To Pedal or Not To Pedal?

[Cm3ohana]

I've been playing rhythm, acoustic guitar at our church for a while now (almost a decade) in various size groups - from a full band to just me and a piano. For the past couple years, it's mostly been me an a piano. It's been a great learning experience to play with more dynamics because I'm plugged from my guitar into a DI right to the board to the FOH. But, lately, I've been wondering if there's maybe pedals I can use to add to the dynamics and to create more fullness to the sound. So, this past Sunday I used a Neunaber Seraphim pedal to add a little "shimmer" when the keyboard player was playing straight piano. I used the pedal sparingly (only in a couple of songs) like during a heightened chorus or maybe while picking quietly during a bridge. But, I felt it worked well and the Worship Director complimented my playing. So, wondered if there's some other pedal that may be useful to create some fullness to the sound when it's only me and a piano. Thoughts?

Reverb is handled by the sound engineer for FOH so don't need a reverb pedal plus the Seraphim has the ability to be used as a reverb if absolutely needed.

[YamahaGuy]

Delay. Chorus. Volume (for swells). Compression (so if you are strumming hard but don't want it to be loud).

[AlfredFelix]

Perhaps an OC3 or OC5 would do well. If you set them to only add an octave on your low E & A strings, it would fill out your finger picking. Honestly, I would not go very far beyond that.

If you want more color than that, I think pedals, like chorus would get too distracting for worship in my opinion. A tasteful use of an Ebow or even a spider capo to play in alternate tunings would do better to add flavor with out so much noticeable color.

Those are just my opinions. I know some people have different thoughts on worship music.

[nostatic]

I run a Strymon El Capistan that is always on with my acoustic (and dobro - for playing behind my singing). I have it set with a bit of reverb and a somewhat short delay with repeats around 10:00 and mix about the same. It helps fill out the sound quite a bit.

Also a good compressor can help - current favorite is the Diamond Comp/EQ as I can also do a bit of mid scoop and tweak highs/lows.

[Eastbound]

Effects can sound great on acoustic. Try a little delay, chorus or reverb.

[PaperMoon]

I'd encourage you to look into the Baggs Session DI. The compression and saturation effects have a really nice effect on the tone and feel of a plugged-in acoustic. It's battery powered and the battery lasts for a long time (months). The only downside is it does not have an effects loop, so you'll have to run other pedals before it. Other than that it's very useful (notch, hpf, etc).

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Eastbound

Effects can sound great on acoustic. Try a little delay, chorus or reverb.

THIS.

Richard Thompson has also included just a bit of distortion for his live acoustic guitar shows. It's a good sound, but all of this is really tempered by YOUR sound preferances.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Cm3ohana

I've been playing rhythm, acoustic guitar at our church for a while now (almost a decade) in various size groups - from a full band to just me and a piano. For the past couple years, it's mostly been me an a piano. It's been a great learning experience to play with more dynamics because I'm plugged from my guitar into a DI right to the board to the FOH. But, lately, I've been wondering if there's maybe pedals I can use to add to the dynamics and to create more fullness to the sound. So, this past Sunday I used a Neunaber Seraphim pedal to add a little "shimmer" when the keyboard player was playing straight piano. I used the pedal sparingly (only in a couple of songs) like during a heightened chorus or maybe while picking quietly during a bridge. But, I felt it worked well and the Worship Director complimented my playing. So, wondered if there's some other pedal that may be useful to create some fullness to the sound when it's only me and a piano. Thoughts?

Reverb is handled by the sound engineer for FOH so don't need a reverb pedal plus the Seraphim has the ability to be used as a reverb if absolutely needed.

Hi Cm3-etc

I'm a purist. I led Sunday with my Olson only through a ToneDexter (no obvious effects), with a bassist (the pianist was sick), and our focus is on the songs/words as well as the music.

I find effects tastily applied don't degrade clarity of acoustics, but too much effects begins to. I think players like effects more than audience (possibly because they think it will make the guitar more interesting). My 60 yrs of playing informed me that adding effects is more interesting to me…audiences don't notice or care.

For electric backing and lead, I use a multi-pedal, and the more effects I add the less defined the sound becomes there as well.

I'm not a purist, but I tend to 'naked' acoustic in a setting where there are other musicians. If the dynamics of the song are wide (ppp-fff), compression tastily applied can prevent the sound guy from turning me down as I get louder.

These days the house system is digital at our church, and the techs always apply compression and low freq cut (hi pass).

[6L6]

Here's what i use when gigging:



The Mosaic pedal works great for 12 string guitar simulation.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by 6L6

Here's what i use when gigging:



The Mosaic pedal works great for 12 string guitar simulation.

nice - different details, similar intent



chorus gets used with guitar on a few songs where appropriate. The harmonic trem is always on with my dobro, rarely use with acoustic guitar. The comp and delay are always on with either instrument, then the eq is to fix problems with the room.

[guitaniac]

IF I was a guitar instrumentalist, I’d like some peddle or combination of peddles that could mimic a good tube amp and the kind of effects that Charlie Worsham is using here. (link below)

As it is, I’m still working on making better use of my Zoom A1-Four’s effects for song accompaniments. The EQ options have been very helpful, but I still have much to learn in the areas of reverb, chorus & compression. I didn’t even know what “modulated reverb” is until I recently saw it demonstrated on youtube.

https://youtu.be/IL5k-mUEenc?si=essyzvjlexsdvJhB

[Cm3ohana]

Thanks everyone for responding and providing lots of options for consideration. I really appreciate you taking the time and provide your experiences as well. It's very helpful in preparation for future worship times. Thanks.

[J Buck]

Nothing really to add, my experience is with 4 piece band. Piano, bass, drums, and me on acoustic rhythm. Added a Fender Acoustic 40 amp to use as a monitor. VERY loud. Added a Behringer Multi FX pedal first and used the Chorus to color the sound a little. Worked out pretty well. Then I got the Boss AC 3 Acoustic Creator. Gives me a little more control on the overall sound over the sound tech. It's way more advanced than needed but I really like it. A touch of reverb and a pinch of chorus. Adjust the eq and good to go. You can mash a button and add a little boost in output for those finger picking parts if needed. Still a lot to learn with this thing. I leave it onstage, but need to take it home and play with it to unlock all the nuances this might be capable of. Behringer pedals are often misaligned but they are cheap and can give you a little taste of how the effect sounds and if you like it.

[Cm3ohana]

Tried several of your suggestions and ended up with an octave pedal (still deciding between the TCE Sub-N-Up or the Boss OC-5), doubler (TCE Mimiq), delay (MXR Carbon Copy), and reverb/shimmer (Neunaber Seraphim). Thanks for all of your ideas/suggestions.

[rule18]

That sounds like you're on your way! If your FOH guy is adding the reverb, try swapping out that pedal for a Chorus. A little goes a long way to adding a bit of shimmer and fullness.