A few quick questions about acoustics and A/E

[broknstuff]

I've been playing guitar for a while but this is my first time shopping for an acoustic. I've searched the forums and have learned a good amount but I still have a few small questions:

 

1. What's the difference between jumbo, dreadnought, 000 or other guitar body styles? I'm guessing volume/projection as well as what frequencies stand out more (of course wood type also influences) what are your favorite combinations of woods/body styles?

 

2. About A/E: Can someone clarify balanced/unbalanced signals?

a.) If the guitar has built inpreamp then you can plug it directly into the PA or FOH system?

b.)If it only has a mic then you need an external preamp/DI, like the PADI to be able to plug it into the PA/FOH?

c.) what's the difference between an external preamp and a DI box? any overlap in their functions or are they completely different?

d.) Are the on board preamps usually bypassable, so that you can use an external preamp with it if you like that more, or is it possible (worth it/any improvements in sound) to leave the built in preamp on (maybe on a flat eq) and use an external preamp/DI box?

 

3. Anything misleading manufacturer catch phrases to watch out for to not get fooled?

 

4. I really hate the squeek that sometimes occurs when you slide across the fretboard or change chords on acoustics. Besides practicing/changing style so that you lift your hand up more, are there any products out there you'd recommend to resolve this problem? hopefully one that doesn't cause a lot of other problems like build up or deaden the sound.

 

I realize the second question has a lot of parts and some overlap but I just want to clarify that whole mess in my mind before I can move forward. I'd greatly appreciate your help.

 

Thanks,

 

Diego

[cachalote]

To try and answer as much as poss:

 

Starting with the "standard" guitar 8 shape bothe dread and jumbo are deeper the dreadnought has a wider waist and squarer shoulders and generaly gives more mid and bass. Jumbo has the slimmer waist and the bottom part of the 8 is bigger and therefore gives more bass.

 

Wood and stringtype complicates this comparison. I recently bought my first "decent" acoustic and decided on a jumbo with mahogany back and spruce top - tried lots and this one just had the sound ( and by cahnce wasn't the most expensive :-))

 

balanced signals use 3 core wire to eliminate hum.

 

Built in preamp guitars can be plugged direct into the Foh - there will probably be a knob to adjust the input of the mixer

 

internal mikes on acoustic guitars usualy give feedback probs in a live situation but on the other hand dont amplify the squeak you mention so much. I have a pickup and mike unit which for recording I use set about 50/50 and live set to the pickup for these reasons.Cant comment on the DI box bit cos I'v only ever plugged direct into the mixer.

 

Dodgy phrase "handmade" - can be applied to just about any acoustic guitar since some stage of the manufacturing process will be done by hand.

 

Hope this helps a bit

[Preacher Will]

Originally posted by broknstuff 1. What's the difference between jumbo, dreadnought, 000 or other guitar body styles? I'm guessing volume/projection as well as what frequencies stand out more (of course wood type also influences) what are your favorite combinations of woods/body styles? Cachalote nailed it on the body styles. You might also want to note that there will be a difference between 12 and 14 fretters. 12's put the bridge further down the lower of the guitar for more bass response. 2. About A/E: Can someone clarify balanced/unbalanced signals? A balanced cable carries two identical, but out of phase, signals to eliminate induced noise in the signal over long runs. Thirty feet is the figure typically quoted for maximum unbalanced run before induced noise becomes a potential problem. XLR cables carry a balanced signal. 1/4" TRS cables carry a balanced signal. 1/4"TS cables will not carry a balanced signal. a.) If the guitar has built inpreamp then you can plug it directly into the PA or FOH system? Yes, but you may want to check whether the output is balanced or unbalanced. if it is unbalanced, i would run it through a Di box. b.)If it only has a mic then you need an external preamp/DI, like the PADI to be able to plug it into the PA/FOH? Hmmm . . . are there any guitar PUPs with mics that don't have a built in pre-amp? Whether or not there are, you should be able to plug it directly into the board as the board pre-amp will take the mics low-Z signal without any problem. What it won't do is give you any control over the signal at the guitar. c.) what's the difference between an external preamp and a DI box? any overlap in their functions or are they completely different? They can be different or they can combine the functions. A direct injection box (Di) typically uses a transformer to provide signal isolation, conversion, and splitting along with ground lift and attenuation capablilties. it does not boost the signal. A pre-amp is a mini amp that can boost the signal (or attenuate it for that matter.) Some boxes, the Baggs PADi, for example, combine all of these functions plus add a multiband eq for further massaging the signal. d.) Are the on board preamps usually bypassable, so that you can use an external preamp with it if you like that more, or is it possible (worth it/any improvements in sound) to leave the built in preamp on (maybe on a flat eq) and use an external preamp/DI box? Yeah, you could bypass it--assuming you don't mind doing some re-wiring of the box but, why bother? You can still send a signal from an internal preamp to an external preamp as long as the signal isn't so hot that it overwhelms the external preamp. Just turn down the volume on the internal to a manageable level. My guitar has a passive Baggs i-Beam run through a jack pre-amp and into a Baggs PADi. Works fine. 4. I really hate the squeek that sometimes occurs when you slide across the fretboard or change chords on acoustics. Besides practicing/changing style so that you lift your hand up more, are there any products out there you'd recommend to resolve this problem? hopefully one that doesn't cause a lot of other problems like build up or deaden the sound. Fast Fret?

 

[KATMAN]

Originally posted by broknstuff

 

4. I really hate the squeek that sometimes occurs when you slide across the fretboard or change chords on acoustics. Besides practicing/changing style so that you lift your hand up more, are there any products out there you'd recommend to resolve this problem? hopefully one that doesn't cause a lot of other problems like build up or deaden the sound.

 

Now that the hard questions have all been answered,I'll handle this one with a word....Elixers!....While nothing is really going to elimeninate the noise all completely,these special coated strings do help with the sqeaks in the strings,they also last longer than any other strings,if you sweat like a normal person and don't bang on the strings.

[Preacher Will]

Originally posted by KATMAN Originally posted by broknstuff 4. I really hate the squeek that sometimes occurs when you slide across the fretboard or change chords on acoustics. Besides practicing/changing style so that you lift your hand up more, are there any products out there you'd recommend to resolve this problem? hopefully one that doesn't cause a lot of other problems like build up or deaden the sound. Now that the hard questions have all been answered,I'll handle this one with a word....Elixers!....While nothing is really going to elimeninate the noise all completely,these special coated strings do help with the sqeaks in the strings,they also last longer than any other strings,if you sweat like a normal person and don't bang on the strings.   Yeah, but i thought he said something about not deadening the sound. Some years ago, i was a sold-out Elixer fan. After a while, it dawned on me that they sounded pretty lame. Today, its plain, old fashioned, phosphor-bronze strings for me.

[broknstuff]

Thanks a ton for the responses, I guess I'll give the A/B the elixers with some regular strings and see what happens. Anyone know the diff. between the poly and nano web?

 

Anyways today I played a few acoustics and for some reason picked out the Larrivee L-05 despite it being a bit out of my price range, they where asking about 1350 for it, and MAN I think I'm in love. I also really liked a taylor 214 but I liked the Larrivee more. I was originally looking at a/e and both those are offered in a/e version but I think I may just buy those now and when I can afford it install a mic or pickup or piezo and then hook it up to say a PADI. Will any of that require some sort of drilling into the body? Do you think it wold just be worth it to wait until I could afford the A/E version of those guitars assuming they are the one's I end up buying? (still going to go around tomorrow and see what else I can find)

[broknstuff]

sorry double post

[Preacher Will]

 

Originally posted by broknstuff Thanks a ton for the responses, I guess I'll give the A/B the elixers with some regular strings and see what happens. Anyone know the diff. between the poly and nano web? Anyways today I played a few acoustics and for some reason picked out the Larrivee L-05 despite it being a bit out of my price range, they where asking about 1350 for it, and MAN I think I'm in love. I also really liked a taylor 214 but I liked the Larrivee more. I was originally looking at a/e and both those are offered in a/e version but I think I may just buy those now and when I can afford it install a mic or pickup or piezo and then hook it up to say a PADI. Will any of that require some sort of drilling into the body? Do you think it wold just be worth it to wait until I could afford the A/E version of those guitars assuming they are the one's I end up buying? (still going to go around tomorrow and see what else I can find)

 

 

The Larrivee L-05 is a sweet guitar. While my gigging guitar is a Taylor, Larivee would be one of my top choices.

 

Adding a PUP to a guitar is a fairly simple operation, if you don't insist on having the preamp controls mounted on the upper bout. if you're going to go with a PADi, at most you'll need a jack preamp and they require little or no modification of the guitar body to install. Taylor even pre-drills their end-pin holes oversize to retro fit a jack without additional drilling. Frankly, there are many of us who have preferred to go the route of buying their guitar without factory installed PUPs so that we could put in what we wanted rather than being limited to the factory choices.

[broknstuff]

Originally posted by Preacher Will The Larrivee L-05 is a sweet guitar. While my gigging guitar is a Taylor, Larivee would be one of my top choices. Adding a PUP to a guitar is a fairly simple operation, if you don't insist on having the preamp controls mounted on the upper bout. if you're going to go with a PADi, at most you'll need a jack preamp and they require little or no modification of the guitar body to install. Taylor even pre-drills their end-pin holes oversize to retro fit a jack without additional drilling. Frankly, there are many of us who have preferred to go the route of buying their guitar without factory installed PUPs so that we could put in what we wanted rather than being limited to the factory choices.

 

ya, both are great guitars. I'm going to give them both another test run but I'm pretty sure I'll get the L-05, it just fits me and what I'm looking for, although it's hard to go wrong with either. The one I played was in mahogany and I'm going to see if I can test out the rosewood one to see what it sounds like, but I'd be plenty happy with buying the mohogany one.

 

Btw, thanks for all the help guys

[RainsongDR1000]

Originally posted by broknstuff Thanks a ton for the responses, I guess I'll give the A/B the elixers with some regular strings and see what happens. Anyone know the diff. between the poly and nano web?

 

The Polys have a thicker coating, sound duller (broken in is the phrase Elixir uses), will squeek the least , and will feel more slippery.

The nanos have a thinner coating, sound brighter (like new strings), have a little more squeek than the polys, not as slippery.

After much trial and error, I have decided the nanos are the best compromise of tone, longevity and squeek (at least for my Rainsong) of anything I've tried, including Alchemy's, EXP's, Martin's, etc. etc.

 

I'm through experimenting and I'm sticking to my NAno's, dammit!