Acoustic Guitars

[richard vandyne]

I Have Just Purchased A New Epi Shearton Guitar And Amp And Am Having A Terrable Time Trying To Get Adjusted To It. It Just Doesnt Sound Like My Acoustic And I Am Not Happy With It. I Think The Amp Is A Lot Of The Problem But That May Be Another Thread. My Real Question Is The Feasablility Of Playing Really Good Jazz On An Acoustic.or Is The Electric The Only Way To Go. I Miss The Acoustic Sound And Still Want To Pay Jazz. What About A Acousatic Electric????????? Any Sugestions??? If Anyone Has A Good Sugertion Please Help. Also What Kind Of Acous/elect Would You Recommend

[brwnhornet59]

I practice constantly on an acoustic cutaway and a solid body. I keep my Hollow body for the finishing touch's.

Check out Morten playing acoustic. Does this sound good to you?

YouTube Video

[strumcat]

Originally Posted by richard vandyne

I Have Just Purchased A New Epi Shearton Guitar And Amp And Am Having A Terrable Time Trying To Get Adjusted To It. It Just Doesnt Sound Like My Acoustic And I Am Not Happy With It.

If you're used to playing an acoustic guitar, it's gonna take a little adjustment to get used to playing electric guitar. The dynamics are different, some of the things you can do on an acoustic just don't sound the same, etc. Once you've played the electric a while you'll find that it has its own range of qualities and dynamics that you can't really duplicate on the acoustic. They're definitely different, but not necessarily better or worse. You just have to explore it and give it a chance.

You'll also spend some time finding good tone and volume settings that give you a sound you like. A lot of people like to use the guitar's neck pickup with the tone turned down to about 1 or 2. Then on the amp turn down the bass and turn up the middle. You'll find something you like.

Howlin' Wolf is on record as saying that he didn't like his electric guitar at first, either, so you're in good company. And if you want to see some hellnacious guitar playing on a standard acoustic guitar, just Google something by Tommy Emmanuel.

[TruthHertz]

You're used to having something that responds under your fingers. Try a hollow body with a thin top. If you can find the single pickup Epiphone Zephyr Regent, the one like the es-175, that might feel better. Ibanez makes some things in their AG series but keep in mind that on lower priced electrics (even acoustic/electrics like the above) that crappy cheap pickups can be uninspiring. A good course of action would be a hollow with nice pickups that would accentuate the acoustic quality. Similar to your Sheraton is the Casino. That's actually hollow and it might respond to you better than your Sheraton. Find a quiet music store and try these ideas.

[henry b]

I think your Caps button is down .

[mr. beaumont]

Well, maybe you'd like a deep bodied archtop. The Sheraton (and other semi-hollow) instruments are very much electric guitars.

You can play jazz on anything...there are certain jazz tones you're not going to get with an acoustic (and of course, acoustic tones yo'll never get with an electric)

You do need a good amp for an electric guitar...people often skimp here and are forever displeased with their sound.

[brwnhornet59]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

You do need a good amp for an electric guitar...people often skimp here and are forever displeased with their sound.

Indeed, how true. It's like putting ketchup on a steak. Amp's and amp settings are the key to being happy with the sound of any of your axe's. I am not familiar with the amp you bought. Is it a modeling amp?

[richard vandyne]

thanks guys- ive noted your responses and i really appreciate the effort i probably havent given the guitar a fair shake but i am almost posative the amp is a large problem.its a peavvy vypyr and its probably good for metal only. has a zilion buttons on it and a 7or 8 in speaker. bad chioce. that demo on the acoustic was great as usual i am trying to get an acoustic sound out of a thin line electric-probably wont work. thank for the info; you guys are great

[strumcat]

Originally Posted by richard vandyne

...but i am almost posative the amp is a large problem.its a peavvy vypyr and its probably good for metal only. has a zilion buttons on it and a 7or 8 in speaker. bad chioce.

Holy cow, you're right. That's not a good choice for a jazz sound and may well be the source of your dissatisfaction. If you're looking for something really inexpensive, a guy in another thread mentioned that he got a good clear sound out of a Kustom 12 Gauge amp. If you want something more tried-and-true, the Roland Cube series is good.

Anyway, best of luck and have fun exploring your options.

[lindydanny]

Well, I've had to start looking at the guitars I have as a tool box. You wouldn't use a 3/4" socket to turn a 1/2" bolt. You wouldn't use a 18 ounce framing hammer to drive a finishing nail. You wouldn't use a flat head in a phillips screw. I've bitched a lot about the limitations I have with my guitars, but the more I look at it this way the better I'm able to make good choices.

The big difference is what you can do with a guitar. The art with guitar has to do with the sound you can finesse out of it. I've seen some guys who don't have the finesse to use an acoustic flat top as anything more than a folk, acoustic rock, or blue grass instrument. But, as the vid in the first reply shows, there are some who can really pull some good jazz tone out of them.

Your issue with the new guitar may pass with more time spent on it or it may not. It also may be an amp issue. Bottom line is that if you aren't getting the results (sound) out of the tools (instruments/amps) you are using then you probably need to dig deeper in the tool box (guitar store).

~DB