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What do you guys use to amplify / tone shape acoustic guitar these days?


MrKnobs

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The Taylor piezo (whatever the graphic looking one is ....not the 3 button version) w/ the rubber feedback buster hole thingy

 

with Gwen it just goes to the Fishman Aura Spectrum DI

 

for Paul FM acoustic solo shows :

~it goes to an OC2 (for basslines)

~into the Tech 21 Blonde (adds a meaty wooly Django type of tone for leads)

~to the Fishman (1 &1 dreadnought, comp 30%, eq flat)

~to an Electro Harmonix MM w/ H (for delay and looper)

~to a Boss RV5

~that feeds out to backline into a POD X3 for a tad of compression and EQ (which helps to make up for the tone suck from the EHMM) and a short room verb for more "air"...

~ into the PA

 

It's a lot of crap, but turns and mediocre sounding acoustic into something that is responsive and dynamic. It gives me a few different tones to perk the ear for a 3 hour show....... tuning is done w/ a 9 dollar clip on

 

acousticrigJPG.jpg

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I'm a purist. I selected the best sounding and most tonally realistic acoustic I could afford when I bought mine, and try to keep the signal chain from the guitar to the PA free of anything else. For my resonator, though, I use a LR Baggs EQ preamp box with a gain and a Bass/Mid/Treble control. I also run it though a Alesis rack mount compressor for a little bit of sustain on slide and to smooth out the B string, which seems to be louder than all the rest.

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Well, I'm happy with my thing, and yet not happy.

 

Currently I use an old piezo eauipped Daion Jumbo into a Boss AD5 into the board. And it is not what I like personally, but it fits with how I usually use it.

 

I use it in a duo where the other acoustic player has a killer au natural tone, and mine has some peizo quack and a bit of eq on it. Together they are killer. His is wide, and mine is more narrow and focused and together it = nice and fat.

 

I also use it in band situations where it is a strummed rhythm instrument. Which means it needs focus and I can dial that in nicely. It doesn't sound great by itself, but it blends well. Anyone who has been in a studio and mixed a strummed acoustic next to the hi hat knows what I mean.

 

But all by itself it's just meh. Not really that natural. I'm looking for ways to augment what I've got to give me some flexibility. Install another jack and add a soundhole pickup, or mic inside, or a contact system (a la taylor's expression system) or something.

 

I've got a late 60's Guild d40 that is a cannon and I ain't cutting into that. Mic in front or nothing.

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Manufacturer's PU into the Baggs PADI mentioned above. I have a tremolo, delay, and compressor in the effects loop for additional shaping, but I'm thinking of dropping the trem, as it's not really doing much for me these days, and as of yesterday I'm borrowing an EQ to see if I can use that for a solo boost, rather that my compressor, which isn't really a great fit for the job.

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I'm a purist. I selected the best sounding and most tonally realistic acoustic I could afford when I bought mine, and try to keep the signal chain from the guitar to the PA free of anything else. For my resonator, though, I use a LR Baggs EQ preamp box with a gain and a Bass/Mid/Treble control. I also run it though a Alesis rack mount compressor for a little bit of sustain on slide and to smooth out the B string, which seems to be louder than all the rest.

 

From my soundman side, I'm 100% in agreement. Just give me the output of a lovely sounding acoustic and I'll keep it lovely in the mains and monitors.

 

But this is for my musical partner Julie, and we operate under a strange variety of constraints.

 

Quite often we play shows where the monitor system is very limited or non existent. On those occasions we need to have some small amps that sound good as only the vocals will be in the mains. Even when there is AG in the mains, the sound people (if any) will likely leave it untouched (or touch it perversely) so it's good to have much of the acoustic sound coming off the stage.

 

Additionally, Julie is a monitor hog so the rest of us find it best if she's hearing most of her guitar through an amp pointed at her rather than in one shared monitor mix.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. :)

 

Terry D.

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I had a K&K pure western mini pup installed and run through a small fishman preamp into the PA. I used to go direct but like having a little volume and tone control close at hand. I love the K & K though and am considering having one installed in the Regal Stainless steel resonator I just added to the herd.

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I have an LR Baggs Anthem in a Martin D1, and it works well. At my weekly, I plug it into some kind of direct box, but that's as much for cable length as anything, as the Anthem's pre-amp seems to put out plenty of signal when I plug it directly into a channel on the board. I'll get an acoustic amp of some sort, eventually, but this works ok, for now. I rarely play the acoustic with a full band (beyond other acoustics), so I'm not sure how it would do for that, but I'm guessing fine.

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I have an LR Baggs Anthem in a Martin D1, and it works well. At my weekly, I plug it into some kind of direct box, but that's as much for cable length as anything, as the Anthem's pre-amp seems to put out plenty of signal when I plug it directly into a channel on the board. I'll get an acoustic amp of some sort, eventually, but this works ok, for now. I rarely play the acoustic with a full band (beyond other acoustics), so I'm not sure how it would do for that, but I'm guessing fine.

 

That Anthem from LR Baggs is a bitchen pickup. That's got the blended in condenser mic. Beautiful sounding. :thu::thu::thu:

 

Or the DPA clip on instrument condenser. My buddy uses his with his Taylor, his resonator, his mandolin and his gut string. All at the same gig. They're not cheap but wonderful sounding. Clip it on and go. Flat, studio quality sound and no feedback.

 

[video=youtube;ixdv3mE98j8]

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I'm not much of a guitar player... But I just run a cord to the DI, if the tone needs shaping, there are these pop-up knobs that control treble, bass, and volume
:D

 

^^This^^

 

Or if the PA is REALLY crappy, and the venue is small enough, into the non Top Boost channel of my Mesa TA15.

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I use an Fdeck HPF-Pre Series 2 with my acoustic bass, into this: NanoBoard.jpg, but I have been known to just plug the HPF-Pre into a direct box if taking the nano board is inconvenient. It works to amply my U-Bass's piezo. I've been wanting to experiment with amplifying my fiddle through this same setup.

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