hi, i've got a bit of a problem with my songwriting process. i've got an electric guitar i'm very attached to and its generally what i try to do all my writing on, unplugged and sitting down. It hasn't failed me in the past, even though i've only ever written one song on it that i'm truly happy with. However, as most famous songwriters i know talk about using an acoustic when writing songs, do you think playing an acoustic guitar holds a benefit over using an electric guitar when you write? Sometimes when I play an acoustic or try to write on it i notice a kind of resonance and natural melody in its tone that you don't get with an electric, and it assists the mind in thinking in more of an intrinsically melodic way, and because the sound is larger it also gives you more space underneath to play with vocal patterns. However, how does it work that kurt cobain could write some of his louder stuff on an acoustic, i mean surely to picture the final outcome in your head of songs like 'smells like teen spirit' or 'lithium you'd need to play it on electric? I hate leaving my comfort zone by putting down my electric and picking up an acoustic to try to write because I feel that every second I try to get into the 'feel' or writing on an acoustic i'm wasting invaluable writing time on my electric that could be rich with melodies. Any help on this matter would be great, thanks (sorry if its a bit long !)

i write rock songs mainly & like you i write most on a unplugged electric...a acoustic just wouldnt do it  for me
the only reason i could see these rockstars writing on acoustics is if there on the road it would be the only easy way to do it & hear yourself play
however when ive run out of ideas on my electric i find picking up my casio  keyboard will give me a whole load of new ideas & i write songs i could never have written on the electric & ocasionaly i do borrow an acoustic & that will give me  ideas for totaly diffrent songs aswell
so id say dont get hung up about what the pros say there doing ...do what suits you.... if you pick up the acoustic & dont get anywhere switch to the electric...if thats not productive try a keyboard

Just write on what you are comfortable. I write on a mix between an acoustic and a piano. I've also started writing songs on an electric, a bass, mandolin and hammond. Just because that was what was to hand. A lot of the time something I start on one instrument will end up being carried mostly by another instrument. Most of the time my songs end up with piano, acoustic and electric in them. Sometimes I might get to a point on the acoustic where I get stuck with where to go next, or how I want the song to flow. Then I would turn to the piano as I'm more technically proficient on that and I find it easier to look at it and see where to go...

Bottom line : whatever makes you comfortable. Just because you write the song on that, doesn't mean you have to record or perform the song on it.

I'd add that sometimes writing on something uncomfortable can be a good thing. I find that I get "stuck" in familiar chord sequences and arpeggios on my acoustic. Plug in my flying V and suddenly everything changes, the fret board seems to open up.

Moral is; don't be afraid to experiment. Like Ramshackles says, what starts on one instrument often gets finished on another. That riff you were whistling in the shower this morning is tomorrows metal breakdown 

Peter

Also welcome to the forum, and congrats on an interesting first post! Look forward to your future contributions.

Peter

just to say though, i don't really play metal, i generally play melodic rock, but thanks for the opinions!

It's really all up to jamming. Just experiment all over the fretboard, even try making up chords. I know one way some people can spark up new ideas is by trying different tunings (although I'm not sure how far you want to go with this), jamming on them, noticing new voicings and melodies that they couldn't create in standard tunings.

Im not sure its about the guitar really, i think its about passion and if you have it like Cobain, you'll express it on any guitar..Jeff Buckley was another, real shame.

mind you each time ive had a new gtr or keybd or something,  always gets things rolling, exploring a new beast,

Hello!

I've only ever played the acoustic guitar so obviously it's the only thing i can write on XD. I'll commonly jam in my room with different chord progressions until something makes my head tick. Also I'll often keep a pen and paper beside me in case when I'm jamming, lyrics or ideas just pop into my head (sometimes when I'm playing I'll also think up of a vocal melody and hum it while I play)

I did have a couple of vouchered lessons in London when I went to visit my brother. The tutor taught me a few neat tricks about structuring songs which I never knew, which I sort of have in the back of my mind when I jam, but it's really down to feel and instinct. Sometimes I'll get a good riff going, record it, expecting it to follow one structure but then it turns out completely different to what I expected.

Using an acoustic is great for experimenting with different strumming patterns, plus if you can get a song sounding great with just an acoustic, it'll sound great whatever you play it on.

That's very true. It's easier to make your melodies into even bigger songs if you start at the barebones. Would be harder the other way round going from full orchestral down to acoustic XD

It can be interesting though when you take songs that weren't written on acoustic, to an acoustic, and they take on a different sound and identity. It's boring though when people just play what they play on the electric, on the acoustic.

Like others have said, use what you like until you get into a rut, then switch to something less familiar.

If my writing's based on progressions, generally I'll tackle it with an accoustic guitar maybe with occasional trips to one of my keyboards.  If I'm writing based on a melody I can't get out of my head, it's the keyboard that helps me figure things out.

Sometimes the instrument itself is the muse.  Hearing that odd harmony, or even the difficulty in playing can spark an idea and stretch the creativity muscles.

Cho

These days I write most stuff. In the car singing riffs and chord progressions and melodies into my phone. An acoustic phone that is