Fender Acoustasonic Tele- VERDICT?

[dcopper]

Just checking in on this -
wondering how any players are doing with the new Acoustic Tele. I have a PRS Archtop with piezo/ Brian Moore CP90 with piezo and a Taylor T5. They are all sort of hybrid guitars although the T5 is a T5.

I have found that all of these guitars sound pretty darn good through the BOSE S1. I also have an AER 60/3 and a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket and all of these amps work well. None of these guitars can do what my acoustic Taylors do, but that is not their purpose. I get a great clean tone for solo or trio work.

Since it has been a while that the Acoustic Tele hit the market I am curious what you all think about it.

davidc

[Side Man]

I just talked with a friend who told me his local GC informed him the other day that they would be getting a couple in around the 25th of June.

[geewhiz]

Originally Posted by dcopper

Just checking in on this -
wondering how any players are doing with the new Acoustic Tele. I have a PRS Archtop with piezo/ Brian Moore CP90 with piezo and a Taylor T5. They are all sort of hybrid guitars although the T5 is a T5.

I have found that all of these guitars sound pretty darn good through the BOSE S1. I also have an AER 60/3 and a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket and all of these amps work well. None of these guitars can do what my acoustic Taylors do, but that is not their purpose. I get a great clean tone for solo or trio work.

Since it has been a while that the Acoustic Tele hit the market I am curious what you all think about it.

davidc

I've had one for a few weeks. I've yet to gig with it but I bought it pretty much to use as a gigging instrument. That said, I've been having some fun playing it at home.

I'll share a few brief impressions of it -

• I'm pleased with the quality but there's nothing particularly impressive or outstanding about the build. It is very light and it is very comfortable to play.
• It has taken some getting used to. My electric technique and the music I play on electric is very different from how and what I play on acoustic. I bought this instrument to play on my 'acoustic' gigs, and it feels a little odd to be playing that music on an instrument that has the feel of an electric. I'd prefer .12's on the guitar I think, but a Fender customer service rep told me they recommend the .11's it ships with.
• Unplugged you can hear it. Not much more to say. I've practically laughed out loud at some of the reviews I've seen where people have complained that it's "quiet and doesn't sound like an acoustic guitar". Hilarious.
• Plugged in it sounds quite good, for what it is. It sounds as good or better than a lot of acoustic/electrics I've played. There's no question that there are acoustic rigs with pickup/preamp combinations that sound better, but for most of your garden variety, "typical" acoustic/electric sounds I think this does a pretty darn good job.
• You'll find that you gravitate toward certain tone and blend selections. There are a number of variations as seen in the demo vids but I'm not sure I'd use all of them.
• The electrics sounds are okay. I'll qualify that by saying I've only experienced them running into a Loudbox Mini or direct into the PA. The electric sounds are a fair bit louder than the acoustic tones but I think that is deliberate so you can start with the volume backed off and have a bit of headroom. As for the sounds, both the clean and the slightly dirty sounds seem to have a fair amount of processing/compression built into them. I'd like to have more control over the tone shaping and EQ. I may try running through an amp sim pedal to see if I can't dial things in a bit better. I'd like to hear a little more 'air' in the sound, and I want to investigate whether the electric pickup can be lowered a bit. It just seems a tad in your face. All that said, we had band practice last night (we do acoustic trio or four piece with percussion) and in that context with other instruments the electric tones worked better than I expected.
• Overall I think this will be a useful tool for its intended purpose and I think I'll become more comfortable with the tones as I learn to dial it in (gain staging, EQ, etc). As others have said, it won't make you want to sell your acoustic or your electric but it's a fun instrument in its own regard. For me there's a big convenience factor and that's worth any slight tradeoffs in tone or feel. I expect I will adjust to those.
• I got mine for a couple hundred off the going street price. At $2k I didn't think the value was there. At the price I paid it still feels like I paid a bit more than I would have preferred. If these were priced somewhere below $1.5k I think it would be an easier pill to swallow. But I will say, it's going to be awfully nice to not have to worry about humidity, dryness, and worrying about a nice acoustic being schlepped around to gigs in all weather and at all times of the year.

We have a bunch of gigs coming up for the spring and summer, some indoors, some outdoors, some small spaces and some big rooms. I'll try to report back now and then to give updates on my impressions.

[capefisherman]

Originally Posted by geewhiz

I've had one for a few weeks. I've yet to gig with it but I bought it pretty much to use as a gigging instrument. That said, I've been having some fun playing it at home.

I'll share a few brief impressions of it -

• I'm pleased with the quality but there's nothing particularly impressive or outstanding about the build. It is very light and it is very comfortable to play.
• It has taken some getting used to. My electric technique and the music I play on electric is very different from how and what I play on acoustic. I bought this instrument to play on my 'acoustic' gigs, and it feels a little odd to be playing that music on an instrument that has the feel of an electric. I'd prefer .12's on the guitar I think, but a Fender customer service rep told me they recommend the .11's it ships with.
• Unplugged you can hear it. Not much more to say. I've practically laughed out loud at some of the reviews I've seen where people have complained that it's "quiet and doesn't sound like an acoustic guitar". Hilarious.
• Plugged in it sounds quite good, for what it is. It sounds as good or better than a lot of acoustic/electrics I've played. There's no question that there are acoustic rigs with pickup/preamp combinations that sound better, but for most of your garden variety, "typical" acoustic/electric sounds I think this does a pretty darn good job.
• You'll find that you gravitate toward certain tone and blend selections. There are a number of variations as seen in the demo vids but I'm not sure I'd use all of them.
• The electrics sounds are okay. I'll qualify that by saying I've only experienced them running into a Loudbox Mini or direct into the PA. The electric sounds are a fair bit louder than the acoustic tones but I think that is deliberate so you can start with the volume backed off and have a bit of headroom. As for the sounds, both the clean and the slightly dirty sounds seem to have a fair amount of processing/compression built into them. I'd like to have more control over the tone shaping and EQ. I may try running through an amp sim pedal to see if I can't dial things in a bit better. I'd like to hear a little more 'air' in the sound, and I want to investigate whether the electric pickup can be lowered a bit. It just seems a tad in your face. All that said, we had band practice last night (we do acoustic trio or four piece with percussion) and in that context with other instruments the electric tones worked better than I expected.
• Overall I think this will be a useful tool for its intended purpose and I think I'll become more comfortable with the tones as I learn to dial it in (gain staging, EQ, etc). As others have said, it won't make you want to sell your acoustic or your electric but it's a fun instrument in its own regard. For me there's a big convenience factor and that's worth any slight tradeoffs in tone or feel. I expect I will adjust to those.
• I got mine for a couple hundred off the going street price. At $2k I didn't think the value was there. At the price I paid it still feels like I paid a bit more than I would have preferred. If these were priced somewhere below $1.5k I think it would be an easier pill to swallow. But I will say, it's going to be awfully nice to not have to worry about humidity, dryness, and worrying about a nice acoustic being schlepped around to gigs in all weather and at all times of the year.

We have a bunch of gigs coming up for the spring and summer, some indoors, some outdoors, some small spaces and some big rooms. I'll try to report back now and then to give updates on my impressions.

Excellent overview, thanks!

[MikeBmusic]

I finally heard one last week at an open mic. The guy using it said he loves it. His 'acoustic' sound was more like a magnetic soundhole pickup used on an acoustic.

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

I finally heard one last week at an open mic. The guy using it said he loves it. His 'acoustic' sound was more like a magnetic soundhole pickup used on an acoustic.

Ugh. I hate mag pickups.

[JackB1]

Aaron Short did a review on this guitar....search on YTube for it.

I can see where this guitar would work well for a gigging acoustic player who wants a variety of sounds and also its easy to play for those 3-4 hour gigs. Plays exactly like an electric. My biggest issue with this guitar is the $2K price tag! For that same amount of money, you can get an awfully nice acoustic guitar. The 2K price tag puts it way out of reach for me personally and I feel will greatly hinder sales to its intended target buying audience.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

I finally heard one last week at an open mic. The guy using it said he loves it. His 'acoustic' sound was more like a magnetic soundhole pickup used on an acoustic.

He may well have been running in the full mag setting or the setting for a mag/"miked guitar" blend.

[perttime]

Just based on reviews, I get the feeling that Fender is trying to get into some new sounds with the Acoustasonic.

You can get acoustic sounds? Sure, anybody can. You can get electric sounds? Sure, anybody can. Now go and make some sounds that your old guitar heros couldn't make!

[geewhiz]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

I finally heard one last week at an open mic. The guy using it said he loves it. His 'acoustic' sound was more like a magnetic soundhole pickup used on an acoustic.

As with any acoustic electric guitar, it's not just plug and play. You can make it sound bad, and you can make it sound quite good with proper EQ and gain staging. I will say this much for some perspective - to my ears, in an amplified/gig setting, the Acoustasonic sounds infinitely better than two Taylors I've owned and many that I've heard live.

I would never choose the Acoustasonic for a situation where true acoustic guitar tones are required (i.e., recording). But it wasn't designed to do that. It wasn't designed to "compete" with a real acoustic guitar. It's sort of its own thing, designed for certain types of applications. Those applications may not be everyone's cup of tea.

[BT55]

The Acoustasonic really only competes with the Taylor T5/T5z. Each has its own character and neither is truly a real acoustic guitar. I own a T5z and it’s great but has it’s limitations. Great Electric and Jazz tones, acceptable acoustic tone. If you’re a purist, a pair of electric and acoustic guitars will provide better tonality.

[geewhiz]

Originally Posted by DavidE

Ugh. I hate mag pickups.

I do too....

[geewhiz]

Originally Posted by BT55

The Acoustasonic really only competes with the Taylor T5/T5z. Each has its own character and neither is truly a real acoustic guitar. I own a T5z and it’s great but has it’s limitations. Great Electric and Jazz tones, acceptable acoustic tone. If you’re a purist, a pair of electric and acoustic guitars will provide better tonality.

To my ears (and I've listened to and played both), the Fender sounds more 'acousticy' than the Taylor. But that's just my ears, and I'm not saying one is better than the other. One or the other may fit a player's needs better depending what those needs are. Or maybe it's nothing more than personal preference and that's cool too.

And you are absolutely right - neither will satisfy the purist. When I play my Martin it's a completely different experience .

[M Hayden]

Fender has been trying to do a crossover tele since the early seventies when thinlines first came out. Those kind of worked, and eventually they created the ovation-like telecoustics; those (and their strat counterparts) are better than they look, but no mag pickup.

This latest effort is trying to marry piezo sound and magnetic sound in one instrument, which is certainly both a laudable goal and within the realm of possibilities. IMHO, it’d be better done with a tele solid or tele thinline body with mag pickups and an acoustic bridge - PRS has done that for years successfully, as have Godin and others.

[Earthworm]

I wanted to love the Taylor T5, but never thought the acoustic side of the instrument was convincing. I started playing Crowdsters about a decade ago and have never gone back. My current Crowdster 2+ is one heck of a great instrument. I'm not saying that merely because I own one. The quality of the instrument is amazing. I love it.

I want to try one of the Fenders. I used to own a Line 6 Variax acoustic. It was a piece of crap guitar, but I did think the jumbo model sounded amazing. The alternate tuning abilities left me unimpressed, however.

I love "real" acoustics, but am always willing to try something new.