beowolverine93
New member
This may sound like a stupid question but what makes acoustic guitar pickups different from electric guitar pickups?
Acoustic Guitar Pickups
- Thread starter beowolverine93
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trevorus
Modsterbator
Re: Acoustic Guitar Pickups
Most acoustic guitar pickups are based on the piezoelectric effect. Basically, a quartz crystal will put out a bit of electricity when vibrated or deformed. They put a setup of these under the saddle in the bridge, hook it up to a preamp, and you have an amplified acoustic. Electric guitar pickups are magnets and coils of wire, and when the string disturbs the magnetic field, they generate a signal in the coil. This goes to the amplifier, and sound is heard.
Most acoustic guitar pickups are based on the piezoelectric effect. Basically, a quartz crystal will put out a bit of electricity when vibrated or deformed. They put a setup of these under the saddle in the bridge, hook it up to a preamp, and you have an amplified acoustic. Electric guitar pickups are magnets and coils of wire, and when the string disturbs the magnetic field, they generate a signal in the coil. This goes to the amplifier, and sound is heard.
beowolverine93
New member
Re: Acoustic Guitar Pickups
So putting a PAF in the soundhole would be a bad idea? LIke you wouldn't get the same affect?
So putting a PAF in the soundhole would be a bad idea? LIke you wouldn't get the same affect?
MojoMonster
Active member
Re: Acoustic Guitar Pickups
And not as good as a soundhole pickup that was designed for acoustic guitar.
This might help explain.
This guy added flatwound electric strings for his.
No, it would work, but not as well as it could or should.
And not as good as a soundhole pickup that was designed for acoustic guitar.
This might help explain.
This guy added flatwound electric strings for his.
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beowolverine93
New member
Re: Acoustic Guitar Pickups
Not gonna lie that's pretty much what I'm going for. I wanna get a really cheap @$$ acoustic (because I like the sound of my current acoustic and don't wanna mess with it incase it goes bad), wire it up to a PAF with volume and tone controls, connected to a Strat type jack and maybe put a tremolo on it. I know, crazy right? Haha.
Not gonna lie that's pretty much what I'm going for. I wanna get a really cheap @$$ acoustic (because I like the sound of my current acoustic and don't wanna mess with it incase it goes bad), wire it up to a PAF with volume and tone controls, connected to a Strat type jack and maybe put a tremolo on it. I know, crazy right? Haha.
MojoMonster
Active member
Re: Acoustic Guitar Pickups
You could *maybe* get a trem that was designed for a full hollow guitar to work, but you'd definitely have to brace the bridge/pivot area or risk caving in the top.
You can do all that, except the tremolo, pretty easily.
You could *maybe* get a trem that was designed for a full hollow guitar to work, but you'd definitely have to brace the bridge/pivot area or risk caving in the top.
Rich_S
HomeGrownToneBrewologist
Re: Acoustic Guitar Pickups
Even simpler, you could stick a "mag" type acoustic pickup in the soundhole. Duncan makes three models called the "Woody" that are magnetic pickups. I play very little acoustic and my "good enough" pickup is Fishman Neomag soundhole pickup, wired to a volume pot (with classy gold Telecaster knob) and an endpin jack. Very much like a simple electric-guitar circuit. (The only reason I didn't use a Woody is that my guitar has an unusually small soundhole, and the Duncan pickups were too wide.)
Mag pickups for acoustic guitars give a sound somewhere in between an acoustic and an electric, obviously not a pristine acoustic sound. I actually find it's a good contrast when playing with somebody else who has a "real" acoustic pickup.
Keep in mind this applies to steel-string acoustics only. Mag pickups don't work on nylon string guitars.
Even simpler, you could stick a "mag" type acoustic pickup in the soundhole. Duncan makes three models called the "Woody" that are magnetic pickups. I play very little acoustic and my "good enough" pickup is Fishman Neomag soundhole pickup, wired to a volume pot (with classy gold Telecaster knob) and an endpin jack. Very much like a simple electric-guitar circuit. (The only reason I didn't use a Woody is that my guitar has an unusually small soundhole, and the Duncan pickups were too wide.)
Mag pickups for acoustic guitars give a sound somewhere in between an acoustic and an electric, obviously not a pristine acoustic sound. I actually find it's a good contrast when playing with somebody else who has a "real" acoustic pickup.
Keep in mind this applies to steel-string acoustics only. Mag pickups don't work on nylon string guitars.
Evan Skopp
SDUGF Founder
Re: Acoustic Guitar Pickups
Another option is install a piezo bridge on your Strat. Fishman and LR Baggs make them. Then, plug it into a D-TAR Mama Bear for eerily accurate acoustic guitar tone from your Strat.
Another option is install a piezo bridge on your Strat. Fishman and LR Baggs make them. Then, plug it into a D-TAR Mama Bear for eerily accurate acoustic guitar tone from your Strat.
Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: Acoustic Guitar Pickups
ive been using piezos since the 80s. The only thing i can say about all of them is that they suck sound wise. Nasty honky fake awfulness. They do not sound like the natural sound of an acoustic guitar -even the very best ones. The reason people use them is because they are less prone to bleed, bumping and feedback than microphones in a live situation.
So they are a compromise. Kind of a "necessary evil". I still use them because there is not a lot else out there yet.
The other alternative is the magnetic pickup but obviously this wont work on nylon string guitars, and they dont reproduce the full sonic spectrum of the guitar. They do have the advantage of sounding warmer than piezos, and they can also be placed in the soundhole where the tone of the string is much fuller than directly under the bridge. This is the kind that Rich S suggested.
A lot of guys these days are blending the two, to try to address the shortfalls of both pickup systems, and that seems to be a pretty good compromise. The piezo for hifi clarity, and the magnet for some warmth. Works pretty well.
IN the recording studio, the good quality condenders and ribbon mics still rule the acoustic world. Using piezos and other pickup systems is purely to get a workable sound on stage.
Using a paf is fine....i did it to my resonator recently, but it will colour the sound quite noticeably. NOw it sounds like a resonator being amplified with a Paf. Its nice and warm, but it does not have a lit of the harmonics and top end that the guitar produces acoustically. I guess it all comes down to what kind of sound you are after, whether you are trying to reproduce the pristine sound of an acoustic guitar only louder, or whether you are happpy to experiment and see what happens (like the guy in the video).
So as far as your aim goes.....go for it and see what happens!
One thing i might say tho is this....when you are working out exactly where to put the pickup...try to find the two octave harmonic (its where the 24th fret would be if the guitar had one) on your strings and align the screw poles of your pickup under that. Thats the spot where most gibson and fender guitars placed their neck pickups. It will give you a nice warm and rich tone there.
ive been using piezos since the 80s. The only thing i can say about all of them is that they suck sound wise. Nasty honky fake awfulness. They do not sound like the natural sound of an acoustic guitar -even the very best ones. The reason people use them is because they are less prone to bleed, bumping and feedback than microphones in a live situation.
So they are a compromise. Kind of a "necessary evil". I still use them because there is not a lot else out there yet.
The other alternative is the magnetic pickup but obviously this wont work on nylon string guitars, and they dont reproduce the full sonic spectrum of the guitar. They do have the advantage of sounding warmer than piezos, and they can also be placed in the soundhole where the tone of the string is much fuller than directly under the bridge. This is the kind that Rich S suggested.
A lot of guys these days are blending the two, to try to address the shortfalls of both pickup systems, and that seems to be a pretty good compromise. The piezo for hifi clarity, and the magnet for some warmth. Works pretty well.
IN the recording studio, the good quality condenders and ribbon mics still rule the acoustic world. Using piezos and other pickup systems is purely to get a workable sound on stage.
Using a paf is fine....i did it to my resonator recently, but it will colour the sound quite noticeably. NOw it sounds like a resonator being amplified with a Paf. Its nice and warm, but it does not have a lit of the harmonics and top end that the guitar produces acoustically. I guess it all comes down to what kind of sound you are after, whether you are trying to reproduce the pristine sound of an acoustic guitar only louder, or whether you are happpy to experiment and see what happens (like the guy in the video).
So as far as your aim goes.....go for it and see what happens!
One thing i might say tho is this....when you are working out exactly where to put the pickup...try to find the two octave harmonic (its where the 24th fret would be if the guitar had one) on your strings and align the screw poles of your pickup under that. Thats the spot where most gibson and fender guitars placed their neck pickups. It will give you a nice warm and rich tone there.
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