Acoustic Electric (on a budget) Help
 

Not sure if this is the right forum, but here it goes. I have a Johnny Cash/Old country-rock cover solo gig that has become more than what my current set up can handle. My set up right now is an old Cortez guitar and my voice... which actually works well in some of the venues I play in.

The time has come to upgrade to an acoustic electric and voice mic with amplification. Armed with the knowledge that I have around $500 to $600 to spend, I've been advised by a friend in the music business to run with a Roland CUBE street and a Sure SM58 mic. Already that's $400. I can see pushing my budget up a bit, but I have NO IDEA what kind of Acoustic Electric guitar I should get. I went to Guitar Center to try out guitars and was pleasantly surprised with the sound that came out of an Ibanez Exotic Wood Figured Ash Cutaway. It had a jumbo body that gave a nice rich sound. It was priced at $384. I wasn't really impressed with much else there that was under $500. Any advise? I know I'll want to upgrade at some point, but I just don't have the cash right now (see wife and 4 kids on teacher salary for limited $ explanation).

If you're on a tight budget, and you like your old guitar, it makes more sense for you to install a pickup in your Cortez. That's gonna cost you a lot less than looking to buy a new acoustic with a pickup already installed. There are a lot of options for basic amplification, and some of them may end up costing you under $100. Then you can spend the rest of what you got on a decent, small acoustic amp, a mic, cables, and a mic stand.

Louis

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