I wanna start playing guitar. But then I wanna go to electric guitar. Why do i have to start playing acoustic guitar then go to electric guitar. Everyone says to start with acoustic. Even if i have to start with acoustic, why though?
A few terms first:
Fretboard: The long, narrow part of the guitar covered in metal pieces which get closer together as they approach the body.
Fret (as a verb): To place your finger in between two of the metal pieces on the fretboard, and add enough pressure so that the string makes contact with the piece of metal in front of it. This shortens the string, making the note higher when the string is plucked.
There are several reasons why you should start with an acoustic guitar. First and foremost, the acoustic guitar has greater clarity. That means, the sound isn’t muffled, and you can hear the strings vibrate with detail. When you first start playing, you may notice that the strings buzz when you play, especially when you play chords. One of your first objectives will be to get rid of that buzz. That can be fixed normally by trying to fret the strings with the tips of your fingers, and making sure that your fingers don’t make any contact with parts of the string that vibrate.
Also, acoustic guitars have higher string action. String action is how high the strings are from the fretboard. When the strings are higher from the fretboard, they’re harder to fret. Acoustic guitars normally have a higher action, thus the strings are harder to fret?
But why start with something harder? Ever had a callus before? In order to play guitar well, you need to develop calluses on the tips of your left hand (I’m assuming you have a standard guitar in which you strum with your right hand). Without these calluses, fretting strings will hurt after a while. Along with developing the calluses, starting with a higher action will allow you to improve your dexterity, allowing you to change chords and play solos faster.
To start off, I would recommend a Laguna acoustic guitar. These normally have reasonable string action, and they’re cheap and versatile. Lagunas are some of the highest quality acoustic guitars I know of. However, if you want the absolute highest quality (make sure you’re dedicated to guitar before you do this), I would recommend a Martin. They probably have the best sound, but they’re expensive.
Hope that clears up everything for ya!