Small Acoustic Guitar Pre-amp and other questions

[John Egerton]

Hey guys, I was wondering if you could help me...

I am currently constructing a suped-up acoustic guitar for a live show and was wondering if you could answer some questions...

Does anyone know of a decent, small sized acoustic guitar preamp i could build? I intend to mount pots on the body...

Also... What is the etiquette about plugging an acoustic guitar into an electric guitar amplifier? Is it safe? or does it just sound bad without the proper circuity beforehand....

thanks...

John

[ryanscissorhands]

First off, I am not an expert.

Having said that, acoustics CAN go through electric guitar amps, but it doesn't  do the guitar's sound justice like it would through an acoustic amp. In fact it's often better to go directly from the acoustic through to the PA system, which is why more acoustic pickup sustems now have an XLR out (XLR into mixer, out PA). You lose a lot of brightness going through your average guitar amp,. But it depends on what you need it for.

My other suggestion is one I got from "The Dude" at my local guitar shop--modding an amp. It works best with a 2x10 or 2x12 cabinet, but in the top "ass-groove) of the two speakers, you can cut out a small hole and install a tweeter in between, and then run a switch to the back of your amp. It really brightens up the sound, making it much more like an acoustic amplifier.

I've played through such a modded amp using an electric guitar that had an acoustic bridge, and it sounded AWESOME. So It was a fake acoustic, going through a fake acoustic amp, and it still sounded good. I'm going to get it done to my amp too. It costs about $100CDN ($72 US?) to get someone to do it.

JUST MAKE SURE TO TURN THE TWEETER OFF BEFORE YOU PUT ON DISTORTION, OR YOU'LL BLOW YOUR TWEETER!

Hope that helps.

[Arn C.]

John,
  I am not sure about the preamp.  As for the amp, I always use our pa for my amplifier for my acoustic.  Sounds much clearer and cleaner.   I still want to build a nice eq (parametric?) as a standalone eq to go into that first from my acoustic then to the pa.   My pa only has bass, mid and treble.  I find you can get a real nice sound from further eq'uing.

Peace!
Arn C.

[John Egerton]

Thanks for replying...

I also forgot to mention that I have a boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator pedal... Whilst this is 'ok' for electric guitar, it makes an actual acoustic guitar sound quite nice  

I also forgot to mention that this is no ordinary acoustic guitar...

I gave it to my friend who is an artist, he's painted oceans and lakes etc on some guitars... I on the other hand asked him to paint it all black and write out some quotes from a lot of my lyrics across the guitar as though someone was scribbling them on a piece of paper.

Inside is also a DOD 250 overdrive circuit with a toggle switch mounted on the body... Just for kicks and for a sort of 'gasp' effect whilst playing live in darker venues.. I have a couple of blue LEDs inside the guitar that light whn the overdrive is toggled.. I find i gives a sort of glowing UFO effect....

I'm not a hardcore acoustic player, I just had a spare acoustic guitar lying around that I thought id incorporate into some of my songs... Its a lot of hassle in Bolton (UK) to get sound guys to make exeptions for you when changing instrument type on stage....

Thanks

John

[Omega328]

Looking to buy one of these small Diy kits for a small amp capibabile of pushing 20 w cabinet speaker please lmk email me send you the money pay pal thanks

[GibsonGM]

Old and dead thread, bud!   What are you trying to find?