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having trouble with my takamine *please help!!*

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(@clocho)
Active Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 4
Topic starter  

hey..
about 6 months ago i bought a Takamine G-Series EG260C-BK acoustic guitar.
( http://www.takamine.com/?fa=detail&mid=2312&sid=525 )

At the time, in the shop, i thought it sounded amazing.. but now after hearing a few other similar acoustic guitars i think it sounds very twangy and 'metallicy'.
Is there anyway i can improve its sound - make it have a fuller tone and better 'ring to it' ??
I was thinking that maybe if i bought some new , different strings it may help but i wouldn;t know what to buy.. ? can anyone help.?

And also , whenever i plug it into my Marshall MG Series 15 DFX amp it sounds very fuzzy, and tinny, squeaks and just sounds rubbsih. Is there a way to fix this? Would a new amp fix the problem and if so could anyone point me in the right direction.

thanks Chloe

(As you can tell i am pretty useless when it comes to the 'technical' side of guitars so any help would be greatly appreciated :D )


   
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(@twistedlefty)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 4113
 

did it just now start sounding bad?
you said you've had it for 6 months.

is this undesirable tone happening only when you plug it in to your amp, or unplugged as well?
have you tried new/different strings?

the preamp that these come with is pretty good, but not the top of their line.
i would consider getting an eq pedal like the fish&chips by danelectro.

if you have more to spend seriously consider upgrading to an "acoustic amp" as well.

#4491....


   
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(@clocho)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 4
Topic starter  

thanks for the reply/..

it sounds bad both plugged in and unplugged - more so when it is plugged in though.
it has sounded like this the whole time i have had it: i just didnt realise how bad it was compared to other similar guitars..

if i were to get new strings could you recommend which ones would be good?

and do you know if an Hamer Echotone electric guitar would sound equally as good through an acoustic amp?

- what is a preamp? :oops:
- and what would an eq pedal do?

(sorry im pretty useless at this)

thanks


   
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(@greybeard)
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Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5840
 

it sounds bad both plugged in and unplugged - more so when it is plugged in though.
it has sounded like this the whole time i have had it: i just didnt realise how bad it was compared to other similar guitars..

OK, unplugged - try some new strings. If you can manage it get a slightly heavier set than you have now. If you have 11s, get 12s. That will fatten it up a bit.
Someone will correct me if I have it backwards, but putting Phosphor-Bronze strings on rather than pure Bronze will fatten up the sound a bit.

Ok, now plugged. The first step is to get rid of any gain. Turn the gain on the amp down to 0 and the master volume to 3. Turn the volume on the guitar to about 6 or 7. Strum a chord and hear nothing from the amp, because the gain is zeroed. So strum again and, with the chord still ringing turn up the gain slowly until you can hear the guitar, from the speaker.
It may not be loud, but it should be clean - is it? If it is, we take it another step forward. If not, we'll have to think of something else :shock: :shock:
if i were to get new strings could you recommend which ones would be good?

I have Martin Phosphor-Bronze on my acoustic - 12's.
and do you know if an Hamer Echotone electric guitar would sound equally as good through an acoustic amp?

Electric guitars will sound basically the same as through an "electric" amp, the sound will be very clean, that's all. You find it harder to get any crunch or overdrive.
- what is a preamp? :oops:
- and what would an eq pedal do?

A pre-amp prepares the signal, from the guitar, for the power amp. It boosts the signal and converts the electric signal, so that the power amp can further amplify the sound. It can also be used to create so much pre-amplification, that the signal distorts and creates overdrive, crunch or distortion, depending on the level.

The "gain" knob is simply a volume control for the pre-amp - by ramping the pre-amp volume up, you create the conditions for distorting the signal - which is what you are currently getting from your amp.

Your amp has a single band equaliser or a 3-band equaliser, already built in. Tha amp makers call the 3 bands bass, middle and treble (the single band is called "Tone")
So an equaliser is just a really flash kind of tone stack, like you have on your amp. The Dano EQ pedal has 7 frequency bands that can be, either, boosted or attenuated (throttled), which gives you far more control over the quality of the signal.
They are relatively cheap, but amazingly useful.
(sorry im pretty useless at this)
thanks
Don't apologise, we all stood, where you are now standing.

I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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(@clocho)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 4
Topic starter  

thank you :D

i plugged it in.. and did the things you said. But to turn up the gain knob i have to switch on the 'over drive' button (now to be honest i have no idea what this means but it seems to make the sound fuzzier and more 'rocky' on my electric...) so when i turned up the gain for my acoustic it went fuzzy still.. ? :S

any ideas?? :S

thanks for the tips about the strings i will definatly try that :)


   
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(@twistedlefty)
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Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 4113
 

thanx greybeard , nuff said. :wink:
i would add that your Tak probably has the TP4T preamp, which has a basic 3 band EQ built in as well as a tuner.
i'm not sure, but i think that if the tuner button is pressed it may bypass the EQ.
make sure you do not have the tuner button depressed when trying to adjust the EQ.

#4491....


   
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(@greybeard)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5840
 

OK, you need to switch the OD select "off". The overdrive "gain" and "volume" can be set to 0, I think - they should make no difference. Set the clean volume to 3 or 4 (not too loud) and your guitar to about half way. The EQ section should all be set to 5 (straight up) and FX level should be 0.

Does that give you a clean sound?

If the sound is clean but tinny, you can increase the bass a little and roll off the treble a little.

I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN


   
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(@clocho)
Active Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 4
Topic starter  

thanks a lot greybeard and twistedlefty..

it is a lot better than before with those settings but i think i will get those new strings you mentioned as well :)

- if i were to get a new amp would you recommend any in particular?

(you guys have been a huge help, thanks loads :) )


   
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(@greybeard)
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Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5840
 

A new amp would depend on a few factors. Firstly, what sort of music you like to play and what sort of guitar do you play it on.

If you like acoustic folk music, you should get an acoustic amp. They have a lot of "headroom" - just a way of saying that they play very clean, without distortion.

The same applies to any music, which is purely acoustic and you need to raise the volume, so that people can hear you playing.

The Marshall, that you have, is designed for heavy rock music, played with an electric guitar. You're going to have to fight to get clean sounds out of it - as you've already found out :D :D

I would advise you to go to 2 or 3 guitar shops and ask advice - make it clear that you're trying to decide on what sort of amp you need, you're not in the market to "buy today". You'll probably find the answers are different when they realise that they aren't going to move anything today - that's if they'll still talk to you :D .

You should get a better of idea of the sort of thing to look for. Price range is also an important factor.

I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN


   
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(@kalle_in_sweden)
Prominent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 779
 

I agree with Greybeard
I have Peavey 15W amp (identical with Marshall MG15) and I tried to use it with my electroacoustic Tanglewood guitar and it sounded like crap. Even in "Clean mode" the frequency response is far from straight.
I bought myself an Ibanez 35 W acoustic guitar amp and it is perfect for the acoustic guitar with its straight and wide frequency response. But its also very good for my electric bass guitar and even for an electric guitar ( with a pedal in front).
The funny thing is that an acoustic guitar amp is very similar with a bass amp.
Ibanez has a bass amp that is nearly identical with the acoustic guitar amp, same speakers and amp, but sligthly different controls.
/Kalle

Tanglewood TW28STE (Shadow P7 EQ) acoustic
Yamaha RGX 320FZ electric guitar/Egnater Tweaker 15 amp.
Yamaha RBX 270 bass/Laney DB 150 amp.
http://www.soundclick.com/kalleinsweden


   
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(@wes-inman)
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Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5582
 

That is a two channel amp. The far left Volume control is the Clean channel (look above the knob). For an acoustic guitar this is the only channel you want to use.

When you press that "OD Select" button, that is taking you to Overdrive channel (look above the Gain & Volume knob to it's right). This channel is supposed to distort as you turn up the Gain control. This is to get a distorted tone for a Rock or Blues sound. You do not really want to use the Overdrive channel with an acoustic/electric (if you want clean acoustic guitar type tones). You can use your guitar on the Overdrive channel, but it's going to distort.

If you want a warm tone, try turning up the Bass knob on your amp, maybe the 2 o'clock position (experiment). Come down a little on the Treble knob, maybe 10 o'clock position to start (again, experiment). Start with the Contour knob at 12 o'clock. You will probably get a warmer tone if you turn it to the left, but once again, experiment. :D

If you use effects, use them sparingly, they can also distort your tone, and even brighten it.

On your guitar, boost the bass frequencies just a little, cut the middle frequencies a little, and boost the high frequencies a little. This should get you a nice warm tone.

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis


   
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(@jeffster1)
Reputable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 231
 

Any roland solid state amp has a great clean channel.

The Roland cube 30x is a good choice, however, it has a lot of features you sound like you won't use.


   
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