I tend to have a very aggressive, percussive acoustic style (kind of like Keller Williams, Jack Johnson, Ani DiFranco, etc..). I was invited to an acoustic jam the other day but was told I should bring my amp because there would be a bass to contest with. I never noticed before that I sound BAD through an amp. When I play electric my style of playing changes-more towards finesse, string bending, etc whereas I use a ton of heavy muting and slapping on acoustic.
How can I get around all the "noise" and echoes from muting and slapping/tapping out notes? I like my style and it goes very well unplugged but plugged in it's just icky.
"How could you possibly be scared of being bad? Once you get past that, it's all beautiful." -Trey Anastasio
You mean plugged-in acoustic sounds bad, right? Then assuming you very much like your unplugged sounds and just want these louder through an amp:
*You might consider trying a different acoustic or acoustic pup system that will downplay the body noise a bit ... or
FX that might help are EQ and maybe compression. There also are new FX out from Fishman (sp?) that are supposed to make amplified acoustic (piezo or magnetic pups) sound much better ... or
*Try micing if currently using an internal pup -- either mic alone or mixed with the pup.
-=tension & release=-
very often when amped acoustic sounds bad it is the amp. my Martin elec/acoustic sounds great through a PA.. but not great through my Fender Vibrolux. I cannot afford an acoustic amp.
and in recording the Martin direct I found my playing style (which is similar to yours) came across as noisy, brash, confusing.
I had to simmer down, tempering my effort a bit to achieve clarity.
I learned that when playing by myself I compensated for the lack of backup sounds playing more; ie, percussive, chords and notes , jangles, the gamut. that comes across as noise when amped. it sounds great playing by myself as everything sounds fuller.
but when amped and or recording one has to play very accurate and clear of intent. slop gets amplified.
I personally would recommend the miking idea. It would sound better than the majority of pickups and internal miking i've seen. It would be good to make your playing style a little less intense and a bit more focused and i guess a touch less full when playing with others. Playing with others is very different from how your playing style is by yourself. I don't know if you jam unplugged with people but I suggest it. You might be able to do a little more of the percussive things when you don't have to fight with a bass. Just what I think tho.
aka Izabella
