Anyone have any thoughts/experiences with the “electrified” acoustic guitars that have both a piezo pickup under the saddle and a built in condenser mike (hanging in the body)?
| Quote (jimbob @ June 19 2006,17:33) |
| I suspect that undersaddle pick-ups respond to the vibrations of the string in ways that exaggerate certain harmonic content in ways that the soundboard does not, |
My thoughts are like yours. They are more characteristic of the natural frequencies of the instruments wood than the natural frequencies of the strings. The lower frequencies get harmonically resonated.
I get a much different frequency spectrum through piezo (under bridge monaural) than I do through a condensor mic.
The bulk of the frequency distribution is in the 300 to 1,100 hz range. Below 300 there isn't much to work with. I think that's why the EQ'ing approach is so different.
It will be interesting when I get my Fender with the piezo pickup and compare it to my yamaha. The Yamaha is spruce and the fender is ash.
My thoughts anyway.
Or as an engineer at Ovation told me way back… under saddle piezo pick ups are all about the pickup. You could mount the pickup on a 2x4 and it would sound more or the same as if it were actually in a guitar.
Bubba i want to join your band and meet your lead singer. You can tell her that, “moi je parle francais”.
The 2x4 reference is nice and short and to the point
| Quote (James927 @ June 20 2006,19:29) |
| Anyone have any thoughts/experiences with the “electrified” acoustic guitars that have both a piezo pickup under the saddle and a built in condenser mike (hanging in the body)? |
Listen for yourself:
http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest.htm
Just remember to download the MP3s and listen to them both mono and stereo. Stereo they sound great, mono … well, it’s just a pickup, remember!
Here’s a very cheap and effective way to get awesome live sound. Put one of these babies in your acoustic:
Condenser mic
I’ve done this with my classical and J45, with excellent results. You do have to roll off the bass a fair amount because it’s pretty boomy, but it sounds WAY better than any pickup I’ve heard. You also need to rig up a 9v voltage source somehow, but this is a very easy task and requires only one cap and one resistor. Email me if you want to know more about how to set this up.
Thanks LearJeff and Tempus - I’ll be checking those links out.
James
For the benefit of those who may want to check this condenser trick out, I found the page that got me going in this direction:
Condenser mics
Fascinating article. Thanks for the read.
I recently got some surprisingly nice results with a Studio Projects B3 placed at about ear level and pointing down in the general direction of the soundhole… just move the guitar around while playing to find the “sweet spot” and you’re in business.
Also doesn’t hurt to record a direct track at the same time and mix them together… or pan them for a stereo image.
John, what pattern did youhave the B3 set at?
| Quote (soul&folk @ July 05 2006,20:59) |
| John, what pattern did youhave the B3 set at? |
My living room doesn’t posses any particularly interesting acoustical qualities, so I used cardiod.
I suppose the over-the ear method really depends on the guitar… (as does any method) just move the mic around (or the guitar) until it sounds good, right?
