Anthony Postman aka Mercury Calling

Acoustic / Electric 

What are the primary differences between acoustic and electric? Do you have to specialize in one or the other? Does either have an advantage over the other? Are acoustics or electrics genre-specific? 

Maybe you’ve asked yourself about all of this…if so, I would ask in return:

—What are you listening to?  Assuming that may be what you want to play, then what kind(s) of guitars (and instrumentation in general) are we hearing? Liquid blues-bends wailin’ away? Searing sustained blazing barre chords? The steady strum of the songwriter/singer? Classical etudes? 

I teach into all of the above-mentioned categories—and beyond—on my teaching journey with you, helping to nurture a well-rounded musician!  —Your answers to these questions greatly guide your choice of guitars to play.

Know that whatever you learn on one can be brought to the other, and back again, with occasional limitations. The techniques we learn on one can be transported to the other. Even though we tend to bend more on electrics, we can-and-do bend on the acoustic all the time—And even though fingerpicking is often taught on acoustic, the technique is equally often applied to electric!

The tone, texture and techniques of Classical Guitar are the most traditional; played on nylon strings with wider spacing between the strings accommodating more space for fingerstyle technique. Even though the nylon is the ideal instrument for the artform, I have guided a great many students through their classical studies on steel strings!

People often start on acoustic for the portability and convenience. Everything all-in-one, no amps or cables. That being said, we now are in a time when you could have virtual multiple amps and FX-pedal-board setups, all in the convenience of your phone, facilitating electric possibilities equally portable as an acoustic. . .and you can always amplify your acoustic, too!

Here's more at-a-glance: