Acoustic, electro-acoustic, semi-acoustic and electric guitars. What makes them different? Which guitar is better? (FAQ)

Perhaps the question I raised is the most pressing among newcomers to this moment. Often, topics pop up on guitar forums every now and then, where the eternal debate between beginners and experienced guitarists takes place over the advantages and disadvantages of both instruments. After weighing all the pros and cons and also relying on my own experience, I decided to compose my own article that will help all beginners and put an end to doubts and hesitations in connection with the choice of a specific tool.

So, first of all, let's look at both tools. Let's just consider. Both guitars are very similar in structure. Both are mechanical, although the first glance at an electric guitar gives a completely different impression. To a beginner, it seems that the instrument is radically different from its acoustic counterpart. Different - yes. Cardinally - partly.

Sound production occurs in the same way as on an acoustic, that is, the sound comes from the vibration of the strings. But if the sound production is similar, then the sound reproduction is different. On acoustics the mechanism is much simpler. The vibrations of the strings are quite loud without amplification using special equipment, thanks to the resonator hole. While an electric guitar requires a sound amplifier in any case, since there is no resonator on the body of an electric guitar, and the body itself is not deep or wide. The sound does not resonate, and without equipment it comes out very quiet and of poor quality. Therefore, electromagnetic sensors are installed on the electric guitar, which pick up vibrations of the strings via a special cable and transmit them to the amplifier.

Looking at both instruments, we will immediately see the main difference: an electric guitar is not only heavier in weight, but also requires additional equipment, and therefore is not at all compact. While acoustics seem lighter and simpler. Indeed, with a further deeper analysis of the electric guitar, we will learn about processors, effects pedals, and other equipment that terrify beginners not only with their prices, but also with their purpose. But in truth, the devil is not as scary as he is portrayed. It is possible to understand all the equipment, while prices for it always remain stable. So we draw the second conclusion: the electric guitar is a much more expensive instrument... but also much more functional.

Having compared the two tools superficially, we draw the first conclusions:
An acoustic guitar is cheaper, lighter and does not require a lot of additional equipment. An electric guitar, on the contrary, is heavier, more expensive, requires special equipment, but provides more opportunities to the player.

I will not examine the structure of both guitars more thoroughly, but will suggest moving on to reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of each instrument. First let's compare the sound of both instruments. The main difference that a musician who takes up acoustics after an electric guitar notices is that the sound comes not from the guitar itself, but from the combo amplifier, and therefore it seems that the sound on an acoustic is “live”, while on an electric guitar it is “artificial”. However, having gotten used to the unusual sound of an electric guitar, we see several advantages. The sound that comes out tends to be clearer and louder because we have the freedom to control the sound of our guitar through the combo amp. Although less natural than acoustics.

But from my own experience, I will say that a beginner will not see a significant difference between the sound of an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar on a clean channel. However, the situation changes significantly in favor of the electric guitar when we begin to experiment with sound. We can not only change the timbre, volume and change it using an equalizer, but also radically change the sound by overloading it or applying effects to it.

Such functions allow you to give free rein to your imagination, which turns the learning process into an exciting and interesting activity. I'm not saying that the process of learning to play acoustics is not an interesting activity, but based on the experience of the beginners I have observed, I say with confidence that the variety of modes and possibilities makes it possible to play in different styles, which is undoubtedly interesting. But this also has its downside. As a rule, a lot of functionality confuses players, while on acoustics everything is extremely clear and simple.

Also, playing the electric guitar is somewhat easier. The strings are not only softer and therefore easier to clamp, but many playing mistakes are forgiven. Decide for yourself whether this is good or bad. A poorly pressed string on an acoustic will sound dull, an incorrectly pressed string on a fret will rattle. On an electric guitar, all holes are smoothed out. However, a guitarist who switches from an electric guitar to an acoustic one will make many mistakes when playing if not properly trained. It will literally become a “litmus test”, so decide for yourself what is best for you.

Let's now compare the features of the game. Those people who say that playing an electric guitar are similar to playing an acoustic guitar, and that you should start with the latter, are mistaken. It's really about starting with what you want to play because the technique is very different after all. If you can play on an acoustic with both finger and pick techniques, then on an electric guitar the finger technique is the exception rather than the rule. And, as you know, mastering each technique requires time and effort, so decide right away.

Well, the last point: mobility. An acoustic guitar is light, compact and easily transportable (but more fragile), so it is ideal for playing outdoors, at a party, in general, no matter where. But the electric guitar is preferable only for home game And studio. Not only is it difficult to transport, it also requires a power source for the combo amp. So, to summarize:

Acoustic guitar:

+ Lightness, compactness, mobility
+ Price
+/- Versatility
- Fragility

Electric guitar:

+ Versatility and flexibility
+ Variety of styles performed
+ Forgiving mistakes when playing.
+ Flexibility in sound control
- Price and accessories
- There is no “live sound” of an acoustic instrument.

The disadvantages of each instance are the advantages of the opposite, in any case, the choice is yours. I think this article will help you. Good luck to you regardless of the tool you choose!

How to choose a decent acoustic or electric guitar for a beginner guitarist and one that suits your preferences and budget.

If you are reading this article You are considering buying a first guitar for yourself, a friend or your child. Read on to learn about the basic features, the differences between acoustic, electro-acoustic or electric guitars, and also discover some tips on how to make right choice when purchasing your first instrument.

Let's get started: guitar review

Almost all guitars share General characteristics. Below are the most important ones for beginners to know and understand.

Typically guitars have six strings. All guitars have a body (the bulky part), a neck (the long, thin part) and a headstock, which is located on top of it (the strings are also attached to it using so-called pegs).

All guitars must be properly tuned in order to sound correct. Tuning a guitar is done using pegs by increasing or decreasing the tension of the strings. On the top of the neck there is a fingerboard, along the top of which the strings are pulled. Metal saddles, called frets, are glued into the fingerboard. They are designed to distinguish individual notes on the fretboard, which provides great convenience when playing.

At the intersection of the top of the fingerboard and the headstock, a piece of special material (usually plastic or bone) is glued, which is called top sill. The strings are attached using pegs and stretched through separate grooves in the nut for each string to the so-called bridge, which is located on the top of the guitar. There they are secured using special plugs (if it is an acoustic guitar) or a special machine (if it is an electric guitar). When a guitarist “breaks” a string, i.e. extracts sound from it, it begins to vibrate, starting from the bridge and ending with the top saddle. This is where the guitar sound comes from. How these vibrations are converted into sound depends on the type of guitar (electric or acoustic). We'll talk about this a little below.

Acoustic Guitar vs Electric Guitar: What You Should Know

If you are just starting to dive into this world, then you may not know what the difference is between an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar. Don't worry, you are not alone.

Acoustic Guitar Basics

Acoustic guitars differ from electric guitars in several ways. Most notably, the acoustic guitar does not need to be plugged into an amplifier to be heard. Acoustic guitars are larger in size than electric guitars and have an acoustic chamber (body) in their arsenal, which increases resonance and, accordingly, sound. The guitar's bridge helps spread the resonance generated by the strings throughout the body.

The acoustic properties of the wood used to make the instrument have a huge impact on how the guitar sounds. The wood used for the top of the body is especially important. For example, the highest quality cabinets are made from solid spruce, cedar and other types of wood that produce expressive sound.

Inexpensive guitars are made from multi-layer sheets of compressed wood. Although this method is reliable and quite attractive, it does not produce an attractive sound like durum varieties wood At least this is true for the rear and sides of the case.

The body size of an acoustic guitar also has a huge impact on the sound. Guitar body types such as Dreadnought and Jumbo typically produce a loud, warm sound that emphasizes bass notes. These types of enclosures are considered large. Concert and 000 guitars tend to have a bright sound that emphasizes their midrange.

As a rule, standard acoustic guitars are equipped with metal strings, but there is also such a variety as classical and flamenco guitars, which are equipped exclusively with nylon strings. They give more juicy, soft sound. The most common misconception is that beginners should start with nylon strings because they are more comfortable on your fingers and easier to play. This is true, but nylon and metal strings are not interchangeable on the same guitar. Your main guideline in this matter should be the music you are going to play. For example, if you want to play rock, blues, country, then metal strings are your everything. If you want to play classics, flamenco, folk, then you can’t do without nylon strings.

Acoustic guitars are self-contained and require very little training to sit down and play. If you are looking for simplicity, then I would advise you to first learn to play an acoustic guitar, and then try something harder 😉 All you need to do is sit down, tune your instrument (if it requires it) and start learning chords or some simple melodies.

Acoustic guitars are generally larger than electric guitars and use stiffer strings. This is important if the guitarist has small hands or height. Therefore, at first it will be a little easier for a beginner to learn to play an electric guitar rather than an acoustic one.

For more information about the design of an acoustic guitar and how to choose it, see the following posts: and.

Electric-Acoustic Guitar Basics

An electro-acoustic guitar has a pickup, which is usually built into the bridge in order to capture the vibrations produced by the top of the soundboard and transmit them through the built-in preamplifier to an external amplifier. Although connection to an external amplifier is not necessary, since the unconnected electroacoustic guitar sounds exactly the same as a regular acoustic guitar.

Electroacoustics is a good choice for those who want to be able to play through an amplifier as well as using the usual method. It all depends on what goals you are pursuing.

Electric Guitar Basics

Unlike an acoustic guitar, which you can simply pick up and start playing, an electric guitar requires an amplifier and cable to reproduce sound. While they exist great amount body shapes and styles, electric guitars are typically smaller and use thinner strings to play.

An electric guitar relies heavily on its pickups to produce its sound. It can have one, two or three pickups, which are installed in the upper part of the body. Depending on their location and the type of electronics, pickups generate different types sound. Electric guitars with multiple pickups have controls that allow you to choose which one will work at a given time and “record” the sound. You can also make two pickups work simultaneously, thereby getting a completely different sound.

In addition to adjusting the pickup configuration and tone control, electric guitarists must adjust the volume of the amplifier to achieve their preferred sound. WITH correct settings guitarists can play different styles: country, jazz, rock, blues, heavy metal, etc.

If you are buying an electric guitar as a gift, then I would advise you to find out what style of music the aspiring guitarist wants to play. It's better to let him know what you're up to and help you make a choice than to buy an instrument that simply doesn't suit his musical preferences.

You can read more about the design of an electric guitar and how to choose it correctly in the following posts: “Design of an electric guitar”, .

What type of guitar should you choose?

There really is no right or wrong answer. Choose the instrument that suits your musical preferences. If you are inspired by electric guitarists, then you might want to follow their example and buy the same instrument they play. If you don't want to worry about connections, wires and various settings, then an acoustic guitar is the one. If you're still not sure, write down a list of 10 bands or artists whose style you'd like to emulate. If your list is predominantly electric guitarists, then your choice is obvious.

Whatever you choose (acoustic or electric), the following accessories will definitely come in handy:

Mediators
Tuner
Belt
Strings
Case or case

In addition to this, electric guitarists will benefit from the following:

Amplifier
Cable
Headphones

Acoustic Guitars for Beginners

I want to offer you three options for acoustic guitars that have good price and the quality is just right for beginner guitarists.

Acoustic guitar Yamaha FG720S

The beautiful appearance of the guitar is complemented by the mahogany top. The guitar has a rich and balanced sound. The quality of the materials does not give the slightest doubt about the correctness of the choice, since the neck is made of rosewood. In my opinion this is an excellent choice for a beginning guitarist.

Martin LX

Martin guitars have been made for over 180 years and during that time they know a lot about guitar making. This company is considered one of best manufacturer guitars in the world. The Martin LX is a great choice for small children and beginners. Professional methods The design and equipment makes the sound of this instrument truly amazing. The guitar is also great for traveling due to its compact body that packs away very easily.

Electric-acoustic guitar Epiphone Dove Pro A

This electro-acoustic model has a comfortable neck, a top part made of solid spruce and a ringing, rich sound. The design of this model will take you back to 1962. The guitar is also equipped with an internal Fishman Sonicore pickup, which accurately reproduces acoustic sound whenever you connect this instrument to an amplifier.

Electric guitars for beginners

I would like to present to you three wonderful electric guitars that will faithfully serve any beginning guitarist.

Squier Standard Telecaster

Classic Fender design, smooth playability and simple remedies management. The Squier Standard Telecaster is a great choice for your first instrument. A fixed bridge and high-quality tuners provide simple and reliable tuning stability. One knob for volume, one for tone, all combined with two bright-sounding single-coil coils that give the beginning guitarist a wide range of tones that are easy to control. Theolecasters were and are a mainstay of country, pop, surf and rock music.

Epiphone Les Paul 100

The Epiphone Les Paul 100 features three humbuckers designed for meaty rock sound. Simple controls, high-quality equipment and ease of use will allow you to enjoy learning. These guitars are especially popular in rock and blues, and have a naturally warm sound that suits many genres of music.

ESP LTD LMH100QMNT

The LMH100QMNT is a sleek, stylish guitar that's also affordable and could be a great choice for you. The instrument has a thin body and a comfortable neck that will allow you to feel only comfort when playing. Two pairs of humbucker pickups provide enough power for you to emulate heavy rock and metal sounds. Top part The body is made of maple, which is very, very good for the price of this instrument.

Yamaha GigMaker Deluxe Acoustic Guitar Value Pack

If you are looking a budget option, with everything you need for playing and learning, then this option is just for you. This is definitely a budget option that includes picks, a strap, an electric tuner, a case, extra strings, and even an instructional DVD that includes useful lessons newbie.

Electric guitar Squier Affinity HSS Stratocaster complete with amplifier

This set includes an iconic electric guitar and amplifier that's great for learning. This Stratocaster is especially good for styles such as country, blues, pop and rock. This guitar has two single-coil pickups and one humbucker built into it, making it very versatile in terms of sound. The kit includes a tuner, cable, belt, case and training DVD with instructions.

Electro or bass

A rock band is unthinkable without an electric guitar. Yes, and other genres - jazz, blues, neoclassical and even sometimes Electonic music today they cannot do without it.

A few words about the basic elements of an electric guitar. The guitar body consists of a soundboard ( wide part) and neck (long narrow part). The deck contains a tailpiece (aka bridge), pickups (the very part that converts string vibrations into electric current), tone and volume controls. On the neck there are frets (transverse narrow metal protrusions against which the strings are pressed), and it is crowned by the headstock, where the strings are wound and tuned using pegs.

A bass guitar differs from an electric guitar in having fewer strings (usually four or five) and a lower sound. The bass guitar, together with the drums, leads the rhythm, forming a rhythm section, and sets the main tone for the other members of the musical group.

To start

A guitarist taking his first steps in music does not have to immediately buy the same guitar as his idol. To begin with, you can purchase a not very expensive kit, which in addition to the guitar will include a carrying case, a shoulder strap, picks and spare strings. Some kits also include a combo amplifier (also called simply a “combo”) with a wire for connecting to it and a tuner for tuning the guitar. If the combo amplifier is not included in the kit, it can be purchased separately. Amplifiers for electric guitars and bass guitars are different: bass amps usually have larger drivers and are better at reproducing low frequencies, while electric guitar amps are designed for mids.

Are you planning to learn to play the guitar? You are faced with a difficult dilemma. First, you need to decide where and how to study: take private lessons, online or video courses, etc. But it’s even more important to decide for yourself what exactly you want to learn to play. All this difficult questions. But we will try to figure it out, because this can affect your career in the future and the choice of instrument in the present. For clarity, I will tell you about how I myself began to learn to play the guitar.

WITH early childhood I had music constantly playing in my head. At some point, I decided to pick up the guitar and try to play what sounded in my head. Even then, the authorities for me were Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), George Harrison and Robert Smith (Robert Smith, The Cure). And I had a few favorite examples. guitar sound, for example Knopfler’s guitar in “Money For Nothing” and the dirty fuzzed sound like The Beatles in "Revolution". And so I ask my parents to buy me a guitar and my father tells me the words that I had already foreseen and which plunged me into endless melancholy:

“You can try it on an acoustic first, and if it works for you, then in a couple of years we’ll buy you an electric guitar.”

Then the following happened. Santa Claus brought me to New Year acoustic guitar with nylon strings(apparently he overheard that conversation), and I began to learn everything I could. I learned quickly, perhaps even too quickly, because I easily learned parts by ear and was too lazy to look at the notes and tabs once again, as a result of which it took me years to start playing some songs correctly. But it really worked out for me. However, there was one thing that kept pissing me off. Everything I played sounded completely different from what I wanted. I went to all sorts of tricks to bring my sound closer to the sound of the electric guitars that I heard on TV and on records. I have found that the sound will be sharper, nasally, and denser if the strings are struck very close to sill. But it was still nothing like Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora on Slippery When Wet. I tried putting the microphone inside the guitar through the sound hole and connecting it to the amp (who hasn’t?!), but the sound was boomy and weird and nothing like Gary Moore’s “Still Got The Blues.”

Two years later, Santa Claus returned with a new gift. This time he brought me a pretty cheap electric guitar. And it was cool for several reasons: firstly, the electric guitar itself looks awesome, and secondly, since it was a cheap model, something was constantly falling off, thanks to which at the age of 12 I already knew a lot about the device guitars and learned how to repair them. In a surprising way For me, this minus turned into a big and fat plus. Still, my guitar didn't sound like my favorite records, but I already knew enough about guitars to understand why: my inexpensive combo amp only had two knobs—volume and tone. No overload. Overdrive and distortion are what most of us mean when we talk about the sound of an electric guitar. Long story short, I had to wait until my birthday to get the overdrive pedal. Then I finally had the opportunity to play for real. And really loud.

Many years later, when I began teaching guitar, I was often asked by both students and their parents: “Which is better to start learning on - an acoustic or an electric guitar?” I always answered like this: “Whatever you want to play in the future, learn from that.” An acoustic guitar is not a three-wheeler from which you then transfer to an adult bicycle. Especially it concerns classical guitar with nylon strings, where the height and position of the strings and the width of the neck are night and day different from what you will encounter when you “grow up” to an electric guitar. It's worth learning to play an acoustic guitar if you initially plan to play acoustic. Only in this case will you hear from under your fingers exactly those sounds that inspire and guide you. If you see yourself playing the electric guitar in the future, start with it! This way your actual sound will be much closer to the idea you have in your head.

I had one student who loved metal, but her dad bought her an acoustic guitar with very high strings. No matter what she did, the sound still did not turn out the way she wanted. Another student found herself in a similar situation, but after six months of steady progress, she bought herself an Epiphone Les Paul, after which her playing literally transformed - for example, she began to easily record Muse songs and actively compose her own. The moral of the story is that if your guitar sounds like the instrument that inspired you to start learning, you'll be much more likely to develop your musical abilities, and don’t get disappointed and quit this business. But the world is so short of good guitarists!

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