Could someone explain to me the difference between an acoustic with pre-amp and an acoustic with pickups?
Also could someone tell me what a ghost note is. Or at least I think that's what it's called, they're the notes that are written in brackets.
Thank you.
"Hey Hey My My ... Rock and Roll can never die" Neil Young
Hi,
Here's an answer on Guitarnoise about ghost notes
David Hodge's article on ghost notes
Not sure about the amp one. the pre-amp ones seem to need batteries, but that doesn't help much.... Maybe it's so that more sensitive or subtle pickups can be used to try and capture the full acoustic feel, and then have the signal beefed up a bit before going to the amp? Or maybe I should shut up about things I clearly know nothing about.... 8)
Interesting question though. Off to Google....
So far all I have found is a description telling me that it's for conditioning this signal so that it is appropriate for amplifiers
Apparently acoustic buffs are never quite satisfied with electronically amplified versions of the natural sound, and this is one way to try and get a better result. Or so I've read. Back to Google....
Maybe it's as with active pups on electrics: boosting the signal allows you to end it to your amp with less noise.
I found a couple of articles which seem to say the same thing; it's not about boosting the signal, it's about matching impedance.
In most cases, the need for a "preamp" isn't because the pickup needs a boost -- it's a matter of matching the impedance of the pickup to the amplifier's input.
Keep in mind that when you plug something into an amplifier, it becomes part of the circuit, and that circuit is designed for a specific impedance range. If there is a mismatch, problems result.
...
So it's no wonder odd things happen. They can also often have a frequency response bump that further contributes to the odd sound -- that brittle, raspy, all highs and no lows sound that makes you think you have a bad pickup. Probably not -- you just need a buffering/impedance matching preamp. You can improve the sound by EQ'ing it to death, but it still isn't the same.
The main problem with piezos is that they are extremely high impedance devices. As such, the frequency response you can practically use is greatly affected by where the piezo output is sent. It takes a very high input impedance to match the high output impedance, in order to prevent severe low end roll off. Otherwise the result is that typical, honking 'cardboard' sound of guitars with piezos with no matching preamplifier.
...
The preamp is necessary to buffer (match) the electrical characteristics of the pickup with the outside world, so that it can sound as good as possible. The difference between a buffered pickup signal and an un-buffered one, using no gain or EQ, is like that between night and day.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Well thanks guys. :wink:
"Hey Hey My My ... Rock and Roll can never die" Neil Young
