Hi all,

I really want to learn electric guitar. The music I listened to half of the time is actually electric Blues stuff. My favorite electric guitarists are BB King, SRV, Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, David Gilmour etc.

How difficult is it for a fingerstyle player to learn electric guitars and be able to play Blues Solo? I only play with thumpick and three fingers and never learn to play with a pick. And I am very new to scales etc.

Anyone have similar experience? Please share with me. I mostly play for myself at home, is it possible to play electric guitar without a band?

Ed-
I go back and forth btwn electric and acoustic. One of the toughest things for me, if I play a lot of acoustic, is relaxing for the electric. I may be playing the acoustics too hard (especially the left hand), but I really have to relax on electric.

Get a nice electric and a nice amp, and it's very fun to play solo.

Plenty of electric players play fingerstyle - Mark Knopfler comes to mind...
David

It's far easier to go from acoustic to electric than the other way around. I play at least 80% acoustic, but in one of my bands there are songs that just beg for an electric approach. Of course, there is a little adjustment, due to string gauge and, usually, neck width, but no one thinks twice about going from guitar to mando, and that's a way harder adjustment than going from acoustic to electric guitar. My only word of warning is: don't play an I-35. You'll pull out your credit card in a blur, and there goes six g's. Oh well.

I cheat and put a heavier guage string on my electric it makes the transition easier for me.

Electric guitars are evil and will suck the life from you!

So Rockerbob, is there anything bad about them?

ed, get yourself a cheap electric and wail on it for a while. go on over to the gear page website
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/
and hang out there for a while. you can get a pretty nice electric for way less than an acoustic.

as said, electric is a lighter touch than acoustic, but when my fingers are feeling stressed a break out that beat up old fender strat i have and noodle around. (most electrics have fairly narrow nuts- just so you know).

good luck and try not to get addicted.

quote:

Originally posted by Rockerbob:
Electric guitars are evil and will suck the life from you!

That's why they call it "demon electricity!"

I'm sure you'll do your research, but talk to Kevin about G&L. I had mine made with a 1 3/4 nut, and I asked to leave the neck chunky. Good enough guitar, partialy customized, still very reasonably priced. It may be time to upgrade soon.

David

Getting the is relatively the easy.

What I am worried about is if I have to learn a lot of different techniques... I hardly play any scales and solo lines on my Acoustic, is it the main part of electric guitar playing?

How about all those effect padels, amps and such. And how to control the sustain of an electric etc.

Do you usually play with a group or you can also play alone with electric?

I have a decent guitar, a small tube amp (the only difference my ears could really hear in amps was tube vs. solid-state), and that's it. I play by myself or with a CD exclusively, and enjoy switching from electric to acoustic during the samne session. Technique, at my level, is not something I have to think about. I'm looking forward to jamming electric over acoustic. Maybe next time Allen comes over.
I am considering a pedal though. Even small amps are loud, so I keep mine at 2 or 3 on the volume knob. When no one's home, I turn it up to 6 or 8, where the tubes start to get overdriven a little (I think that's the word), and the sound is fantastic - but way too loud. So I want a pedal that give a little overdrive at lower volumes. An option would be to get an amp like a Fender Blues Jr that has an overdrive switch built in.
I think we have similar tastes in blues, Ed. Stevie Ray, ZZ Top, Buddy Guy - they need some overdrive. BB King sounds pretty clean to me. I started with the simplest rig possible, till I learned more about what the options are and what suits me.
Now to throw another option at you - humbucker or single coil pickups? When I first looked at electrics, I was overwhelmed. I ended up taking the advice from a trusted friend, and to repeat the most often offered advice on this forum - play them, and see what feels and sounds good.

Just wait till you try a few bends on an electric - you'll be hooked.

David

This message has been edited. Last edited by: David Ely,

Ed, don't worry about playing electric alone...that's where you have to start. Get some Homespun DVD's of a style or performer you like and some tabs of a few songs you like and work it out by yourself for awhile.The when you get comfortable with the new equipment and feel of the whole elecric thing try and find some peeps to play with.

Here's my picks for a good electric set up for the acoustic crossover player for around $1,000:

Fender Telecaster or Esquire (or Stratocaster) guitar...lots of good 50's and 60's reissues of these made in Japan or Mexico and newer USA versions like the Highway 1 series.

Fender Blues Junior or 70's Princeton amp...small and not real powerful but good tube tone for the money

Boss/Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb pedal...an amp in a can....great for $149. You can get your overdrive,reverb and trem out of this one pedal.

Boss TU2 tuner optional for starters but if you plan on playing out with others at some point....a necessity.