Acoustic electric?

Acoustic/electric covers a range of styles.

Basically it means just what it says - a guitar that can be usable when played without an amp, but can also be plugged in.

At a guess, the most common is probably a guitar that looks pretty much like a steel string acoustic (for example the 'dreadnought' or 'jumbo' style of acoustic) but that has a built in pickup. Typically there are controls on a small panel on the thinner side of the body that faces up towards you when you play.

Other styles include hollow body jazz style guitars and a variety of in-between types of body that have greater or lesser acoustic properties.

Some guitars that look like acoustic/electrics have a pretty weak sound unplugged, and conversely others have a good acoustic sound but aren't quite the goods when plugged in. So it's essential to give a good test both ways before buying.

yup. acoustic/electric guitar is the same animal.

mine is a martin DC16GTE. it has a piezo pickup under the bridge saddle and a mike pickup in the main body. I can use the control panel to set my tone, volume, and the pickup inside.
a piezo pickup is sort of like a wire. since it is right under the bridge it pickups string vibration.also, my hand thumping agaiunst the bridge.
the other pickup reads and amplifys the sound inside the guitar (the sound that comes out the sound hole).
blending the two I have alot of control.

some like acoustics without pickups because they feel the sound is better.
to play with others in a band or a mall gig by yourself amplification is needed.
ideally miking a guitar is the best, as there are some freat mikes out there.
but then you need to power the mike and a PA or amp.

so that's why I got an A/E guitar.

I like the sound and feel there are no drawbacks (that I can hear) having an electric component inside the guitar.

my guitar was expensive. around 1100$. there are less expensive models.

add on pickups are many. some are better than others.
most common are the stick ons. they have some kind of gummy button on the back of the pup.
the wire is a problem for me.

my A/E has it's sound jack in the strap button. nice and out of the way.

I think the 'sound' problem is mainly from the fact most A/E's are cutaways.

I Have A Johnson That Sounds Great Plugged In, But Just Doesnt Have Volume When Played Unplugged. I Think The Electronics In It Damper The SoundBox Some. Still A Nice Guitar Tho, But My Next Purchase, I Will Try To Test It While There Aren't A Million People In The Store All Jamming. If I'd Have Known This, I Would Have Opted For A Different One