It's so sad to to have watched as the general level of ensemble musicianship has slid down the slippery slope of technology. I love watching YouTube videos of big band performances when todays tech had yet to intrude on performance parameters and become a crutch of sorts.
There's nothing like the sound of a high action, heavy strung, rock-ribbed jumbo arch-top chunking away. To get that sound today you'd likely have to give the guitar its own mini-PA and use a mic. A pickup will never give that body sound that so defines the genre.
http://www.freddiegreen.org/instruments/amplify.html