Acoustic Electric

[ALBD]

What’s the pros and cons of an acoustic electric compared to a pure acoustic with a pick up added? A rick turner renaissance RS-6 has caught my eye. Thanks for any input

[bluesfreek]

I don't think there is anything wrong with a guitar that has pre installed electronics. If the guitar you're interested in "speaks to you" than you should get it regardless. Of course any acoustic guitar you like can be retrofitted with electronics if so needed.

I personally use a removable in the soundhole pickup that can be used with any acoustic guitar I may own at the time.

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by ALBD

What’s the pros and cons of an acoustic electric compared to a pure acoustic with a pick up added? A rick turner renaissance RS-6 has caught my eye. Thanks for any input

IMHO, nothing but some may debate it although I have never seen a scientifically engineered test proving it.

[Caddy]

Depends on what your needs are. I have never heard an acoustic/electric plugged in that sounds as good as an acoustic just played into a microphone. Just my opinion.

[Ruppster]

The Rick Turner renaissance RS-6 is a fine instrument but, to me, it's more of an electric acoustic than the other way around. I put it in the same category as the Taylor T5. I have owned them both and they are stellar instruments but I never felt they sounded particularly acoustic.

Guitars I've owned that DID sound acoustic when plugged in include:

- The Martin Performing Artist series, any of them
- Takamines, the higher end models in particular
- My old Taylor 612ce with Fishman barndoor electronics
- Gibson Custom J45, with the simple LR Baggs Elemeent VTC
- Yamaha AC5R, ridiculously good guitar for $1,400

I'm sure there are many, many others.

[MiG50]

The main advantage of acoustic-electrics is that they tend to come with a preamp control panel, with (at minimum) the ability to control volume and shape tone. Some preamps come with an onboard tuner, feedback control, or blend for mic/pickup (if so equipped).

The downside to this is the hole(s) cut into the body for these controls. The advantage of using an aftermarket pickup is that you typically only need an enlarged endpin jack, rather than the barndoor cutout for a preamp panel. This makes the instrument more pure acoustically, if a little harder to control when plugged in. In the case of an aftermarket pickup, many players will add pedal preamps to control and shape the tone of the plugged-in sound, but that makes for an added expense.

[YamahaGuy]

I almost always play plugged in, so when I look for an acoustic guitar, the pickups are my number one selling point.

A pro to an a/e is many have on board tuners, which is one less thing to have to carry around with you. Another pro is some a/e models come with feed back busters and sound hole plugs to avoid feedback.

A con to an a/e is the aesthetics (barn/battery door) and for some, the awfully sized end pin that makes using a strap a nightmare.

If you are considering an a/e I highly recommend testing its pickups through both amps -- acoustic electric, bass, and epectric -- and a variety of pa systems like the Bose L1C, Fishman Solo 330, and direct into a sound board with active or passive speakers. Amps color the sound in a way most pa systems do not. The pa will give you a true indication of how good the pickups are.