Acoustic Guitar Amp

[Space Pickle]

I play bass with a 4 piece rock band where the main guy insists on playing acoustic guitar through one of those acoustic amps. He's actually kind of an interesting guitarist but has never played live before so I don't think he understands how it's supposed to sound (i.e. the opposite of bad). The amp sounds like mud and feeds back like crazy when it's cranked. He also puts it in front of him (???) and aims it out at the audience.

I guess this isn't really a question.

LE SIGH

 

[jthisdell]

Hmmm, in my experience, running an acoustic guitar with a pickup through the PA and monitors is one of the easiest things to do.

 

[EastCoastThump]

Jthisdell, maybe you've been lucky, or maybe you've just been running the show.

IME, when acoustic players first grapple with their sounds in an amplified band setting, they almost always swamp the bass and kick (pillowy low end boost to sound more like their solo tone), drive the crowd away from the mains (icepick piezo squawk left unaddressed), and invite feedback (so that they can "hear themselves" better, either a big midrange bump, or else scooped mids with the volume absolutely dimed).

It's a pretty rare acoustic guitarist who jumps into band gigs without needing some live-sound mentoring.

 

[jthisdell]

I have been lucky in many ways, first in finding a couple guys who are like minded and like to play, hate drama, want to get better and play out but do not take it too seriously. And they had been together for awhile before I came along so they had a lot of things figured out.

In bluegrass the big sticking point is mics versus pickups. If you can get them to go pickups it makes like a lot easier. You can get arguably better sound with mics but that is only if you have a seasoned sound guy. If you are running it yourself rfrom the stage it is a nightmare.

 

[Space Pickle]

So yesterday the guitarist was mentioning that he's having trouble hearing himself (no kidding ). He's contemplating getting a monitor. Bear in mind there are no vocals in this band.

 

[EastCoastThump]

So yesterday the guitarist was mentioning that he's having trouble hearing himself (no kidding ). He's contemplating getting a monitor. Bear in mind there are no vocals in this band.

The prize for the guy who doesn't listen to the group's sound and can never hear himself until he's 9 dB above the stage mix: a set of in-ear monitors.

 

[Space Pickle]

In-ears are actually a good idea! I didn't think of that.

In other news acoustic guitarist was complaining about feedback issues, and the electric guitar guy basically said "why don't you just plug into the second channel on my amp?"

oy

 

[BAG]

I know some acoustic guitarists who use some very good acoustic amps. The thing is that in a live setting the amp is just acting as a monitor behind you. Why not use an actual monitor in front??
The best acoustic guitarists I know simply DI into the FOH (some of them through a few effects pedals) and use a decent monitor or, for smaller gigs, have the FOH slightly behind and crossed over.
Out of these people nearly every one of them uses Maton guitars for live use. I should add, I have no affiliation to Maton, but I've said for years that there are a lot of guitars that sound better unplugged than a Maton, but not many that sound better plugged in. Possibly my favorite acoustic for live work is the Mini Maton. Feedback is just not an issue with it and it sounds much bigger than it has a right to. The downside is that you look a bit like you're playing a kids guitar. This was the main reason Kieth Urban stopped using his even though he loved the sound of it.

 

[morgansterne]

a singer songwriter I saw playing through a marshall acoustic guitar amp had maybe the nicest tone I've ever heard live. And this was a little local act in a coffeehouse, not big budget national act. It can be done certainly.

The band I play keys in, our lead singer picks up his Martin acoustic (one of the cheaper black ones) for maybe eight songs in a night. He plugs into a direct box and hears out of the monitor. Always has sounded good that way.

 

[Space Pickle]

Yes, I certainly believe it can work. It's a musician issue, not a gear issue. I'm just venting really. He doesn't listen and doesn't know how it's suppsed to sound.

The latest development is that I was able to convince him to put his amp up on a chair and behind him at our latest gig. This enabled him to hear the horrible horrible feedback problems better and realize that there is in fact an issue. His solution?

"I'm going to put the amp back on the floor next time." /facepalm

 

[BAG]

Morgan is right. It can work very well with the right person, i just can't see the need to lug another piece of gear unless it improves sound or performance markedly.

 

[Space Pickle]

Hey, that point about the Maton - is a larger acoustic guitar more susceptible to feeding back?

 

[BAG]

Generally, larger acoustic guitars are more susceptible to feedback but there are other factors. How solid the wood that is used is one of them. Maton's are a pretty solid guitar and that is part of why I never liked them much acoustically as they can sound a bit strangled compared to some guitars. If I was after a good guitar for acoustic use i'd probably go with a Taylor, but for live use I much prefer the Maton's. Taylor have managed to close the gap recently but I would still go with Maton....partly because they are Australian made, but mainly because they are easy to get a great sound from. My eldest has the SRS808 from Maton and it is a really nice middle ground being slightly smaller than a full size but bigger than the Mini and it is also really easy to get a great sound. Even on a big stage with really big sound it was fine.

If you are having problems a sound hole feedback buster usually fixes things. If not, then carefully stuffing a towel inside the guitar and then putting in a feedback buster worked well for us in the 80's and 90's on the bigger stages with bigger sound.