Knowing what kind of guitar to get when you decide you want to learn to play is a very common dilemma with beginners. Should you get one that sounds and looks cool and is really easy to play so you don’t have a hard time learning? Should you get one that is simple to manage, portable, and cheap? Which one is commonly most recommended to beginning students?

At this point it is necessary to learn how different guitars work in different situations and under different intentions of the guitarist.

These are some important things every beginner should know about the two different kinds of guitars and their good and bad qualities in terms of novice playing.

The Electric Guitar

Advantages

An electric guitar has thin strings on it, and is naturally designed to be played with ease. In this way, fret navigation is quite smooth, and playing techniques are pretty easy to accomplish. Bending is also easy, and assuming the guitar is connected to an amplifier, getting sounds out of it is virtually effortless. With an electric, you have a wide control over its volume and sound type, not to mention, electrics come in a very wide variety of cool body designs.

Connected to an amplifier and effects pedal, you can get all kinds of neat sounds to work with, such as Wah, Chorus, Flange, Phaser, and various models of overdrive distortion just to start with. Depending on the pedal you are using, the combinations multiply and your sound is impressively customizable. How’s that for making a big impression on your listeners?

Disadvantages

The electric guitar, although very easy to navigate, is usually not recommended for beginners mainly for the fact that it does not properly exercises the fingers. This means that when techniques are learned, they are not fully trained because the fingers have not been properly worked out to accomplish the techniques fully.

Another disadvantage is the fact that in order to get any significant sound out of it, you will need an amplifier. Because of this, the cost of owning your own electric that you can hear properly will double with the cost of an amp (unless you find a special on a starter’s kit somewhere). Yet, even if that is the case, it still takes away from portability.  In that circumstance, you would have to be reasonable about deciding what size amp will do to give you a decent sound and not be too big and heavy to tote around.

The Acoustic Guitar

Advantages

To start off with, the strings on an acoustic are much thicker than that of an electric. Thanks to this and the guitar’s shape and sound hole, an acoustic produces a beautiful, rich sound that can fill an average size room easily. Another effect of the thick gauge strings is the difficult action they pose on the acoustic. Thanks to this, your fingers will become much more thoroughly trained as you learn. Calluses will form quickly and your finger strength and flexibility will increase at very fast rate. This means that once you have gotten decent at navigating the acoustic, you will be at least twice as fast at the electric. This is a complete win/win situation because not only have you learned to play the acoustic, but you are already twice as fast at the electric before you have even touched one!

Although the acoustic doesn’t naturally have as many cool styles and looks as the electric, it is a lot more portable than the electric. This is not only because no amplifier is required, but also because it is naturally lighter than an electric.

There is also another benefit: it is cheaper as well. Considering the fact an acoustic has no hardware, and no amplifier to accompany it, the price for your typical acoustic is typically less than that of an electric.

Disadvantages

Unfortunately, because of the fact that the acoustic has tough action, a lot of beginners find themselves giving up on it quickly. There are many reasons for this. One is the fact that it stresses the tips of the fingers and it can be painful to the touch for at least a two weeks or so. But the larger reason at hand is the fact that learning the basics on an acoustic is rather difficult and can be easily discouraging to the player. However, this is where the core of dedication plays it’s part to take full advantage of this difficulty.

Another disadvantage is the fact that if you want to have more control over the acoustics sound, you will need to buy a sound-hole pick up (unless you buy an electric-acoustic which typically costs a bit more than a normal one). Acoustics don’t naturally have their own volume and tone controls.

Finally, although they are light in weight and more portable in effect, their size can be a bit intimidating to the beginner. In certain cases, their size poses a difficulty for storing in certain spaces.

So, Which One Best Suits Me?

Well, that depends on:

1. What style of play you plan to have and
2. How well you wish to be at playing between 2 and 4 years from now

As a guitar teacher, I have always recommended learning to play through the acoustic. This is because I simply see more advantages with playing an acoustic than an electric at the beginner’s level.

The electric is the prize given to the player after the novice or intermediate levels have been achieved.

I can proudly say, I myself began on an acoustic and although it was certainly difficult to adapt, adapting is all there really was to it. Afterward, I had little to no problem learning new techniques and melodies. It became a breeze.

How difficult is it going to be?

Whether it is through an electric or an acoustic, beginning to learn the guitar is virtually the hardest part you’ll ever encounter in all the years that you play. This is because you are having to mentally and physically adapt to it.

However, which ever instrument you decide to go with, the important thing, I can never stress enough, is that if you ever want to move past that phase, you have to vigorously attack your practice as persistently as possible. The harder you attack it, the faster you will pass this phase and move on.

I’ve written more on the subject of persistence in my article Practice And Self Discipline.

Another thing I can never stress enough is that no matter how discouraged you might feel during this phase, you must understand that it is a completely normal and necessary part of your learning. It tests your dedication, and the more it is tested and overcome at that point, the easier it will be afterward to achieve every next phase of your playing.

Now it’s up to you.

After reading this, and some time to think it over a bit, it shouldn’t be difficult to decide for yourself what kind of guitar to start with. But I leave you with this.

Choose wisely. It may play a bigger role in your chances of becoming an expert than one might imagine.