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On 5/22/2014 3:08 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/22/2014 11:49 AM, F*O*A*D wrote:
On 5/22/14, 11:24 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 22 May 2014 11:05:41 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:

On 5/22/14, 11:04 AM, wrote:
On Thu, 22 May 2014 06:20:24 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:

On 5/22/14, 1:11 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 21 May 2014 18:07:11 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:

On 5/21/14, 5:56 PM, Poquito Loco wrote:

Then I don't know what Harry's talking about. If one looks at
the pictures I posted, the instruments
are played with a microphone in front, in almost all cases. I
didn't see any 'electric' guitars, or
guitars with wires running to amplifiers.

D'oh. You don't see many long wires running from most of the
guitars to
amps at a rock concert, either, if they are using wireless mikes on
their instruments.

If they didn't have amplifiers, only the first couple rows would
hear
it at all.
I liked Richard's explanation better.

D'oh. The point: that herring didn't see any wires coming from the
on-stage instruments going to amps doesn't mean much in terms of
defining whether they are "electric" or not, because, for example, a
guitar can be electric and hooked up to an amp wirelessly. A
floor-standing microphone doesn't change whether a guitar is
"electric"
or strictly non-electic acoustic.

A wireless mike does not stop a banjo from being acoustic,.I have
never seen a stratocaster at a bluegrass concert, at least not as a
bluegrass act.
They may bring a rock guy along on the tour in some northern venues
but just to broaden the appeal and sell more tickets. It is like the
rap guys getting into country music.

I'm afraid you either just don't get it or you are just trying to be
argumentative.

Next...

You are right, I don't get it. I have never seen a bluegrass act with
an electric guitar,

Oh, I have. But I'm not referring to electric guitars, as in
Stratocasters and such. I am referring to acoustic Guild, Martin, Yamaha
guitars and banjos, violins, et cetera, with electronic pickups, devices
that change the sound characteristics of what they are into devices that
sound like something else.

My luthier friend who has been building acoustic guitars for 38 years
now cringes whenever someone wants a pickup installed in one of his
guitars. In fact, he refuses.

The sound of an acoustic is a function of the strings imparting their
vibrations to the top wood of the guitar via the saddle, bridge and
backing plate within the guitar. The top wood's response is a function
of it's unique grain structure which is why three different guitars, all
the exact same model and built on the same day will all sound different.

I have a Takamine 12 string that is like that... Cheap 300 dollar entry
model, everone who plays it says it sounds like one of their top models.

It's also why cheaper laminate guitars are more uniform sounding guitar
to guitar to guitar. The laminate construction takes away the unique
grain structure of the top wood, so they all sound the same.... crappy.

The body of the guitar is basically a speaker enclosure with the sound
hole being a "tuned" port. The type of wood used for the body can
brighten or darken the overall sound but it's really the top doing all
the work.

That's why the pickup systems can't capture the true sound of the
guitar. They are only sampling a small section of the vibrating top.

Knowledgeable buyers at the guitar shop will often ask Rick or myself
(if I am there) to play some chords on a guitar they are interested in
while they sit several feet in front of us in order to hear what it
really sounds like. You can't really tell when playing it because your
ears are positioned above and behind the sound hole.

But people still want pickups in acoustics so they can be heard. The
most natural sounding pickup system for an acoustic IMO is a passive (no
batteries or pre-amp) system called a K&K Pure. It consists of three
transducers precisely installed on the bridge backing plate within the
guitar.

The worst pickup system (IMO) is the Taylor ES system. Tinny, horrible
sound and all Taylors sound the same plugged in.

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