4 ms·

And people quit electric guitars more often than acoustic ones, he said, because of the pain factor: Steel strings hurt delicate hands. I would say electric gu

And people quit electric guitars more often than acoustic ones, he said, because of the pain factor: Steel strings hurt delicate hands. I would say electric guitar is more comfortable for most people than acoustic, even nylon, as the actions tends to be harder.

mping 10y ago
True, but imho only after a couple of weeks. In the beginning, the metal feels really sharp!
- laumars 10y ago
  It's common to wire acoustic guitars with steel strings too. The problem with acoustic guitars is the fretboard. With acoustic you need to press down harder and further to get a clean sound than you would with an electric guitar. Anecdotally I found acoustic guitars to hurt my fingers more than electric - both wired with steel strings. Yet to play with nylon.
- falcolas 10y ago
  Part of this is also because beginners use too much force on the strings to fret them. It took starting on a bass guitar to learn how little force it actually can take if fretted properly.
cyberferret 10y ago
Yes, I noticed that too. Perhaps the writer could have clarified and mentioned 'Classical guitar' or 'Nylon string guitar' as what he meant. Most 'acoustic guitars' are steel stringed, and have a MUCH heavier gauge than electric guitars, thus making it more difficult for a beginner to fret notes and chords. But look at any entry level (sub $200) guitar and the biggest problems aren't going to be the type of strings, but rather the height of the action (distance from the strings to the fretboard), uneven frets or warped necks - all of which would even make a pro player curse and struggle. Which is why whenever a parent or friend approaches me to ask what guitar they should buy their kids, I always say to avoid the really cheap ones and go for the mid range ones, which usually have markedly better build quality. That way also, when little Johnny or Susie decides guitar is not for them, there is better resale value in a mid range guitar.
- jdietrich 10y ago
  >But look at any entry level (sub $200) guitar and the biggest problems aren't going to be the type of strings, but rather the height of the action (distance from the strings to the fretboard), uneven frets or warped necks - all of which would even make a pro player curse and struggle. The situation has improved drastically in recent years. The no-brand department store guitars are still awful, but there are plenty of perfectly playable guitars at the ~$200 mark. Chinese-made guitars used to be unplayable junk, but they're now producing excellent instruments in the $200-$1000 range, matching or even surpassing Korean guitars.
  - cyberferret 10y ago
    Agreed. Asian made guitars nowadays are a several orders of magnitude better than they were a couple of decades ago. I guess what I was trying to say is that the chances of a finding a decent sounding guitar at the $150 mark is still a hit or miss affair. But at $300+ they seem to be consistent, and quite playable 'out of the box'.
    - jdietrich 10y ago
      Also agreed - that extra ~$100 buys you a lot of consistency and quality. It has to be said that the defects you do see on low-end guitars are increasingly cosmetic and superficial; I don't see very many warped necks these days, but I do see a lot of bad finishes and sharp fret ends. Some brands are far better than others in this respect - I've seen a fair number of unplayable Squiers and Epiphones, but I don't think I've ever seen a genuinely bad Yamaha Pacifica.
mfukar 10y ago
Yup. While the steel strings will leave you sore for a while, the lower action largely compensates for that. The classical, in comparison, requires must more finger strength, more exercise, and generally more soreness.

mping 10y ago

True, but imho only after a couple of weeks. In the beginning, the metal feels really sharp!

laumars 10y ago
It's common to wire acoustic guitars with steel strings too. The problem with acoustic guitars is the fretboard. With acoustic you need to press down harder and further to get a clean sound than you would with an electric guitar. Anecdotally I found acoustic guitars to hurt my fingers more than electric - both wired with steel strings. Yet to play with nylon.
falcolas 10y ago
Part of this is also because beginners use too much force on the strings to fret them. It took starting on a bass guitar to learn how little force it actually can take if fretted properly.

cyberferret 10y ago

Yes, I noticed that too. Perhaps the writer could have clarified and mentioned 'Classical guitar' or 'Nylon string guitar' as what he meant. Most 'acoustic guitars' are steel stringed, and have a MUCH heavier gauge than electric guitars, thus making it more difficult for a beginner to fret notes and chords. But look at any entry level (sub $200) guitar and the biggest problems aren't going to be the type of strings, but rather the height of the action (distance from the strings to the fretboard), uneven frets or warped necks - all of which would even make a pro player curse and struggle. Which is why whenever a parent or friend approaches me to ask what guitar they should buy their kids, I always say to avoid the really cheap ones and go for the mid range ones, which usually have markedly better build quality. That way also, when little Johnny or Susie decides guitar is not for them, there is better resale value in a mid range guitar.

jdietrich 10y ago
>But look at any entry level (sub $200) guitar and the biggest problems aren't going to be the type of strings, but rather the height of the action (distance from the strings to the fretboard), uneven frets or warped necks - all of which would even make a pro player curse and struggle. The situation has improved drastically in recent years. The no-brand department store guitars are still awful, but there are plenty of perfectly playable guitars at the ~$200 mark. Chinese-made guitars used to be unplayable junk, but they're now producing excellent instruments in the $200-$1000 range, matching or even surpassing Korean guitars.
- cyberferret 10y ago
  Agreed. Asian made guitars nowadays are a several orders of magnitude better than they were a couple of decades ago. I guess what I was trying to say is that the chances of a finding a decent sounding guitar at the $150 mark is still a hit or miss affair. But at $300+ they seem to be consistent, and quite playable 'out of the box'.
  - jdietrich 10y ago
    Also agreed - that extra ~$100 buys you a lot of consistency and quality. It has to be said that the defects you do see on low-end guitars are increasingly cosmetic and superficial; I don't see very many warped necks these days, but I do see a lot of bad finishes and sharp fret ends. Some brands are far better than others in this respect - I've seen a fair number of unplayable Squiers and Epiphones, but I don't think I've ever seen a genuinely bad Yamaha Pacifica.

mfukar 10y ago

Yup. While the steel strings will leave you sore for a while, the lower action largely compensates for that. The classical, in comparison, requires must more finger strength, more exercise, and generally more soreness.