Electric that feels like an acoustic?

[Dr. Martin]

I'm more of an acoustic singer/songwriter person, (for my sins), I also have a strat and another single coil type. My electric playing seems to just be noodling, fun enough I suppose, but I wonder if there is an electric that feel good with open chords or is generally more acousticy? Epi sg with humbuckers maybe? Epi dot maybe? Magnetic p/u for an acoustic? Funds are, of course, very limited. 🎶🎸😎.

[paulp1960]

Just put fat strings on and raise the action. It still won't sound like an acoustic though.

[Steve DeRosa]

Try a Godin Kingpin (non-cutaway/single P-90) or CW II (single-cut/twin P-90) archtop, both 16" archtops built on the Seagull mini-jumbo template; these (justly) get a lot of love over on the Archtop subforum, and with a set of Martin Monel strings they'll give you a "not-quite-acoustic/not-quite-electric" tonality that works well in a variety of genres - here's an example from a fellow AGF member:



FYI the single-pickup version can be had brand-new for under $600 ($350-500 used depending on condition), the cutaway for ~$750 ($500-600 used) if you shop around - not too bad for this level of QC and tone...

If you're really strapped for cash, one old NYC studio players' trick from the early-60's was to drop the middle pickup of a Strat flush with the body (to diminish magnetic "pull"), unfloat the tailpiece (for additional bridge contact with the body and a "woodier" tone") fit a set of flatwound 12's (standard fare for the time anyway), and use it alone for "acoustic" rhythm in a full-orchestral arrangement (the neck/bridge pickups covered the "electric" spectrum, and since they were wired with a 3-way switch back then selection was quicker and easier). While it didn't sound strictly "acoustic" as Paul states, it's very effective when the band is cranking it up and if you listen to a number of the old Four Seasons hits ("Dawn," "Ronnie," "Save It For Me," among others), you'll hear just how well it fills the same sonic space...

[GuitarLuva]

How about an Emerald X10. I know you said funds are limited but you never said how much. The x10 is a new design emerald and a few people in the carbon fiber section of the forum have them and would be happy to answer any questions for you

https://emeraldguitars.com/product/x...v=3e8d115eb4b3

[YamahaGuy]

How about a hollow body like the Ibanez AF75? For me, I set up my electrics as close to the setup on my acoustics as I can. I.e. I use 12-52 strings with a wound g on my electrics. I use 12-53/54 on my acoustics. My electrics also get a 1 11/16" nut which is slightly wider than the stock nut. Most of my acoustics have a 1 11/16" nut. As for action, my strat clone has super low action. My Revstar 502T has action slightly lower than my acoustics. My Weddington (Les Paul clone) has action about as high as my acoustics. Perhaps you could save a few hundred dollars and rather than getting a whole new guitar, try a different setup. If your strat has a trem, block it off/use all 5 springs/lock it down, and give a set of D'Addario EJ21 strings a try. My 2c.

[Tele16]

Ibanez Artcore is another option.

[C_Becker]

There are some electrical guitars that have an additional, piezo pickup that is supposed to give you a more acoustic tone.

I haven't really looked into it, but maybe you could research that option, maybe it'll get you closer to your tonal gold. I think Epiphones Les Paul Ultra III has it, and I think I remember some ESP/LTD model having it too.


That said, the middle position on a Tele has always been a good tone for me for strumming chords. P90s should work well too. Humbuckers, while I love and usually prefer them, aren't that great for chords IMHO. Too fat sounding, I prefer the clearer singlecoils for that.

[paulp1960]

I think it helps as well having an amp/speaker combination that has a great clean tone.

[muscmp]

sounds to me that you would really prefer an acoustic/electric rather than a strat or les paul type guitar. similar to what steve said. remember that when you get into electrifying you will also need an amp. most figure the amp is 40% of the equation.

play music!

[Dr. Martin]

Ta for the replies, guys, keep them coming it you can. I will check out the guitars mentioned. My strat is a hardtail, so no trem to lock down. I feel the nut is a bit narrow and the scale perhaps too long. So, maybe humbuckers wouldn't be the way to go? I have a variety of amps, none very expensive, but interesting none the less. Thanks again.

[arwhite]

Gretsch Electromatic hollow or semihollow. You gotta like the twang though.

[FrankHudson]

You can go either way. The big archtop (like the Kingpin) the thinner bodied (often semi-)hollow body like the ES-335 and it's many cousins, or in the Telecaster model.

Steve has already said what needs to be said about the Kingpin.

For those with limited funds, I think the current Epi 335-pro works well for that type. You may want to try the neck to see if you like it. It's got a unusual profile, lots of shoulder "meat" and an flatish back, but I find the 335-Pro pickups an improvement over typical Epi humbucker of the previous decades. More feedback resistant than the big hollow-bodies, but still a bit of body air resonance coloring the sound.

The advantage for the Telecaster option is greater freedom from feedback and much greater durability and reparability in knock-about stage use--the same reasons that old-school hollow-bodies like the Kingpin emulates got disrupted by the Telecaster back in 1950. No, they don't sound, timbre-wise, so much like an acoustic as much as they respond well to being played like an acoustic. Single coils and Fender's scale length are zingier and the notes stay well defined even in cowboy chord form. As already mentioned, the middle position (both pickups) is one to try when subbing for an acoustic guitar: it keeps it from sounding as single-point pickup-ey and with most Tele's it's also hum-cancelling.

Even Squier telecasters work pretty well these days, and they can be very cost effective. When I was extremely cost-limited and gigging, I bonded with a Telecaster, as I weighed that simple, durable and easy to maintain and fix factor highly. There's no other common electric guitar design that has equaled it in those regards.

Another option, which I don't think Steve mentioned this time, is a Gretsch Electromatic. Not carry-it-to-gig-in-a-shopping-bag durable as a Tele, or quite a cheap as Squier Tele, but they have some of the virtues of Telecaster's clarity with cowboy chords and big strums and depending on your stage look or audacity they still look cool.

And before I leave this post: playing electric but thinking acoustic has a huge mental and "it's in the fingers" element. Huge. If you fancy another guitar shape or neck feel or weight or something else falls into you lap, you can make it work. And we haven't even started talking amps....

[Dr. Martin]

So many choices! Of course, everyone should have at least one of every type of guitar. And amps too, naturally. I don't have a Tele yet, nor indeed a Gibson-style humbucker equipped guitar. Still, my Piezo UST dreadnaught sounds interesting thru the VOX AD30vt. Hmmm. I will take a good look at the instruments already mentioned.

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Try a Godin Kingpin (non-cutaway/single P-90) or CW II (single-cut/twin P-90) archtop, both 16" archtops built on the Seagull mini-jumbo template; these (justly) get a lot of love over on the Archtop subforum, and with a set of Martin Monel strings they'll give you a "not-quite-acoustic/not-quite-electric" tonality that works well in a variety of genres - here's an example from a fellow AGF member:



FYI the single-pickup version can be had brand-new for under $600 ($350-500 used depending on condition), the cutaway for ~$750 ($500-600 used) if you shop around - not too bad for this level of QC and tone...

If you're really strapped for cash, one old NYC studio players' trick from the early-60's was to drop the middle pickup of a Strat flush with the body (to diminish magnetic "pull"), unfloat the tailpiece (for additional bridge contact with the body and a "woodier" tone") fit a set of flatwound 12's (standard fare for the time anyway), and use it alone for "acoustic" rhythm in a full-orchestral arrangement (the neck/bridge pickups covered the "electric" spectrum, and since they were wired with a 3-way switch back then selection was quicker and easier). While it didn't sound strictly "acoustic" as Paul states, it's very effective when the band is cranking it up and if you listen to a number of the old Four Seasons hits ("Dawn," "Ronnie," "Save It For Me," among others), you'll hear just how well it fills the same sonic space...

Can't get over how good looking that cat is in the video...and talented

Joking aside, I would second the idea of a Kingpin...for a budget model, they have so much more acoustic presence than similarly priced Epiphones or Ibanez. They'd be a great "bridge" for an acoustic player to get into electric.

[guitararmy]

The discontinued Ovation VXT had a neck that was beefier than your average electric guitar, and was a hardtail with two humbuckers and a piezo bridge.
Mine feels more like a thinbody acoustic than an electric guitar...Rumor has it that Hamer was involved in the design or production of these.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Ov...EaAgzVEALw_wcB