Members english_bob Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 I'm on the hunt for a good sounding electro-acoustic, or failing that a good-sounding acoustic and a decent soundhole pickup/undersaddle transducer/soundboard transducer /whatevs for live, recording and home noodling. Ideally, I'd like a guitar that sounds as good acoustically as it does plugged in, and I don't really want to spend much over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SnorkelMonkey Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 I've heard great things about those Seagull guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members El Parto Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 Get ya a good acoustic then shove a pickup in your hole- err... you know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 i have a washburn d10 where when i bought almost 20years ago the shop put a piezo pickup into the bridge, no control or anything just the pickup.needs a DI if you go over the mixer, currently i use my ehx lpb-1 to boost the signal *g* not a DI but it works for rehearsal.sounds ok and works yesterday i did some recordings with it, the piezo signal direct into my presonus inspire interface, second channel i had a decent vocal condenser mic in front of the sound hole.all i can say, the piezo signal for recording on its own is s...t, not really natural acoustic sounding, steril, the sound of the mic is much better i also have a dean markley soundhole pickup, but i haven't it used so far for recording, cause yesterday was the second time to record accoustic at all. so the piezo (maybe with preamp if its already installed) works fine for live and rehearsal, cause overall sound is what matters, but recording with it is meh...there you would need at least a good mic or some soundhole pickups (where i don't know what is good for that) for better results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members El Parto Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 Note: This is only going to encourage dirty acoustic forum hobos to muddle our pristine effects forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RadioSilence Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 relevant to my interests. I'm not looking for electronics, but that's my price range. thinking about the epiphone ej-200 , i really like the look of it, and the sound of jumbos, but if there's something else similar that's better for the same price i'm open to suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members El Parto Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 Srsly, I like the Epi Masterbuilts, as they have really good action up and down the neck. To me, they're a pleasure to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members english_bob Posted July 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 all i can say, the piezo signal for recording on its own is s...t, not really natural acoustic sounding, steril, the sound of the mic is much better This has been my experience too- sometimes you can get it to sound like an acoustic guitar live, but as often as not it's a horrible, quacky, nasty tone, which is why I was wondering about a dedicated acoustic with a soundhole pickup... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 I was looking for a good acoustic and quite a few folks in the acoustic forum recommended the Yamaha FG730 - I got and absolutely love it. Articulate and chimey but warm. Reputedly the fjx730sc sounds fantastic, as in very little drop-off in sound quality (if any) from it's purely acoustic counterpart. Solid spruce top, laminated rosewood back/ sides. I love that wood combo. Anyway....http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/yamaha-fjx730sc-solid-spruce-top-rosewood-acoustic-electric-guitarEDIT: just saw it at Dolphin Music - don't know if that's a common price over there but it looks as though it's listed for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RadioSilence Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 EDIT: just saw it at Dolphin Music - don't know if that's a common price over there but it looks as though it's listed for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 just checked google shopping, the whole of the first page it's going for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwai Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 The best Yamaha you can afford... Thats what I was gonna get... Then I fell in love with a Taylor GS Mini because of the small size and short scale. It plays like butter and is plenty loud for a small bodied guitar. If I ever get another acoustic under $900 it will be a Yamaha. Otherwise it will be another Taylor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pewtershmit Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yamaha All the way. with decent soundhole pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 just checked google shopping, the whole of the first page it's going for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members english_bob Posted July 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 So is the consensus that a soundhole pickup will sound better than a piezo undersaddle doodad? Favourites? Found this Soundhole pickup roundup on Premier Guitar, and the LR Baggs sounds far and away the best to me, but it'll knock a big ol' chunk out of my budget (M1 is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrperson Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 Tanglewood guitars are great. I loved the parlour guitar they make, came close to buying one 2 or 3 times. Yamaha probably have the best pickup system on the CPX/APX's though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members english_bob Posted July 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yamaha probably have the best pickup system on the CPX/APX's though.Really? Because I have an APX500 now and I hate the amplified sound. Part of the reason I'm looking to change. If that's as good a piezo sound as I can expect for the money it only makes a soundhole pickup seem more appealing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 Really? Because I have an APX500 now and I hate the amplified sound. Part of the reason I'm looking to change. If that's as good a piezo sound as I can expect for the money it only makes a soundhole pickup seem more appealing Different pickups. The APX500 has a "saddle mounted piezo" called "System 55-T"; the FJX730 has a pickup they call "System 56CB" they describe as an "Acoustic Resonance Transducer".Their ad copy says: A.R.T. technology uses unique multilayer structuring and achieves optimum dynamic balance. Yamaha acoustic-electric guitars have consistently used piezoelectric pickups to reproduce the pure sounds of the acoustic guitar. But piezoelectric pickups tended to overreact to changes in attack, which, in turn, caused distortion. To achieve ideal playability, Yamaha improved the way the dynamics were controlled on the FJX730SC acoustic electric. The guitar pickup was designed with a multilayer structure consisting of six layers of different materials. This dampens excessive vibration from the top board while picking up small resonances to achieve ideal sensitivity and outstanding dynamic balance. Also, because the pickup is fitted directly beneath the top board, it functions as a transducer attached to the guitar body. In addition to two main pickups mounted under the saddle, this system has one each on the bass and treble sides to capture the vibrations of the entire length of the strings and body, as well as the sound's bass and treble components. The Yamaha guitar's pickups are laid out in such a way as to achieve clear reproduction even during high-position soloing. The A.R.T. preamp system's 1-way configuration features one main pickup system consisting of two pickups underneath the saddle. The 3-band equalizer gives the ability to control the mid-range for versatile sound creation. The system is also equipped with an onboard tuner. The body's non-scallop, X-type bracing design delivers deep lows full of presence that are unique to the Yamaha sound, and a clear upper end, making a clear and tight response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members english_bob Posted July 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 Gotcha. So it's a soundboard transducer rather than an undersaddle one. I might have to track one of these down just so I can hear the difference myself.I have learned so much new {censored} the last few days while I've been researching this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JRBain Posted July 7, 2011 Members Share Posted July 7, 2011 relevant to my interests. I'm not looking for electronics, but that's my price range. thinking about the epiphone ej-200 , i really like the look of it, and the sound of jumbos, but if there's something else similar that's better for the same price i'm open to suggestions. This. Last year I went with my brother (excellent musician, plays guitar for fun) to pick out an acoustic. He picked one of these (it's the cutaway version with electronics actually but I assume it's about the same). I was floored, to be honest. Not a flaw on it anywhere, it sings beautifully, the action and playability sublime... The electronics sound great too (and I hate piezo ). Really nice guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members english_bob Posted July 8, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 8, 2011 The electronics sound great too (and I hate piezo ). Hmmm... this is pretty much why I was asking in my original post whether people favoured one brand of preamp over another- I imagine they do a fair bit of signal processing (EQ, maybe compression of those particularly horrible piezo peaks etc) as well as amplification, so it would be nice to know whether there's a general consensus that one company (or several...) have got it right-er than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thom Posted July 8, 2011 Members Share Posted July 8, 2011 For that kinda money i'd personally start by trying out some epi's. And I know the low-end Martins don't get a lot of love around here, but if you could find a used one for a good price I'd really recommend trying it out... My brother has a seagull, excellent instrument. And my buddy's got a "Baton rouge", which is supposed to be a nice Seagull knock-off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted July 8, 2011 Members Share Posted July 8, 2011 also if you can got hold on cheaper washburns have a look, nice guitars and not available at every dealer but nice... as for soundhole pickups, i guess they are more like an electric guitar pickup, you can also choose between humbucker and single coils, when i did a test drive with my dean markley over our pa in rehearsal room it was not that acoustic sounding as you might want. not the spikes like the piezo's but also not the nice acoustic sound. in band context it doesn't matter that much, if you gig solo you might worry much more and recording is completely different, and there it depends what sound you are after, if you want natural sounding acoustic guitar, the recording via condenser mic is imho the only way to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members english_bob Posted July 8, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 8, 2011 ^ I reckon as and when I record with the guitar it'll be with a mic (I've got a little T-Bone LDC that should work well), so the pickup or transducer will be primarily for live playing, although recording from both sources and blending them seems like a decent idea too...Ultimately, I guess it's going to come down to getting the cash in hand and going to a bunch of music shops and wasting hours of my time bashing away on every acoustic they have in stock, then trying out all their pickups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fetch Posted July 8, 2011 Members Share Posted July 8, 2011 This should be under that depending on how friendly your Cort prices are in the UK... highly recommended and even better if you whack aftermarket electronics if/when money permits and by then the guitar should be well worn in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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