Acoustic Gig Setup

thomasross20

So I had that meeting with the new singer - she's really good and writes great tunes herself. Going to do 1 original (co-written) for every 9 cover songs. 

Initially, until we find band mates, we're looking at trying out an acoustic duo. It'll mean translating some of the "electric" songs for acoustic but could be cool. We'll get to the PA situation later but for now I guess I need to either get a pickup installed in my Larrivee or shell out for something with a pickup in it that's gig-ready. Also..... do those of you who do this go into an acoustic amp or into the PA? Or maybe you play acoustic stuff on an electric through an electric amp? 

I'm loathe to spend too much on something I wont use too much.

bluechargeboy

I am in an acoustic band: I go straight into the PA (via compressor and tuner). I use electro acoustics but soundhole pickups can sound lovely, nicer I think. And removable! I guess they need to not interfere with your playing style though.

 

Most desks have instrument inputs so I only use a DI box when there is a long snake to the desk. If we are doing our own sound I just go straight into the desk with guitar lead.

 

I use a wedge monitor if necessary.

thomasross20

Thanks for the info on your setup!

I realise I started a similar topic a while back elsewhere - will try to find it..

octatonic

I would grab a sound hole pickup until you know it is something worth pursuing.

They are cheap, useful and sound better than ever.

I used an LR Baggs pedal preamp/eq/boost thing a while back and it was really nice but only gives you a margin amount of control over going direct to a mixer.

thomasross20

Good point about the sound hole pick-up given I'm not sure how long the project would run for.

ICBM

Yes, do that. You usually have the choice of leaving a trailing cable out of the guitar - inconvenient but means you don't have to modify anything. The worst case is that you fit an endpin jack, which are a standard size so it's not a hassle to remove it and replace with something else (even a plain endpin, you can get ones that fit the same size hole) later.

For duo gigs you ideally need a small PA - you don't need subs, and possibly not monitors although it's better to have them. For *very* small gigs you can get away with a larger acoustic guitar amp - most have a mic channel, but for two guitars you'll obviously need two instrument channels as well.

Most venues that do showcase-style gigs have their own PA and soundman though, so you may need nothing at all, or in that case a small acoustic amp for your own sound becomes useful, but not essential.

Danny1969

The best solution for acoustic gigs is the Bose L1 system. You set it up behind you, it's crystal clear and radiates around the whole room, you don't need monitors as it's behind you. it's small. light, easy to set up. 

The Fishman SA220 is another alternative, not as good as the Bose but smaller still. 

The lead singer in my main band has both the above for his acoustic live lounge and solo gigs. He's earnt a fortune out of it.  

mgaw

I have done a few with exactly that set up.....we used to use a small acoustic amp as backline....and a  PA ...worked very well in the mainly small pubs round these parts. always used an external preamp, just found i had a better tone that way and more control, especially volume as i kept it next to me....we did a mix of fingerstyle and strummed songs etc so it was essential

BigMonka

I've done quite a few gigs using an HK Audio 'Lucas Nano' system. It sounds really good - especially for vocal&acoustic as it's really clear sounding. If needed for bigger gigs then you can hook up two of the systems to create a stereo unit too.

http://hkaudio.com/products.php?id=376

Plectrum

thomasross20 said:

Also..... do those of you who do this go into an acoustic amp or into the PA? Or maybe you play acoustic stuff on an electric through an electric amp? 

I've done all of the above at one time or another. Most electro-acoustics seem happy going straight into the PA. One girl did however have a clip-on pick-up on her guitar which had a very low output and probably should have gone into a pre-amp really. A clean sound with some chorus on it works well for me as the base sound I use with my electric guitar  at open mike nights.

bigjon

I go into two Tanglewood T6 Acoustic combos for my acoustic duo gigs (don't like the sound through the singer's good Yamaha PA). For larger gigs I add in my Trace Elliott Bass Amp for good measure!

I recommend the Seymour Duncan Woody as a cheap-ish but good soundhole pickup.

steamabacus

I'd say get a magnetic soundhole pickup for the base tone (and good volume before feedback) and stick a mic in front of the guitar as well (for extra definition and character) if the situation allows.

Phil_aka_Pip

steamabacus said:

I'd say get a magnetic soundhole pickup for the base tone (and good volume before feedback) and stick a mic in front of the guitar as well (for extra definition and character) if the situation allows.

I tried one of those (a Seymour Duncan Woody). Horribly low o/p: for less than the price of that plus an outboard preamp I scored a Washburn SBF-80 (solid acoustic would you believe) that drives the i/p of my Marshall acoustic amplifier quite nicely. I know @ICBM is not too keen on the 50W versions of those (I'm sure he's right in saying the 100W jobs are more robust) but I've found mine perfectly OK, and not had to drive it to destruction to achieve the necessary volume where ever I've used it (mainly small pubs).

steamabacus

Phil_aka_Pip said:

steamabacus said:

I'd say get a magnetic soundhole pickup for the base tone (and good volume before feedback) and stick a mic in front of the guitar as well (for extra definition and character) if the situation allows.

I tried one of those (a Seymour Duncan Woody). Horribly low o/p: for less than the price of that plus an outboard preamp I scored a Washburn SBF-80 (solid acoustic would you believe) that drives the i/p of my Marshall acoustic amplifier quite nicely. I know @ICBM is not too keen on the 50W versions of those (I'm sure he's right in saying the 100W jobs are more robust) but I've found mine perfectly OK, and not had to drive it to destruction to achieve the necessary volume where ever I've used it (mainly small pubs).

Back in the eighties, a mate of mine had one of the earliest Washburn solid acousics. It was great for playing in a full band situation but definitely sounded a bit 'piezo' for his singer-songwriter stuff (more recent versions may well sound better). It also felt a bit 'stiff' to play compared to a full acoustic. Nice guitar, though.

In small PA acoustic situations, from the point of view of soundman I've had far less problems with magnetic soundhole pickups than cheap piezo systems. I've found them much easier to get a workable sound with - especially, as I said , if you reinforce with an actual mic on front.

thomasross20

Sound hole pickup sounds like the least invasive way to go then. And possibly straight into PA to start off with. 

Would prefer not to have a wire dangling out the front of the guitar though

mgaw

tape the wire down to the guitar with masking tape.....straight into the PA will work a treat but i just like to have an amp next to me as a monitor...i used to use a Headway or AER then run through them into the PA....also take a looper just for the soundcheck...get it running then pop out front...bingo job done........volume control very habdy if you can get one for the Mag pickup.....

thomasross20

Looper.... I need to either play more with the looper on my Flashback pedal or get a dedicated one. A lot of my own (album) songs REALLY need me to be using a looper if I do them live. 

thomasross20

In fact I think what I'd do is..... use the same Boss BCB50 pedal board I have but if I know I'll be doing acoustic sets.... replace the pedals in it. Keep the tuner, maybe see about DI , maybe some sort of EQ or multi-FX (Boss pedal size) - and just take that along with my guitar and a sound hole pickup (will re-read thread as want to get a decent one - I hear LR Baggs was tops... maybe that will have all the EQ I need) with lead coming out of it - and maybe a pre-amp!? Oh!!! I might need to get a pin drilled into the body as there's only one in the bottom of the guitar (actually I have to check as there may be none) as I think I'd be playing while standing and not sitting....!! Oh man, getting holes drilled in my acoustic... ouch...

Straight into PA sounds great - couldn't bear buying an acoustic amp - would never use it - but fully take on board the comments about needing a monitor!

Baggs pre-amp/DI combos look really good (though can't double up as DI for my electric, I assume).

thomasross20

What a coincidence!

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/christmas/detail.asp?stock=13010411100758

@ICBM was it you who didn't like the looper function on the Flashback? I've yet to try it in anger to be honest!

I need to check the Flashback looper because it says it has 40s loop time. I think that means 40s TOTAL - so 4 loops of 10s or one loop of 40s.

steamabacus

You can't stop and then restart a loop on the Flashback - if you stop, the loop is erased. It's not really a replacement for a dedicated looper. If you get something along the lines of a Digitech JamMan you can store loops - a saxophonist friend of mine has used a JamMan for a whole solo gig's worth of backing tracks.

For  DI's, etc have a look at Orchid Electronics. Good, reasonably priced and with a very good rep on the folk/acoustic scene.

mgaw

/\ Orchid Electronics i have one for sale.......great bit of kit