing rock tunes sound and feel the same on an accustic guitar? You can practice the fingerings on an accustic guitar, but no way in hell is it the same.
The answer to all of your questions is Yes, but it's all very dependent on how skilled YOU are and how willing you are to recompose said songs to fit the tension on an acoustic guitar.
Does playing rock songs on an acoustic guitar feel the same? To me, yes. I've been playing 25+ years.
Does an acoustic have a whammy bar? I have, in fact, seen acoustic guitars in my lifetime, with whammy bars. Do I need a whammy bar? It is the better question and the answer is not really. Most tricks on whammy bars can be simulated other ways to achieve the same effect.
Can you use effect pedals on acoustic guitars? 100% yes. And it's often times super cool. Delays, reverb, even distortion on an acoustic guitar can make for some unique and raunchy tones. Your sustain while distorted is infinite.
You are as virtually endless as your mind allows you to be on an instrument.
To be fair though I think it's near impossible to play many metal solos on most acoustics as they either don't have enough frets or it's impossible to reach the high ones depending on where neck and body are joined especially if we're talking about full tone bends on 19th fret or so.
No whammy, no whammy, no whammy!
If you are skilled, you can play on any style guitar. Playing an electric all the time can make the move to acoustic exploit some lazy playing tendencies.
I think your take that acoustic is limited tells me something more about your playing style. That or some closed-mindedness.
It’s spelled acoustic. And if you can’t play without a whammy and effects you’re not very good. Are they the same? No. Are there an infinite number of things to play on both acoustic and electric? Yes.
Acoustic will show you what kind of player you are. I don't mean this insulting in any way. But there are no layered effects hiding sloppiness. Depending on the style you like to play, you may be able to start with what you play now, but improvise a bit.
The real bonus here is the dialed-in playing you will do when your electric is again in service. I generally have a lot of string noise and weirdness when returning to electric, until I remember how to mute strings/notes/chords. Also it takes a few minutes to realize you don't have to push so hard to fret electric. But 5 minutes into a electric session after months on acoustic and it is a lot sharper.
I get bored with electric myself. Acoustic is great wire, wood and heart.
I play lots of slide so open A (or G) and open D or E.
I love playing acoustic. Usually only play electric for gigs maybe a few days prior to gig. I almost never plug in at home.
I have about 16 guitars sometimes playing a different guitar opens up a new feel.
Many great guitarists has unplugged versions of their songs. Might be an avenue to explore.
Depending on what genre you play, there’s a lot of fun in making acoustic covers of pop songs. Miley - Flowers could be fun as a low hanging fruit from the zeitgeist.
There’s a ton of songs that’s arranged for fingerstyle. Look up Mike Dawes. He does Metallica, Van Halen etc. on acoustic.
Look up acoustic intros to learn. GnR, Metallica has a few cool ones.
Try som Delta Blues.
Learn Bron-Y-Aur Stomp by Zeppelin.
There are many avenues you could go down:
1. Learn some alternate tunings (DADGAD and open G are popular). One of my favorite artists who often uses alternate tunings is Richard Thompson. The dude is also a great songwriter and a beast on the acoustic guitar. It can be hard to find sheet music for his work, though. Alternate tunings can really change up how your guitar sounds too. A small, thin-sounding guitar can really open up with the lower tones of DADGAD.
2. Learn to sing and play at the same time. If you already do that, start learning songs to sing & play, but make them your own. Come up with your own strumming and picking patterns. Change up the tempo.
3. Take songs traditionally played on electric guitar and arrange acoustic versions of them. Look to the two versions of Layla for an example, but it doesn't just have to be playing it slowly. For example: what would a pop punk song sound like as a bluegrass tune?
4. Write your own songs. I'm talking lyrics, melody, chords, strumming/picking.
I actually have a hard time seeing how one gets bored of the acoustic guitar. There's such potential for richness and depth. I love just letting chords ring out and, as the sound decays, holding my ear close to the soundboard and just relishing in the lingering bass tones. I won't say that the acoustic is better than the electric or any such nonsense. It's just different and I find it fosters creativity in a different way.
I had given the guitar for repair, and lo and behold someone sued the guitar company and now my guitar is stuck in their warehouse. I only know this much
Play what your normally play on your electric except play it on your acoustic.
There are no rules that say acoustics are only for cowboy chords or something.
What? You can play anything you want to play on an acoustic my man. Unless its some heavy metal djenting you can just play the music you enjoy playing on an electric but on a differently made guitar.
I think that guitarists who are used to playing lead on electric tend to feel as if acoustic can really only be used for rhythm, and this argument could certainly be valid when it comes to playing notes fast and fluid. Can you sweep pick on an acoustic? Certainly. Does it sound good? Not exactly. Then of course there's the fact that another commenter mentioned which is the inability to access the higher frets and the tension making it basically impossible to do more than a full step bend.
I started playing bluegrass and that certainly keeps me entertained on the acoustic.
I still don’t like playing full band sets on just the acoustic, but I have a lot of fun playing with a mandolin player in a duo on the acoustic.
I picked up guitar after a couple of decades hiatus and play more now that I ever did. And I can 100% credit bluegrass and flat picking for this. Its very challenging and the rewards are huge. As mentioned elsewhere Billy Strings is an acoustic virtuoso and there are lots of tutorials etc online. His attacking style matches any shredder on electric. Be inspired!
If you’re looking to dive in, Billy Strings is the modern bluegrass guitar god, but Tony Rice is the OG.
I also like the Pizza Tapes album with Jerry Garcia and Tony rice on acoustic
Edit: and DOC WATSON. Incredible flatpicker. Great melodies and songwriting
Just wanted to add that Billy and Tony songs are incredibly difficult to play. I'm a decent electric player with 15 years experience and started flatpicking a couple months ago. It's been a humbling experience to say the least Still working my way up to Billy and Tony tunes. It really feels like learning a new instrument.
Usually people start out with the basic fiddle tunes and boom/chuck rhythm parts. Next level is usually Carter style melody/bass combined and then work up to the fast cross picking style those guys use a lot.
Oh you are absolutely right. It makes electric guitar playing feel almost easy for me nowadays.
I can’t even touch the Tony stuff. And I do my best Billy Strings impression but honestly I’m not even that close.
Just didn't want anybody to get discouraged by trying to jump right into those guy's work. Love listening to them but it's definitely a really long term goal to play their songs remotely like them.
You feel the vibrations of the instrument. When you’re in perfect tune and feel those awesome overtones and harmonics come out w no signal degradation, it’s a beautiful sensation.
You don’t really get that w semi hollows let alone solid bodies.
Yeah but what about all of the sustain you lose with an acoustic. An electric is far more versatile than an acoustic. It seems to me that an acoustic can do far less than an electric. I guess it depends on the music you are playing also. I typically play progressive metal type stuff but I also enjoy playing on the other end of the spectrum and playing clean stuff. I like acoustics but when I play them I seem to always hit a point where I wish it was my electric because of some shortcoming I run across.
I play jazz and classical. But I grew up a metal head before getting into fusion…
I totally get where you’re coming from. Sustain on acoustics is one of those “you get what you pay for” things. There’s tons and tons of sustain on a Santa Cruz dread or a trenier archtop or an ambridge classical, trust me. The notes last forever. But you’re still right about missing those differences w electric. They’re different animals.
You’re not gonna fit in a metal band w an acoustic…but you can def practice metal at home on one to hone your chops. In regards to versatility…for the stuff I play, any gain kills versatility because all my notes mash together w no clarity.
The thing you mentions tho is why I love playing acoustic. “Shortcomings.” Acoustics will make those technical errors come out more, and you gotta rely on your musical vocabulary to get things going. You’re a lot more “naked.” It does take getting used to, but I love that instant feedback.
I actually don't disagree with anything you say here. Acoustic is definitely better for perfecting technique and the convenience of just being able to pick it up and play is pretty awesome.
I am following a similar path and getting more into rhythm playing these days. I am a very lead-centric guitarist so I neglected rhythm a lot in the beginning.
Ironically I was just telling my wife last night that I was entertaining the thought of getting an acoustic to practice with.
Everyone w lead chops I feel like goes thru periods of not spending enough time on rhythm guitar. Myself definitely included. When I play rock gigs I typically spend a bunch of time playing along w Malcolm young. The groove he digs is Grand Canyon deep, and man everything comes together lead-wise after digging trenches practicing rhythm. I love that shit.
I fully support you getting an acoustic lol. Who doesn’t love more guitars?
Michael Hedges, the tune Aerial Boundaries (one solo guitar.)
Tony Rice, Manzanita.
DiMeola, McLaughlin, DeLucia, Live Friday Night in San Francisco
I mean we could make a long list of things that would take you 10 more years to learn. You’re bored because you need to dig deeper on repertoire.
Have you given the American Primitive genre a look-see yet? John Fahey (all rise), Leo Kottke (come back when you've got THAT down), Gwenifer Raymond is a current practitioner.
Acoustic is great for practicing clean stuff, and not using distortion as a crutch. Also great for rhythmic stuff. I like to play tunes where I comp for myself with a claw grip. You can find many inversions for chords where there is a note on the low E or A strings that you play with your thumb, and play the rest of the notes on the D/G/B strings with your other fingers. Then you can get to the point of playing walking bass lines with your thumb in between plucking the chords on the other strings, and get pretty groovy with it. FWIW
They are like a feather but I honestly love playing 10s so much. Tone suffers but the enjoyment of doing electric style solos and just easily bar chords and just lazily play. I love it.
Cool that you learned patience! I’m on a huge 90s kick. Getting back to my roots!
Learn some Doc Watson flatpicking songs. That should keep you busy for few months and youll become better player in the process.
Acoustic is the real players guitar, electric is just a plugin version LOL
It's not that there's more options on one than the other, the acoustic is just a style you're unfamiliar with. This is a great opportunity to learn some new techniques you wouldn't see on electric.
I was the same way for sure. I played electric exclusively for my first 9 years of playing guitar because I started at 12 and Angus Young was the ultimate guitar player to me at the time. The whole entire reason I got an acoustic was because when I moved into my first apartment, no matter how low I would turn my amp my neighbors would get so pissed. Which is totally fair. So I switched to acoustic, and got bored very quickly. Youtube was really helpful finding new music styles for me. I ended up first learning a lot of blues. Stevie Ray Vaughan did an unplugged album on MTV that is amazing. Then the recommended videos led me to Lightnin' Hopkins, then Mississippi John Hurt, then Townes Van Zandt.
Those picking styles were so unique to the acoustic guitar that I got really into focusing on the picking hand. I finger pick a lot, and practiced a lot of different styles of plucking the strings to make different sounds. Raking the tops with my finger tips, to snapping them upwards, can really change the whole vibe of the song you're playing. So those old school blues players are a great resource. Then the songwriters like Townes Van Zandt who implemented really impressive finger picking styles. I also cannot plug Doc Watson enough. Great resource for technique.
For a few years I was strictly bluegrass and learning how to flat pick. Flat picking on an acoustic can be very technically challenging, which is fun for me. I love getting over something really difficult. The insane BPMs and open strings sound great, too. Tony Rice is my all time favorite. Church Stree Blues is in my opinion the best song ever done flat picking. Norman Blake is a good blue grass picker, too, and I believe wrote that song.
Now I'm really into open tunings because they just sound better on an acoustic, specifically a dreadnaught. I like composing weird chord progressions and I'm getting into more jazz stuff. Especially after hearing Neon by John Meyer. I love those weird tunings and how the slightest change in your picking sound can drastically change the sound your guitar makes. Especially when you move to a solid body with good tone woods like a Martin, Collings, etc.
I just found myself adjusting my play to the instrument, all because I didn't want to annoy my neighbors lol. The acoustic and electric guitars are very different, in my opinion. It's not easy to translate play styles to get the best sounds. So maybe try something you're not used to playing.
I respect the hell out of the fact that gone this long only playing one electric and your acoustic.....but you kinda need another guitar, and in most cases people *really* dont need that other guitar.
Have you tried giving alternative tunings a go? Such as open D or open C? Or learning percussive techniques such as string slapping/ body tapping - definitely something you can't do on a solid body electric.
Here's a tune that combines both of them.
https://youtu.be/jdYJf_ybyVo
As a whole piece it's definitely beyond my current skill level but there are segments which are definitely fun to play
The acoustic really shines when you find the chords up the neck that make it resonate. Some of John Mayer’s early acoustic stuff has some interesting chords like St Patrick’s Day, Neon, Man on the Side.
Open tunings are also a lot of fun. Or arranging songs where you are doing both the chords and melody at the same time. Check out guys like Andy McKee.
I’ve learnt all of John Mayer’s stuff and I’m bored of playing the same things now cos I’ve been playing that for YEARS. Also played Drifting 7 years ago. It’s a pita tuning the strings for every other song.
Andy McKee has a ton of songs that can be done as standard. Ebon Coast, Tight trite night, ouray, heathers song. He plays them on baritone guitar but they sound good on a standard guitar as well. I really love his stuff it's not terribly hard if you've played John mayer songs with his acoustic percussion style before (neon, heart of life, stop this train, etc).
Another one is really anything chet atkins- Mr sandman. His stretches are wild. Good one to learn.. its super recognizable and definitely not a beginner song.. Also for bonus just watch his and knophlers acoustic medley on YouTube. Sandman was on an electric but sounds great on acoustic
Note that you can play harder on acoustic. More percussive.
Experiment with rhythms. Get used to finger style and using your hands to slap the 2 & 4 on the strings and body as you play. There’s a ton more nuance to acoustic you aren’t really getting if you just play the strings like an electric.
I love playing acoustic. Country, more campfire style of playing. But yea, i've gotten bored a lot of times.
What got me hooked again recently was finding a certain artist that i was impressed by, both playing wise and voice, Colter Wall. I hadn't heard that style of singing before and noticed after trying that i can get to almost the same tune. Mind you, i absolutely suck at singing.
I think it's all individual, different people, different preferences.
Go get a Jack Tuttle Bluegrass guitar book and start practicing until you have memorized the songs and can play them at bluegrass speeds.
You could pretty much spend the rest of your life developing your bluegrass flat picking technique.
Listen to some John Renbourn and associated artists (British folk scene of the 60s). A whole new world of stuff, influenced Jimmy page's acoustic style
Experiment with DADGAD and other open tunings, because they generally won’t allow you to play generic chord voicings, you have to get creative and learn new techniques in order to play them well. Try it out.
What kind of music were you playing in electric? Most stuff I play transfers pretty well to acoustic unless it's something with a lot of power chords. Mostly what changes is how I play leads, instead of going up the neck I try my best to stay within the first 5 frets. Learning your scale shapes in the first position helps.
[https://countryguitaronline.com/open-position-guitar-scales/](https://countryguitaronline.com/open-position-guitar-scales/)
\^this is pretty much the foundation of flatpicking and really the only way to shred an acoustic guitar.
Stuff barely transfers to acoustic from core electric songs where you have to bend strings etc. But you’d argue you can slide instead of bending but it just loses the authenticity for me on an acoustic
Check your action... An acoustic isn't going to play like an electric by any means, but I use bends on acoustic all the time, especially when playing blues and country. You won't be doing any of those crazy five step bends by any means, but it shouldn't require a ton of effort to bend a whole step (and should take almost none for half-step bend or a nice vibrato) if your guitar is set up well.
Look into bluegrass and jazz as well. You can rip it on an acoustic too, just requires a little bit of a different approach.
Try some open tunings. Learn Watch over you by Myles Kennedy. She talks to angels.
DADGAD is a fun tuning as well.
Puts some new life into playing when the sound is drastically different.
Find stuff to play I reckon. Listen to the Tony Rice Unit albums “Manzanita” and “Unit of Measure,” they are amazing and totally inspiring.
Also change your strings regularly, a good acoustic guitar with fresh strings sounds like heaven every time.
That happened to me around the same 10ish year mark. Branch out into new genres, jam with people, go down YouTube rabbit holes, and learn new instruments. Find your curiosity again, and you’ll break the plateau 🙏🏻
Happens to every craftsperson at some point or another. Sounds like you’re approaching the end of intermediacy, congratulations for that. This is the point where you either progress into mastery, remain at the current level and explore the space, or go a different direction.
I wouldn’t overthink it too much, remember what got you into music in the first place. When in doubt, go to a live show and go get inspired by a band or artist that’s killing it. That always helped me a great deal when I felt stuck and unsure where to go.
YouTube beat of the week guitar. Percussive acoustic guitar. This is where nuno got he’s style and rat pedal on electric gave him the same thing on electric.
I play both electric and acoustic. They are very different. Acoustic is busking friendly and I don’t need drums because of how I play. It not a replacement but it’s also not a 3rd if the cash worth missing.
Electric you lose most of the dynamics of your pick hand in gain stages so it’s more colour than groove.
Change strings to a different gauge and try an open tuning. Play the same shapes and it helps shake your brain up. I've written new riffs every time I've tried it. CACGCE is a really fun tuning with extra fat strings
I’d agree with the suggestions to try a different tuning and something new. I’m similar in that I prefer electric most of the time. Last week I learned a Celtic tune in DADGAD and it was super fun on acoustic. Awesome sound with all the open strings and hammer on/pull off stuff.
Listen to
* Opeth - Damnation
* Days of the new
* Tantric
You can play any radio hit from the last 60 years on an acoustic. Pick a band like the foo fighters and stick to learning their songs.
I use my acoustic only when I leave the house to play so I don't have to carry my amp with me. So the most fun way to play it for me is when I hang out with friends and we play and sing together.
I was going to suggest fingerstyle and difficult songs and riffs, but half the fun I find is just learning the chords and to sing along with a song. Everyone has a different interest.
One thing I have found fun and challenging is adapting a song into a cover myself or before another artist finds a good way, not easy, but I'm not necessarily into pop or whatever music it is now but acoustic covers go over well with crowds! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDwL8NHuDZE
My recent favorite, tune to double drop D. DADGBD. Play the normal open D chord fret 2 with alternating D bass lines on 6 and 4 string. Add D minor pen without even moving your hand. It all happens on frets 1,2 and 3. Then throw in some d maj pen, same thing as B minor pen.
Use your pinky in the D chord and it frees up your ring finger to hit notes on strings 4,5,6.
You could try to learn a whole album or a bunch of songs by the same band and create a new batch of material to play for when the electric is ready.
We go back to my childhood home most christmases and there’s a crappy beat up Yamaha acoustic there and I just test drive songs on it so I can sound even better when I go back to my real guitars. It works pretty well and I always appreciate my axes way more afterward
I’m curious to know what kind of stuff you play on electric? If it’s heavily distorted then yeah, you might have a hard time getting the same vibe out of an acoustic. However, if what you’re looking for is more challenging/ technical/ holy crap that’s awesome stuff to play, there are plenty of possibilities.
You could have a bash at some flamenco. Steel strings are fine for any acoustic playing including classical, you don’t *need* nylon strings. Alternatively you might try modern percussive acoustic stuff, think Luca Stricagnoli. Andy McKee is one of many (usually) solo acoustic guitarists that writes more complex stuff for acoustic - he’s been around a while so you can probably find more recent stuff if that’s important to you, but McKee’s stuff is great.
My biggest recommendation would be to check out Tommy Emmanuel (my absolute guitar hero). He has it all: acoustic arrangements of songs, solo compositions that hold their own, and oh boy can he shred as well. “Guitar Boogie” is a classic, and “Old Fashioned Love Song” is really cool from a technical standpoint as he’s playing four parts at once on one guitar (as well as sounding nice). Check him out!
Summer means acoustic guitar outdoors so find some great sing-along songs and learn them. Pretty much anything is game if it's got a good story or good for others to sing.
If you want a challenge, learn some bluegrass standards. That would take some time but you never know when or where you'll want to know one.
When people post this shit I'm almost always fucking confused. Acoustic, Electric... it's all the same. Practice more.
All the same? You can only go so far on an accustic guitar, and things to play are virtually endless on an electric guitar. Does an accustic guitar have a whammy bar? Can you use effect pedals on an accustic guitar? Does playing rock tunes sound and feel the same on an accustic guitar? You can practice the fingerings on an accustic guitar, but no way in hell is it the same.
How does this mindset even develop, what goes wrong in a persons thinking
The answer to all of your questions is Yes, but it's all very dependent on how skilled YOU are and how willing you are to recompose said songs to fit the tension on an acoustic guitar. Does playing rock songs on an acoustic guitar feel the same? To me, yes. I've been playing 25+ years. Does an acoustic have a whammy bar? I have, in fact, seen acoustic guitars in my lifetime, with whammy bars. Do I need a whammy bar? It is the better question and the answer is not really. Most tricks on whammy bars can be simulated other ways to achieve the same effect. Can you use effect pedals on acoustic guitars? 100% yes. And it's often times super cool. Delays, reverb, even distortion on an acoustic guitar can make for some unique and raunchy tones. Your sustain while distorted is infinite. You are as virtually endless as your mind allows you to be on an instrument.
To be fair though I think it's near impossible to play many metal solos on most acoustics as they either don't have enough frets or it's impossible to reach the high ones depending on where neck and body are joined especially if we're talking about full tone bends on 19th fret or so.
No whammy, no whammy, no whammy! If you are skilled, you can play on any style guitar. Playing an electric all the time can make the move to acoustic exploit some lazy playing tendencies. I think your take that acoustic is limited tells me something more about your playing style. That or some closed-mindedness.
It’s spelled acoustic. And if you can’t play without a whammy and effects you’re not very good. Are they the same? No. Are there an infinite number of things to play on both acoustic and electric? Yes.
Open your mind and tunings.
Also, yes. You can use effect pedals with an acoustic guitar, they just might not sound as good.
Acoustic will show you what kind of player you are. I don't mean this insulting in any way. But there are no layered effects hiding sloppiness. Depending on the style you like to play, you may be able to start with what you play now, but improvise a bit. The real bonus here is the dialed-in playing you will do when your electric is again in service. I generally have a lot of string noise and weirdness when returning to electric, until I remember how to mute strings/notes/chords. Also it takes a few minutes to realize you don't have to push so hard to fret electric. But 5 minutes into a electric session after months on acoustic and it is a lot sharper.
You ain't wrong.
Idk man I feel like I play pretty well, but tbh Im kinda hitting a wall with my acoustic atm
Give it time, go outside your comfort zone
I get bored with electric myself. Acoustic is great wire, wood and heart. I play lots of slide so open A (or G) and open D or E. I love playing acoustic. Usually only play electric for gigs maybe a few days prior to gig. I almost never plug in at home. I have about 16 guitars sometimes playing a different guitar opens up a new feel.
Many great guitarists has unplugged versions of their songs. Might be an avenue to explore. Depending on what genre you play, there’s a lot of fun in making acoustic covers of pop songs. Miley - Flowers could be fun as a low hanging fruit from the zeitgeist. There’s a ton of songs that’s arranged for fingerstyle. Look up Mike Dawes. He does Metallica, Van Halen etc. on acoustic. Look up acoustic intros to learn. GnR, Metallica has a few cool ones. Try som Delta Blues. Learn Bron-Y-Aur Stomp by Zeppelin.
There are many avenues you could go down: 1. Learn some alternate tunings (DADGAD and open G are popular). One of my favorite artists who often uses alternate tunings is Richard Thompson. The dude is also a great songwriter and a beast on the acoustic guitar. It can be hard to find sheet music for his work, though. Alternate tunings can really change up how your guitar sounds too. A small, thin-sounding guitar can really open up with the lower tones of DADGAD. 2. Learn to sing and play at the same time. If you already do that, start learning songs to sing & play, but make them your own. Come up with your own strumming and picking patterns. Change up the tempo. 3. Take songs traditionally played on electric guitar and arrange acoustic versions of them. Look to the two versions of Layla for an example, but it doesn't just have to be playing it slowly. For example: what would a pop punk song sound like as a bluegrass tune? 4. Write your own songs. I'm talking lyrics, melody, chords, strumming/picking. I actually have a hard time seeing how one gets bored of the acoustic guitar. There's such potential for richness and depth. I love just letting chords ring out and, as the sound decays, holding my ear close to the soundboard and just relishing in the lingering bass tones. I won't say that the acoustic is better than the electric or any such nonsense. It's just different and I find it fosters creativity in a different way.
Great advice, thanks!
Jorma Kaukonen and David Bromberg do some great acoustic songs. "Water Song" in Open G is one of my favorites to play.
Awesome. I'll have to check them out.
[удалено]
I had given the guitar for repair, and lo and behold someone sued the guitar company and now my guitar is stuck in their warehouse. I only know this much
Play what your normally play on your electric except play it on your acoustic. There are no rules that say acoustics are only for cowboy chords or something.
What? You can play anything you want to play on an acoustic my man. Unless its some heavy metal djenting you can just play the music you enjoy playing on an electric but on a differently made guitar.
I think that guitarists who are used to playing lead on electric tend to feel as if acoustic can really only be used for rhythm, and this argument could certainly be valid when it comes to playing notes fast and fluid. Can you sweep pick on an acoustic? Certainly. Does it sound good? Not exactly. Then of course there's the fact that another commenter mentioned which is the inability to access the higher frets and the tension making it basically impossible to do more than a full step bend.
I started playing bluegrass and that certainly keeps me entertained on the acoustic. I still don’t like playing full band sets on just the acoustic, but I have a lot of fun playing with a mandolin player in a duo on the acoustic.
I picked up guitar after a couple of decades hiatus and play more now that I ever did. And I can 100% credit bluegrass and flat picking for this. Its very challenging and the rewards are huge. As mentioned elsewhere Billy Strings is an acoustic virtuoso and there are lots of tutorials etc online. His attacking style matches any shredder on electric. Be inspired!
That’s a good suggestion!
If you’re looking to dive in, Billy Strings is the modern bluegrass guitar god, but Tony Rice is the OG. I also like the Pizza Tapes album with Jerry Garcia and Tony rice on acoustic Edit: and DOC WATSON. Incredible flatpicker. Great melodies and songwriting
Just wanted to add that Billy and Tony songs are incredibly difficult to play. I'm a decent electric player with 15 years experience and started flatpicking a couple months ago. It's been a humbling experience to say the least Still working my way up to Billy and Tony tunes. It really feels like learning a new instrument. Usually people start out with the basic fiddle tunes and boom/chuck rhythm parts. Next level is usually Carter style melody/bass combined and then work up to the fast cross picking style those guys use a lot.
Oh you are absolutely right. It makes electric guitar playing feel almost easy for me nowadays. I can’t even touch the Tony stuff. And I do my best Billy Strings impression but honestly I’m not even that close.
Just didn't want anybody to get discouraged by trying to jump right into those guy's work. Love listening to them but it's definitely a really long term goal to play their songs remotely like them.
I'm the best Billy S impersonator in my house!
I learn music. Jazz. Classical. Acoustic playing is far more rewarding than electric. What repair could take months?
It’s a long story, basically it’s stuck in a locked warehouse
Not sure where you are, but there are many sub $100 guitars here on Craigslist. They will probably work fine.
How is acoustic more rewarding than electric? That just seems like a very biased opinion.
You feel the vibrations of the instrument. When you’re in perfect tune and feel those awesome overtones and harmonics come out w no signal degradation, it’s a beautiful sensation. You don’t really get that w semi hollows let alone solid bodies.
Yeah but what about all of the sustain you lose with an acoustic. An electric is far more versatile than an acoustic. It seems to me that an acoustic can do far less than an electric. I guess it depends on the music you are playing also. I typically play progressive metal type stuff but I also enjoy playing on the other end of the spectrum and playing clean stuff. I like acoustics but when I play them I seem to always hit a point where I wish it was my electric because of some shortcoming I run across.
I play jazz and classical. But I grew up a metal head before getting into fusion… I totally get where you’re coming from. Sustain on acoustics is one of those “you get what you pay for” things. There’s tons and tons of sustain on a Santa Cruz dread or a trenier archtop or an ambridge classical, trust me. The notes last forever. But you’re still right about missing those differences w electric. They’re different animals. You’re not gonna fit in a metal band w an acoustic…but you can def practice metal at home on one to hone your chops. In regards to versatility…for the stuff I play, any gain kills versatility because all my notes mash together w no clarity. The thing you mentions tho is why I love playing acoustic. “Shortcomings.” Acoustics will make those technical errors come out more, and you gotta rely on your musical vocabulary to get things going. You’re a lot more “naked.” It does take getting used to, but I love that instant feedback.
I actually don't disagree with anything you say here. Acoustic is definitely better for perfecting technique and the convenience of just being able to pick it up and play is pretty awesome. I am following a similar path and getting more into rhythm playing these days. I am a very lead-centric guitarist so I neglected rhythm a lot in the beginning. Ironically I was just telling my wife last night that I was entertaining the thought of getting an acoustic to practice with.
Everyone w lead chops I feel like goes thru periods of not spending enough time on rhythm guitar. Myself definitely included. When I play rock gigs I typically spend a bunch of time playing along w Malcolm young. The groove he digs is Grand Canyon deep, and man everything comes together lead-wise after digging trenches practicing rhythm. I love that shit. I fully support you getting an acoustic lol. Who doesn’t love more guitars?
Michael Hedges, the tune Aerial Boundaries (one solo guitar.) Tony Rice, Manzanita. DiMeola, McLaughlin, DeLucia, Live Friday Night in San Francisco I mean we could make a long list of things that would take you 10 more years to learn. You’re bored because you need to dig deeper on repertoire.
Have you given the American Primitive genre a look-see yet? John Fahey (all rise), Leo Kottke (come back when you've got THAT down), Gwenifer Raymond is a current practitioner.
I never really loved guitar until I got an acoustic. I find the electric boring to play.
I got bored with my acoustic cause it didn’t sound that good. Finding a great sounding guitar was inspiring.
This might be the reason after all
Acoustic is great for practicing clean stuff, and not using distortion as a crutch. Also great for rhythmic stuff. I like to play tunes where I comp for myself with a claw grip. You can find many inversions for chords where there is a note on the low E or A strings that you play with your thumb, and play the rest of the notes on the D/G/B strings with your other fingers. Then you can get to the point of playing walking bass lines with your thumb in between plucking the chords on the other strings, and get pretty groovy with it. FWIW
Try new genres bossa nova is nice on acoustic
Buy more guitars.
Makes sense
Everybody needs at least n + 1 guitars
I like this recursion🌚
This is the way.
Perfect justification for owning more than one electric guitar. Cheers mate.
I put 10s on my acoustic I practice electric songs on it and it’s fun and easy to bend. Learn patience. Patience by GNR. With solos you lazy bastard.
Sheesh they must be like feather, learnt that song already though!
They are like a feather but I honestly love playing 10s so much. Tone suffers but the enjoyment of doing electric style solos and just easily bar chords and just lazily play. I love it. Cool that you learned patience! I’m on a huge 90s kick. Getting back to my roots!
Learn some Doc Watson flatpicking songs. That should keep you busy for few months and youll become better player in the process. Acoustic is the real players guitar, electric is just a plugin version LOL
It's not that there's more options on one than the other, the acoustic is just a style you're unfamiliar with. This is a great opportunity to learn some new techniques you wouldn't see on electric.
I was the same way for sure. I played electric exclusively for my first 9 years of playing guitar because I started at 12 and Angus Young was the ultimate guitar player to me at the time. The whole entire reason I got an acoustic was because when I moved into my first apartment, no matter how low I would turn my amp my neighbors would get so pissed. Which is totally fair. So I switched to acoustic, and got bored very quickly. Youtube was really helpful finding new music styles for me. I ended up first learning a lot of blues. Stevie Ray Vaughan did an unplugged album on MTV that is amazing. Then the recommended videos led me to Lightnin' Hopkins, then Mississippi John Hurt, then Townes Van Zandt. Those picking styles were so unique to the acoustic guitar that I got really into focusing on the picking hand. I finger pick a lot, and practiced a lot of different styles of plucking the strings to make different sounds. Raking the tops with my finger tips, to snapping them upwards, can really change the whole vibe of the song you're playing. So those old school blues players are a great resource. Then the songwriters like Townes Van Zandt who implemented really impressive finger picking styles. I also cannot plug Doc Watson enough. Great resource for technique. For a few years I was strictly bluegrass and learning how to flat pick. Flat picking on an acoustic can be very technically challenging, which is fun for me. I love getting over something really difficult. The insane BPMs and open strings sound great, too. Tony Rice is my all time favorite. Church Stree Blues is in my opinion the best song ever done flat picking. Norman Blake is a good blue grass picker, too, and I believe wrote that song. Now I'm really into open tunings because they just sound better on an acoustic, specifically a dreadnaught. I like composing weird chord progressions and I'm getting into more jazz stuff. Especially after hearing Neon by John Meyer. I love those weird tunings and how the slightest change in your picking sound can drastically change the sound your guitar makes. Especially when you move to a solid body with good tone woods like a Martin, Collings, etc. I just found myself adjusting my play to the instrument, all because I didn't want to annoy my neighbors lol. The acoustic and electric guitars are very different, in my opinion. It's not easy to translate play styles to get the best sounds. So maybe try something you're not used to playing.
I respect the hell out of the fact that gone this long only playing one electric and your acoustic.....but you kinda need another guitar, and in most cases people *really* dont need that other guitar.
Have you tried giving alternative tunings a go? Such as open D or open C? Or learning percussive techniques such as string slapping/ body tapping - definitely something you can't do on a solid body electric. Here's a tune that combines both of them. https://youtu.be/jdYJf_ybyVo As a whole piece it's definitely beyond my current skill level but there are segments which are definitely fun to play
The acoustic really shines when you find the chords up the neck that make it resonate. Some of John Mayer’s early acoustic stuff has some interesting chords like St Patrick’s Day, Neon, Man on the Side. Open tunings are also a lot of fun. Or arranging songs where you are doing both the chords and melody at the same time. Check out guys like Andy McKee.
I’ve learnt all of John Mayer’s stuff and I’m bored of playing the same things now cos I’ve been playing that for YEARS. Also played Drifting 7 years ago. It’s a pita tuning the strings for every other song.
Andy McKee has a ton of songs that can be done as standard. Ebon Coast, Tight trite night, ouray, heathers song. He plays them on baritone guitar but they sound good on a standard guitar as well. I really love his stuff it's not terribly hard if you've played John mayer songs with his acoustic percussion style before (neon, heart of life, stop this train, etc).
Learn Yes- The clap. You'll have your electric back before you nail it lol
Sounds interesting!
Another one is really anything chet atkins- Mr sandman. His stretches are wild. Good one to learn.. its super recognizable and definitely not a beginner song.. Also for bonus just watch his and knophlers acoustic medley on YouTube. Sandman was on an electric but sounds great on acoustic
Note that you can play harder on acoustic. More percussive. Experiment with rhythms. Get used to finger style and using your hands to slap the 2 & 4 on the strings and body as you play. There’s a ton more nuance to acoustic you aren’t really getting if you just play the strings like an electric.
wait, what kind of electric guitar repair takes a few months?
When you send the Hello Kitty Squier to Murphy Labs for relicing
This. This right here.
Put it in an open tuning, raise the action, and buy a slide
I love playing acoustic. Country, more campfire style of playing. But yea, i've gotten bored a lot of times. What got me hooked again recently was finding a certain artist that i was impressed by, both playing wise and voice, Colter Wall. I hadn't heard that style of singing before and noticed after trying that i can get to almost the same tune. Mind you, i absolutely suck at singing. I think it's all individual, different people, different preferences.
Go get a Jack Tuttle Bluegrass guitar book and start practicing until you have memorized the songs and can play them at bluegrass speeds. You could pretty much spend the rest of your life developing your bluegrass flat picking technique.
Try to arrange fingerstyle versions of your favorite songs
Listen to some John Renbourn and associated artists (British folk scene of the 60s). A whole new world of stuff, influenced Jimmy page's acoustic style
Try learning classical?
Experiment with DADGAD and other open tunings, because they generally won’t allow you to play generic chord voicings, you have to get creative and learn new techniques in order to play them well. Try it out.
What kind of music were you playing in electric? Most stuff I play transfers pretty well to acoustic unless it's something with a lot of power chords. Mostly what changes is how I play leads, instead of going up the neck I try my best to stay within the first 5 frets. Learning your scale shapes in the first position helps. [https://countryguitaronline.com/open-position-guitar-scales/](https://countryguitaronline.com/open-position-guitar-scales/) \^this is pretty much the foundation of flatpicking and really the only way to shred an acoustic guitar.
Stuff barely transfers to acoustic from core electric songs where you have to bend strings etc. But you’d argue you can slide instead of bending but it just loses the authenticity for me on an acoustic
Check your action... An acoustic isn't going to play like an electric by any means, but I use bends on acoustic all the time, especially when playing blues and country. You won't be doing any of those crazy five step bends by any means, but it shouldn't require a ton of effort to bend a whole step (and should take almost none for half-step bend or a nice vibrato) if your guitar is set up well. Look into bluegrass and jazz as well. You can rip it on an acoustic too, just requires a little bit of a different approach.
Learn some classical stuff. Finger picking complex patters.
Try some open tunings. Learn Watch over you by Myles Kennedy. She talks to angels. DADGAD is a fun tuning as well. Puts some new life into playing when the sound is drastically different.
For anyone looking Watch Over You is an Alter Bridge tune, not part of Myles Kennedys solo stuff.
Yes you are correct. I was just referring to his solo acoustic performance of it, it's on YouTube.
Going to watch this tonight 😎
Kinda the opposite for me. The sweet tones of an acoustic are much more fun to play than that whiny, shrill electric.
Find stuff to play I reckon. Listen to the Tony Rice Unit albums “Manzanita” and “Unit of Measure,” they are amazing and totally inspiring. Also change your strings regularly, a good acoustic guitar with fresh strings sounds like heaven every time.
Acoustic lead !!
Learn Tommy Emmanuel's Beatles Medley
That happened to me around the same 10ish year mark. Branch out into new genres, jam with people, go down YouTube rabbit holes, and learn new instruments. Find your curiosity again, and you’ll break the plateau 🙏🏻
Good to know I’m not the only one!
Happens to every craftsperson at some point or another. Sounds like you’re approaching the end of intermediacy, congratulations for that. This is the point where you either progress into mastery, remain at the current level and explore the space, or go a different direction. I wouldn’t overthink it too much, remember what got you into music in the first place. When in doubt, go to a live show and go get inspired by a band or artist that’s killing it. That always helped me a great deal when I felt stuck and unsure where to go.
Learn some different techniques for playing. Try and strum/pick at different areas along the strings to get different Timbre/tones.
Bluegrass! Blues!
YouTube beat of the week guitar. Percussive acoustic guitar. This is where nuno got he’s style and rat pedal on electric gave him the same thing on electric. I play both electric and acoustic. They are very different. Acoustic is busking friendly and I don’t need drums because of how I play. It not a replacement but it’s also not a 3rd if the cash worth missing. Electric you lose most of the dynamics of your pick hand in gain stages so it’s more colour than groove.
Change strings to a different gauge and try an open tuning. Play the same shapes and it helps shake your brain up. I've written new riffs every time I've tried it. CACGCE is a really fun tuning with extra fat strings
I’d agree with the suggestions to try a different tuning and something new. I’m similar in that I prefer electric most of the time. Last week I learned a Celtic tune in DADGAD and it was super fun on acoustic. Awesome sound with all the open strings and hammer on/pull off stuff.
Ragtime guitar: Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Blake, etc. Technical and fun!
Work out the finger picking for "Dear Prudence" and then get back to us.
Buy a cheap electric in the meantime?
Saving up money to buy a strat, don’t want to waste it on a cheap one that I wouldn’t use later
Buy a used cheapo that you can flip later and not lose any money.
Listen to * Opeth - Damnation * Days of the new * Tantric You can play any radio hit from the last 60 years on an acoustic. Pick a band like the foo fighters and stick to learning their songs.
I recommend you go listen to the entire opeth discography. That will leave you with plenty of acoustic material to learn
I use my acoustic only when I leave the house to play so I don't have to carry my amp with me. So the most fun way to play it for me is when I hang out with friends and we play and sing together.
tTy Marcin Patralek or Lucas Brar.
I was going to suggest fingerstyle and difficult songs and riffs, but half the fun I find is just learning the chords and to sing along with a song. Everyone has a different interest. One thing I have found fun and challenging is adapting a song into a cover myself or before another artist finds a good way, not easy, but I'm not necessarily into pop or whatever music it is now but acoustic covers go over well with crowds! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDwL8NHuDZE
My recent favorite, tune to double drop D. DADGBD. Play the normal open D chord fret 2 with alternating D bass lines on 6 and 4 string. Add D minor pen without even moving your hand. It all happens on frets 1,2 and 3. Then throw in some d maj pen, same thing as B minor pen. Use your pinky in the D chord and it frees up your ring finger to hit notes on strings 4,5,6.
Learn the early stylings of Eugene Hutz and his Gypsy Punk methods!!!
You could try to learn a whole album or a bunch of songs by the same band and create a new batch of material to play for when the electric is ready. We go back to my childhood home most christmases and there’s a crappy beat up Yamaha acoustic there and I just test drive songs on it so I can sound even better when I go back to my real guitars. It works pretty well and I always appreciate my axes way more afterward
I’m curious to know what kind of stuff you play on electric? If it’s heavily distorted then yeah, you might have a hard time getting the same vibe out of an acoustic. However, if what you’re looking for is more challenging/ technical/ holy crap that’s awesome stuff to play, there are plenty of possibilities. You could have a bash at some flamenco. Steel strings are fine for any acoustic playing including classical, you don’t *need* nylon strings. Alternatively you might try modern percussive acoustic stuff, think Luca Stricagnoli. Andy McKee is one of many (usually) solo acoustic guitarists that writes more complex stuff for acoustic - he’s been around a while so you can probably find more recent stuff if that’s important to you, but McKee’s stuff is great. My biggest recommendation would be to check out Tommy Emmanuel (my absolute guitar hero). He has it all: acoustic arrangements of songs, solo compositions that hold their own, and oh boy can he shred as well. “Guitar Boogie” is a classic, and “Old Fashioned Love Song” is really cool from a technical standpoint as he’s playing four parts at once on one guitar (as well as sounding nice). Check him out!
Tool-Right in two. It's in drop D. Sounds good on acoustic
Summer means acoustic guitar outdoors so find some great sing-along songs and learn them. Pretty much anything is game if it's got a good story or good for others to sing. If you want a challenge, learn some bluegrass standards. That would take some time but you never know when or where you'll want to know one.
[https://youtu.be/yB37txpZa9g](https://youtu.be/yB37txpZa9g)
Yeah I fucking hate acoustic over electric. Trade it in for an electric acoustic, plug it in and turn up the distortion lol