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A few months ago I bought a honey of an es-175. Not really playing jazz my whole life, I grabbed this 175 (and a piano) specifically to move toward jazz styles. It's working so far.
i find I'm grabbing the 175 to play unplugged about 90% of the time! I love its tone, it plays like a Les Paul and it's a feather. My poor Les Paul's have been ignored for months.
I wonder how much you all play your archtop electrics unplugged? By percentage?
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10-23-2016 01:55 PM
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I rarely practice with an amp, unless it's with my strat or eastman thinline to work on specific tones or messing with pedals etc. Especially with my archtop I play 80% unplugged at home.
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I bought all four of my archtops based on their acoustic sound. I play them unplugged 75% of the time. My best sounding one is being stripped down to full acoustic (pickup, electronics and the finger rest uninstalled).
Originally Posted by Trapland
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Between 80%-100% of the time. I play my Tele unplugged too.
I'm a bit frightened of the wiring in my house.
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I like the acoustic tone of my archtops, but I bought them for their electric tone, even the solid-top-with-floaters are, for me electric instrumtents. I have small amps secreted in different places around the house so I can plug in easily. I also find that playing a lot through an amplifier helps me when I have to play "for real" electrically--which isn't that often, but it can be a jolt discovering what I thought sounded wonderful played acoustic is a bit off-kilter played electric.
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I once asked a pro a similar question. I asked him if he practiced plugged in , and his answer was: " If I'm going to play ( meaning 'play out' ) plugged in, then that's how I practice. "
I don't play out - only at home.
I do own 2 acoustic-only archtops and one electric ( L-5 ) - - with a humbucker. I traded an elec. L-4, which I found I ought to have been playing more - but wasn't.
FWIW, I seem to be plugging in a lot more now - 'caused the L-5 is such a kick to play. But I also have had some ' rude awakening ' plugged-in sessions, and learned I'd gotten into some lazy habits.....
So, I am trying to be more careful when playing unplugged and can very much see the advantage to plugging in.
My 2 cents.....
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When at home, 100% of the time. And not by choice either. NYC apartments.. makes the neighbors hear everything, and if those neighbors hate music, then you play unplugged. Actually, scratch 100%, since I got that V47 amp, I do plug in sometimes.
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I play probably 50/50, on average. Much of the unplugged is early morning or late night. I plug in when I can but rarely play at stage volume. When I was still gigging, I practiced plugged in and at the lower range of stage volume as much as I could.
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Very little. I was doing it a lot, and then found, when I plugged it in, I was playing it like an acoustic guitar...not what I'm going for.
So I play actual "acoustic" guitars most often at home, and keep a very small amp around so plugging in is easy when I want to.
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99% of the time unplugged, stealing moments when I can - and this is over a six-year period.
But this week, I have re-prioritized a few things, pulled out the RC-2 Loop pedal and the Band in the Box, and I set up a room in my house to play plugged into my ol' Fender Vibrochamp XD.
I find I am always much more encouraged when I play plugged in and I have also found that I need to work on my muting skills and my ability to play chords cleanly. Among other things, I discovered little nuisances like my finger ring finger leaning too far in for a pinky finger reach up the the 5th string, causing my fingernail to ever so slightly hit against the 3rd string.Last edited by AlsoRan; 10-23-2016 at 08:39 PM. Reason: spelled pink and added finger
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Yeah, it's those annoying little details that even a little amplification brings out. The main reason I rarely played at stage volume at home is that what you think is plenty loud for whatever just disappears when the rest of the band kicks in. My solution was to point my amp at my ears and let the FOH person do the work. If FOH was unavailable, I tilted the amp towards the ceiling for maximum dispersion and sat to the left of it, prepared to turn counter clockwise to nip incipient feedback in the bud. If other band members asked me to turn up, I angled the amp more toward them. Actually turning up was always a last resort for me.
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100%
the pickup sucks.
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I'm in roughly the same boat, though my neighbors don't complain. I've been archtop-less for a while but typically played that unplugged, and now play my semi-hollow when family is around (i.e, most of the time). But I think it's really important to practice plugged in as much as you can in order to get a good handle on the dynamics and touch of a plugged in guitar. The best compromise for me is a Roland Microcube. Tone-wise, it's a real amp, but because of the the small form factor and speaker, the sound doesn't carry, especially if I set it on the couch or a bed. Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
John
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I play 100% unplugged, unless I'm very uptight about a gig, and then I'll play for a few minutes with my little practice amp a student gave me, so I'll feel more confident when I have to play through an amp on the gig.
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I hardly ever play plugged in, and we almost have the same guitar. Mine is a 1953 Gibson ES140 3/4 size, it's like a son to yours. lol As far as percentage, Id say I play this babe 99% of the time unplugged. Originally Posted by Trapland
Last edited by fathand; 10-25-2016 at 08:37 AM. Reason: Added date of Gib
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As someone who has put a f&@$load of time and energy developing an acoustic guitar that sounds and plays like an archtop, I pretty much never plug in, but then again, I'm not a gigging musician playing with a band.
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Honestly, I can't even play my archtops unplugged without being bothered in the evening. And it's not a testimony how great and loud the guitars are, but rather how shitty the building is. Or how shitty my neighbors are. Originally Posted by John A.
We can leave a TV blasting all night, and they never complain, but playing music- and they call the cops. They did when I was listening to WBGO jazz station on my desk top computer. Am I the only guy in the world who got called the cops on for listening to jazz ?? lol
So the only guitar I can play at night is my tele plugged in direct to my Mac, with headphones on.
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Can you use your guitars purely acoustically in an ensemble with a quiet drummer, and still hear them on single note solos? What type of an ensemble and room would they sound ideal in? Originally Posted by rlrhett
As someone who has put a f&@$load of time and energy developing an acoustic guitar that sounds and plays like an archtop, I pretty much never plug in, but then again, I'm not a gigging musician playing with a band.
Are the ones with a built-in pickup as loud as the ones without one when they're played acoustically?
Are there any feedback problems when using them with a pickup?
Can you hear them online anywhere?
Are there any dealers selling them in the NYC area?
How much is your basic acoustic model?
What gauge strings do the acoustic ones require?
Thanks, in advance.
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When I played mostly Broadway of Godin 5th ave I played unplugged all the time... they had nice tone and were loud enough even for small acoustic gig
I think Sco once said in an interview that he had problems controlling sustain on stage because he mostly practiced unplugged... and with and amp you have 'a real beast to tame'
So I just try to dedicated some time especially for playing with an amp...
Besides I love how my semi-hollow Ibanez sounds with an amp)))
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Was it the jazz police? Perhaps you were listening to Kenny G. Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
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Yeah, very sensible... I have similar issues. Originally Posted by citizenk74
Yeah, it's those annoying little details that even a little amplification brings out. The main reason I rarely played at stage volume at home is that what you think is plenty loud for whatever just disappears when the rest of the band kicks in. My solution was to point my amp at my ears and let the FOH person do the work. If FOH was unavailable, I tilted the amp towards the ceiling for maximum dispersion and sat to the left of it, prepared to turn counter clockwise to nip incipient feedback in the bud. If other band members asked me to turn up, I angled the amp more toward them. Actually turning up was always a last resort for me.
Amp stand is a good investment....
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I keep telling myself to plug in more often, but 90% of the time I don't do it just to keep the volume down. (I wish that my neighbor would do the same!) That said, I put the utmost importance on my guitar's tone, set up, etc., to get good acoustic sound out of them be they archtop or solid body.
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Yes, they are. I have gone through many types and sizes. One recurring snag at chez k is the tendency of amp stands to magically morph into plant stands under the spell of my lovely wife's green thumb. Fortunately, I'm an oxygen breather, so the plants are ok by me. I also like sleeping indoors. Originally Posted by christianm77
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I almost never plug in, largely because of neighbors/shared walls, etc.
But I also think that if you can get a good tone out of a guitar unplugged, you shouldn't have too much trouble with it plugged in. I do think you need to plug in once in a while just to make sure your setup is right. (At one recent jam session, I took the Ibby, and my amp was set up for the Tele. WAAAAAY too boomy on the low strings). I take the point about being amplified brining out some of the nuances, but it also covers up some nuances, especially if your amp compresses a bit like a lot of tube amps do.
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If I am trying to seriously learn something or performance play a piece (not that I perform outside my house
)but you get the idea) I am plugged in most of time these days . D'angelico EXL-1 with a Shadow Zollar AZ48 floating pickup into a Empress Para EQ into a Roland Blues Cube BC60 Clean channel with a Eminence Legend 1258 . I think I can hear soooo much more tonal variation and available palette than unplugged. I think it keeps me honest since I can hear every fluffed/muffled chord note, every poorly fretted note etc etc . I like playing that is very clearly voiced/articulated and full of deliberate subtle tonalities . While I love my guitar unplugged it really only becomes really alive when amplified I think it was designed that way
Will
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