Getting A Great Amplified Acoustic Guitar Sound
I have always created the tone and balance of my acoustic guitar with my hands, rather than with equipment. For instance, I always record through good microphones. But these days when I play smaller gigs and can’t use microphones, I have come up with the best, most natural sound I’ve ever gotten out of pickups and an acoustic amp. It’s a stereo setup, using two pickups.
My setup is:
• Fishman Loudbox Artist two-channel amp
• K&K Pure-Mini pickup
• Sunrise magnetic pickup
• stereo endpin jack
• stereo guitar cable (stereo jack to two mono jacks)
I have two pickups (a K&K and a Sunrise) mounted in each of my main performance guitars: a Collings SJ and a Goodall CJ. I’ve had a stereo jack installed in the endpin of each guitar. (I have never drilled holes in my Brazilian rosewood Martin D-28, and never will!)
From the endpin jack, the pickup signals run through a stereo guitar cable to the Fishman amp. I plug each mono jack into a channel of the Fishman so that I can balance and EQ the signals separately.
After some experimentation with this setup, I am now creating a rich, natural, amplified sound. I can use the amp alone for small gigs, or feed a DI signal from the back of the amp to a soundboard. It provides the soundperson with the same mix that I hear from the amp speaker.
More info about balancing the signals next time!