I asked for advice on getting a new guitar amp yesterday (thanks to everyone for their suggestions) but I’m reconsidering now…I may, instead, buy a nice acoustic/electric. I have a $150.00 Ibanez acoustic that I absolutely love. I bought a nice pick-up for it, but it was completely worthless. I’ve heard that I’d be better off getting an acoustic/electric for live shows. First off, does anyone have experience using an acoustic w/ a pick up vs. an acoustic/electric? Also, if acoustic/electric is the way to go, what should I look in to? I’ve got between $700 - $800 to spend. Oh, and one thing I love about the acoustic I have is that it doesn’t have that enamel-coating (or whatever that is) that almost every acoustic guitar seems to have. I just prefer the feel of the guitar w/o that. That’s not 100% necessary, but it’s something to keep in mind if I have a choice. Thanks!
There are plenty of add-on pickups that seem to work quite well. I’m wondering why/how the one you have is worthless. Perhaps you can return it for a different model that will work for you.
Guitars made by LaSiDo (Seagull, Simon & Patrick, etc.) generally have a satin finish rather than a gloss finish, which is what I assume that’s what you mean by “enamel coating.” They are generally well-regarded, some models are available as acoustic-electric, and I’m pretty sure some of them would fit your price range.
I’ve been gigging on guitar semi-regularly for the last year and a half. I’ve used some nice Lace pickups (even with variable volume control, both in the $100-150 range) on my acoustic for gigs, but even though they sound okay even when used with effects pedals, they don’t hold a candle to the full, rich timbre I get from my bandmate’s acoustic/electric. I’m gonna buy an A/E someday. Probably soon.
Ovation and Takamine pretty much specialize in acoustic/electric guitars and they have guitars in your price range.
That being said, I’ve heard great sound coming from acoustic guitars with added-on pickups. You might want to try an under-the-saddle pickup by Fishman and maybe a preamp/eq. It’s probably worth experimenting with a couple of pickups before buying a whole new guitar, especially if you like the guitar you have so much. Of course by the time you get finished experimenting you might have spent as much as a new guitar would cost anyway.
You should be able to find a decent under the saddle pickup to put in your acoustic guitar for less than $200 (including installation). As Mack said, fishman makes some nice stuff as does EMG and L.R. Baggs. The key is to get one with an onboard active pre-amp. Piezo pickups without pre-amps tend to sound very thin. Other things I’ve discovered over the years - I find the sound hole pickups tend to sound too metalic for me(they are essentially magnetic pickups like you’d find in an electric guitar) and microphone-type pickups are very susceptible to horrendous feedback problems.
If you really want to look for another guitar, I think the best thing out there in your price range is the stuff being put out by Larrivee. Their “03” and “02” series are great guitars for the money - solid tops and solid back and sides and you can get into one with an onboard pickup system for between $700 - $800. For me the “all solid wood” thing is so important - until you’ve played a guitar made from solid woods you just don’t know what you’re missing. Also, I like what I have seen of the new Taylor D-100’s - similar in features to the low end Larrivee stuff and similarly priced, although I’d lean toward the Larrivee stuff myself. But either way, both impress me as being excellent guitars - If you end up with one it will probably be the last acoustic you will ever NEED to buy.
Go check some out before you make your decision, but if you decide after playing other guitars that you want to just keep playing the axe you already love, then get a quality internal pickup installed by a good luthier - you will be happy.
An electrified acoustic guitar is ideal for medium to large performance venues. You no longer have to worry about standing close to a microphone and the sound board has a much meatier signal to work with. Hollow body electric guitars are another breed entirely and depend to a greater degree on post processing effects to influence their sound. If you play folk and ballad style music, go with an electrified acoustic. If your style is more towards blues and jazz, a hollow body or semi-hollow body electric is the way to go.
If you are going to electrify an acoustic guitar there are two alternatives. “O-hole” pickups stink and can interfere with picking and strumming. They are also quite sensitive to feedback problems. A bridge or saddle type pickup is the low cost alternative. Martin’s thin line pickup is a piezoelectric sensor that is placed under the bridge of your instrument. Your $150 guitar will lose no value by having a small hole drilled through the saddle to permit wiring of the pickup.
The higher cost alternative is an in-guitar microphone which the expense of your rig does not justify. You will need to consider getting a small pre-amplifier pedal for driving a bridge pickup. Some tone controls are nice as well. You can do it all from your amp, but having some basic controls on the floor in front of you while you perform is more convenient. It looks a lot more professional to quickly adjust a few knobs than scurrying back to your amp all of the time.
If you are going to buy a new guitar, look for full onboard equalizer (four band), presence and volume controls and a really clean sound. Many of the piezoelectric transducers have a tinny sort of tone to them. I also recommend looking into a 3/4 thickness body acoustic with cut-away. This is the configuration of my Guild acoustic-electric and it is a gas to perform with.
Feel free to post some more questions about this before you purchase. You’ll want to do a lot of shopping and test drives before laying down that sort of cash. If you have not done so, please look at some full hollow body and semi-hollow body electrics. They are a lot of fun to drive.
Ok, I ended up buying a Yamaha Compass guitar (the Egyptian one) for $800. I really like the look, feel, and sound of the guitar (although it is a bit muffled, but I think it’s very pretty). Last night, we had band practice, and I had terrible feedback problems. The only way to eliminate it was to either lower the volume to a level where it was inaudible under the drums, electric guitar, etc. Or, I could turn the BLEND knob all the way to the left, but then it had a muddy sound.
I was told I can get some kind of cover for the hole, and that would help. Will it really help? How much? Is this something I can do myself, or do I go out and buy some kind of special cover for it? I have 30 days to return it for a full refund, so if I can’t eliminate the feedback, I can return it. Any suggestions?
Oh, and I’m playing out of my Fender Deluxe which is definitely more geared towards an electric guitar then an electric/acoustic, but I can’t afford another amp AND a guitar!
Kinda sounds like you’ve gone from the frying pan to the fire.
In the OP you said you bought a nice pick-up, but it was completely worthless. What kind of pickup? How was it worthless? Is it possible for you to get a refund or exchange for it? Is it possible it’s a defective unit, rather than a poor or incompatible design?
Two things bother me about your new guitar. One is the “muffled” sound. Ususally the best advice about buying a guitar is, if you don’t love the sound, don’t buy it. The other is the feedback. Seems to me that makes it useless for what you want. Maybe a soundhole cover will solve the problem, but that adds another layer of complexity and pain-in-the-butt to using it. From, what I’ve read in your post, I’d be inclined to return it.
This isn’t an area where I’m particularly knowledgeable, but I just don’t hear these kinds of complaints from people I know who have add-on pickups or acoustic/electrics. You’ve had a problem with both. Is it possible there’s a fundamental mismatch with the amp your using? I’m thinking either you’re particlarly unlucky, or there’s some basic problem here.
My add-on pickup is the “Acoustic Bronze” from Lace Music ( http://www.LaceMusic.com/store/product.asp?id=38&catid=11 , http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/search/detail/base_pid/305401/sourceid=00362809468472245297 ). Presumably this is what Saxman was referring to. I’ve been happy with it. My soundman friend said he preferred it when guitarists had non-adjustable pickups (mine doesn’t have the volume control) so that he could set the sound right and not worry about it being changed by the guitarist.
You might learn something helpful from this pickup comparison site: http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest.htm . It just seems to me you should be able to find an add-on pickup that works for you, at considerably less expense than a guitar. It almost sounds like you’re just buying the guitar to get the factory pickup in it.
Buy an o-hole cap or plug. It is a circular plastic piece that will block your guitar’s resonating cavity. This will dampen your sound a bit but prevent the acoustic chamber from “running away.” Try this before returning the instrument, it should only cost several dollars, unless your axe has a strange shaped o-hole.
If your amp is for an electric, consider getting an “acoustic voice” stomp box. I’ll try to post tomorrow about this item.