Acoustic Electric Guitars

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How Acoustic Electric Guitars Give You the Best of Both Worlds

History tells us that times are changing. Every sound needs to be louder and groups are turning more toward amplified music. Acoustic electric guitars are not much different from your normal six string instrument.

The main difference is the addition of a pickup. In a standard acoustic guitar, there is no built-in pickup. If you want to amplify the signal, you need to either stick a pick up under the bridge, or sit close to the microphone.

Less To Carry With You

With acoustic electric guitars, however, the pickup is built right into the body. This has obvious advantages. It makes it easier to amplify signals since you can just plug in to a guitar cable. It also means that you have less gear to carry around. You don't have to keep an extra pick up on hand for playing a gig.

There are some people who do not like using the amplifiers built into acoustic electric guitars. They would rather sit near to a microphone and pick up the guitar that way. This gives a dryer, sparser sort of sounds more suitable to rhythmic playing. But I've always liked these musical instruments even when I want to amplify with a normal microphone.

The reason is, having an acoustic pickup built in doesn't stop you from using other means to pick up the sound. You can still use a normal mike to record the sound of your guitar. You simply have the option of adding the onboard pickup.

Get Variable Sounds From The Acoustic Electric Guitar

This is also nice if you like to experiment with sounds. A lot of people I know who play acoustic guitars like to mix sounds from different sources. You can use a bridge pickup and mix it with a microphone pickup, for example.

Some guitarists even take it a step further, adding contact mics on to the guitar body at various points. Depending where you pick up a signal, you will get all sorts of sounds from this system.

This allows you to tweak your sound, getting just the right signal for whatever project you are working on. It also gives your sound mixer more options when you are playing a live show and trying to compensate for whatever peculiarities the club has in its acoustic performance.

Is Your Favorite Brand Name Acoustic Guitar Available As An Electric?

Only one drawback; sometimes you run into problems of availability. Some high-quality models simply aren't available in the electric format. Fortunately, portable pickups have gotten so good at this doesn't have to be a big obstacle. So, if you have pets like Fender, Yamaha or Martin you can turn it into electric with just a little effort. In fact, you can even set up your homemade acoustic.

Don't worry about who makes the best, there are many fine name brands out there. I am partial to Ovation and even its sister Applause as both play very well, produce a good acoustic sound when amplified and won't break you with the cost. Just find a guitar with good action in the neck and, if you are new, take someone with you when you shop.

Installing Portable Pickups

You can simply stick a pick up under the bridge and mix in the signal as if you were using a factory unit. Of course, you won't have an onboard mixer like acoustic electric guitars do, but you can always add a mixer into your signal line. It may be a little bit less convenient, but you can still get the sound you like.

Hope you enjoyed these reviews and, if you are into flat tops, but need a boost in sound, you'll love the versatility of carrying your acoustic electric guitar to your next show. Get the sound you need and give your audience the volume they want. Now, play something!