I've learned to play on an acoustic. I now have a starter Squire Strat with a cheapo amp. But the electric sounds like crap to me. It seems like I may be pressing too hard on the strings because it goes out of tune when I fret a chord. It sounds ok if I ease up to like 20% of my normal fretting pressure, but that feels awkward.
I really can't tell if it's me or the crappy guitar or even the strings. Should an electric go out of tune if you have a strong fretting hand? Do you play them differently?
electrics are much more responsive than acoustics. it takes a different touch, and different things will come easier or harder to you on them. but, you know, almost anybody can play any instrument, other than your average two year old and a tuba.
No, or shall I say, just a little.
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Depending on the gauge of the strings you have on your electric, you may find that *very* little pressure is required compared to an electric; and it IS true that pressing down hard on a string will alter the note being played; it even happens on an acoustic if you try hard enough!
With regard to playing them differently, to a degree you do (if certain conditions are met);
If you have distortion / gain cranked up on the amp, then you don't want to be playing full chords like you do on your acoustic as it WILL sound awful; you need to play chords consisting of 3 notes such as 022xxx (E5) and 577xxx (A5).
These are referred to as '5' chords as they are only made up of a root note and fifths (I think!); of course these are not the only type of chords you can play, but it's a good place to start as almost any rock/punk song can be played with these chords (at least on a basic level)
If you are wanting to play full chords on the electric, then you need to REALLY tone down the distortion and gain, giving you at least a clean-ish sound, which of course is then not much different to your acoustic (possibly :) )
Hope that helps somewhat :D
Pete
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
If you are wanting to play full chords on the electric, then you need to REALLY tone down the distortion and gain, giving you at least a clean-ish sound, which of course is then not much different to your acoustic (possibly :) )
Hmmm.... I play full chords with moderate gain (6/7-ish) to get a very gritty/abused tone.
I wouldn't say that you can only play powerchords with the gain cranked, even that can sound bad.
The thing I would warn against is playing sloppy and to practice becoming proficient at muting.
"That’s what takes place when a song is written: You see something that isn’t there. Then you use your instrument to find it."
- John Frusciante
If notes go out of tune while playing, you are most likely pressing too hard and unintentionally bending the strings. I find when I play my acoustic a lot and then switch to my electric, I have to readjust. The electric strings usually have lower action and lower tension and a lower gauge (in my case) and require lower pressure. The strings bend far more easily. Ease up and relax a little and make sure you press straight down on the strings.
It's not easy being green.... good thing I'm purple.
I'm with purple, I have been known to "throttle" an electric after playing acoustic.
Regards,
Paul
Put heavier strings on your electric. I use strings starting with a .12 on the high E on my electrics so it's not as big a change going to an acoustic... Never mind I stll sound bad on both. :?
agree, up the string guage
Don't change the string gauge -- learn to adapt. It will serve you better in the long run.
-=tension & release=-
