The purpose and use of both electric and acoustic guitars are different which is why most of us differentiate them. Since the invention of these instruments, the world of music has changed drastically.
The existence of both of these guitars is the same i.e. to produce amusing tones. However, they have significant differences between them.
If we observe it carefully, both of these guitars have a different world. The difference between these guitars can be determined through various comparisons.
So, what are the dissimilarities between electric guitar and acoustic guitar? Let’s get to know!
Cost Comparision
An electric guitar is way more expensive than an acoustic guitar as it needs other tools such as amplifiers and cables. In fact, it is almost double the price of an acoustic guitar. The price ranges differ according to the quality of these guitars.
A normal acoustic guitar costs around $150, while an electric guitar will cost twice more than that including other materials. In amazon, the price of best selling guitar ranges from 40$-200$.
There are guitars that cost more than 10 thousand dollars but it being expensive doesn’t mean that it produces a good quality sound than cheap guitars.
And it has already been proved in a certain youtube video by comparing three guitars of different price ranges of 100$, 700$, and 10,000$.
All those guitars significantly produced the same sound. If you’re an equal interest in both of these guitars and you’re on a low budget, the acoustic guitar would be best. However, don’t forget that the electric guitar is precisely great on its own.
Learning curve
The difficulty in playing guitar is determined by the different chords you play. There are a lot of chords on the guitar and some of them are easier whereas a few others are complicated.
However, you can master any chords of a guitar, it only depends upon how much time you give to learning guitar. But the major interrogation here is, which guitar is easier to learn? So, here it is!
The electric guitar is easier to play than the acoustic guitar and certain reasons proved it. The electric guitar is not much complicated to play because it is very easy to set up the guitar, the guitarist doesn’t have to press hard on the strings and the strings are closer to the frets.
While at the other side, an acoustic guitar is very complicated to learn as the strings need to be pressed harder. Learning to play acoustic guitar doesn’t seem to be as easy as it sounds. The tip of the fingers hurt until it becomes habitual to our fingers.
Unlike electric guitars, the heights of acoustic guitars are higher and heavier which is why this guitar is known as harder to learn in comparison to standard electric guitars.
Comfort and Portability Comparison
The shape and size of both electric and acoustic guitars are different. So, we can determine which one is best by comparing their comfort and portability.
Talking about comfort, the electric guitar steals a point here as it is very easy to handle and use. Unlike, acoustic, these guitars have very small body sizes.
It is also quite convenient to rest the electric guitar on a lap and play it as it has a slimmer body shape which is why most guitar players find it easy to use.
While at the other side, an acoustic guitar is quite inconvenient to play because of its big and bulky size.
Advantages of electric guitars
- You can practice playing it by using headphones without disturbing other people.
- As these guitars have soft strings, it is not quite a big deal to play barre chords.
- Even the strings are easy to learn because the amplifier and pickups project all the tunes.
- There is no limit to the sound of this guitar. As long as the speaker has the capacity to produce a thousand decibels of sound, this guitar can produce millions of decibels of sound.
- The most utilized use of this guitar is during concerts as no limit to its sound.
- In addition to a smaller body, electric guitars have a thinner body and light gauze.
Disadvantages of Electric Guitar
- An amplifier is a must be purchased to play this guitar which might seem costly for most beginners.
- It is quite complex when it comes to managing the tones of the guitar which discourages most beginners.
- Being capable of playing the electric guitar doesn’t mean that you can play the acoustic guitar significantly.
- Electric guitars are quite costly.
- It cannot be played without electricity.
- It is not portable and not favorable to be carried on journeys.
- The instruments used in this guitar are complex to use.
In comparison to an electric one, acoustic is harder not only because of its shape and size. But it is also because acoustic guitars that are wider than electric ones.
This doesn’t cause much impact on adults their limbs and fingers are long. However, it might cause problems for children who are determined to learn guitar.
Well, if we compare the portability it is the total opposite. An acoustic guitar is more portable than an electric guitar as it is very easy to travel anyplace with it.
While at the other side, it is very inconvenient to travel with an electric guitar because not only guitar, but one has to even carry wires and an amplifier to play it.
Another reason is that the electric guitar is heavy despite it being smaller in size whereas the acoustic guitar is lighter in weight in comparison to the electric one although it is large in size and shape.
Advantages of Acoustic guitars
- As we know that the tones released by this guitar are quite calming and pleasant, the tone produced by your guitar won’t be so bad although you are bad at using it.
- The more difficult it is to learn to play this guitar, the more proficient you can be if you keep up the continuation of learning it.
- Unlike electric guitars, it doesn’t require any other tools like amplifiers and additional cables.
- You can even play electric guitar with relative ease if you are a skilled acoustic guitar player.
- A decent normal guitar is cheap.
- It is portable and can be carried during travel.
- The instruments used in this guitar are convenient to use.
Disadvantages of Acoustic Guitar
- It is quite difficult to learn as this guitar is made up of heavy gauge strings.
- The sound volume of this guitar is limited.
- In Comparison to electric ones, acoustic is considered to be more fragile.
- Because of increased gauze, the strings of this guitar often produce a buzzing sound.
- This guitar is not considered quite friendly to beginners as the fretboards are quite wider.
- As it has higher gauze strings, it is inconvenient to hold the barre chords compared to standard electric guitars.
Appearance difference Acoustic guitar and Electric guitar
Well, if we are to talk about the appearance of an acoustic guitar, it always has a circular hole in its body. It is known as a sound hole with the help of which sound can be modulated and the sound volume of the vibrating string can be increased.
Even though it appears to be huge and bulkier, it is surprisingly hollow and lighter. Also, the frets are quite wider than an acoustic guitar. The hollow part is the design of each and every acoustic guitar.
Well, there is also a classic guitar which is quite dissimilar in appearance to normal acoustic guitar although it is of the same kind.
Particularly, the neck can be easily differentiated between regular acoustic guitar and classical as it is broad. An acoustic guitar can have steel or nylon strings whereas classical guitar uses three latter of the string.
Coming to the electric guitar, it doesn’t have any circular holes like the acoustic one. The only hole in this guitar is the whole female plug that specifically connects the guitar to an amplifier.
It appears to be small in shape and size but it is heavier than they actually look. As suggested by the name, the electric guitar is typically designed to be partnered with sound amplifiers. Most of the guitars have different sliders, buttons, knobs, and switches which help in controlling the sound and manipulation of volume.
Maintenance
Both acoustic and electric guitars should not be put into direct contact with heat moisture or cold. It should be protected from various kinds of cleaning methods that could dent or scratch your beautiful guitar.
To help yourself to preserve your guitar you can put it in a case. The frequent use of the guitar can lead its sound to being buzzing and dull. Thus it should be replaced timely along with the cleaning of the fretboards
Both of these guitars need to be frequently tuned. In acoustic guitars, there might also cause a drying of wood that needs to be maintained.
However, that problem can be eliminated with relative ease as it can be provided with a guitar humidifier that goes between the strings and stops the wood from drying.
While in the electric guitar, the only maintenance that needs to be done is adjusting the pickups which can be done with a screwdriver.
FAQs
Is it harder to play electric guitar or an acoustic?
Of course, acoustic guitars are much harder to play because the strings of these guitars are higher and heavier in comparison to electric guitars.
Which type of guitar is best for beginners?
Despite the fact that it is hard to play, the acoustic guitar is the best for beginners among all other guitars. This is because it is the most balanced guitar in terms of playability and tone.
Moreover, this guitar consumes a lesser amount of time to gather the basic concepts of playing than any other guitar.
Is there a difference between playing an acoustic and electric guitar?
There are multiple differences between playing acoustic guitar and electric guitar and among all, one of them is comfort. It might not seem while looking at the players, but the player can feel the change in convenience when they play it.
Are electric guitars good for beginners?
Yeah, this is an undeniable fact that electric guitars are good for beginners. It is because the player can play this guitar for hours without hurting their fingers. What is more fascinating is that this guitar is easier to learn.
However, always remember that although it is easy to play, it is equally hard to master this guitar.