Acoustic Electric Vs Semi-Acoustic Guitar

I've seen a lot of confusion about this subject and a lot of people misusing these two terms. So what exactly is a semi-acoustic guitar and what is an acoustic electric? It helps to understand what the difference between an acoustic and an electric guitar is. An acoustic is hollow. The hollow space is called the soundbox and it serves to amplify the vibration of the strings, producing that familiar sound popular in folk and country music. In an electric the signal is generated by the vibration of the strings over a magnetic pickup. The signal is then amplified by the electronic circuitry inside an amplifier.

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Semi-acoustic and acoustic electric guitars both fall somewhere in between acoustic and electric amplification.

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An acoustic electric is essentially an acoustic guitar with some additional electronics added in order to allow it to be plugged into an amplifier. It looks like, play and sounds for the most part just like a regular acoustic guitar. An acoustic electric guitar is a completely functional acoustic guitar that has been equipped with an electric pickup, a microphone or a transducer. In the case of an instrument with nylon strings it is necessary to use a microphone or transducer since a pickup cannot detect the vibration or non metallic materials. The signal is then fed into an amplifier which allows it to be amplified like an electric instrument.

A semi-acoustic guitar has a body more similar to an electric and is often referred to as a hollow body guitar. It is essentially an electric guitar with a body that is fully or partially hollow. Since the body is hollow it can be played unamplified, however a hollow body guitar cannot produce very much volume unplugged and as such is rarely used that way. The reason for the hollow body is that it gives the guitar a tone that cannot be achieved with a solid body electric guitar.

Deciding whether a guitar falls into the semi-acoustic category or the acoustic electric category is fairly easy in practice. If it looks like an acoustic but can be plugged in then it is an acoustic electric. If it looks like an electric guitar but the body is hollow then it's a semi-acoustic guitar.

Acoustic Electric Vs Semi-Acoustic Guitar

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