acoustic guitar simulator pedals.

midlifecrisis

given that most acoustic guitars don't really sound that natural going through pa at open mic and jam nights, does anyone here use a pedal with an electric guitar for solo performance?  tell me about it.

UnclePsychosis

I haven't used it live but I really like the acoustic sim on the Zoom G3. Through headphones at least it sounds fairly convincing, especially if you add a bit of EQ and compression. 

midlifecrisis

ha, been fighting off GAS for getting one of those but could be another justification for getting it

PolarityMan

I used one in a band for a while, boss acoustic simulator into a behringer acoustc preamp pedal directly to PA. It doesnt sound anything like an acoustic but it did at least allow the sound guy to process the DI signal. these days i just use a coil tap and hope for the best

ICBM

They sound really poor if you listen to them in isolation, but not too bad in a band mix. That probably means they won't be great as a solo/duo solution without the rest of the band though - but I've never tried it because they sound so horrible in isolation that I've never wanted to. Invariably thin, tinny and artificial.

I actually prefer DI'ing a clean electric guitar - it's best to use a semi-acoustic, usually on the neck pickup. It doesn't really sound any less like an acoustic, and it does sound plain better. I've used a Rickenbacker very successfully like this, both purely as an "acoustic" and with the stereo outputs to split the neck pickup to the DI and the bridge to an amp simulator, for a blended acoustic and electric sound.

The odd thing is that acoustic simulator pedals sound very good for running an electro-acoustic guitar through an electric guitar amp, for some reason I don't quite understand! I've tried several different ones and they all sound good for that.

midlifecrisis

not really too concerned about sounding exactly like an acoustic but just thinking for solo performances at open mics where i usually use an electro acoustic (with an under the bridge piezo) would a strat thru an acoustic sim pedal be acceptable?

ICBM

midlifecrisis said:

not really too concerned about sounding exactly like an acoustic but just thinking for solo performances at open mics where i usually use an electro acoustic (with an under the bridge piezo) would a strat thru an acoustic sim pedal be acceptable?

See if you can borrow one to try before you buy.

In my opinion, no. You'd be better off just DI'ing the Strat, possibly with a bit of EQ.

Why not just use the electro though? If you think it doesn't sound natural, an acoustic simulator will be worse. Or you may just need a better electro or a better preamp...

Jeremiah

I can't fathom why anyone would want to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic. I guess acoustics are great for places that don't have electricity like the middle of fields or beaches, but if you have amplification available, why not use a guitar that was designed to be amplified?

With a basic amp sim pedal or modeller, or even just into the PA, I reckon a Strat will still sound better than anything except a high end acoustic.

But that's just me… I guess acoustic guitars just aren't my thing.

ICBM

Jeremiah said:

I can't fathom why anyone would want to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic. I guess acoustics are great for places that don't have electricity like the middle of fields or beaches, but if you have amplification available, why not use a guitar that was designed to be amplified?

With a basic amp sim pedal or modeller, or even just into the PA, I reckon a Strat will still sound better than anything except a 

Rickenbacker .

Or maybe a 335-type, although I haven't tried that. Or - seriously - a Les Paul Recording or Signature, these have low-impedance pickups and were specifically designed to be DI'd. I had a Signature not long ago and it sounded fantastic DI'd - you could go direct from a pseudo-acoustic sound to full-on electric just with the impedance control on the guitar. (Sadly I couldn't get on with the neck profile, or I'd still have it.)

I agree with you actually… I love that in-between acoustic and electric sound, but I really can't stand the sound of most electro-acoustics.

I've said this before, but if God had intended acoustic guitars to be plugged in he wouldn't have invented the Telecaster .

(Actually Teles sound good DI'd as well, better than Strats I think.)

joeyowen

I used to use a Boss ac3 ( or 2, can't remember) and it was ok.   Humbuckers sounded crap, single coils ok

All it really did was take most bass out and give it a faux 'brightness' by ramping the treble.

In a band mix, ok, but a no no on solo act.  Tbh, if you have an acoustic that doesn't sound great, most people won't notice, however use an electric, try and make it sound like an acoustic and it sounds bad, people will wonder what the fuck eh

Richardj

I know @ICBM doesn't like them but...... I have a Boss AC-3 and using the middle pickup of any of my Strats into a decent amp it sounds close enough to me. The only setting that really works for me is the 'enhanced' and you need to carefully set body and top knobs to get a good balance. The AC-3 isn't good with a piezo and pre amp, it overloads too easily and sounds nasty. It does have a seperate output to go to an acoustic amp or desk which is handy.

hywelg

I got a Mooer Akoustikar just to try it out. Its pretty good to be fair to it, it sounds much more like an acoustic than the peizo output from my Godin. It does a number of different flavours, though the output level is not quite enough to cut through in a band, but standalone its fine.

Grumpyrocker

The Zoom G3 has a pretty decent acoustic sim in it. I often use it with the built-in looper, and then one of the pitch shifters to loop some bass in too.

midlifecrisis

thanks for everyones input. I guess its more about finding a tone I like, rather than trying to copy a sound. I probably could do with a better acoustic/preamp but I like my gear otherwise. im looking foraward to trying out someones  g3 zoom in a week or two so il hold off until then

hugbot

Jeremiah said:

I can't fathom why anyone would want to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic. I guess acoustics are great for places that don't have electricity like the middle of fields or beaches, but if you have amplification available, why not use a guitar that was designed to be amplified?

With a basic amp sim pedal or modeller, or even just into the PA, I reckon a Strat will still sound better than anything except a high end acoustic.

But that's just me… I guess acoustic guitars just aren't my thing.

Acoustics and electric guitar have different purposes in a band mix really, electrics jump right out wheras acoustics sit back more. 

Like those really shitty country rock songs where they constantly have an acoustic guitar buried somewhere in the mix to make everything sound "bigger".