What is an Acoustic-Electric Guitar?

All guitars have a number of strings (metal, nylon, or cat-gut) strung along a long neck that’s divided into sections by metal called “frets” and are tuned by tuning pegs at the end of the neck.

There are a lot of different shapes, sizes, and colours in guitars but they can all be classified into two basic types:

• Acoustic Guitar (Acoustic-Electric Guitar)
• Electric Guitar

An acoustic-electric guitar is a combination of an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar. The big difference is in the body area of the guitar. The acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars both have a hollow body while the electric guitar has a solid body.

What is the difference between an acoustic guitar and an acoustic-electric guitar?

Both guitars look similar and have a hollow body design. The acoustic guitar has a sound hole that helps channel the sound were the acoustic-electric guitar has a piezoelectric pickup that transmits vibration from strings and also the vibration of body wood and parts which gives the guitar the ability to amplify the sound through an amplifier plugged into the body of the guitar.

If you wanted to play an acoustic guitar to a large audience you would need to put a microphone in front of the guitar to amplify the sound but you are likely to get feedback and you would not be able to move around the stage.

Can you play an acoustic-electric guitar without plugging it in?

Yes, all acoustic-electric guitars will function perfectly well without the use of electricity. They have the same number of strings; you play the same notes (chords) as the acoustic guitar. The difference between acoustic and acoustic-electric is the ability to plug the acoustic-electric into an amplifier.

To get a natural and pure sound from your acoustic-electric guitar you would not plug it into an amplifier. Using an amp is only needed when playing to a large audience or when playing with other electrified instruments.

Do acoustic-electric guitars sound different?

The piezoelectric (“piezo”) pickups on an acoustic-electric guitar have an extended frequency range to completely replicate the sound of an acoustic guitar.

Can you plug headphones into an acoustic-electric guitar?

Yes, you can plug your headphones directly into your guitar or you can plug your acoustic-electric guitar into your amplifier and plug your headphones into your amplifier. Most guitar amplifiers have a dedicated headphone output jack.

Conclusion: The acoustic guitar and the acoustic-electric guitars are the same except that one has built-in electronics and one doesn’t and the acoustic-electric will only work with steel strings.