{"id":82473,"date":"2018-02-26T18:31:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T17:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/?p=82473"},"modified":"2018-02-26T16:44:39","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T15:44:39","slug":"amplify-acoustic-guitar-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/learn\/amplify-acoustic-guitar-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to amplify an acoustic guitar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The acoustic guitar is a splendid instrument: It can sufficiently fill a song on its own and in union with a voice it can represent a complete song. Not to mention the sound of the instrument itself: rich in frequencies, it can soothe in the rhythmical and heavy numbers as much as in the soft and arpeggiated ones. There is a huge “BUT” in all of this: amplification. What is the best way to amplify an acoustic guitar and get a good sound? Let’s find out!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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An acoustic guitar, in the recording studio, should always be mic’d<\/a> (if possible, with a stereo microphone configuration<\/a>). That said, it is obvious that in a live situation, rehearsal or in the absence of adequate gear, recording the guitar becomes a problem.<\/p>\n

The most widespread method is certainly that which involves a piezo-electric pick-up<\/a>: alternatively, during the years, magnetic pick-ups<\/a> (pick-up placed in the sound hole), contact pick-ups (normally installed inside the instrument), microphones and hybrid systems have also become popular.<\/p>\n

PIEZO<\/a><\/h3>\n

The piezo-electric pick-up or undersaddle (literally: which is under the bridge saddle) is one of the most popular amplification systems on stringed instruments. Capturing the vibrations of the guitar’s top, the piezo is equipped on all the amplified guitars and normally has an active circuit (which therefore requires power supply via a 9V battery). Among the disadvantages of the piezo we find a very ‘mediocre’ sound that takes little account of the overall sound of the instrument, while among the advantages we definitely have a very high resistance to feedback (useful in concerts, to avoid involuntary screeching) and the cost is more than acceptable. Used in the studio, in combination with a microphone, it can give excellent results especially if carefully EQ’d.<\/p>\n

If you need a piezo pickup for your guitar, we recommend the Shadow SH099<\/a> (combined with a good pre-amp), Fishman AGX094<\/a> (passive) or the well-known L.R. Baggs Element Active System<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t