Recently I’ve heard and read a fair amount of incorrect assumptions about guitars and playing. I’m sure I could find some conflicting opinions about some of these, but here goes:
“Electric guitars are easier to play than acoustic guitars.”
Well, yes – if you’re only talking about pressing down on the strings. Most (but not all) electrics are strung with much thinner strings than the average steel-string acoustic guitar but there is another consideration. Any time you make contact with the strings on an electric, you hear a sound through your amp. That includes the very act of placing your fingers on the strings, moving them up or down the neck, or less than perfect attack with a pick. In other words, you are much more likely to get extraneous noise on an electric guitar. This is an important consideration if you care about clear, clean playing.
“Nylon string acoustic guitars are easier to play than steel string acoustic guitars.”
Again, if you’re only considering the act of pressing down, that may be true. However, most true classical guitar have a MUCH wider and usually, thicker, neck than steel string acoustics. So you have to reach farther around the neck, which for most people negates the advantage of softer feeling strings. The new generation of so-called “hybrid” nylon string guitars are a bit easier, but they too have somewhat wider necks than the average steel string acoustic. Then there’s the debate about the sound of a nylon-string vs. a steel string, but that is a separate discussion.
“The lower the action on my guitar, the better.”
Low action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard) is a good thing, most of the time. It just makes playing easier. But if you’re going to strum with some authority on a guitar with very low action you will probably get buzzes and rattling sounds as the aggressively vibrating strings bounce against the frets above where you are pressing down. If you’re purely a finger-style player, low action can certainly work to your advantage. But if you use a flat pick most of the time you will have to sacrifice a bit of ease in pressing down with your fretting hand to avoid those nasty buzzes. For what it’s worth, many years ago I played a bluegrass festival and the great Doc Watson was set to go on just after our set. I had the opportunity to look very closely at Doc’s guitar and guess what? His heavy strings sat so high off the neck that most of us would struggle to play his guitar but I’m sure that is one reason why his punchy, crystal clear flat picking is always a joy to hear. Of course, his massive talent and technique may have something to do with it too (!).
“Thin flat picks make it easier to strum.”
I believed that, way back when. But eventually a very fine guitarist made me aware that what I really was doing was depending upon the flexing of the pick to do what I should have been doing with my wrist, i.e., staying loose and controlling the stroke with my wrist. Also, I was breaking about a half-dozen picks during every concert! I forced myself to graduate to mediums, and eventually to heavy gauge flat picks. And you know what? My technique improved and so did my sound. Many years ago there was a picture essay in one of the guitar magazines that showed close-ups of the picks used by many famous guitarists and amazingly, the fastest, cleanest players in every style used thick, non-flexing picks. It was a revelation to me.
“Guitars made by (Martin, Taylor, Gibson…) are always great, compared to the cheaper imported ones.”
Wow, this is a huge can of worms! Of course you can reasonably expect a guitar for which you paid $1000 or much more will sound and play better than a cheap import from Asia. But just because the headstock has a logo from one of the highly revered American companies, don’t automatically assume it is going to sound like angels singing. I’ve played more than a few new and “vintage” (oh, I so dislike that term) guitars from big deal makers that were….dogs. And plenty that truly did sound like those angels. Likewise, I’ve played some cheapo imports that were better used for canoe paddles, but also a few that rivaled anything coming out of Nazareth or Bozeman. So, play lots and lots of guitars. I hope you fall in love with one, regardless of its heritage. And remember, the “perfect” guitar probably hasn’t been made yet!
Peace & good music,
Gene
“Electric guitars are easier to play than acoustic guitars.”
Well, yes – if you’re only talking about pressing down on the strings. Most (but not all) electrics are strung with much thinner strings than the average steel-string acoustic guitar but there is another consideration. Any time you make contact with the strings on an electric, you hear a sound through your amp. That includes the very act of placing your fingers on the strings, moving them up or down the neck, or less than perfect attack with a pick. In other words, you are much more likely to get extraneous noise on an electric guitar. This is an important consideration if you care about clear, clean playing.
“Nylon string acoustic guitars are easier to play than steel string acoustic guitars.”
Again, if you’re only considering the act of pressing down, that may be true. However, most true classical guitar have a MUCH wider and usually, thicker, neck than steel string acoustics. So you have to reach farther around the neck, which for most people negates the advantage of softer feeling strings. The new generation of so-called “hybrid” nylon string guitars are a bit easier, but they too have somewhat wider necks than the average steel string acoustic. Then there’s the debate about the sound of a nylon-string vs. a steel string, but that is a separate discussion.
“The lower the action on my guitar, the better.”
Low action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard) is a good thing, most of the time. It just makes playing easier. But if you’re going to strum with some authority on a guitar with very low action you will probably get buzzes and rattling sounds as the aggressively vibrating strings bounce against the frets above where you are pressing down. If you’re purely a finger-style player, low action can certainly work to your advantage. But if you use a flat pick most of the time you will have to sacrifice a bit of ease in pressing down with your fretting hand to avoid those nasty buzzes. For what it’s worth, many years ago I played a bluegrass festival and the great Doc Watson was set to go on just after our set. I had the opportunity to look very closely at Doc’s guitar and guess what? His heavy strings sat so high off the neck that most of us would struggle to play his guitar but I’m sure that is one reason why his punchy, crystal clear flat picking is always a joy to hear. Of course, his massive talent and technique may have something to do with it too (!).
“Thin flat picks make it easier to strum.”
I believed that, way back when. But eventually a very fine guitarist made me aware that what I really was doing was depending upon the flexing of the pick to do what I should have been doing with my wrist, i.e., staying loose and controlling the stroke with my wrist. Also, I was breaking about a half-dozen picks during every concert! I forced myself to graduate to mediums, and eventually to heavy gauge flat picks. And you know what? My technique improved and so did my sound. Many years ago there was a picture essay in one of the guitar magazines that showed close-ups of the picks used by many famous guitarists and amazingly, the fastest, cleanest players in every style used thick, non-flexing picks. It was a revelation to me.
“Guitars made by (Martin, Taylor, Gibson…) are always great, compared to the cheaper imported ones.”
Wow, this is a huge can of worms! Of course you can reasonably expect a guitar for which you paid $1000 or much more will sound and play better than a cheap import from Asia. But just because the headstock has a logo from one of the highly revered American companies, don’t automatically assume it is going to sound like angels singing. I’ve played more than a few new and “vintage” (oh, I so dislike that term) guitars from big deal makers that were….dogs. And plenty that truly did sound like those angels. Likewise, I’ve played some cheapo imports that were better used for canoe paddles, but also a few that rivaled anything coming out of Nazareth or Bozeman. So, play lots and lots of guitars. I hope you fall in love with one, regardless of its heritage. And remember, the “perfect” guitar probably hasn’t been made yet!
Peace & good music,
Gene
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