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- Thread starter mxfun
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Suggestions for a good sound? I'd look for something with a combination magnetic and microphone. Fishman are known to be excellent, but spendy. There are many cheaper options available, with varying degrees of performance. It can also be worth trying one of the various pedals that aim to make your guitar sound more 'acoustic' than with the straight pickup.
Are you playing loud (will you need something to manage feedback) or just looking to boost your volume a little?
Are you playing loud (will you need something to manage feedback) or just looking to boost your volume a little?
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Its depends on what you are doing with it, what amplification you will be using and where you are likely to be playing.
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Just playing at home nowhere else
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Do you need the PU for recording?
OP
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I’m just playing not recording
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TBH acoustic guitar usually sounds most like acoustic guitar when unplugged. Unless you want to explore variations of that, for the cost of a good pickup you would have more fun with an electric.
Tell us a bit more about what you want it for so we can help.
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Again a lot depends on what you want from it, do you want to alter the sound of your guitar by way of effects?
A friend of mine years back recorded in his bathroom on an accoustic, the reason being his bathroom was reflecting the sound of his guitar better than any other room in the house.
The thing is , an accoustic for home use should be loud enough , unless the room you play in is accoustically dead? Or the guitar is naturally silent, even then putting it through an amp at home might muddy the sound as you will have two seperate sound sources.
What guitar do you play?
A friend of mine years back recorded in his bathroom on an accoustic, the reason being his bathroom was reflecting the sound of his guitar better than any other room in the house.
The thing is , an accoustic for home use should be loud enough , unless the room you play in is accoustically dead? Or the guitar is naturally silent, even then putting it through an amp at home might muddy the sound as you will have two seperate sound sources.
What guitar do you play?
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Sorry to double post, if you do go down this road its important to know what you want the end result to sound like. There are different kinds of soundhole PU, magnetic PU's wont work too well with brass strings , you might fight to get a full sound , a PU with internal mic gets around this but I would assume the quality would be questionable and you get what you pay for, then some PU's work by vibrations from the strings and guitar body like the bar PU's under an electro accoustics bridge, so you have options and you will need to do some research on each type to know what will suit your needs, expectations and budget.
Pickups can be a rabbit hole , there are many different types and everyone has a different opinion on them based on their own experiences and needs, I think a lot will agree though that most cheap PU's wont sound anything like more upmarket ones , above this you then move up into exotic, hand wound , blessed by the great god of all things superb type PU's.
It can be quite overwhelming so its important to know what sound you want to achieve then read reviews, watch youtube vids etc.
Have you thought about amplification?
I can recommend this forum for guitar needs, there are some very experienced people on there and people with first hand experience of different PU's.
thefretboard.co.uk
Pickups can be a rabbit hole , there are many different types and everyone has a different opinion on them based on their own experiences and needs, I think a lot will agree though that most cheap PU's wont sound anything like more upmarket ones , above this you then move up into exotic, hand wound , blessed by the great god of all things superb type PU's.
It can be quite overwhelming so its important to know what sound you want to achieve then read reviews, watch youtube vids etc.
Have you thought about amplification?
I can recommend this forum for guitar needs, there are some very experienced people on there and people with first hand experience of different PU's.
the UK's best & busiest online guitar community
the UK's best & busiest online guitar community
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- 23,537
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- Toni
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Sorry to double post, if you do go down this road its important to know what you want the end result to sound like. There are different kinds of soundhole PU, magnetic PU's wont work too well with brass strings , you might fight to get a full sound , a PU with internal mic gets around this but I would assume the quality would be questionable and you get what you pay for, then some PU's work by vibrations from the strings and guitar body like the bar PU's under an electro accoustics bridge, so you have options and you will need to do some research on each type to know what will suit your needs, expectations and budget.
Pickups can be a rabbit hole , there are many different types and everyone has a different opinion on them based on their own experiences and needs, I think a lot will agree though that most cheap PU's wont sound anything like more upmarket ones , above this you then move up into exotic, hand wound , blessed by the great god of all things superb type PU's.
It can be quite overwhelming so its important to know what sound you want to achieve then read reviews, watch youtube vids etc.
Have you thought about amplification?
I can recommend this forum for guitar needs, there are some very experienced people on there and people with first hand experience of different PU's.
the UK's best & busiest online guitar community
the UK's best & busiest online guitar community
The Fretboard is a good call. Haven't been on there in a decade, but many of the guys I knew from Harmony Central went there.
There's no magic in acoustic amplification, but the user needs to know what they want.
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