Adjusting Technique When Going Back And Forth From Acoustic To Electric

[cyclistbrian]

Originally Posted by Puddleglum

I'm mostly an acoustic player but have enjoyed getting back into electric for a while now. All through the week I play acoustic but on weekends I'll usually drag out my electric for some riffs. I've noticed that it takes me several songs before I begin to adjust my technique for electric and stop treating it like an acoustic. Then after spending all weekend riffing away, when I get back to my acoustic, I have to adjust for it again! Sometimes I'm flat out amazed at the lack of strength and nuanced touch it takes to really get around on the electric. The one I have is set up so well it almost plays itself.

Do any of your struggle a bit to adjust between the two?

I'd say I used to in the sense that I was not good at adapting my technique to electric and often mashed the strings out of tune. I read in an interview with Bill Kirchen where he said he had to learn to play with a light touch and that stuck with me. I adopted that approach consciously and carried it over to acoustic playing as well. There is a natural tendency to play acoustics hard, especially with a flatpick. Easing up especially on the fretting hand worked well for me.

[Charlie Bernstein]

They're not that different, so no, no big adjustment. Electric involves turning knobs, of course, so there's that.

[Gordon Currie]

It's a quick adjustment for me after decades of switching.

I agree with what others have said about developing a light touch.
That and proper setups reduce the differences.

[j3ffr0]

I came from electric, but these days I am 90% acoustic. When going back to the electric, I notice my fretting hand gets very sloppy versus what I would consider good technique on the acoustic for the purpose of muting strings I don't intend to sound. Of course the strings are a little closer together too. No real problem or adjustment period though. I enjoy the change when it comes.

I guess the one thing that does take a minute is getting the feel for instantly prefect intonation on bends (say a full step) when switching between all these guitars and string gauges.

[Puddleglum]

Developing a lighter touch has been a lifelong endeavor for me. I tend to overplay on acoustic and electric, though not as bad on electric. But everything really does sound better when I ease up with my fretting hand.

[Wardo]

I switch between acoustic bluegrass style flat picking on a dred with 13s to southern rock Skynyrd/Rossington lead stuff on a Les Paul with 9.5s without thinking about it.