Joined: 29 Apr 2009 United States  Lessons: 2 Karma: 23 
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Almost ‘all of the above’ = true
Here are my 2-cents for your consideration:
The old man, Phip… Okay That ‘Older than ME’ man, Phip narrowed focus and nailed the crux of this ‘Problem’
1st lets consider that there are 3 Main Chord Types
1- Open Chords: “Folk”-“Cowboy”-etc
(I will limit these to the first 4 or 5 frets though ‘;they’ can be found anywhere on the neck)
2- Barre Chords : The ‘Main’ being simple Maj-Min-7-Min/Maj 7…etc AKA: ‘the easy Barres’ (and I’ll toss in their small children; those little 2-fingered BS things called ‘power’ chords … now that they have been mentioned)
3- OTHER: These are what many refer to(not by me) as “jazz chords” LOL :
Though many of these “jazz” chords are Barred MOST are not. Most involve more finger-interaction, thumb-bass, open or deadened strings far above the 5th fret, and so forth and so on. …Most of these can be played (though voiced differently) like ‘standard’ open chords.
(I have 50min till student #1 lol so I may miss something in my haste)
Add an electric guitar to the mix and what happens to these chords?
NOTHING
On a properly tuned and intonated elec-plank these chords will sound, well, like they are being played on an electric guitar…and will be easier to play than on the acoustic guitar(best to practice everything on an acoustic anyways, to improve strength, clarity and tone (tone lives in wood and fingers).
Add Overdrive via box (not Distortion just yet) or simply Overdrive your amp and you may find that these chords get a bit mangled—no ‘secret recipe’ to making them ‘sound’ well just a small flick of the wrist (Volume Pot). Gaining control of your volume pot will allow you to go from clean to blazing with a small twist (I use my pinky) up or down.
The more complex a chord the more versed in it you must be as adding overdrive will ‘showcase’ the faults in your playing via upping the sensitivity/output.
Add Distortion and you can still play many of these chords quite cleanly BUT it takes ‘touch’ and ‘touch’ takes a LOT of practice. Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, the late Frank Zappa, Paul Gilbert, Vai, Mike Stern –etc etc etc ALL voice some VERY eclectic (not lol electric, but Eclectic) chords while using overdrive, distortion etc (see also Hendrix, Jimi)
With no problem (practice again).
Here is the Judgment call”
“Do I play this A9add6 cleanly enough to crank it?”—“is this sound ‘right(to you)’ for overdrive?”—“am I using too much distortion during my rhythm parts?”—“is there a LESS complex way to voice this chord?”
-ETC
Putting a LOT of quality time into ACOUSTIC chordal playing will yield the maximum results. If you only own an Electric guitar, Putting a LOT of quality time into playing these chords through a CLEAN amp setting, will help immensely.
In the end ‘a chords a chords a chord’ and should be able to be voiced by the player on any guitar set at any reasonable (no Flanger+Phase+Harmonizer--LOL) sound, clean or dirty. The trick is learning what chords where and when and how…and that’s something you will have to explore for yourself through the years.
My Suggestion to all who are considering =
(if ya can) get an acoustic guitar, and for at least a year or so practice all your chords and ‘leads’ on IT, rather than your electric. This will GREATLY help you Elec-Git skills, as everything is far far easier to play on an electric, Dig?
Hope this helped someone,
RAWK!
Cs
Global Disclaimer :
Carl Snow is an old, jaded & slightly bitter old man who cannot be held accountable for anything, much less his opinionatedly opinionated opinions or those of his imaginary friends. We sincerely apologize if this Carl Snow and/or its behavior have infected you or others with its ugly brain and its juices.
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