Video Question: acoustic electric vs. acoustic

May 5th, 2008 - Avalvira asks, "First of all, I'm a beginner. I own a Breedlove Atlas AC25 acoustic steel string guitar. I'm in the market for a nylon string guitar. I was wondering if there was any benefit in getting an electric one. Realistically, I don't plan on plugging it in anytime in the future, but I think the built-in tuner is very convenient. Does it add $$ on the price of the guitar? In other words, would the same guitar be cheaper if it didn't have the built in tuner/equalizer? I hope that question/s made sense. I'd appreciate any insight or advice you may have. By the way, I'm loving the lessons on your sight. Thanks!! Aileen" Return to Video Q&A Listing


Length: 2.31 | Instructor: Jim Deeming Another benefit of being a member of JamPlay is the video response section. Our expert staff fields questions from our members and provides video responses each week.

Other Video Responses:

New Guitar - November 5th, 2007 (2 minutes, 20 seconds)

Mniswonger asks: "I was playing with an Epiphone dr100 and I hated it!!! It was just too big for me, and I remember in one of the instructionals the instructor said to be comfortable with your guitar. So tonight I went out and bought a new guitar...it was not the one I wanted (could not afford the one I wanted...Martin 000XE). I ended up buying a Martin LXM travel guitar. It's very small, but for some reason it feels much better when I play. My question is, will this hurt me in the long run playing a smaller size guitar? Lets say I save enough to buy a Martin X series in a regular size, will I have problems converting from the small LXM to the larger scale X series. Thank you for your help. Mark Niswonger" View Response

Playing Blues - February 19th, 2008 (1 minutes, 24 seconds)

csmbird Asked, "Hi Guys, Fantastic web this JamPlay, really very good for my learning. One question though: is there any chance of getting tuition for Clapton (EC) style blues, for example his rendition of "Driftin'"; I'd love to learn "walking" blues style playing! Just looking at tabs I still can't get that style and so was wondering whether this stuff is on your agenda? Regards Chris." View Response

New Guitar - November 9th, 2007 (3 minutes, 90 seconds)

Mniswonger asks: "I was playing with an Epiphone dr100 and I hated it!!! It was just too big for me, and I remember in one of the instructionals the instructor said to be comfortable with your guitar. So tonight I went out and bought a new guitar...it was not the one I wanted (could not afford the one I wanted...Martin 000XE). I ended up buying a Martin LXM travel guitar. It's very small, but for some reason it feels much better when I play. My question is, will this hurt me in the long run playing a smaller size guitar? Lets say I save enough to buy a Martin X series in a regular size, will I have problems converting from the small LXM to the larger scale X series. Thank you for your help. Mark Niswonger" View Response

Help Changing Chords - April 25th, 2007 (1 minutes, 00 seconds)

Danny91 asks "Well i've been having a problem and its kinda hard for me to change between chord to chord like im up to lesson 3 in beginners and im watching steve's lessons and he teaches great but i have a problem switching chords when im strumming so is it possible if u guys could send me a practice tape that will get my speed up and that i can change chords while strumming because i stop strumming when i change it cause im not fast enough so if it possible help me out . thanks" View Response

Guitar Action - April 28th, 2008 (2 minutes, 13 seconds)

Jdemail78 asks, "I hear a lot about guitar action but I'm not really sure what is good or bad. I had purchased an acoustic guitar that I believe had very low action (strings were very close to the neck of the guitar) and it was very easy to play but it ended up having some issues with fret buzz and other ringing sounds that I did not like and could not get corrected at the local guitar shop. I've since replaced it with a little bit better guitar and I no longer have any fret buzz nor do I have any ringing sounds but it seems like the action is higher (strings are much higher off the neck of the guitar) and therefore, for me as a beginner, it is harder to play. My question is when it comes to an experienced guitar player (which I am not...yet...) is it good to have a guitar with higher action or lower action? What would one typically prefer? Do really nice expensive guitars come with very low action making them easy to play but don't have any buzzing issues or is it a case where as you get better, higher action is ok because your better at fretting chords and notes? My curiosity with this comes from a hope that the guitar I have now, with it's strings higher off the fret board, will slowly become easier to play as I get better and I'll become ok with the higher action because it does sound better and cleaner than the one I had with the lower action. Also, please correct me if I have the "high action" "low action" descriptions backwards." View Response