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by mattdeboard 4831 days ago
So I bought an acoustic guitar a couple years ago because I've always wanted to learn to play. After sitting in storage for a year and a half I picked it up again a couple months ago. It's fine and all but then I bought an electric (Epiphone SG Cherry Red), an amp and a good set of headphones.

The electric is way more fun to play[1]! If you really want to learn and are willing to "put in the work" I recommend justinguitar.com. It's all boring stuff, scales, fundamentals, etc., but I pick up my electric at least once a day for an hour just to practice. I'll never be a musician but it's a heck of a lot of fun just jamming out in my headphones.

[1] "fun" is of course subjective. Acoustic guitars require more hand strength and coordination since the action is a bit higher, the strings a bit thicker than electric. But it has a beautiful sound I really love. But in an apartment, electric + headphones is the best.
2 comments
StavrosK 4831 days ago
As an absolute novice, I bought a $30 acoustic after a $150 electric. My goal with the guitar is to just learn Asturias, I don't really care about other things. I have the intro down, it does feel like I'm fighting the guitar and it doesn't make as good a sound as some friends' more expensive ones I've tried, but it's great for seeing whether you like it and will stick with it rather than stick it in a shelf.

Also, I have more fun with the acoustic, due to Asturias, so I guess it's relative.

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bmelton 4831 days ago
Electrics are often much more fun to play, but I found, early on, that the acoustic gave me better habits, and made me a better all around guitarist.

I bought probably the exact same cherry Epi SG a long time ago to start off with, and I can still remember how embarrassed I was the first time I tried to play an acoustic.

Conversely, for a long time, whenever I was having trouble learning something on the acoustic, I could swap it out for an electric and usually just bang it out. Perhaps psychosomatically, this then made it easier to play on acoustic, just knowing that it was playable.

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