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I've once got a very cheap acoustic guitar when I was very young. I later replaced it with an electric guitar, because I disliked its quality, and I didn't know what I was doing when I was young.
Can acoustic music or classical music be played with an electric guitar with similar sound?
Are there guitarists that are actively doing this?
If not, I'll probably have to look for music to fit my guitar. Or buy an acoustic guitar or perhaps a piano...
Well, it's got all the same notes, right?
People have been updating the timbres of classic works for centuries. Take Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, for example. That was originally intended to be played on well-tempered clavichords and harpsichords, but nowadays keyboardists perform it on equal-tempered (not the same thing!) harpsichords, pianos, and even synthesizers.
It is possible, of course, to use electronics to approximate the sounds of an acoustic or classical guitar on an electric (piezoelectric pickups appear to be best at this, and then there's always MIDI), but of course it's never going to be exact, and you don't have a resonating chamber to drum on, and you've got closely spaced steel strings instead of widely spaced nylons, but again, those differences are no bigger than those between a clavichord and a piano.
If you want to perform seriously as a classical guitarist, then yes, eventually you would need to purchase a classical guitar (and not just an acoustic guitar like you had, either). But there's absolutely no harm done in grabbing your electric, dialing in a clean tone, and going to town.
I think you'd be doing yourself more justice as a musician to just approach the classic repertoire using the instrument you have, especially if you're interested in continuing to play electric guitar. Don't let equipment get in the way of your own growth as a musician.
Oh, also: Paganini's 5th Caprice (performed by Steve Vai for the film 'Crossroads'), and Yngwie Malmsteen is very fond of performing Bach.
The other answers (so far) seem to be focused on the sound you'd produce: whether you can replicate the sound of a classical guitar with an electric and whether it's even necessary to do so. I think these are interesting questions, but miss an important point: playing technique.
A classical guitar uses nylon strings with an extremely wide string spacing. They are designed to played fingerstyle, with a well-developed orthodox thumb-and-three-fingers technique. Much of the classical repertoire involves playing multiple parts (e.g. bass and treble) simultaneously. Electric guitars use steel strings, and most use a much narrower string spacing. They are designed to be played with a plectrum (pick), using a combination of strumming and single-note picking.
These techniques are vastly different from each other, and it's not easy to play music written for one type of guitar on the other. I don't mean to suggest you can't play a classical guitar with a pick or that you can't play an electric guitar fingerstyle---you can, and some famous players have. Mark Knopfler, Lindsey Buckingham, Chet Atkins---these guys all play(ed) fingerstyle on electric guitars to great effect. It's worth pointing out, though, that none of them were playing classical music on electrics; they adapted their style to fit the electric's idiosyncrasies and wrote original music of their own.
My point is: the physical differences between the instruments contributes to the very different playing techniques used on each. Even if you play a nylon-string classical guitar with a pick, you won't be able to bend notes nearly as well as you can on an electric, and if you play fingerstyle on an electric, you'll soon find the low string tension and tight string spacing to be serious inconveniences.
You can try to apply the playing techniques of one to the other, but you'll find it difficult to pull off successfully. I don't really recommend it.
It certainly is possible to do so, with some minor technique modification. One of the worlds best classical guitarists, John Williams famously did this during his period with the band 'Sky' back in the early 80's. If you get the chance, check out his album 'Sky2' where he plays several classical pieces with an electric.
To get them to sound the same, you will have to use some form of hardware or software modeller. For instance, I use an Axe-FX, and I found presets that can make my electric sound like a classical, an acoustic or even a sitar!
Bear in mind that your picking style will have to be slightly different with a light tensioned electric as compared to a nylon stringed guitar, i.e. your right hand fingernails will have to be shorter etc.
Short answer: Yes
Long answer:
Yes, you can. I do it a lot, when I want to play some classical for a slight(?) change from heavy metal riffs without switching guitars.
I'm using a Line 6 Spyder IV 15 amp, and the 'Clean' preset sounds just like my classical guitar.
Other amps may vary, but even if it only has overdrive settings, if you turn the drive all the way down you should get a good clean guitar sound.
One thing about this: There is a difference between electric steel string and classical nylon stringed guitars; on a classical, the strings are spaced a lot farther apart than on a steel string, so playing will feel a little different than what you're used to if you don't play on a steel string regularly. But, if you're used to playing on an electric, only the musical style (and sound) will change
"With a similar sound", is a relative term. Do you mean in terms of tonal qualities, or in the perceived over-all ambiance?
As far as playing goes, listen to Chet Atkins and Roy Clark. They regularly played classical styles on Gretsch and Gibson hollow-body guitars, with outstanding results. So as far as technique goes, certainly it is doable. I play finger-style on electrics all the time, sometimes using Acoustic Modeling, or sometimes just using different EQ settings, mostly because I am too lazy to change guitars onstage. Some of the places I play have small stages, and there is no room for several guitars. I actually like a lot of the John Denver, James Taylor, and Jim Croce stuff I do better on my Gibson ES 135 or Fender Stratocaster better than on my Ovation Balladeer, or Martin.
Recreating the exact sounds is a little more complex. Acoustic guitars depend on many factors for their sound, starting with the way the wood on the sound board, and to a lesser degree, the rest of the body of the guitar, vibrates. Each type of wood has different tonal characteristics, with some being warm and soft, such as mahogany, cherry, and cedar, and others being sharp and pronounced, such as spruce. That's why a Martin sounds different than a Tacoma, or a Seagull. The side and back woods also contribute to the over-all sound, and it is common to mix them, such as using spruce for the soundboard, and tempering it a bit with mahogany on the sides and back. Also, the way the soundboard is braced effects the sound. And lastly, of course, the type and gauge of strings used. Recreating all of these factors digitally is difficult, however, Line 6 has done a fantastic job with their Variax Series of guitars. They do probably as good as it is possible a job in recreating the sounds of various guitars, including classical, and even banjo and sitar. With the flip of a switch, you can go from a Martin D-28, to a hand-made cedar-bodied Classical sound, then with another flip, to a Fender '65 Stratocaster.
So the answer is yes, at least with the right equipment. Of course, there is no need to duplicate the sounds exactly. With the huge range of tonal possibilities of a modern electric guitar using various EQ settings, amp models, and effects, you could create beautiful passages that a straight acoustic could never match. My advice is to press on, don't worry about exact duplications, and make the music your own. That's what it is all about...
Of course, you can play classical music on an electric guitar whether playing it raw or using effect pedals/plugins. Although you might not get the exact tone that a classical piece might have, you can definitely have a tone that would fulfill your fancy.
In fact, using an electric guitar, you would have the option to produce a range of amazing tones with the help of tone simulator pedals, digital effects, or VST plugins. An electric guitar is a type of guitar that is capable of emulating other types of guitars and instruments.
How to Play Classical / Baroque Music on an Electric Guitar
If you didn’t know already, early classical guitar music is also referred to as Baroque music (or Baroque pieces) and early classical guitars could be called baroque guitars as well; so, don’t get confused by that.
There is no significant challenge you’d face to become a classical guitarist using your electric guitar. In fact, you might love the unique combination and so will your audience. So, to play a classical piece on your electric guitar, you could revamp your playing style that is compatible with classical style composing, such as, playing guitar solos or fingerstyle playing.
A quick glance at the comparison between classical and modern music (where electric guitars are widely used) would help you adopt classical music on your electric guitar better.
First, I would suggest you not worry about the tone. Just plug in your electric guitar directly into your amplifier and start practicing with the raw tone. Assuming that, you have some experience in playing guitar, here are the steps you can follow.
I agree with NReilingh's assertion that you really need the right guitar to play a particular style or song well. That said, it's certainly possible to produce nearly identical sounds with a combination of guitars and effects. Just to add in my personal experience, I have an effects pedal for my electric guitar that has a very good acoustic guitar effect. You can tell the difference from a real acoustic guitar, but as technology advances the gap will grow ever smaller.
Can acoustic music or classical music be played with an electric guitar with similar sound? Are there guitarists that are actively doing this?
I'm going to lean on similar sound in this answer. Electric guitars have magnetic pickups, and there are sound characteristics from solid bodies and magnetic pickups and amplification that are very much themselves. You can play the same repertoire with similar technique (classical guitars have wider necks to allow several voices to play at once), but the sounds are not similar. The sound can be more similar with piezo pickups; they don't sound exactly like being in the room with a guitar, but they're good enough and save in complexity for live work. I haven't seen/done much with electric guitars with piezo pickups but want to try.
Most non-classical acoustic styles I can think of rely on the percussive attack of the guitar and leave the strings ringing. With magnetic pickups, the sustaining strings do not drop down in volume nearly as much. It would tend to sound muddy, so the tendency is to strenuously mute strings you don't need.
Then there's MIDI. My understanding is that the tracking and lag issues of previous designs are all but solved, but that's getting inti another technology.
Dave Matthews uses (used?) A Chet Atkins signature guitar that's solid with piezo and built to play with nylon strings. He's about the only player I've seen playing one. Joni Mitchell used to have a MIDI guitar system that allowed her to "switch" between her large collection of alternate tunings at a step of a foot switch. I've heard flatpickers double as hot Nashville guitarists, but they don't play the same style for the reasons mentioned.
You could play the same songs, but you can't make them sound the same. Nobody tries that much to make them, because you can electrify a classical or acoustic, or mic it up, or go MIDI, to get the exact sounds. And that's okay.
