Do you really want your amplified sound to be the same as your natural sound?

[Doubleneck]

So often the quest on amplification of the acoustic guitar is to get the guitar to sound just the same only louder. I’m primarily a singer first but play a decent Neil Young - James Taylor style guitar. After retirement I have played a lot of straight acoustic in the living room for my own enjoyment. I was asked to play at a local art auction and rediscovered my acoustic amp. My setup is K&K pro and a Ashdown Radiator 2 160 watt acoustic amp. Been exploring my old Neil Young, Cinnamon Girl and Old Laughing Lady both in double drop D. The amped sound really transforms the sound with so many great textures I could not do without the amp. It’s like playing a different instrument and absolutely makes these songs boom and come alive. Why can’t the amp be part of your sound? With electric guitars it’s a given. Almost seems not to explore this limits creativity?

[shufflebeat]

I suppose it depends on context. If I'm doing a solo/duo set I'm fighting the room and the tech to achieve something that sounds like a (not necessarily my) acoustic guitar.

When I'm with the band I have the added aspect of fitting my sound into an overall band sound, usually at higher volumes, which brings it's own demands.

My main gig guitar is an old Tak which is really designed primarily for stage so compromises have been made in the acoustic sound already. In this case the pickup and processing/amp/PA is definitely a vital link in the chain.

[Marshall]

I've chased after the perfect amplified sound for decades. Something to give me the same excitement I get from playing a great acoustic guitar acoustically. I've tried about every pickup type known to man. And a bundle of pedals too. I've come to the conclusion that acoustic sound and amplified sound are never going to be the same thing. Nor should they be. There are drawbacks and bonuses to every pickup/pedal option tired. You (me) just have to find a live sound that inspires you like an acoustic sound. Live performance is a much BIGGER sound than an acoustic sound. It's important to translate across the electric divide the best characteristics that inspire you when you pick up a great guitar. But perfect replication is not necessarily the final goal. There are so many extra things you can do with amplification that you (me!) should not fixate on that. The acoustic world and amplified world are two totally different animals.

[Methos1979]

This is an excellent question! My answer is, "No!"

Here's why: The primary issue for me comes with the differences between songs strummed with a pick and songs played fingerstyle. I don't use my fingernails or finger picks so the tone on fingerstyle songs is VERY muted and dull sounding. When I'm playing live and amplified, I simply dial up the trebles and gain while dialing back the lows and I get a MUCH better tone. Then I just dial back to the settings for strumming with a pick. This requires onboard preamp controls which is why I have them on my gigging guitars. For guitars without onboard preamp controls I have a small, battery powered preamp that I put on my mic stand.

[jricc]

I don't need my guitars to be as perfect as an unamplified tone. Just need a pleasing tone for me, as most audiences are drinking and rabble rousing

[martingitdave]

The guitar is an instrument to make music with. If that includes amplification for certain songs, or even effects, so be it. There is of course a tipping point where the wood and strings can’t be heard or distinguished. Then it is something other than acoustic music. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it’s no longer acoustic. I’m in the “do what floats your boat” camp.

[jseth]

(In hindsight, I realized I did not answer the initial question...)

Yes, I want my guitar to sound the way it does while it's sitting in my lap and I'm playing it! I've wanted that sound since my first bar gig in 1969... between the Dazzo pickups and my Bose L1 Model II (and the Bose T1 mixer), I feel I finally have that sound... it's a glorious thing! Now, I just need venues to exhibit that marvelous sound...

Given a good quality mode of amplification for the acoustic guitar, I'd say that it's the pickup system that has the most influence on the overall sound...

I realized many years ago that I had to learn how to "play the pickup" when I was gigging/playing amplified... a UST "wants" certain aspects of playing, and a K&K wants others.

Certainly, though, both require the player to adjust to that particular pickup system... while with an electric guitar, the actual amplifier is a HUGE part of getting the sorts of tones I want to hear... one definitely "plays" the amp as well as the guitar in that circumstance.

[Stringmaster]

Yes for me, as I play very traditional music, with a touch of reverb as my only effect. That said, I understand that getting a precise guitar but louder sound isn’t really possible with a pickup system. I did play with a band previously with mics only, but for solo these days a natural sounding pickup is fine and less hassle.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by Doubleneck

Why can’t the amp be part of your sound? With electric guitars it’s a given. Almost seems not to explore this limits creativity?

I totally agree. I spent a lot of the lockdown (and here we go again) working out on my Japanese dread with a Baggs magnetic into a small Vox. It's a setup that's very sensitive to my touch and can go from an airy acoustic sound to angry overdrive without anything other than the volume pot on the pickup. Certainly beats the pants off any transducer > DI setups I've had, at least for me. I just have to get better at adjusting the volume pot without dropping my pick. :-)

[shufflebeat]

Originally Posted by jseth

I realized many years ago that I had to learn how to "play the pickup" when I was gigging/playing amplified...

I like that - a lot.

[Goat Mick]

I play a lot of solo gigs and while it is very important to me for my amplified sound to be very acoustic I really don’t want it to sound like my guitar unplugged. I like to crank the bass a bit to allow me to get more drive when I play faster songs but still remain airy and acoustic on the slower, pretty stuff.

[jklotz]

I've been at this for long time, both from the performance standpoint and the audience perspective. The only time I've ever heard "my guitar but louder", including my own performances, was seeing David Russel (a classical guitarist) perform ay Spivey Hall. The audience was silent while he was playing. They had 2 mics maybe 8 feet away on either side of the stage and they were brought up to just enough volume to make it to the back of the room. It was his guitar, which was spectacular btw, with just enough extra volume that everybody could hear it.

I personally think that "my guitar only louder" is a myth, at least in terms of modern live performance. I've come up with a setup that sounds very pleasing to my ears for preforming, but it's by no means "my guitar only louder".

[necrome]

I just want mine to sound good one way or the other without quacking. That alone is extremely difficult and even internationally renowned musicians have a hard time making it happen consistently depending on the stage variables.

[SupremeDalek]

Absolutely not. I want to color my tone with the base being an amazing acoustic guitar. I use a tube amp and electric pedals for my sound when I play with a band. If I'm sitting in the living room, sure, it's unplugged acoustic tone. When I'm playing with a group (live or practice) it's a different story.

When I first started this journey i wanted to recreate the perfect acoustic tone but louder. I found this to be lacking. With all of the tonal options available in the world, why not make the acoustic match the sound in my head?

My chain:

Martin>Q-Tron>Keeley 1962>Boss SD1>Carbon Comp delay>66 Super Reverb

[lowrider]

Not counting playing in a band, I think the sought after acoustic pickup sound isn't just ''my guitar only louder'' but ''my guitar mic'd''

That's the sound that most acoustic players are searching for!