I normally practice an hour or more each day with either my Les Paul or my Stratocaster with no problems. Yesterday I decided to start practicing with my Taylor acoustic that has been gathering dust forever and I find that after just a very few minutes my hands are so tired my chords sound like I just started yesterday. For instance, I do a series of about fifteen 1 minute chord change exercises (E to C for 1 minute, A to Dm for 1 minute, G to D7 for 1 minute etc). On the electric I have no problems but on the acoustic it seems I get worn out pretty quickly. Do you other electric players have the same problem? Does it get better or am I just wasting my time on the acoustic (weak hands)? I did have the Taylor set up by a tech and I can play single notes okay but the chords are a mess!

Would it help to restrict myself to the acoustic for a month or so? Would it help to do the beginner chromatic finger exercises? Should I play the acoustic until my hands get tired and then switch to the electric? Am I thinking too much and making a problem where none exists?

I know that sounded like a big dumb rant but it is just so frustrating right now. I guess I just need some advice.

Because of some health problems I have issues with my hands. Often playing acoustically was a challenge. I have started lowering the action and going with lighter gauge strings on all of my acoustics.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

I played my acoustic steady for a year before getting my Strat. It took me a while to learn to lighten up my touch on the Stat. I put 10s on my acoustic so it's not so much of a difference and because I don't want to drift back to a gorilla grip.

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I always play the acoustic every day. I can't say the same for electric. This is because I work out of town. Different town all the time. I carry an acoustic with me and play in the hotel room after work. I have never understood why people play solid body electric guitars without amplifiers. That just does not compute for me so I never take an electric to work with me. When I'm home I plug in, crank it up and rock out but I still play the acoustic every day. Playing the acoustic builds strength in your hands, forces you to improve your articulation and accuracy, steers you towards tasteful and melodic improvisation rather than speed and repetition and helps keep you from becoming dependant on FX and teaches you to use your hands to obtain your tone.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Like my friend Chet I have problems with my hands and have found that lowering the action and going to a lighter gauge string makes the switch to acoustic much more manageable.I have found that D'Addario 10-46 light gauge with the wound G to be very good for acoustic guitar and they are nice and bright.The main thing is not to force yourself or you may exascerbate the problem, just build up your time at the acoustic gradually.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

+1 to Mr. Feathers and guitslinger My fingers are in a constant state of pain. playing at all can be brutal if you don't have your guitar setup for your specific needs.
----Danny,

You are not alone...
Acoustic is a different arena.
Give it some time. Avoid giving up on it.
Holdsworth gave up on it and will not play acoustic. I regret that because his recordings on the acoustic are amazing!

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FIGHT!

Acoustic is definitely a different world than electric, different feel, different approach, and different sounds you're looking for.

My Montara acoustic is my daily player so I've grown quite accustom to it. The action is lowered on it and I use .10's. That guitar has basically a Strat neck on it so jumping from that to my Strat is very easy, not different at all.

Bottom line is adjustments can be made on your acoustic to accomodate the transition easier. But the only way to really perfect is to keep playing.

I think if you work on arching your wrist more, it might help when you play chords. I've been using a classical nylon string a lot for acoustic and like it a lot.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I play both acoustic and electric, but tend to play my Strat or Tele more frequently, so my hands are used to the lighter strings. I used to string my acoustic with regular light gauge (.012-.054) Martin strings and I was having the same problem switching to it from electric as you described. Since my acoustic has a factory pickup/preamp system built into it, and I play it plugged almost all the time anyway, I just went to using extra-light, .010 gauge strings on it. My troubles are gone now and I can switch back and forth almost effortlessly.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

+1 I couldn't have said it better myself!

When I'm playing out, I usually cover the rhythm work and that usually means two sets of acoustic rhythm and then I go to electric for the last two sets. It's the same at practice, about 50/50. I mostly play Ovations and I use Extra Light strings on them, it makes switching back and forth no problem.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Thank you everyone for the input.

I have had the Taylor acoustic setup (twice actually) and I guess it plays okay. When I first bought it new, it buzzed consistently on the second fret of the D string. Raising the action a little by adjusting the truss rod stopped that. After this second setup by a different tech I again had to raise the action due to the buzzing in the same spot. I guess it is just a peculiarity of this individual guitar.

The acoustic has 12s on it and I have considered lowering the gauge. I will give it a little more time first to see if I can make the adjustment to the acoustic as it is. I am going to try and practice solely with the acoustic for a month and see if I cannot overcome these weak hands. It is tough right now. I get frustrated and want to switch to the Strat or the Les Paul but I am trying to persevere.

To try and strengthen the hands I am doing about 20 minutes of hand exercises twice a day along with the regular practice. You know things like playing the chromatics up and down back and forth. I have an old book called "The Ultimate Guitar Workout" that has about a bazillion of these type exercises.