Acoustic euphoria

[Mincer]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by reversed pairs. Can you explain?

It is the shadow that is doing weird things to my eyes.

 

[solspirit]

It is the shadow that is doing weird things to my eyes.

Hahaha. I saw it too

 

[Artie]

1968 Gibson SJ-200. One of the few models with the solid moustache bridge.

My luthier friend did a setup on one of those earlier this year. I got to play with it a bit. Probably the best playing, and sounding, acoustic I've ever handled.

I have an Ibanez Steve Vai EP5 acoustic I love but live I stick to my B.C. Rich Mockingbird acoustic.

That is sweet. I don't think I've ever seen or heard of one of those before.

I don't play acoustic much. My only real acoustic is a garden variety Aria that my friend setup for me. With it set up, it plays and sounds great. But mostly, when I want an acoustic sound, I use my Johnson "Epiphone / Gretsch SST" clone. Again, with a pro set up and replacing the UST with a K&K, it sounds killer through my BBE Acoustimax preamp.

 

[Securb]

While we are talking acoustics my dream acoustic would be a Gibson Chet Atkins

 

[Mincer]

I also have a Godin Multiac Steel, which allows combinations of the saddle pickup mixing with acoustic 'models' stored in presets.

 

[Dudeman7]

What kind of pickup does it have? I was always curious about those guitars.

Fishman under saddle element with a Fishman Classic 4 preamp/EQ.

I have the same pickup/electronics in a Martin dreadnought from the same time period and it is "just OK" in that guitar. The dreadnought has solid woods and is a higher end model, but the unplugged performance seems to be at odds with the amplified tone. Plugged in, it is difficult to capture the natural (excellent) tone of that thing using those electronics.

The 00CXAE synthetic materials guitar though? The same pickup and preamp make that thing sound absolutely amazing plugged in. It is very lively feeling and sounding but quite quiet acoustically. I don't know the physics that are at work but it is super easy to get a huge range of usable tones. (I usually use an SWR California Blonde with a Natural Blonde powered extension cab and a few pedals, FWIW.)

Playing solo, it can sound very rich and deep with lots of the desirable overtones that make solo acoustic guitars so intriguing. It's super sensitive to different playing techniques and it reacts to dramatic changes in dynamics beautifully.

With the band, the onboard EQ is voiced perfectly for dropping out the lowest range and emphasizing the midrange so it still cuts through without getting in the way of the other instruments.

Unplugged though, the tone of that guitar is pretty uninspiring. I would never attempt to record with it mic'd. Also, since I added a bridge plate and altered the bracing and top resonance with the JLD and trapeze tailpiece, it is likely very different from an unmodified version of the same guitar.

Please take my comments with a grain of salt.

 

[Mincer]

Fishman under saddle element with a Fishman Classic 4 preamp/EQ.

I have the same pickup/electronics in a Martin dreadnought from the same time period and it is "just OK" in that guitar. The dreadnought has solid woods and is a higher end model, but the unplugged performance seems to be at odds with the amplified tone. Plugged in, it is difficult to capture the natural (excellent) tone of that thing using those electronics.

The 00CXAE synthetic materials guitar though? The same pickup and preamp make that thing sound absolutely amazing plugged in. It is very lively feeling and sounding but quite quiet acoustically. I don't know the physics that are at work but it is super easy to get a huge range of usable tones. (I usually use an SWR California Blonde with a Natural Blonde powered extension cab and a few pedals, FWIW.)

Playing solo, it can sound very rich and deep with lots of the desirable overtones that make solo acoustic guitars so intriguing. It's super sensitive to different playing techniques and it reacts to dramatic changes in dynamics beautifully.

With the band, the onboard EQ is voiced perfectly for dropping out the lowest range and emphasizing the midrange so it still cuts through without getting in the way of the other instruments.

Unplugged though, the tone of that guitar is pretty uninspiring. I would never attempt to record with it mic'd. Also, since I added a bridge plate and altered the bracing and top resonance with the JLD and trapeze tailpiece, it is likely very different from an unmodified version of the same guitar.

Please take my comments with a grain of salt.

This sort of thing is why I judge an acoustic that I plan use professionally on gigs by what it sounds like plugged in. I love a great sounding acoustic played in a quiet room acoustically, but honestly, that's not how people are going to hear it. So that acoustic sound is lower on the priority list for me. I've also heard great sounding Martins and Taylors sound terrible plugged in. So the pickup system does matter a lot to me.

 

[Securb]

This sort of thing is why I judge an acoustic that I plan use professionally on gigs by what it sounds like plugged in. I love a great sounding acoustic played in a quiet room acoustically, but honestly, that's not how people are going to hear it. So that acoustic sound is lower on the priority list for me. I've also heard great sounding Martins and Taylors sound terrible plugged in. So the pickup system does matter a lot to me.

That is exactly why I bought the B.C. Rich. It has no more sound unplugged than a semi-hollow body. But plugging it sounds great, and I don't have to deal with feedback issues.