Are you all acoustic, all the time?

[West R Lee]

When I started playing guitar I expected to play acoustic and electric, probably more electric. Blues, Chuck Berry, that kind of thing. I’ve owned 3 electric guitars. I didn’t play them much at all. I now have none. I play mostly folky fingerstyle on my various acoustics. I’m thinking again of buying an electric guitar. Just curious if anyone has a similar experience

thanks.

I've owned exactly one electric guitar, and that was way back when I was a kid. Since then, I've piddled with a couple of others, but I just can't seem to bond with an electric. Like you, it really doesn't match my playing style, and Lord how I love a nice sounding/playing acoustic.

West

 

[bobouz]

Think Merle Travis or Chet Atkins fingerpicking on acoustics or electrics - that’s what I do, but not quiiiiiite as well! Pick up & play the acoustics frequently, but typically record with electrics & perhaps enjoy the nuances of their tone a bit more. Love the variety of expression you can get between the two.

 

[RBSinTo]

I had a very cheap electric as a teenager but it was so difficult to play that I quickly disposed of it.
Fast forward fifty-two years to about 2017, concurrent with me enrolling our grand-daughter in guitar lessons, I bought a late 1960's Matsumoku-made ES-335 knock off, so I had an electric guitar to use when I played with her in her music school shows.
However, except for those occasions, I literally never play it, and prefer my four acoustics instead which I play almost every day.
RBSinTo

 

[crank]

I jam or band practice electrically once or twice a week and at home I either play an acoustic or probably about half the time play an electric but unplugged. Just a quiet way to practice and I work on a lot of electric guitar riffs but I will also work on bluegrass riffs and old timey tunes on an unplugged electric just to be quiet when playing late at night. My wife likes to sleep and I'm a bit of a night owl.

 

[dwasifar]

I have a closetful of electric guitars, some of them quite expensive, that I never play anymore. About 10 years or so ago, I came to the realization that I am primarily an acoustic player and decided to focus exclusively on that.

 

[krysh]

Almost exclusively electric, but also have an an acoustic I touch maybe twice a year:

 

[stormin1155]

I own more electrics than acoustics, and over the years have been more of an electric player, but in the past several years have gravitated to mostly acoustic.

 

[Ghostwheel]

High School in the early 80's and I upgraded my Peavy electric to an '84 Fender Elite Strat for jamming at friends' houses. But after High School I really didn't play with anyone and didn't touch it often. Got a '91 Guild D-25NT and that's really all I've played since. The Strat is a wall-hanger that I very occasionally use when I feel like playing Rocksmith. I even strung it with colored strings that match the game, lol.

 

[Neal]

Just recently I came to the realization that a plugged-in acoustic guitar, no matter how expensive, and regardless of the pickup, doesn't sound as "good" to me amplified as does a '50's era, fully-hollow, electric archtop, designed to be played through a tube amp. To me, an old Gibson or Guild archtop splits the difference between acoustic and electric tone, especially when I can successfully mic it in addition to plugging it in without feedback. An electric archtop also has the ability to growl when you want it to.

Thus, I keep two '50's electric archtops around, along with a partscaster of unknown heritage, all played through either a '55 Gibson GA-9 that I bought a while back from someone on this forum (I forget whom), and a California-made Fender Pro Jr.

Having said that, I am always lusting after acoustic guitars, but seldom electrics.

 

[Boneman]

I like both, really depends on the mood of the day, but do lean acoustic as it’s just simpler

 

[Midnight Toker]

I play FAR more electric than acoustic.

Same. My first guitar was an acoustic, which came years after intense violin training, allthewhile listening to mostly electric rock music. First thing I did w/ that acoustic was slap a cheap pickup on it and ran it through the 1/4 inputs on my component stereo tape deck, cranking the input until it distorted, plus using the tape/monitor playback function to achieve slapback delay. The seeds were sown. I have 1 acoustic and 1 resonator and play them both regularly, and for late night playing I play my t100d acoustically. But when it comes to really putting some hours in. It's primarily on electric. (Strat, Tele, Les Paul, t100d) I only have the desire for one more guitar to make my stable complete, and that's a 12 string electric. I once used to hoard guitars, owning 2-3 strats, teles, and Les Paul's each, but since have focused on getting "the one" then slight modding to get what I really want out of it. My forever guitars.

 

[Tom O]

I rarely turn my Fishman Loud-x on and don't own an electric. My resonator is loud enough to drive my wife out of the house.
LTG is probably evenly split between electrics and acoustics. All depends on what songs you want to play.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

When I first started to play guitar I owned one acoustic and one electric.
Didn't have an amp though, so I had to plug the electric into a borrowed amp when I could.
After all this was during the British Invasion!
The desire to play electric soon left as I became more and more, a Folk Musician.
I sold both the electric and the acoustic to help fund a better acoustic and never looked back.
My first good acoustic was my Guild D-25-12.
That was back in the late 70's.

 

[MLBob]

Based on what I've been doing playing here at home and getting out regularly to play Open Mics, I think I'm finally at peace with the four acoustic guitars I have it down to - after gradually selling off all the electrics. But I sure love to look at all the amazing Guilds in both camps that are posted here!

Tweaking the acoustics I have with pickup systems and pre-amp gear that keeps their great sound when amplified has been a fun journey as well. Always good to go to an open mic, plug my board into the mixer and get compliments & questions because of how good the Guilds sound.

 

[Runner6]

So…

Yesterday I went to the local fabulous guitar shop here in the big city with THE EXPRESSED INTENT of buying a telecaster. I played several different telecasters, all excellent. I was reminded yet again that I don’t love playing electric guitars and (frankly) I’m not that good. So I said to the very patient sales guy:

“Let’s go upstairs.”

Upstairs is where the acoustics live

I played several and ended up buying a very nice modestly priced non-Guild guitar.

 

[Uke]

I prefer piano -- but I really can't play it, and it's so damned heavy! Anothr thought: have you noticed that for the most part pianists never have onsets of GAS?

 

[Heath]

It’s a slippery slope from piano to synthesizers, and if you think guitarists have GAS….!

 

[fronobulax]

I prefer piano -- but I really can't play it, and it's so damned heavy! Anothr thought: have you noticed that for the most part pianists never have onsets of GAS?

Would that be PAS (piano) or KAS (keyboard)?

Until you reach a certain level most performers who use acoustic pianos have to adjust to what the venue provides.

Decades ago I was a self appointed roadie for my roommate's band since he was the better bass player. The keyboard player had both family money and a strong sense of what he wanted to sound like. So he always had a Fender Rhodes and a Hammond B3 with Leslie on stage with him. Both were heavy beasts and one alone would have justified paying the crew

 

[chazmo]

Those were beasts for sure, Fro.

 

[Uke]

Would that be PAS (piano)

Yes, let's be sure to differentiate between PAS and GAS!