ways to improve acoustic tone? advice please

i thik that toe i a acoustic has to do with how you hold the pick, how you control the pick, angle of pick, the way you strum....things like that. try to vary the way that you play and see if you can come up with a nicer tone.

i doubt that's the problem, as I have 2 other acoustics (a martin and a seagull) that have the most beautiful tone I've ever heard come from my fingers. i know how to hold a pick and do all that stuff, and i was able to get good tones from the original Fender guitar. This replacement Fender just sounds wrong to me.

I thought about it and im gonna take the guitar to school on wednesday to teach my lesson, then I will take it to the GC down the street for an appraisal after school. I'm not gonna trade it in or anything, but I am gonna ask how much they'd give me for it, just so i know.

Two things to try:

1. Changing the string type and/or gauge -- many find that higher gauges sound better, especially on acoustics, and even more so on acoustics that currently have lights or extra lights.
2. Raising the action (raise the bridge). Some guitars sound better with higher action.

i've tried a variety of strings types and brands...i usualy use lights, but i have tried extra lights too. I've used brands like Martin, D'Addario, GHS, Dean Markley...I've used silk and steel, phosphour bronze, 80/20 bronze...i even put a set of .12 gauge electric jazz strings on it. I'm not sure I've tried using medium gauge martins or d'addarios, but when I take it to GC on wednesday I'll pick up a set of mediums and give it a try just to be sure. I should have kept a list of what I've tried and haven't tried.

I'm not sure I wanna mess with the action, as it is already higher than I prefer, but not high enough that it bothers me. would i need a new saddle, or will it suffice to shim it??? If the medium strings don't do it for me, I'll try a shim under the saddle.

this guitar just seems to lack any good, decent definition to the notes. the chords fall flat. it doesn't sustain all that well. i may be totally off-base, but it sounds to me almost like the guitar isnt' resonating like it should. like something is hampering it's vibrations. heavy gloss finish perhaps? not sure. the old guitar had a gloss finish, but somehow the finish on this guitar just seems heavier and more substantial than the old one.

we'll see, i guess

Dude, (I think I said something about this in your original thread) make sure you get a keeper (I said, "play it first and if you don't like it send it back" if I recall)!..... and now, you don't have a keeper. You said you would take what they gave you, guess what...........

All hope is lost, get rid of her. Someone else will pick her up.

well Fender wouldnt give me the option of playing it first. This whole thing was done through my repairman (a fender authorized tech) and i asked Fender if they would send the guitar in question for me to play, and if i didnt like it, we could go from there. they said no, and the words of my tech (paraphrased) were "they said that's not doable, seeing as they are giving you a free upgrade, so they either want you to take the replacement guitar or you're gonna have to pay for the repair of your guitar yourself." i thought that was a bit crappy on Fender's behalf, but they said they would not under any circumstances take the guitar back once it was sent. and seeing as i had no cash for a repair, i agreed. i thought I could make it work and i thought wrong. it's unfortunate, but it was the hand I was dealt. I even asked for a guitar that was the same shape as the original (dreadnaught) and they said I'd have to wait over a year until their stock replenished. if i didnt love my Strat so much I'd prolly boycott Fender...but i'll just boycott their acoustics for now...

rest assured that when i get rid of it, I will put a good amoount of time into finding a suitable, keepable replacement. One that doesnt sound like a cardboard box.

i agree. if you don't like it get rid of it and get something that makes you want to play.

I'm sure at GC you can trade yours for a slightly cheaper model that sounds better. It's called in store credit. I'll bet there's a used acoustic that will sound better to you. I wouldn't blame Fender I'd blame the tech for not Gunning for you.

I replaced the urea (aka "plastic") saddle in my little Fender grand concert model with a bone saddle. It made a notable improvement in sustain and clarity of the individual strings. Before, it was definitely "thin and plunky" as you describe yours as being. Now it's still very mid-rangey (as I'd expect for this size guitar) but overall warmer, with more bass and nice ringing upper-mids. Something to consider.

Dude, you have a seagull and a martin? That's your problem. Once you get used to really great guitars, its hard to go back. Go trade the fender in for a 12 string seagull ;)

Beware the trade-in at Guitar Center. They'll give you about 25% of its actual retail value, and then you'll see it up for sale in a week for 85-90% of its retail value. You'd be much better off selling privately, or on consignment through a smaller shop if they offer the option.

great ideas y'all. I've put out a few feelers for selling it privately and I had a little interest, so it may go down. I still wanan see what GC says, just for kicks.

The bone saddle and nut isnt' exactly doable at the moment. Simply don't have the $150 or so it would take to do that. I might try a pre-made compensated Tusq saddle if I can find one with the correct dimensions, in addition to a heavier set of strings, as gnease suggested.

i'll keep ya's posted.

ooook so here's the deal. i did some experimentation and here are my findings:

I found a set of medium gauge Martins in my string box that I bought about 2 months ago and forgot about. And while I was poking around, by some work of magic I found a TUSQ saddle that I bought also a few months ago for my old Fender. it was compensated and oddly enough of the correct dimensions to fit the new Fender perfectly, albeit with high action (it needed to be sanded down). What are the odds of that eh???

Anyway, I took off the strings and put in the new saddle, slapped on the medium gauge strings aaaaand...

there was slight improvement.

not enough though. still sounded thin, but sustain was improved. not my cup of tea

looks like Mr Fender's on his way out the door.

I hate to be pessimistic but... dude, you bought a fender accoustic. I try to warn people about that :P I know for a fact leo would kill anyone who made guitars like these in his name :)