To GUEST,Martin Gibson: I disagree. I'll skip my background unless you require it. Every amplifier I've ever heard (instrument pickups and run of the mill PA systems, the exceptions are expensive) has a certain amount of fuzz and distortion engineered into it. They smooth out the subtleties of the instrument and replace them, largely with the sound of the amplifier and the pickup. This, of course, doesn't prevent a splendid musician from playing splendidly but it does hide the delicate tonal shadings produced by acoustic instruments. Here's an example. There's a well known storey, told by classical guitarists, about a man who took lessons from Segovia. One day Segovia stopped the lesson, saying "You trimmed your fingernails this morning, didn't you." He answered "Yes, was that wrong to do?" The reply was "No, but now you need to file them". Try the experiment with a good guitar. It can be heard. I defy you to detect it with an electric guitar.