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My duo partner has had good luck with both a Taylor 914 as well as a Breedlove (don't know the model). We don't play mainstream jazz but we mix in some Acoustic Alchemy, Pat Metheny and Lee Ritenour stuff in with singer/songwriter music but will also veer off into the Dead, Goose, Traffic if the mood hits. Both his guitars are run through a Zoom AC3 Acoustic Creator pedal into a Loudbox Performer and the range of sounds he gets is unbelievable. We'll both do a couple solo numbers as well and that rig played fingerstyle just kills on songs like Fly Me To the Moon.
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04-22-2026 08:16 PM
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Wow.. Fractal. Dark side of the force. Look forward to hearing what you think of it.
Originally Posted by Alter
For what it's worth I've been using a Yamaha DZR10 for awhile and I'm pretty happy with it. Flexible inputs. Thoughtful handle design and placement making it much easier carry about. Also two different openings on the bottom for a speaker stand. One straight and another that angles the speaker slightly downward. A consideration if you play in small to large spaces. Liking the 10" for guitar.
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PRS SE with a Piezo? However I do think the point about strumming and long scale being better is a good one
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I still think it’s worth trying out one of those Fender Acoustasonics. Don’t let the cheap price tag fool you.
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I get good mileage from my Ortega Tour Player nylon, but with hand issues I'd check out the Ibanez Tim Henson, might be easier to play.
Originally Posted by Spook410
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I greatly appreciate all the help.
Yesterday, I went to Guitar Center where I was able to try the low end Tele shaped Acoustasonic. The action was typical for acoustic guitars, or maybe a little lower, but it was a strain on my hands, which are arthritic and used to very low electric action with lightish strings. It didn't sound like a Martin flattop, but it sounded good.
I tried a couple of Taylors and a few others. A Martin seemed best of all, but had that same action issue. And, the bridges aren't adjustable. I'd guess it's shaving the bottom of the saddle or resetting the neck?
So I didn't buy anything.
This morning, I asked chatgpt for advice on getting an acoustic tone from my gear. The AI software continues to boggle my mind. It recommended specific settings for the Joyo American, 6 band EQ on the JBL and went through how to find optimal settings on my mixer. I dutifully entered all the values but the result was no better than flat EQ on the JBL with some minor movement of the guitar's treble cut and the Joyo's 3 band.
The problem was that the Comins GCS-1 sounded harsh and I couldn't dial it out. The coil split didn't help.
Then, I plugged in my Yamaha Pacifica 012 (the cheapie) with the Lil 59 HB pickup. Dialed most of the treble out with the tone control on the guitar (more or less the opposite of what chatgpt recommended). It didn't sound like an acoustic guitar, but it didn't sound harsh. Way better than the Comins. Usable. Moreover, the same tone setting worked for tunes from different genres. From How About You, to Addicted to Love, to Feel Like Making Love to Dock of the Bay.
ME70 was addiing reverb and provided the volume pedal. The Joyo had level at 3, voice and drive at 9 (clock face) and the EQ near noon, with some minor tweaking. Ran the JBL flat. The Yamaha rolled off a little treble, added a bit of compression and provided some additional reverb (RevRoom1, which is type 3).
I don't think I've yet found the optimal solution, but I crossed the line from not-giggable to giggable.
Unclear to me what the difference really is. The Yamaha is much lighter. It's a narrow humbucker, not full width. Neck is bolted-on, not set. Scale length is longer. These factors strike me as influencing the sound. There may be others.
The Yamaha neck is thinner in every dimension, and feels super comfortable. That may help the sound indirectly.
For jazz, the Comins has consistently sounded appreciably better than the Yamaha when A/B'ed. But, not for this guitar and vocal application.
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One guitar which provides tremendous flexibility is the Godin Multiac. The standard Multiac is 50mm at the nut which my arthritic hands couldn't deal with, but their newer "slim" version is 43mmIf that had been out when I was in the market I would have grabbed it. . I currently play on a 48mm nylon and it's not too bad. The nylon strings will be easier on your hands and even though the action may appear higher I find it is still easier to play. I heard a guy in Cali play everything from classical pieces to hard rock using one, couldn't believe he got all that from one guitar. It might be worth a try just make sure it's the Slim version lol. Here's some info I found;
Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
Just a moment...
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Typically you shave the bottom of the saddle. I've done this, and it works. There are some flattops with adjustable saddles (e.g., 60's Gibsons and copies there of), but these usually don't have much adjustment range. A neck reset is usually a last resort for a guitar on which the neck has shifted upwards over time, not something you would do on a new guitar.
Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
If you really have your heart set on buying something, there are pedals that emulate the sound of an acoustic guitar, e.g., Boss AC3.
Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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One reason this is a great suggestion is that I already have one. Nylon SA.
Originally Posted by StormyMonday
Was my main guitar for a few years. But started to hurt my hands. I have not tried the narrower neck version though. Thanks, good idea.
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Thanks. I'll try that. I
Originally Posted by John A.
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Usually on stock acoustics both the saddle and the nut height can be trimmed once you buy them. But you have to know how to do it and have the proper tools, nut for obvious reasons, saddle especially if there's a transducer underneath it has to touch perfectly otherwise the electric sound will be problematic.
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You beat me to it. Tele in the neck/bridge position.
Originally Posted by AllanAllen
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So far, the best sound has come from this.
>Yamaha Paciifica 012 with Duncan Lil 59 in the neck position. Tone control between midway and full treble.
>ME70 with harmonizer on zero, dialed fairly wet, and adding a bit of reverb
> Joyo American, mids dialed down to 10 am (clock face). Treble at 11, Bass at 1. Voice and drive at 9 and level at 3
>Yamaha mixer adding a little more reverb with treble at 10:30 > JBL Eon One, run with bass rolled off between 90 and 400 (-5db at 90 and -3db at 400.
A lot of detail, but the big change was rolling off mids on the Joyo and maybe the tone control on the guitar. That gave me the chime I was missing ,making the rig sound more like an acoustic guitar. It also took the mud out of the harmonizer setting, which had been okay on single notes but a bit unpleasant (in a way I can't describe) on chords, especially strumming.
Regarding how user friendly this is, well, not so great. It's pedalboard, Joyo, Mixer, Powered Speaker. I need the tuner, volume pedal (which I ride), harmonizer and reverb from the pedalboard. I need the warmth from the Joyo and the mid cut. Maybe I could use the JBL's internal mixer rather than the Yamaha, but on a gig I'd rather use the old fashioned interface of the Yamaha (knobs) than the JBL phone app, although the phone app does work.
The Yamaha has a reverb cut pedal which I'd use if there wasn't already too much stuff on the floor. It's there to help avoid unitelligible announcements. Reverb tends to make speech harder to decipher.
Gain structure becomes relevant with the following volume controls.
Guitar -- has one.
ME70 -- a lot of things can affect volume, but I only use two. Output level and volume pedal position.
Joyo -- Level and Drive.
Yamaha, channel gain, channel level, master
JBL, channel level, master level.
That's 10 volume controls.
I mention it because the system hisses -- and that seems to be in the ME70.
Another issue is that the Joyo's knobs move very easily. Too easily for my comfort. Easy for them to get knocked out of position, and if you don't notice, it could be bad.
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Currently I have been digging my Eastman Les Paul Junior copy SB55V. A well known characteristic of Juniors is their versatility including the ability to sound like an acoustic by rolling down the volume and tone. I can attest to the fact that this works. So if short scale and electric playability are requirements a Junior might be cool. I find that the “feel” of the wrap around bridge makes for good strumming too. The Eastman comes with a 50’s low wind P90 so plenty of clean sounds are available. And yes Teles can do everything but I find strumming a Junior to feel more natural.
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Gadzooks that's complicated. I don't know whether to applaud you or call the mental health authorities.
Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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If you like the sound, applaud, if you don't, make the phone call.
Originally Posted by John A.
So far, for instrumental gigs and rehearsals I'm leaving out the Yamaha mixer. The JBL contains a full featured mixer although I think the Yamaha sounds a little warmer.
So, it's guitar>ME70>Joyo>JBL, which may be sane.
The Joyo, btw, adds a low frequency random popping sound. It's kind of at the level of background hiss, and wouldn't be noticeable on a bar gig, but it's there and annoying. OTOH, what can you expect for that kind of money?
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I haven't made the call yet, but I'm keeping a butterfly net at the ready. I haven't noticed that with my Joyo, but I haven't used it all that much.
Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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I'm thinking, what would a minimal rig that could function equivalently look like.
Originally Posted by John A.
I need: clean, harmonizer, volume pedal (I have four patches on my ME70 but I could live with harmonizer or/off). I use the tuner in the ME70. I need to be able to EQ the overall sound in different ways and I need amplification for guitar and vocals (often, two mics) and announcements. Lightweight and loud enough.
The Joyo allows me to get a warm sound from a powered speaker that works for vocals.
So, guitar, tuner on the guitar, harmonizer, volume pedal and something like a Bud 6 or 10 could work, but I'd need something to mix in the second mic. And, there are those other ME70 patches -- and availability of other effects if ever need them. And, finally, that I had to dime the Blu to keep up with my big band and I didn't love the sound.
Maybe a different pedalboard would be good enough to replace both the ME70 and the Joyo and still be all-knobs.
My conclusion is that my current rig is not so far-fetched given the specs for the job.
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Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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I guess I'm a bit more complexity averse when it comes to gigging rigs. But I do try stuff ...
Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
For amplifying vocals, I have a TC Helicon Voicesolo FX150, which is a mini-PA/personal-monitor that has built in compression, eq, and reverb. Even though it's relatively low powered, I've found it to be loud enough even for full blues-band gigs. It has 2 combo inputs, one of which is switchable between high and low z.
Usually, I just put vocals through it and use a guitar amp for my guitar, but At a recent (ish) guitar duo gig where I also sang, I dispensed with the guitar amp, and put both vocals and guitar into the TC, with the guitar first going into a pedalboard. That went Joyo American Sound -> EHX Canyon Delay->Digitech RV-7. I found myself fiddling the the Joyo quite a bit, and never being fully happy with it. I went back to using a separate guitar amp at a different gig (with a pianist instead of another guitarist) in the same venue, and I was happier with that (with no real difference in the gear-schlepping factor).
For my blues band gigs, I've typically used a guitar amp and just an OD pedal (with vocals going through the TC). At a recent gig, though, I brought the pedal board adding a JHS Harmonic Tremelo and two OD pedals while dropping the Joyo. It was cool to be able to throw in some different sounds, but in the end too much bother for me. I guess in the end I'm a simple amp + 1 pedal kinda guy.
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The idea of pedalboard>Joyo American>PA-equivalent seems to be a theme for both of us.
I've been playing big band this way, running the Joyo into the hiZ input of the JBL. I end up having to run the channel and master of the JBL pretty hot and may not have quite enough volume for solos. If I put it all through the mixer, I can go into a low Z channel and I seem to end up with more volume, if I need it.
But, frankly, I haven't mastered this rig yet. Yesterday, in a rehearsal, I couldn't get happy with the sound. Frustrated, I ended up going ME70> LJ instead and wasn't happy with that either. Mood? Sunspots? Some mistake in the knob-tweaking?
The Joyo adds some hiss and, intermittently, some low frequency rumble, clicks/pops. I like that it warms up the sound, but I'm not happy with the noise. It's loud enough that eliminating it with the noisegate in the ME70 affects the tone.
On the positive side, it's cheap. And, reducing the midrange allows me to get something that I hear as an acoustic-like sound out of my Yamaha Pacifica, but not the Comins GCS-1.
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I do it on January 1st, because that's an even easier date to remember, and because you can still change batteries with a hangover.

But the important thing is to develop a routine/ritual, and stick to it regardless of whether your batteries need changing or not.
Last January 1st I did an experiment, and I measured the output of the old batteries that I had removed from my instruments with a DC voltmeter. Out of ~10 batteries that I had pulled out, 7 or 8 of them still were putting out 8.9 volts or more. (That's eight-point-nine, not "eight or nine"). The 2 or 3 remaining were putting out less than 8.0 volts, and not surprisingly, those were from the instruments I use the most.
The new batteries I installed were all putting out more than 9.0 volts...but just barely.
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Yes, but I haven't really committed to it. There are situations (e.g., tiny bandstand) where a separate vocal and guitar amp is impractical and I've tried it, but with an electric guitar I prefer just using a guitar amp to trying to trying to replicate the sound of one with pedals.
For the question that kicked off the thread (trying to get a more acoustic sound out of an electric guitar), I don't have the same issue with my hands that you do, so I just play an acoustic guitar. Mine has a pickup built in, and I guess I'd just plug it into my PA if I were to use it on a gig. But I haven't performed music calling for that sound in ages. For the vocals I do (either jazz tunes or electric blues) I'm happy with an electric guitar sound as accompaniment.
At pretty much any gig or session I do, there's likely to be a point where something bothers me about my sound. At that point, if I have a lot of devices in the signal chain I can get myself into a lot more trouble with knob twiddling than I would with just an amp. I guess if I truly committed to a pedalboard with several things on it I'd get better at managing that. A part of me wants to go that way because I do like to be able to change the timbre here and there or add a particular effect to a particular song/section. But a part of me really resists it in favor of simplicity.Last edited by John A.; 05-15-2026 at 02:09 PM.
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Update.
The clicks and pops I thought were from the Joyo went away. I thought it was the Joyo but I've used it for hours now with no problem. So, now I'm not sure what it was.
I also finally got a good enough sound for comping. From my Yamaha Pacifica 012 with a Lil 59. The ME70 adds harmonizer on zero and the Joyo is set to play pretty clean, but the mids are turned down to 9 o'clock. Sounds good enough that way. In contrast, with the mids at noon, the sound just didnt work for backing vocals. It sounds better for this purpose than the Comins GCS-1. The Comins sounds better for jazz.
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I finally got the Rcf 708 mk V, really like it, lots of bass and clarity for heavy looping. I mean, jazz is easy, you just play a walking bass style and solo on top. But pop or neo soul stuff is more demanding. Next upgrade i'm getting noiselesss pickups for the tele, not a huge fan but hotel gigs need them with the lights, bad power etc.. Getting Joe Barden Danny Gatton Tele modern set which i've played on a Tele and are great for this music and looping.
Still undecided about the Fractal AM4 as i need two processing paths one for guitar and one for the bass, and the HX Stomp would be ideal. But not sure i will even like digital with this setup, i tried Tonex one, hated it and went back to the Quilter Phantom Block. Here is a small video that the violinist took, it's the Rcf and the Quilter DI (clean or with a bit of boost - was either a blackstone overdrive or a Zendrive, still searching on boosts). Doesn't sound bad, i can gig this sound.
https://imgur.com/a/n0qZu7Q



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