Acoustic guitar pickup suggestions?

haydo_pota

Recently bought a handmade Engleman Spruce/Indian Rosewood OM-style hand made acoustic guitar. Didn't come with a pickup, bit clueless as to what to choose, though I know I don't want a preamp/EQ. Any suggestions?

Answer
You may not want one, but if you're playing live you will desperately want a preamp/EQ if you want to be heard. Now of course you don't want to cut a hole in your custom made guitar to install one, but they make outboard preamp/EQ units that can either be mounted on your strap or as an outboard unit between you and the PA or amplifier. Fishman makes a good one.

There are lots of pickup opportunities. Your basic Fishman under-saddle pickup will require installation by a tech, and even then you'll need the outboard EQ unit. The painful truth is that you will need a preamp/EQ no matter what you do. Sunrise makes a pickup system that is pretty excellent, which consists of a soundhole pickup combined with a small microphone on the inside of the guitar. A lot of professionals like Richard Thompson and Emmylou Harris use the Sunrise. It'll set you back about $200, but it's worth it. You may have to get a tech to install it - I would recommend it. Fishman and L.R. Baggs offer similar units which also sound pretty good.

But no matter what direction you go, there are two hard truths: you will need a preamp/EQ, and you will need to have someone help you install the pickup. You can, of course, always go with the soundhole pickups, like what Dean Markley and Seymour Duncan offer, but the sad truth is that those are just single-coil guitar pickups and they end up making your guitar sound like an electric guitar.

And whatever you do, I beg you, DO NOT GET ONE OF THOSE STICK-ON TRANSDUCERS. They sound perfectly miserable.

Good luck! Here's a link to some acoustic pickups.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/home/navigation?q=acoustic+guitar+pickups

how does an acoustic electric guitar get it's sound?

Pebbles

I bought an acoustic electric guitar, and the pick up doesn't seem to be working. I checked the jack in, and there is power to it (sound when attaching to an amp). It does have a battery, but I replaced that, and still no sound. I took off the strings, and checked all the connections inside the guitar, everything is connected. So, I am not sure what to do next. How does the cord from the pickup get the sound from the strings on the guitar (acoustic guitar)?

Answer
There are a few different ways to have an acoustic/electric guitar functional. One is piezo pickups which is like a small microphone that can adhere internally or externally to your guitar. Another is a transducer which is typically found under the saddle of acoustic guitars. There are also soundhole pickups which functions like an electric guitars pickup but mounts in the soundhole and can be removed or installed quickly.
Both the Piezo pickup system and the transducer systems can have preamps, which is what that battery is for. Of course you need to check your battery which you did already. Check the cable next, make sure that there is signal. Then make sure your volume is up if it has a volume adjustment on it. If you don't get a signal, try wiggling the cable while its plugged in. If that doesn't work, it needs to be looked at. There could be a myriad of issues, electrical, dirty or a signal in general.

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How do I choose the right electric-acoustic guitar?

best acoustic guitar pickup system image

Lucas

I'm going to buy an electric-acoustic guitar in the coming weeks, but I really don't know how to judge them. I feel I've made good choices with my other guitars (acoustic and electric), but I haven't had much experience with the hybrid. Do I hold them to the same standards of feel and sound as an acoustic? Should an electric-acoustic sound just as good unplugged as an acoustic does? Should I go for a straight pickup system, or a mic-and-pickup?

Any answers at all would be very appreciated.

Answer
It depends - are you going to use it mainly plugged in or acoustic? If you already have a good acoustic then it's plugged in sound is the most important, right? Takamine makes some laminate top guitars with their premium pick-up system (Nt4, I think) - they sound weak acoustically but sound perfect plugged in. If you want the best of both worlds, try the Alvarez Artist Series - you get a choice of body styles and woods and a great pick-up system (Sys 600). You can plug a mic into the system. Going up the $$$ scale, Taylor's expression system sounds great, as does the Fishman Aura system that Martin uses on some guitars. I would avoid the standard systems on Epiphones and Ibanez etc - they sound too electric. Make sure you try them out with the type of amplifier or PA you are going to use - it makes a big difference, some pick-up systems have an "exciter" to make guitar amps sound more acoustic.
In a band situation, mic systems always seem to feed back - I would use one only if you play solo - or maybe a duo with low volume monitors. Good Luck

Are Greg Bennett acoustic guitars good?

Ionut Tana

I'm considering of buying a Greg Bennett acoustic guitar since they're on sale at the store here. The one I'm looking at has a solid spruce top. It also has a fishman pickup system. I think the model is the GD100SCE.
I love the sound of it and the action but I'm worried about the quality of these guitars. Are they worth it? Or should I look for a guitar from the Yamaha FG series (the FG 700s)?

I currently have 2 Yamaha acoustics which are both laminated.

Answer
Time to learn about product endorsement labels and why they can be an advertising promotion for the maker.

Known player's that are in the music industry are from time to time asked to put their names on guitars to better make sales, give the one who provides their name a cut, and provides that mark up, to balance sales on that particular model.

The base guitar line of the ones you mentioned are low end. Most likely that of a 'standard' as guitars that are around the $125.00 range.

Not much better than a 'Fender' acoustic, and around what you'd get if the same features came on an Ibanez (of which, is usually a better quality) of the same price range.

Yamaha, have been consistent and of a good value since I can remember, and can reflect what they are worth from the outset. Just look for the models that offer up the solid top and even, without the electronics to discover what you are really after.

Only other brands I would try out would be: Lag; Seagull; Walden; and even Ibanez and their series that represent the intermediate range for player's with the given experience as you have now. Prices will be around $200 - $500 (really) for a well made and good performing guitar.

But, realize as well, those prices can be negotiated well from the 'asking price' according to how well you can bargain with the seller. They ALL can be made less, if cash is on hand... or an offer/agreement is made.

Even, Takamine, that are of the same caliper as the upper Ibanez and Yamaha models, but more expensive due to as well, product endorsements by 'professional' players and entertainers.

Solid tops for certain.

And yet, it is really all up to to you, and what you expect from any guitar that you are comfortable with and comes across well enough for your present needs and appreciations.

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