Skydog70
A hollow- bodied electric guitar uses almost the same principle as an acoustic, only two different kinds of pickups allowing more depth than a solid electric. A solid electric guitar makes no sounds whatsoever when turned off, and uses special strings made of a special metal that interact with the pickups. That's why, electric guitar strings can't be used on an acoustic, because they otherwise would make an inferior sound. It's really up to you which route you want to go, especially if you are a beginner. Do you want to be solely an electric guitar player, or do you want to also be a folk/acoustic guitar player, or even a Spanish guitar player? Make a goal of it. Electric involves buying (and also carting around) a lot of expensive equipment. I, for one, like simplicity. So, one day I just decided to be an acoustic player, and if I'm hard for people to hear, sometimes just put a microphone in front of me for people to hear better. I once owned an electric guitar and a Gibson amp, but found it hard to practice, without making huge noises in the house and driving people crazy, so I lost practice opportunities and never did learn to control the sound well. (You also need a "place" to practice if you want to be electric Since, I've gotten a lot of satisfaction just making natural noises without artificial enhancement. Sometimes I can even make interesting noises that people would swear sound electric. My contribution to saving the planet.

BobSpain
Hi, yes there is...as you know an accoustic (or accoustic/electric)guitar uses the space in its body to produce the musical tone. It is important that this should be clear and pure. In general the larger the 'body' of the guitar the more sound it will generate...an important quality if you wish your playing to be heard without amplification. A fully electric guitar does not have a 'sound box body' but the vibrations of the strings are picked up by sensors (pick ups) set into the solid body of the guitar. This means that if you play 'unamplified' you will hear only a very 'thin' sound directly from the strings. With an electric guitar the quality of the pick ups and the quality of the amplification system will produce the quality sound needed for public performance. In an accoustic/electric (or semi-accoustic) guitar you have some of the qualities of both types. You have a reasonable amount of self produced volume (from the sound box) and the capability of using a built in pick up or pick ups. When choosing a guitar the most imnportant thing (whichever type you choose) is to see how it 'feels'...How easy is it to play? Is the width of the neck right for you? All these things will be evident to you when you pick up that 'right' guitar (no-one else can tell you what will feel 'right' for you. With an accoustic guitar, listen to the sound and tone produced when you play. An accoustic guitar of the classical style will have 'gut' strings (these are made from nylon now, of course) whereas a more modern style will have either a mixture (3 'gut' and 3 wirebound) or be set up with steel strings only. Steel strings are necessary to play an electric or semi accoustic guitar. (Pick ups need the electrical sensors to 'sense' the vibrations in metal strings. (though it is possible to have a fitted pick up which will amplify the sound from nylon strings). Thus you could amplify your sound with one of these auxiliary pick ups and still play a classical guitar. Fully electric guitars will always have steel strings. They will produc little sound unamplified, but can produce an amazing variety of sounds through a good system and coupled with effects pedals. Decide first on the style of playing you wish to concentrate on. Folk music, or classical suit the accoustic type best. Country, Jazz, general accompaniment styles can happily utilise the qualities of semi-accoustic and Rock, country, 'pop' and so on can all be played on pure electric. Hope that helps, BobSpain

guitarpicker56
Acoustic-electric guitars are usually detected by the control box located on the top bout facing you as you play. The guitar has its customary plug-in interface at the butt of the guitar. With these set-ups you will have better control of bass and treble from the instrument itself. If you choose an acoustic not set up for amplification that can be remedied too. In my opinion an under-the-saddle pickup is best to have installed. The saddle is the thin white piece of plastic or bone that rests upon the bridge. The technician will drill a very small hole under that saddle and then insert the filament wire used to pick up the sound of the strings. He will then replace the saddle and then tune up the guitar. The wire is run to a connection at the butt of the guitar where you would insert a standard 1/4" jack from your amplifier.