Acoustic Through a Tube Amp?

[omphalopsychos]

Has anyone tried playing an acoustic with a magnetic pickup through a tube amp?

I absolutely love the sound of this recording, but I don't know how realistic it is to expect a similar sound. The amp used is a Fender Princeton Reverb. I wonder if he has a lot of EQ in the signal path before the amp. I don't have a magnetic acoustic pickup to try it out, but I'm considering getting one if the blend really sounds this cool.

[Sam Sherry]

Wow, that is gorgeous!

I don't think you're hearing a tube amp there. Gear-wise, that is the sound of:
. Luthier-built acoustic guitar
. Magnetic pickup -- possibly a Sunrise, which are $275-350
. DI box for mag pickup
. Microphone -- anybody's guess
. Mixing setup, either physical, digital or both
. EQ, a touch of digital reverb and some compression to record with TONS of compression for the internet

The sounds we dig become broad targets, not focused deliverables. Because in a live setting, move ten feet back and fifteen feet to the left and that same performance sounds dramatically different (but just as musical).

Cherchez les tons!

[Doublea A]

I am not sure of the mixing magic that was used for those recordings but I have never had success with an acoustic instrument through a tube amp.
I usually use amps made for acoustic instruments.
Namely a Fender Acoustisonic and a JazzKat Acoustikat.


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[destinytot]

Gorgeous sound. Pretty sure an acoustic amp + pedal for grit + decent reverb will cover.

[r_cc_c]

listed on UT

Equipment Used in this Production:

- Royer R-122
- Shure SM57
- Neumann TLM 103
- Chandler Limited TG2 Preamp
- Fender Princeton Reverb

[omphalopsychos]

Sorry, I should have been clear about the hardware when I originally posted. The gear used is in the description of the video. The amp is a Fender Princeton Reverb. The pickup is not expensive ($140 DiMarzio pickup). There are three mics: a ribbon and a dynamic on the amp, and a condenser on the guitar. r_cc_cc thanks for also pointing out the same.

[John A.]

Has anyone tried playing an acoustic with a magnetic pickup through a tube amp?

I absolutely love the sound of this recording, but I don't know how realistic it is to expect a similar sound. The amp used is a Fender Princeton Reverb. I wonder if he has a lot of EQ in the signal path before the amp. I don't have a magnetic acoustic pickup to try it out, but I'm considering getting one if the blend really sounds this cool.

Yes. I've used a few different soundhole pickups with acoustic guitars into tube amps, SS amps, and PAs. I find the sound generally to be similar to an archtop with a floater. Gabor Szabo and Leo Kottke are probably better known for doing this than I am, though.

John

[icr]

Don't know about the amp, but steel-string classical makes me think of Barrios.

[Longways to Go]

I'm curious about the guitar . . . steel string masquerading as a nylon, or is it nylon string?

I play steel string acoustic into tube amps and SS jazz oriented amps (as opposed the acoustic amps) all the time.
I find it works great for me, at least in the quiet art gallery setting where I frequently play. I don't use a soundhole pickup, but the typical undersaddle piezo systems, and I will say that they vary greatly in delivering a "jazz tone". It's not quite like an archtop, but if I ask my sax or bass player, they don't even notice a difference! I do have an old Bill Lawrence soundhole pickup that sounds just great, but I find it inconvenient compared to the built in piezo electronics.

When I started exploring this path, I stumbled across a Utube video by some lady blues guitarist (sorry I don't remember the name). She played her acoustic through a PRRI, a Blues Driver and a Fulltone Univibe IIRC. . . sounded good and got me started thinking a bit more unconventionally about how to amp up an acoustic.

If you are doing jazz and don't want too much of that acoustic "sparkle", it's a viable option.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I've never had much luck trying that, and I've done it over the years with several different rigs. I'd rather just use an acoustic amp or a DI box into the PA.

[feet]

i've recently done a butt load of research using various flat top acoustics with different pickups into my trusty old jc77. long story short, the dumb old magnetic soundhole pick up (a fishman neo-d, in this case) slaughtered the competition. wasn't even close. the undersaddle (element vtc) and soundboard transducer (k&K mini) were about tied for second (but still pretty far back) and the internal mic (lr baggs lyric) was a distant last. i did run all of them through a tube overdrive pedal, which provided richness and on board compression. not sure what it means but it is interesting to note in this context. i suspect that soundhole pickups somehow work better through amps (electric, at least) while the others excel at going into a pa or flat response type of thing, but i can't really prove that yet.

as far as tube amps are concerned, the only serious testing i've done on that guy is with my floater (g400 with usa kent armstrong) into the fenderesque clean channel of my 100 watt set up. and yes, that works. really, really well, provided you eq the thing correctly. as good as i've heard it sound, really. it isn't bad through the jc77 (although it requires an entirely different eq setting than the flat tops) but it just works better through the tubes.

[John A.]

I'm curious about the guitar . . . steel string masquerading as a nylon, or is it nylon string?

I thought it might be a Gurian (some of which have a classical shape), but doing an image search I don't see any with a slotted peghead or a fingerboard flush with the sound hole. I think it's probably a modded classical + very light strings (or maybe silk and steels). With a replacement bridge, beefed up bridge plate, and strings with low tension, a classical would probably hold up.

John

[Thumpalumpacus]

I thought it might be a Gurian (some of which have a classical shape), but doing an image search I don't see any with a slotted peghead or a fingerboard flush with the sound hole. I think it's probably a modded classical + very light strings (or maybe silk and steels). With a replacement bridge, beefed up bridge plate, and strings with low tension, a classical would probably hold up.

John

Maybe things have changed since when I was younger, but we were always decidedly advised against such a conversion, because the internal bracing was likelier to fail. Can't say what the guitar in the video is, but it sure sounds great.

[John A.]

Maybe things have changed since when I was younger, but we were always decidedly advised against such a conversion, because the internal bracing was likelier to fail. Can't say what the guitar in the video is, but it sure sounds great.

I think that advice still holds, but a particularly sturdily built classical might hold up with very low-tension steel strings. Or maybe this guy is willing to sacrifice a guitar for the sake of experiment/art.

John

[Greentone]

I used to gig some with a Guild with a DeArmond sound hole pu into a blackface Deluxe Reverb. It sounded pretty good.

[mr. beaumont]

Not hearing much tube amp here.

[fep]

Gabor Szabo did this. Flatop with magnetic pu through a Fender Super Reverb. More of an electric sound than an acoustic sound at least to my ears.

[omphalopsychos]

I find it interesting that people don't hear an amp in this mix. For reference, here's what the guitar sounds like with no amp.

I agree that the amp is probably very low in the mix but it's undeniably there. The strictly acoustic recording sounds like a standard acoustic guitar recording. The blended sounds like when you play in a small room with an archtop that has a floating magnetic pup and playing with the amp at a low volume (except that it's a flat top in this case).

For the record, the guitar is a standard acoustic steel string guitar, probably with a truss rod and all. The design is essentially OM body with a neck connecting at the 12th fret and a slotted headstock. You could say it looks like a classical, or you could say it looks like a parlor with the body of an OM.

Anyway, the real showcase here is that of Mike Moreno's playing.

[r_cc_c]

On the Mike Moreno video, the microphone looks like a Neumann TLM170.
I don't think this is a TLM103

[cosmic gumbo]

I own, and have used a Sigma ((Martin) flat top with a Duncan magnetic single coil soundhole pup straight into Fender 6V6 tube amps. Sounds like an amplified flat top, finger style sounds pretty sweet, can be played hard with a pick and begins to sound more like an electric. I've pondered about giving it a go at a big band rehearsal.

[pauln]

I also have had a Sigma (Martin) Dm-18 since about 1980... real nice. I'm tempted to try playing it using a mic to the amp, inspired by this video of Kenny Burrell doing it in this video that showed up in another thread. I like the sound of it!