Acoustic gigs annoy me.

Cirrus

We're a band that plays with amps and a big drum kit. It's what I write the music for. Yet for some reason we keep getting offers of acoustic slots.

Which boils down to this;

Singer: Does exactly the same thing as an electric set. Difficulty rating: 0/10.

Drummer: Shakes shakers and tambourines and hits stupid wooden block, but becomes basically superflous at an acoustic gig in that if he does nothing it's ok and anything he does can only add to the sound. Difficulty rating: 2/10.

Bassist: For some reason it's fine for bassists on acoustic gigs to just bring their electric bass, pedals, amp and just play quietly. Literally no change. Difficultly: 0/10.

Guitarist (me): Have to totally rework every single part of every single song because it's basically a different instrument I'm being asked to play and all the solos/ double stops/ atmospherics that make up my playing style just sound empty unless they're very heavily reworked for acoustic guitar. Every single failure on my part to successfully translate the songs to an acoustic setting reflects painfully and obviously on me and is immediately noticed by the audience. Difficulty: 10/10.

Man, acoustic gigs annoy me.

Drew_TNBD

Don't do them then. Sounds like they're not worth it anyway. If you need to be loud, then you need to be loud.

Cirrus

I do try to avoid them. Sometimes they're hard to avoid, or worth doing even if I don't like them much. It's not like we do a bad job, audiences like them...

digitalscream

We've been asked to do quite a few of these.

In every case, the answer is "no", because I'm not willing to chuck out all the music we've written in favour of dumbing it down just so the audience can talk all over us. If you come to one of our gigs, you're doing so for the music; if you want a bit of musical noise in the background while you talk about last week's football results, go to Wetherspoon's.

ICBM

I've never found it difficult. OK, I do tend to play electric a bit like it's an acoustic anyway, so possibly it's less of a change for me, but it really isn't a different instrument, its the same instrument with slightly different characteristics. I use effects (even distortion) on acoustic too sometimes.

For what it's worth I don't have a problem with *acoustic* gigs either - ie an acoustic guitar not plugged in at all.

Just play the songs...

vasselmeyer

Even more so when the band knows you have a resonator. I hear something like "Play that Dire Straits guitar on this" or "Play some slide, that would sound cool" and they just don't get it when you tell them everything is in completely the wrong key and it would mean retuning the guitar between almost every song. Also the resonator is so loud compared to everything else, everything else will need to be turned up and then we end up getting complained at.

Monkeybone

I quite like them, adds a different dynamic to our band (we mostly play covers with a few originals). Some of the covers cross over quite easily, some are put in purely for the acoustic gigs.

ElectroDan

There does seem to be a lot more people requesting it lately. I've had to borrow an acoustic from a mate as I've never owned one.

It's not my thing at all, but sometimes it's interesting to step out of your comfort zone.

guitarfishbay

I love re-arranging songs for acoustic.  I have written acoustic versions for most of our songs, for us the vocal has to change to not sound too overpowering.

The main thing is to stop thinking 'how can I recreate my parts' because you can't, especially any single note atmospheric stuff, it just doesn't work on acoustic because you've got limited sustain and single notes sound thin.  Think in chord textures and strumming rhythms.  

Also definitely consider re-working the vocal for a softer delivery if you've got a rock singer.

Here's a good example of re-working a complex single notes/atmospheric type rock track to an acoustic version, guitar wise.

Circa Survive - Act Appalled (original) Verse at 22 seconds.

Circa Survive - Act Appalled (acoustic) verse with strumming at 35 seconds, I really like the chord voicings used.

This is probably my favourite reworking but you really need two guitarists to do something like this

Further Seems Forever - Light Up Ahead (original) 42 seconds onwards the pre-chorus kicks in

Further Seems Forever - Light Up Ahead (acoustic) Same point around 27 seconds in the acoustic version.  I honestly think this version is better than the original to the point where I wonder if it was acoustic first before electric.

Here's a good example of changing the vocal.

You Me At Six - Room To Breathe (original) 1:03 chorus starts, some high notes in the original (e.g. 1:09)

You Me At Six - Room To Breathe (acoustic) 1:00 in the acoustic version, high notes dropped for a softer delivery

lustycourtier

For acoustic gigs I just play electric quieter.

Phil_aka_Pip

I think the acoustic guitar is sufficiently different to the electric guitar, to make it worth comparing the difference between the two instruments to the difference between a piano and an organ. They may well have the notes in the same place, but they both behave very differently and just because you can handle one well doe not mean you can handle the other equally well.

Having said that, sorting out an acoustic version of something you usually play electric (and with various FX) can be interesting, and maybe you could learn something from it.

But if an electric band is asked to do an acoustic gig, the only sane answer is "No, we're an electric band, if you want an acoustic band there are plenty to choose from".

jd0272

I genuinely find not owning an acoustic geetar solves that said problem. You've created a rod for yer own back fella.  

"We've got an acoustic gig!!! Yay!!!".

"No we haven't".

Case closed.

thomasross20

jd0272 said:

I genuinely find not owning an acoustic geetar solves that said problem. You've created a rod for yer own back fella.  

"We've got an acoustic gig!!! Yay!!!".

"No we haven't".

Case closed.

Haha!!

Never done an acoustic gig but know what you're talking about, OP! It's one reason I thought of getting rid of mine - what's the point if I wouldn't use it in a live situation, as such? 

axisus

Good point from the OP, never thought of that before.

Gassage

Go see Glenn Tilbrooks acoustic show.

Your view will change.

it's amazing.

randomhandclaps

Just turn up with your full rig and say that you took advice from Brian May.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipNtj89zCXA

Teetonetal

I like doing acoustic gigs - it gives me something new to work on, and often brings new ideas into the electric set. Besides, if you are doing a few, you only have to work out the new parts once right? Then again my first love is acoustic so I find the swap pretty natural.

p90fool

I really like them, about half of my band's gigs are acoustic. It is primarily an electric band, but we can gig with 2, 3, 4 or 5 of us, depending on space and volume.
The duo is our female singer and me on guitar and stompbox, which although it's physically hard work playing the only instrument, both me and the singer love the total and instant control over dynamics that we have.

It's made us rethink how we approach our full electric arrangements because oddly enough our acoustic duo is the only format which gets people dancing every single time.

Mark_25

We're a big sound band but we really enjoy playing our songs acoustically. We'd obviously prefer to play the songs as intended but it just gives them a completely different feel when stripping everything back. It also results in the lyrics becoming the biggest focus which for us is something we really like. 

Danny1969

I'm in a eighties band with 2 other guys and we do the cooler stuff we like from the Eighties, songs from Prefab Sprout, Fiction Factory, Aztech Camera etc. The other 2 guys play acoustics but I play electric guitar and keys. Sticking rigidly to just acoustic guitars to me seems pointless, you can get so much more from an electric. I use a Tonelab straight into PA so no loud amp to offend anyone

Rocker

I suggest that you play your normal songs but use the acoustic guitar in the same way as the electric.

It works for Slash:

Enjoy