yamaha aex500? any use as an acoustic?

John_P

I was toying with something different for some acoustic gigs this summer - I'd love taylor t5 but gas funds might be tight

Has anyone tried the aex500?  I remember thinking they looked cool when they were made but what do we think?  cool or naff?

steamabacus

My mate has one. I like it, though I think it sounds at it's best with a blend of the magnetic and piezo pickups for a nice jazzy sound. My mate uses it with heavy distortion in order to get feedback at quieter stage volumes.

As a straight electro-acoustic it's quite basic - probably better in a loud band mix than a solo fingerpicking  slot. It also benefits from a decent external preamp / pedal.

All in all, though, I like it.

John_P

Thanks - I'll playing a couple of festivals and some warm up gigs in pubs as an acoustic version of a band so it's unlikely to be solo'd  

If I can stop buying more distortion pedals I might grab one instead of saving for T5.

Jalapeno

Saw Bireli Lagrene last night playing an AEX1500 piezo & pickup through a Fender Twin - sounded great.