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Post by Admin on Jan 14, 2013 8:14:50 GMT -5
I remember back in the days before big bang, we used a DiArmond pickup mounted in the soundhole of a flattop or between bridge and neck on an archtop gujitar. I remember a very talented guitar player saying that apparatus just sucks the tone right out of a guitar.
So, how is the best way to amplify an acoustic? Through a mic, or with an internal pickup?
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Post by dadfad on Jan 14, 2013 10:01:49 GMT -5
Whenever possible, I'm a guitar-to-mic guy. With everything else the sound you create relies more on the quality of the electronics you use more than the quality of the instrument. I don't play high quality vintage guitars so they can sound almost exactly the same as a brand-new $200 Chinese-made Rogue.
Sometimes the "convenience factor" makes it necessary to just "plug-in." And there are some high-quality electronics set-ups out there (usually on-board) that do give a great sound, but again, it's mostly the sound of the electronics being heard and not the instrument.
Nothing is as "true" as just an un-enhanced guitar itself of course, but a good mic into a good PA comes closest.
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Post by steve on Jan 14, 2013 12:14:39 GMT -5
I assume you mean amplify for live playing.I don't think there is a way of rendering an acoustic sound accurately. It is a compromise I reckon. The quality of the sound is, in my view, a lot to do with the costs spend on the pickup and thereafter it depends on what you then use to amplify. I had a lower end Takamine that sounded terrible amplified. I have a slightly more expensive Taylor which sounds reasonable. Now it is never going to sound as rich and resonant as an acoustic naturally does.
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Post by Admin on Jan 15, 2013 11:37:46 GMT -5
I assume you mean amplify for live playing.I don't think there is a way of rendering an acoustic sound accurately. It is a compromise I reckon. The quality of the sound is, in my view, a lot to do with the costs spend on the pickup and thereafter it depends on what you then use to amplify. I had a lower end Takamine that sounded terrible amplified. I have a slightly more expensive Taylor which sounds reasonable. Now it is never going to sound as rich and resonant as an acoustic naturally does. Well put Steve. For some reason, (in my humble opinion) us acoustic guys were always searching for some way to get 'that' tone with greater volume for those "honky tonks"! ;D No matter what we did, the tone just didn't come up to expectations. It wasn't the actual notes that were lost, they were there, it was the subtle harmonics that are present from the acoustic that was lost. I know we tried all kind of tricks to reproduce the acoustic harmonic tones but again IMHO we haven't been truly successful.
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Post by saguitar on Jan 18, 2013 20:14:09 GMT -5
Not that I play acoustic very often, but I do have an SWR Strawberry Blonde amp that I let our acoustic players use. It is a wonderful little amp, we have had excellent results with it. Cheap guitars sound very good through it, and great guitars sound incredible. It has an XLR direct out that we run into the sound system, and the guys at the board love it. All our acoustic guitars are equipped with piezo units, or the Taylor setup.
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