• From: Nottingham, UK
  • Registered: 2006-08-08
  • Posts: 690

Topic: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

So I picked out a guitar to go electric, a nice no-nonsense Gibson Melody Maker. I thought it'd be all the fun of my acoustic but amplified. How wrong I was I plugged in and aargh! If my Seagull is like a choir where the strings blend then this was like a several soloists singing at once. It set my teeth on edge. Other makes did the same; only when I tried a Peavy Rockingham hollow-body did things improve. OK so it had a nasty thin neck and big bulky body but at least the sound gelled. I could modulate the sound, damp strings and it was fun.


What am I after here? Body cavity resonance seems such a bland way of describing it. Is half the art of playing electric fiddling with tone knobs, amps and effects to get a good sound. Shouldn't electrics welcome you as soon as you plug in?


PS. I love rock and the electric guitar sound, particularly punk and 60s garage with all that fuzz, distortion and stuff. It's great on record just not in my hands...?

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'
  • Registered: 2006-08-15
  • Posts: 80

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

I'm totally with you on that. I really like the sound of my acoustic guitar and when I play my wife's electric I'm always twiddling knobs to make it sound like an acoustic. I just can't be bothered to mess about with knobs to get the sound I'm after. I just bought an instrument whose natural sound I liked instead.


I like the sound Jonathan Richman's Stratocasters used to make, but he plays flamenco guitars now anyway. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_wink.gif" border=0 alt="Wink">

  • Registered: 2007-01-07
  • Posts: 17

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

I would have agreed with both of you guy's a year ago.

<img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_rolleyes.gif" border=0 alt="Rolling Eyes">

I love my acoustic for what it can do, and what I can do with it. I started to play guitar so I could accompany myself singing. After a while I thought it would be easier and more fun to play electric. I went out and got a Strat. I borrowed an amp, plugged it in and was not very pleased with the twangy tone. Needless to say.....It sat in a corner, where it has been, for the last 10 years.


Recently I've been recording some things with a former frontman from a 90's Hip Hop/Funk band. I used my acoustic with a Pro Mag p/u and put down some chords. Impressed with my knowledge of chords, he brought out his 1958 Reissue Les Paul for me to play.


Let me tell you...it was fun...For a while there, I was Ace Freakin' Frehley. The sounds I could make were unbelievable. The power and ease at which I could play were startling.


Currently I play my acoustic to play and sing.

I play my LP when I want to feel like a Rock Star.


Please go to your local music store and ask to try a Les Paul through a Marshall... better yet...find a friend who has one already setup and play his...or hers. It made all the difference for me.


Steve <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_cool.gif" border=0 alt="Cool">


P.S. I've even dusted off the Strat

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 18

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

The quality of the electric guitar (maybe more so than acoustics) makes all the difference.  Guitars with humbuckers (les pauls) will sound richer and fuller than guitars with single coil pickups (telecaster).  Semi-hollow body electrics (ES-335) will have the fullest of sounds (like an acoustic) because of the ressonance.


Acoustic is still my main thing but I almost always employ an electric to tag the ends of melody lines and fill in the sound.  You can't play an electric like an acoustic.

  • Registered: 2006-08-15
  • Posts: 51

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

Perhaps its the amp you use?

try working with Marshall amps. and if you prefer smoother tones go for Les Pauls.

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 2,662

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

A small little 5 watt tube amp will most likely solve your electric guitar woes. I'm not gonna advertise a specific brand but you can't go wrong with tubes. This is definitely a case of quality over quantity.

Give everything but up.
  • From: Nottingham, UK
  • Registered: 2006-08-08
  • Posts: 690

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

Thanks for that Wicked, I've been reading around and I reckon part of the problem is the shop I did the try-outs in uses a Marshall set for a needle-sharp sound even without over-drive. Part of my trouble is not understanding modern amp controls (gain, gate, filter etc). I suspect I'm after an old-fashioned Fender 'jazz' sound, even though I like alot of early garage stuff those groups often used semis and tweed type amps cos they were the only kit available.


I'm looking to audition at different shops this weekend, but I'm not going to rush into a guitar/amp setup that doesn't seduce me totally  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_cool.gif" border=0 alt="Cool">

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'
  • Registered: 2007-01-09
  • Posts: 15

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

Hi,


I guess I am in complete disagreement with most of the people on this thread. I like most, started without aplification and loved it. Then I started playing electric and it opened up a world of possibilites. I don't want to upset any fan boys here, but it's hard going back to vanilla when I have 1,001 flavors.


I do agree with the recomendation of the Gibson ES, that will have a closer sound to an acousitc, but why play an electric to only sound acoustic? Also the humbucker pickups are key for that warm sound, may I go against the grain and suggest a Fat Strat? It is BY far more versitle then a Les Paul, which is also a great guitar. Sorry Fan boys but I lean more towards strats and PRS's. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_cool.gif" border=0 alt="Cool">

  • From: Pico Rivera, Calif. U.S.A.
  • Registered: 2006-10-26
  • Posts: 785

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

Well you can have the best of both worlds in regards to Humbucker warmth and single coil twang. You could wire humbucker pickups to a strat style 5-way switch allowing you to split the coils of the humbucker. pos#1 would be the bridge pickup, pos#2 would be the neck & bridge, pos#3 would be the neck & brige pick up, pos#4 would be bridge and neck pick split to single coil and #5 would be the bridge split. All you have to do is have a 5 way switch and know how to wire pickups. My next personal build will be strat stile with Rio Grande texas/bbq bucker pick up set wired in that configuration.


Good luck.

Bootleger <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

Bootleger guitars. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_twisted.gif" border=0 alt="Twisted Evil">

  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>SouthPaw41L wrote on Tue, 23 January 2007 06&#58;43</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
A small little 5 watt tube amp will most likely solve your electric guitar woes. I'm not gonna advertise a specific brand but you can't go wrong with tubes. This is definitely a case of quality over quantity.
</td></tr></table>



I'll second this.  A tube amp has a really warm, rich sound, and you don't need huge wattage from them.   You can get a small 5-15W amp for ~$100 US, and it will make you wonder what the problem ever was.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • Registered: 2007-02-12
  • Posts: 52

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>fourr3al wrote on Thu, 25 January 2007 21&#58;08</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Hi,


I guess I am in complete disagreement with most of the people on this thread. I like most, started without aplification and loved it. Then I started playing electric and it opened up a world of possibilites. I don't want to upset any fan boys here, but it's hard going back to vanilla when I have 1,001 flavors.


I do agree with the recomendation of the Gibson ES, that will have a closer sound to an acousitc, but why play an electric to only sound acoustic? Also the humbucker pickups are key for that warm sound, may I go against the grain and suggest a Fat Strat? It is BY far more versitle then a Les Paul, which is also a great guitar. Sorry Fan boys but I lean more towards strats and PRS's. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_cool.gif" border=0 alt="Cool">
</td></tr></table>

I'm with you there man.  I love the fat strat.  It is definately a more versatile instrument than a les paul. 

Another really versatile instrument is a Hagstrom Swede.  With it's double humbucker and smaller scale neck, you can get a jazzy hollow body sound, then flip the switch and sound like Jerry Garcia twanging away on a tele.

also, I would almost always recommend buying used instruments, they've had time to settle and you can usually get a better deal than at store.

  • Registered: 2006-10-26
  • Posts: 12

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

i dont know anything about how other guitars sound. ive never looked into it. i just recently started playing an electric. i have a friend who can make his strat scream. i wanted to know why it was impossible for me to do anything like him. the difference between me and him is that i started playing an acoustic, while he started on an electric. the real difference is that both types of guitar require two totally different techniques. all you have to do to love the sound of an electric is practice. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif" border=0 alt="Smile">

  • From: Nottingham, UK
  • Registered: 2006-08-08
  • Posts: 690

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

Thanks Kujo, practising ever night on me Johnny B Goode. I think part of what I don't like is low output single coil guitars. I actually bought a dual humbucker and find that I can work the strings alot like my acoustic. Obviously anyone can learn to play any electric but you give yourself a break if you can find a guitar that's suits you.

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'
  • Registered: 2007-02-23
  • Posts: 37

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

im really into stuff like Cream   (eric clapton,ginger      baker,and david bruce) i really like the late sixties stuff.....anyway i would just practice my electric if i was getting in a playing rut (i get in ruts all the time) and that is what helped me start 2 love electric.

  • Registered: 2007-02-02
  • Posts: 30

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

i dont know much about guitars but ive got a cheap fender squier and i love the sound. i suppose because i never played(and rarely really heard) an acoustic so the sound of a guitar ro me is electric. Though acoustics do sound cool when i occasionally hear them i dont think i could stand not being able to just switch on the distortion and tear out a solo!


<img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif" border=0 alt="Smile">

12345abcd3

  • mdyoke
  • Junior Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2007-04-01
  • Posts: 2

Re: Why Do Electric Guitars Turn Me Off?

For me, the Fender GDEC added a lot of enjoyment to my electric guitar playing. You can get hundreds of different sounds out of this amp without doing a lot of screwing around.