New girl needs help, pretty please

[sybera]

I posted this before but I don't think anyone noticed me.

 

I'm a singer/guitarist, I'm new to this forum and hoping for a bit of advice re. buying a guitar. I want to step up a little from my current guitar, which is a Yamaha APX8D. I'm looking for as natural a sound as possible when amplified.

 

I'm considering getting a good acoustic and fitting a Fishman Rare Earth Blend pickup, the idea being that the mic component will give the natural/non-piezo quality I'm looking for. I'd love to hear from anyone who can comment on the merits of this idea as opposed to getting a decent electro-acoustic, or anyone who can recommend me a really nice, non-scratchy sounding electro-acoustic. I don't seem to be finding one so far! I strum more than I play finger style, but I do play finger style too.

 

Does anyone out there already use the Rare Earth Blend?

 

Ideally I don't want to spend more than about £1000, which is around $1500, but I would stretch that for something that was just right.

 

I'd be very grateful for any input! Thank you

[69tele]

I've found that the amp does a lot for an electro/acoustic guitar.

 

I have an Alhambra Nylon Strung Acoustic, it's a thinline and has a Fishman Preamp with EQ

 

Plugged into my regular Marshall guitar amp it just sounded harsh when compared to sounds I've heard from ppl using proper acoustic amps.

 

I didn't want to spend money on another amp / haul more gear so I bought a little Zoom 504 Pedal which has FX, anti-feedback, amp de harsher (spelling ?) and guitar top emulation.

 

My guitar now sounds really good with more body and a lot smoother.

 

For a little investment (approx £70) it might work for you too.

 

I've already made this recomendation twice and on both ocassions the players have returned to thank me.

 

Also I believe Yamaha (DG Stomp) make a better quality acoustic pedal if you want something of better quality.

 

then again you could get a proper acoustic amp (if you don't already use one)

 

link below

 

http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=164&brandID=4

 

Ernie

[dukbut]

I have mentioned several times on this forum my love for Godin instruments. See if you can find a dealer in your area, they have a wonderful acoustic sound and are great players. You can get steel string or nylon, you can also get models that feature standard pickups and piezos. They are comparatively affordable. India Aire, (spelling ?) uses a Godin Multiac on most of her songs that she plays guitar on if you would like an example of recorded sound. Good luck in your search, keep us posted.

DUKBUT

[Caevan O’Shite]

O.K., I haven't used the Rare Earth Blend, but the Fishman products that I have used have been good.

 

What are you amplifying with? If the PA, a good preamp will also help immensely. If an amp, a good "acoustic" amp is far better than an electric guitar amp for this.

 

If you wait a little while, the new pickup system that Taylor has trotted out should become available on some of their less prohibitively expensive guitars. I hope! Or, maybe even available for installation on other guitars. I really hope!

 

Of course, try the Rare Earth Blend out in a store, and see what you think! And then tell us your observations.

 

Best of luck!

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

I find that in live work, once the sound goes through the PA, and with all of the ambient noise and such in small clubs and rock bars, it really doesn't matter (to me) about the pickup. I have some good ones, and some bad ones, and I play whichever guitar catches my fancy on a given day, and use whatever pickup is installed.

 

I agree that the amp has a lot to do with it. Many poeple don't use an amp for their acoustcs. I use an old clean Roland. I put it on the floor pointing up, and I can walk into it's speaker field when I need a little extra ooph, but otherwise, it provides just enough sound to be natural to me. (I should also say that I am 'old school', or perhaps just old, in that I don't have loud monitors when I play. I go for a more subliminal monitor and a quiet stage volume, and let the PA do the work out front.)

 

My favorite pickup at the moment is the Schertler. But you won't go wrong with any of the major brands. I'm not to excited about the mic/pickup combinations, just because that is just more junk to worry about, and I like to keep my playing rig simple.

 

So my advise is to put in a simple pickup, and pick your solution based upon the problem.... you aren't trying to record your next album with the pickup, you are just trying to be heard in a club, and the subtleties that you hear between the different pickups and styles in a quiet room are not going to be heard live.

 

Short answer... don't agonize over it. pick the one that appeals to you and suits your budget, and you'll be fine. It's an imperfect world, and clubs are about the most perfect display of that fact that I can think of. (g)

 

Bill

[NMcGuitar]

Unless I missed it somewhere, what kind of gigs are you doing? Are you planning to record (studio) with this guitar? The points about playing clubs, and things like amps, pre-amps, etc. are good ones.

Good luck with this.

 

BTW, welcome to the forum!

[revolead]

If I had $1500 to spend on an acoustic I'd go get a Taylor 414CE in a heartbeat. I've been eyeing that guitar for over a year, and I love every minute of playing it at the stores. It's almost exactly your price range, and I have heard good things about the new Taylor acoustic pickups. I tried it plugged in once, but I haven't really played a whole lot of plugged in acoustic, so I don't have anything to compare it to. Nonetheless it sounded great to me, but I prefer a natural acoustic tone anyway, as opposed to any piezo system or whatever.

[roy d]

Welcome!

I'm primarily an acoustic player so let me give some opinions.

I like the Rare Earth a lot. Personally I don't like the attack of under-the-saddle pickups so I stay away from the fishman/baggs/etc. My daughter has a rare earth and it sounds very good although like all magnetic soundhole pickups it gives a little of an "electric" sound (which I greatly prefer over a quack) but in the blend, the mic offsets that a lot. You get good sound, good feedback resistance, AND easy installation. Go with it.

As for guitars, in the UK I would look for a used Lowden or an Avalon. Both are made in Northern Ireland and are great guitars (better IMHO than any comparable American Guitars). American guitars are a lot more expensive in the UK than in the US so the prices are just silly when you can get a great handmade guitar from the UK for a reasonable price.

[sybera]

This is so great that youve all given me the benefit of your knowledge! I really appreciate it. There are so many good suggestions in here that I dont know where to start. Thanks to everyone who recommended guitars to me, I was considering Taylor already but Im very glad to have those other ideas too.

 

Regarding an amp, at the venue where Ive played and will probably be playing the most, the sound guy likes to just put guitars of solo performers straight through the PA, and the piezo pickup in my Yamaha never sounds good to me, so I was looking to get the guitar sounding as good as possible by itself to give it the best chance of coming through the PA sounding not too bad. Im not a great player, just good enough to write/sing with and get by, so thats actually another reason why Im keen to get the nicest sound out of the guitar. When I see someone really gifted, I know they could play a £50 guitar with rusty strings and it would sound great, but thats not me.

 

In the medium term Im going to be looking to get a decent rig so Im not so dependent on the sound produced for me by a venues PA/sound guy. For Neil, who asked: yes, I will be recording the guitar too (thats where I have more experience than live, actually), but I usually mic up my guitar for recording, and that produces a sound I like.

 

Thanks very much to Roy for his thoughts on the Rare Earth Blend pickup. That was what I was hoping to hear, Roy! Ill be finding a store where I can listen to that as soon as possible. Ive got some thinking and checking out of all the options to do, obviously, but Ill come back and let you know what I settle on. Its lovely to know I can get such advice so quickly. Thanks for the welcome

[djwayne]

I've had two twelve string acousti guitars, a Martin 12-20 and a Taylor. The Taylor was much easier to play and is my favorite.

I had a Martin Thinline pick up installed in the 12-20, but I didn't like it. On the Taylor, I used the better version, the Martin Gold Line and sounds really good thru a Tubessence pre-amp the directly into a mixing board for recording.

 

The best acoustic pickup I've heard live was an older model LLBags.

 

Hope that helps.

[DC]

Hmmm, I guess I'm the only one around who likes the sound of under saddle pickups.

 

I did a one man show around London for a time and I played mostly electric but also a selection of acoustic/vocal tunes. My guitar is an electric that I routed out the solid cherry body pretty hollow, put a birch top on it and installed EMGs for the electric part and an ebony acoustic style bridge with a Martin Thinline system (pre amp on the endpin jack) for the acoustic bit of the guitar. I think it sounds fantastic as an acoustic guitar for live although it's more of an electric really.

 

sybera, I'd say your best bet would be to try as many guitars locally as you can. USA made stuff costs a fortune over there so the Irish made guitars would be a good bet to check. I don't know if they have Epiphones where you are, but the gut string Chet Adkins model has got great reviews and might be worth checking. It's almost a solid body but sounds acoustic plugged in sorta like my homemade deal.

 

Best of luck.

[roy d]

BTW, the mp3 link in my sig takes you to three songs done with my Lowden using a Sunrise mag and a McIntyre top mounted transducer. This gives a similar type of sound to the rare earth blend although I have a pretty complicated pre-amp set-up as well. It may give you a little idea of what a Lowden with a magnetic pickup and something to add a bit more "acoustic" sound, sounds like.

[jetboy]

if you're open to something a little different check out this guys guitars.

 

http://electrocoustic.com/

 

he has some clips of them and i know some guys that have them and i have played one briefly. extremely light and resonant but not something you cpould play unamplified except in your room.

 

the builder is a very nice guy trying to solve a particular sound in an inovative way. the look kind funny but play great and are pretty darn reasonable

[jetboy]

if you're open to something a little different check out this guys guitars.

 

http://electrocoustic.com/

 

he has some clips of them and i know some guys that have them and i have played one briefly. extremely light and resonant but not something you cpould play unamplified except in your room.

 

the builder is a very nice guy trying to solve a particular sound in an inovative way. the look kind funny but play great and are pretty darn reasonable

[profesrgeo]

an often overlooked component in AC guitar amplification, especially into a PA, is the DI (direct box). Most of the pickups mentioned sound way better (more "natural") when looking at a very high input impedence (2M Ohms minimum). It eliminates "loading" of the pickup itself which causes the annoying distortion (I call it quack) that is so often heard when amplifying AC guitar.

 

I've had good results with the LR Baggs Paracoustic DI.

 

geo

[Dak Lander]

Take a good look at HIGHLANDER PICKUPS. Very nice stuff, including internal mics and they now have a great little DI/Mixer that will let you tune your existing guitar to your taste in any environment.

 

Yamaha makes a very nice little DI/Preamp stomp box.

 

Also, for that Yamaha look at Ebony bridge pins in place of the stock plastic pins. You'll find the Ebony will allow better ressonance to transmit to the sound board. It seems the plastic tones it down a bit. They also seem to increase sustain. I put them on my FG411S with great results. I also tried them on my Guild because I wasn't all that happy with it. There's now a much better tone, resonance & sustain on that box too.