Good sounding through PA under $400???

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by JBBB

I think I know what fooled me at the store. When I checked out the guitars at the store I played through an acoustic amp. But it was not really turned up high because I didn't want to blow up the store. So I heard the natural acoustic tone mixed with the tone from the amp. Now on stage it is quite loud, you don't hear the natural acoustic tone from the guitar at all, only the naked sound from the pickup that comes through the PA and monitors. And what I hear doesn't feel right. No meat in the soup. So how do you avoid this glitch checking out an acoustic guitar at the store that you need for stage? Play it through headphones?

If they have one and it's biggish, take the guitar over to the live sound section and plug into the PA set up. It might be easier to turn up adequately in those quarters.

Or get a guitar you like without a pick up system and install a pickup that sounds better to you. Undersaddle piezos are not the only game in town. A soundboard transducer like a K&K mini will sound more natural, although it may be a little more finicky with feedback. In a band situation, sometimes a magnetic soundhole pickup is easiest to deal with (L.R. Baggs M1, M1a, M80; Duncan MagMic; DiMarzio Angel; Fishman Blackstack and others). Some people swear by multisource systems that combine 2 or more pickup types or a pickup and a mic. And then there are the digital modeling solutions: Fishman Aura or the new ToneDexter, which has gotten some very positive reviews around here.

Louis