Acoustic vs. electric guitar: Which is better for beginners?

Whether you're an experienced musician looking to pick up a new instrument or a complete beginner with no prior musical experience, the guitar is a fantastic instrument that'll change your life for the better. If you're wondering whether to learn how to play an electric or acoustic guitar first, you've come to the right place.

In this blog, we'll examine the similarities and differences between the two guitar types, discuss the pros and cons of learning on each one, and break down some tips on what to expect as a beginner guitarist.

At the end of the day, there's no one right answer as to what type of guitar you should start out with. The answer lies within your interests and goals as a guitarist. Let’s dive in!

Here's what we'll cover in this article: 

• How are they similar to each other?
• Differences between electric and acoustic
• Is electric guitar easier to play than acoustic?
• Determining your preference
• Pros and cons of electric and acoustic guitars
• Price differences

How are electric and acoustic similar?

Electric and acoustic guitar are similar in that they both:

• Have six strings
• Feature the same tuning and fretboard layouts
• Can handle lead and rhythm guitar playing
• Are suitable for a variety of playing styles

Here's the good news: By learning one you lay a great foundation for learning the other. In fact, we can confidently say that once you know how to play either, you’ve got the basics covered for the other type.

Differences between acoustic and electric guitar

Now let’s look at the differences between an acoustic and electric to figure out which type is right for you. We’ll start by comparing the foundation of the guitars and how they work. After a brief comparison, we examine each instrument in detail, talk about how they sound, and explore the contexts in which they work best.

Difference 1: How they project sound

The way the two types of guitar project sound is one of the main differences between them. Acoustic guitars are quite large compared to electric guitars, and there's a good reason for it.

• The acoustic guitar body is hollow with a big hole in the center.
• The sound of the vibrating strings is amplified by the hollow body's resonance.
• Since the guitar amplifies itself, you can play it whenever and wherever you want without any additional equipment.

Electric guitars, in contrast, operate a bit differently.

• Most electric guitars have a solid body, which means there's very little sound coming from the vibrating strings without the resonant hole that an acoustic has.
• Instead, electric guitars rely on pickups positioned underneath the strings in the body's midsection to provide the sound.
• As the name suggests, they "pick up" the vibrations from the strings, and use magnets (or metal rods) to convert those vibrations into an electric signal.
• The electric signal travels from an instrument cable to an amplifier.

Difference 2: Variety

Another important (depending on who you ask!) difference is the look of the electric and acoustic guitars.

• Electric guitars come in a near-endless combination of shapes, colors, and sounds.
• Acoustic guitars feature much less variety in their shape, color, and sounds.

Difference 3: String differences

Perhaps one of the most glaring differences between acoustic and electric guitars is the type of strings they use. The feel and sound of different string types is quite significant.

• Acoustic guitars can use either nylon or steel strings
• Nylon strings are commonly used on classical acoustic guitars and feature a softer sound.
• Electric guitars generally need steel strings.
• Compared to steel strings on an acoustic guitar – electrics use a lighter-gauge (thickness) steel string than acoustics.

When it comes to electric guitar, you can choose the thickness of the strings. Thicker strings produce a richer sound and are more durable, but they're harder to manipulate while playing. How thick you want them is largely a personal preference.

Difference 4: Size and portability

Acoustic guitars are bulkier than electric guitars. This can affect the space between strings as well as the string height or action − how far from the neck the string is – which may pose difficulties to beginners.

• Acoustics generally require more hand strength to get a clear sound out of the guitar.
• Initially, the thicker strings will hurt your fingers more.
• The sometimes thicker neck of an acoustic will also require you to stretch your hand more in order to play a chord.
• For children and people with small hands, this can make it difficult to play a clean-sounding chord. 

Proponents of learning on an acoustic will tell you that it's important to develop hand strength right off the bat, so this shouldn't necessarily be a reason to avoid learning on an acoustic. Also, a well-built acoustic guitar won't be significantly more difficult to play than an electric.

Electric guitars can have thinner necks and are overall smaller because they don’t rely on natural acoustics to create the sound. 

• The smaller size of the electric guitar can make it slightly easier to learn on as a starter guitar.
• The strings are lighter, the neck is thinner, and the body is smaller. 

The neck size difference affects how the instruments are generally played:

• The acoustic guitar is great for open chords, a big resonant sound and rhythmic strumming patterns. 
• On the other hand, the thin neck of the electric guitar makes it easier to play bar chords and reach higher notes while soloing.

An acoustic guitar actually weighs less than the electric one despite having a bigger body. If you plan to travel with your guitar, this is something you should consider. Additionally, since the electric guitar requires an amp, it’s even less convenient to take it with you when you go places.

Further down in the article, we have a pros and cons list you can go through to compare the two instruments.

Difference 5: Sound

The sound difference between acoustic and electric guitar is quite significant. How your acoustic guitar sounds out of the box is essentially how it will sound forever. 

• This is determined in part by the strings (which you can change), but mainly by the acoustic's body, wood type, fretboard, and overall construction.

Electric guitars, on the other hand, have a much more customizable sound.

• Once you plug it in to an amp, you can immediately start tweaking the sound to your liking.
• The guitar itself has knobs and switches that allow you to change the amount of bass and treble. 

You probably already know that Metallica’s guitar sound is different from Bob Marley’s.

• The amp you play with has a massive impact on the sound (or tone) of your electric guitar.
• Once you have an amp, you can further tailor your tone to your exact liking by using different kinds of effects pedals. Read about guitar effects pedals for beginners here.
• As a general rule, you should develop a strong foundation of guitar playing before you use effects pedals, which can create bad habits by covering up poor playing technique.
• Additionally, you can change the pickups in an electric guitar to further alter your tone.

The inflexibility of an acoustic guitar's sound isn't necessarily a bad thing.

• They're designed to have a rich, full tone that's perfect for playing alone (which most beginners will do).
• Electric guitars don't sound as full as acoustics because they're generally played in the context of a band (where you don't want to take up "sonic space" that other instruments need to share).