NGD: Acoustasonic Tele

Lewy

First impression after a few hours play:

Overall impression is very pleasing!

Plugged into my AER Compact 60, the acoustic sounds are as good as any plugged in acoustic sounds I’ve ever had (including a variety of Martin, Gibson and Collings acoustics using K&K, Baggs Lyric, UST with Fishman Aura, Rare Earth Blend). Some of the voices are better than others, but they’re all good for something and there are a few that are very good for what I want to do. I’m particularly impressed with how it handles the graveyard of all acoustic pickup systems - that being bluegrass/flatpicking. With the exception of the K&K they nearly all suck at that, but a couple of the voicings on this cope very well.

The electric sounds into the AER have potential but I think an EQ pedal is going to be needed to kill some of the nasal sounds encountered as you go from clean to the crunchier setting. Into a tweed Champ it sounds instantly better. If space (and my appetite for hassle) allow on a gig, then a separate electric amp and an AB pedal will definitely be the way forward. I haven’t tried the electric sounds into any effects yet, that’s next on the list. 

Build-wise it’s very neat all round. It’s very matte all over. I could see why it might make someone used to gloss finishes think that it doesn’t feel very “special” for the money, but I like it. For me, a finish so thin you can feel the grain is a big plus and you can with this. Frets are all immaculate, rounded edges etc. This one has a uniformly dark piece of ebony for the fretboard, not streaky as you usually see on these, which I quite like. Action is typically acoustic, as opposed to electric. I might have a fiddle with the micro tilt to lower it a hair at some point.

Here it is with its siblings:

And a bit closer up:

I think this guitar is going to enable quite a lot of real-world music making for me, which is kind of the point of it.

Snags

I'll confess to being somewhat intrigued by these, and I really like the look of the posh zircote one in the recent Anderton's video. But they're a bit rich for my blood even in "standard" trim, let alone in the posh finishes.

Good to hear from someone who actually has one though - enjoy!

victorludorum

That blond one is pretty tasty too!

bluechargeboy

Hey @Lewy, happy NGD!

I wonder if you might comment on a few things?

1) How well does it stand up to vigorous playing? I usually play dreadnoughts so I can whack 'em!

2) Can you get a good full sound out of it plugged in? As in more dreadnought/jumbo rather than concert or what have you?

3) Do you get a nice even volume across the strings? I have read about that being an issue on these.

4) Are you doing much shaping of the sound with your amp? I am thinking about whether it would plug straight into a PA without any tonal drama.

Ta

Dominic

I had a go on one the other day......played very nice and sounded good albeit not the Lowden type sound that I love but more than anything I was quite surprised by how expensive they are

Lewy

bluechargeboy said:

Hey @Lewy, happy NGD!

I wonder if you might comment on a few things?

1) How well does it stand up to vigorous playing? I usually play dreadnoughts so I can whack 'em!

2) Can you get a good full sound out of it plugged in? As in more dreadnought/jumbo rather than concert or what have you?

3) Do you get a nice even volume across the strings? I have read about that being an issue on these.

4) Are you doing much shaping of the sound with your amp? I am thinking about whether it would plug straight into a PA without any tonal drama.

Ta

These are only initial opinions - I haven’t really tried it at gig volume yet and may update them when I have...

1) I gave it a moderate twatting and there was a bit of a rattle. Because I never regularly play like that I didn’t bother investigating further

2) Through the AER so far, yep definitely. Full like the acoustic sound of a great D28, no. Full like a good full sized dread plugged in, yes.

3) No issues - I just plugged in again specifically to listen for that. 

4) Cutting some mids using the AER’s 3-band EQ is all. Again, at higher volume it might be a different story

DavidRees

and is that a Reverend Greg Koch I see in the family? ...

Lewy

DavidRees said:

and is that a Reverend Greg Koch I see in the family? ...

Sure is

thumpingrug

I know these are a bit marmite but I like the look of these and its good to see a real world review.   The price is a bit steep for me though, which is a shame.

bluechargeboy

Lewy said:

bluechargeboy said:

Hey @Lewy, happy NGD!

I wonder if you might comment on a few things?

1) How well does it stand up to vigorous playing? I usually play dreadnoughts so I can whack 'em!

2) Can you get a good full sound out of it plugged in? As in more dreadnought/jumbo rather than concert or what have you?

3) Do you get a nice even volume across the strings? I have read about that being an issue on these.

4) Are you doing much shaping of the sound with your amp? I am thinking about whether it would plug straight into a PA without any tonal drama.

Ta

These are only initial opinions - I haven’t really tried it at gig volume yet and may update them when I have...

1) I gave it a moderate twatting and there was a bit of a rattle. Because I never regularly play like that I didn’t bother investigating further

2) Through the AER so far, yep definitely. Full like the acoustic sound of a great D28, no. Full like a good full sized dread plugged in, yes.

3) No issues - I just plugged in again specifically to listen for that. 

4) Cutting some mids using the AER’s 3-band EQ is all. Again, at higher volume it might be a different story

Nice one chief!

Lewy

bluechargeboy said:

Lewy said:

bluechargeboy said:

Hey @Lewy, happy NGD!

I wonder if you might comment on a few things?

1) How well does it stand up to vigorous playing? I usually play dreadnoughts so I can whack 'em!

2) Can you get a good full sound out of it plugged in? As in more dreadnought/jumbo rather than concert or what have you?

3) Do you get a nice even volume across the strings? I have read about that being an issue on these.

4) Are you doing much shaping of the sound with your amp? I am thinking about whether it would plug straight into a PA without any tonal drama.

Ta

These are only initial opinions - I haven’t really tried it at gig volume yet and may update them when I have...

1) I gave it a moderate twatting and there was a bit of a rattle. Because I never regularly play like that I didn’t bother investigating further

2) Through the AER so far, yep definitely. Full like the acoustic sound of a great D28, no. Full like a good full sized dread plugged in, yes.

3) No issues - I just plugged in again specifically to listen for that. 

4) Cutting some mids using the AER’s 3-band EQ is all. Again, at higher volume it might be a different story

Nice one chief!

Just a bit of an update after more experimentation and playing time for anyone interested...

It benefits from some proper acoustic strings going on there instead of whatever junk Fender sends them out with. I've also straightened the neck a tad as it had a bit too much relief and now playability is even better. Probably won't bother tweaking the action further now. 

Having spent more time with it in my hands, I really think the build is great. People baulk at the price on these but I just can't see how Fender could have made them in the US for much less. When you look at how it's constructed - essentially an acoustic soundboard inset into routed out mahogany tele body - and take into account the fact that the finish is microscopically thin and would hide zero sins - it's exceptionally well executed. The finish itself is completely matte everywhere. That has required me to adjust my picking hand technique a little when flatpicking - I'm used to having my spare fingers lightly brushing up and down on a pickguard and having them brushing up and down on the top of this is distractingly noisy. I may even have to investigate a small custom pickguard - the right shape would probably look quite nice.

Amplification experiments have now gone beyond my AER to include some electric amps....

Acoustic sounds through AER Compact 60 - all really good. It seems to give the best results if you stick to the styles that the designers had in mind for the models included i.e. if you're strumming, use one of the dreads, if you're fingerpicking, use one of the smaller body models. Settings that work best are the AER's Contour control engaged (scooping mids) and reintroduce some mids using the 3 band EQ. Don't ask me what frequencies the Contour and the Mid control work on but I assume they're different otherwise this wouldn't work!

Acoustic sounds though a PRRI - pretty good actually

Acoustic sounds into a tweed Champ - predictably shit

Electric sounds into AER Compact 60 - interesting one. The guitar has two electric sounds - clean and a bit crunchy and you can blend between the two. The crunchy sound is a model of a tele into a pushed tweed deluxe sort of thing. As such, when using the AER (and I assume it would be similar through a PA) blending the crunchy sound in gives a more convincing result than the clean electric sound, because it's bringing that modelled sound into play rather than just the pickup. Played on the totally clean setting, you need to kick in an EQ pedal to give the sound a bit of sparkle, add some bass and lose some mids. 

Electric sounds into the electric amps - best result is to have it on the clean electric sound and use pedals or the amp itself for crunch. In this mode, it sounds like a standard tele ….within reason. It's got Phosphor Bronze acoustic .011s on, with a wound third. It doesn't have all the same openness and twang that you get from a real tele strung more conventionally, and it can't reasonably be expected to. Playing the crunchy electric sound into an electric amp sounds ok but it's very compressed which won't be to everyone's taste (I don't like it that much).

One of the things that was puzzling me when looking at demos of the Acoustasonic online was how some sounded like the best plugged-in acoustic sounds I'd ever heard and some sounded really quite shit. My conclusion now is that it must be down to the reviewers on the shit sounding demos basically thinking that what they were getting was what a plugged in acoustic is supposed to sound like and not seeking to try and dial in anything else.

Jalapeno

Good review Lewy, sounds like you got a good 'un

TimmyO

Excellent overview - thanks 

crunchman

I could really make use of one of these, but it's a lot of money for something where all the digital gubbins will be out of warranty and probably irreplaceable in 10 years time.

Lewy

crunchman said:

I could really make use of one of these, but it's a lot of money for something where all the digital gubbins will be out of warranty and probably irreplaceable in 10 years time.

True enough, but in the same way Philip Larkin said you don't pay a prostitute for sex, you pay to leave straight away afterwards, I'm not paying for this guitar to be a cherished possession and heirloom, I'm paying to be able to walk into a solo gig with one guitar in an electric sized gig bag, an acoustic amp, a mic a stand and 2 leads and be able to play anything that I would want to. If this thing lasts five years, I would have paid less for that convenience than I would have spent in Costa...and a damn sight less than what the average person will spend on other digital stuff with a similar obsolescence timeline. Just the digital world isn't it. People aren't going to be leaving their apple watches to the kids.

crunchman

Lewy said:

crunchman said:

I could really make use of one of these, but it's a lot of money for something where all the digital gubbins will be out of warranty and probably irreplaceable in 10 years time.

True enough, but in the same way Philip Larkin said you don't pay a prostitute for sex, you pay to leave straight away afterwards, I'm not paying for this guitar to be a cherished possession and heirloom, I'm paying to be able to walk into a solo gig with one guitar in an electric sized gig bag, an acoustic amp, a mic a stand and 2 leads and be able to play anything that I would want to. If this thing lasts five years, I would have paid less for that convenience than I would have spent in Costa...and a damn sight less than what the average person will spend on other digital stuff with a similar obsolescence timeline. Just the digital world isn't it. People aren't going to be leaving their apple watches to the kids.

Problem is I like the look of those nice Ziricote tops, and those are mental money!

Lewy

crunchman said:

Lewy said:

crunchman said:

I could really make use of one of these, but it's a lot of money for something where all the digital gubbins will be out of warranty and probably irreplaceable in 10 years time.

True enough, but in the same way Philip Larkin said you don't pay a prostitute for sex, you pay to leave straight away afterwards, I'm not paying for this guitar to be a cherished possession and heirloom, I'm paying to be able to walk into a solo gig with one guitar in an electric sized gig bag, an acoustic amp, a mic a stand and 2 leads and be able to play anything that I would want to. If this thing lasts five years, I would have paid less for that convenience than I would have spent in Costa...and a damn sight less than what the average person will spend on other digital stuff with a similar obsolescence timeline. Just the digital world isn't it. People aren't going to be leaving their apple watches to the kids.

Problem is I like the look of those nice Ziricote tops, and those are mental money!

Yes they do look lovely but the fancy ones are very pricey for something that’s essentially a chassis for the tech. 

TINMAN82

Lewy said:

crunchman said:

I could really make use of one of these, but it's a lot of money for something where all the digital gubbins will be out of warranty and probably irreplaceable in 10 years time.

True enough, but in the same way Philip Larkin said you don't pay a prostitute for sex, you pay to leave straight away afterwards, I'm not paying for this guitar to be a cherished possession and heirloom, I'm paying to be able to walk into a solo gig with one guitar in an electric sized gig bag, an acoustic amp, a mic a stand and 2 leads and be able to play anything that I would want to. If this thing lasts five years, I would have paid less for that convenience than I would have spent in Costa...and a damn sight less than what the average person will spend on other digital stuff with a similar obsolescence timeline. Just the digital world isn't it. People aren't going to be leaving their apple watches to the kids.

It’ll still be a good guitar and there will always be plenty of options for  changing pickups if the native stuff fails and isn’t replaceable. 5 years seems pessimistic!

Lewy

TINMAN82 said:

Lewy said:

crunchman said:

I could really make use of one of these, but it's a lot of money for something where all the digital gubbins will be out of warranty and probably irreplaceable in 10 years time.

True enough, but in the same way Philip Larkin said you don't pay a prostitute for sex, you pay to leave straight away afterwards, I'm not paying for this guitar to be a cherished possession and heirloom, I'm paying to be able to walk into a solo gig with one guitar in an electric sized gig bag, an acoustic amp, a mic a stand and 2 leads and be able to play anything that I would want to. If this thing lasts five years, I would have paid less for that convenience than I would have spent in Costa...and a damn sight less than what the average person will spend on other digital stuff with a similar obsolescence timeline. Just the digital world isn't it. People aren't going to be leaving their apple watches to the kids.

It’ll still be a good guitar and there will always be plenty of options for  changing pickups if the native stuff fails and isn’t replaceable. 5 years seems pessimistic!

Yes I really just wanted to put the cost/obsolescence issue in perspective along with other digital products.

victorludorum

So is the pickup passive on this? Could it just be run straight out into an amp?

chris78

Problem is I like the look of those nice Ziricote tops, and those are mental money!

Exactly the same. I like the look of the cocobolo and ziricote ones, but they’re about £2,500 street price which is a sharp increase in price for an already expensive bit of kit that may just be a novelty. I know the op has also commented on the finish, but to me the finish felt cheap, even on a £3500 koa one I saw in guitarguitar.