warwickhunt

First off I'm a strummer not a widdler and I play in an acoustic duo doing a mix of Americana / AOR / easy listening tunes. I've been a bassist for 40+ years and know what I'm doing re. amps, cabs, basses, effects etc. but getting the best from my acoustic sound is a new adventure. I'm using a mix of Godin (nylon string/SA) acoustic, Simon & Patrick 6 and a Taylor Mini GS into a BBE acousimax to an Ashdown Radiator (to small PA). I've realised that to get the best out of what I/we do, a little bit of effects might work nicely (the reverb on the amp was my starting point). An opportunity to bag a TC Plethora X5 to use with my bass (the Plethora effectively duplicates my little pedalboard of chorus, octave, looper, tuner, flanger), means that I can save boards dedicated to my acoustic... but where to start? Are there any TC / Plethora users on here or does anyone have any global or specific effects that would enhance a strummers sound, that I might be able to replicate. I've literally never dabbled with any effects pertaining to acoustic and my starting point is what I use on my bass, which is song specific. I'm going to trawl youtube for sounds I like and try to find out what effects and general settings are used but pointers would be appreciated.

Nearly there! UST fitted and soldered correctly. New bone pre-shaped bridge saddle bought (£2.50) and sanded to fit (height + length). It works... BUT the centre strings have greater output. I 'think' that as I've sanded the underside to the correct height, I've potentially applied more pressure to the outer edges and hence the centre is a whisker deeper/higher. I've also profiled the bottom face/edge to a 'U' shape as I'd seen somewhere that if the bridge tilts even a fraction in the slot (which most will) you get less contact area on the UST; maybe I need to flatten that to get a bigger contact area. We shall see.

£6.99 free delivery (Amazon Prime), bare wire connection. We'll see how this one pans out; if it fixes the main issue but I don't like the tone, then I've sourced an Artec PG607 @ £15 which will be next.

I think I'll see if I can get the PG model @Matt P but I'll need to dig out my gauge to ensure it fits as I have a niggling feeling the dimensions on the B-Band was 2.2mm. I'll also need to look at getting a female socket to solder to the preamp as I'll be annoyed if desoldering will give me grief. The piezo @Dad3353 suggested appears to only be available from China on a 3 week delivery.

Hi Matt. It is this example of the B-Band. Externally the controls are on a curved triangular plate. I'd happily buy the UST off you if it is for sale?

B-band no longer available... £14 substitute it is then!

I'm certainly up for a DIY job. I've already cleaned out the base of the slot and I'm happy to file/sand down the bottom of the nut, in fact I'll likely fit a new bridge nut as the previous one is a bit chewed and chipped in places. I think at £15 ish I'll try that first... just got to make sure the slot is correct size for the UST.

Preamp is OK as far as can be tested. The strip was earthing and buzzing like crazy when tested and went silent if I earthed it but the 'cable' is a flat strip of plastic like material, likely it is conductive on one side with the ground on reverse and an insulator strip between. The new strip will need soldering to the pins due to the make up of the existing 'cable'. The impedance was my worry as a local tech reckoned that they vary and if you get a low one the preamp will never boost it sufficiently but then maybe he was angling for the job. I've seen the strips for £5 - £110, I'd hate to buy anything for much more than your £14 @Dad3353

Message sent. I did find a replacement which I believe is called a 29R type but it was £110... almost 50% of the value of the guitar and I could likely buy a complete new system for that much!

The UST is defo goosed as I tried to refit it to try different things but it just hummed and had zero output. The flat plastic lead had various breaks of material. I might well try S&P but I'm not even sure they are still trading.

The under saddle transducer on my Simon & Patrick has died (lost output and then started to hum and generally not be well). I took out the UST thinking easy swap but the B-Band system fitted has a thin plastic transducer and you can't get them anywhere! Thought of just fitting something else but I'll need to do some jiggery with the fitting as existing is push fit connect and worse still I've heard that sometimes the output/impedance doesn't match! My dilemma is do I just fit a whole new system and if so are there any good systems that won't cost more than the value of the guitar?

Cheers Matt, I'll certainly bear it in mind.

Hi Matt. The Ashdown isn't physically large (8" driver) so I may see how close I can move it (and what to stand it on). I'm hosting a buskers tonight to help a friend out, so I'll experiment. I also have a DBX GoRack heading my way, which might prove useful. https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/dbx-gorack

I've tried the Taylor via a dedicated preamp (BBE) and into a dedicated acoustic combo (Ashdown Radiator) as well as the PA which has a guitar buffered preamp (Allen & Heath). I agree that it is likely the inherent tone as the Simon & Patrick has no such harshness when going into the preamp or combo and that likely has a very cheap internal preamp/buffer compared to the Taylor. I may have to accept it just can't sound how I want it to sound and either trade or sell to get something which fits with what I want to hear.

I'll try and source a bung as a first step. As it happens the combo is only used as a monitor, so is on the floor front and tilted back. I go guitar > BBE preamp = (split) PA/combo (monitor). I'd be getting into a whole other level if I started to mic the acoustic, so that would be a last result. Thanks for the input though.

You could say I bought it on a whim but never regretted it. I needed to amplify my electric even just for in the house trying different sounds/settings and the Tech 21 came up for sale on Basschat in Liverpool... where I just happened to be going that weekend to see Cheap Trick at the Cavern. The deal was struck and purchased. Oddly, I really only play acoustic in the duo, so it is unlikely the Tech will ever get a live airing.

I saw it advertised in a Christmas sale for Academy Of Sound (shows how long ago that was) and for what it was priced at I thought; piezo + mag must be worth a try. Loved it as soon as it came out of the box! Light, ergonomic, cracking HSS + piezo sounds, not a lot to dislike.

I'm new to gigging acoustic guitar live (duo) as I'm a dyed in the wool bass player BUT... I am loving it. However, when putting my Simon & Patrick through the PA and or Ashdown Acoustic Radiator combo I'm finding I'm getting a swell/bloom on the bass end. I've got a notch filter on the amp + I've also tried running it through a BBE acoustic preamp pedal with another notch filter but I'm finding that filtering it just seems to move the resonant frequency up/down a bit. I should add that I've used the desks lo-cut to take out everything below 60hz (could be 80hz I'll need to check). I should add this isn't at mega volumes. Any easy solutions or tips?

Don't shoot me... I've owned the Taylor 5 years and it still has the original Elixir strings on (and they aren't wrecked) and I've always found them fine when strumming acoustically in the house. However, I'm at the point where I'm needing to gig this and amplified it is just too harsh/brash. I realise this is partly down to the smaller body and I have tried to EQ it but I'm at the point where I'm wondering if certain strings might tame the tone. To put this in context I have a S&P EA and it sounds fine through an amp or PA with minimal EQ (Martin strings). I don't want to start buying/trying loads of brands especially if experienced guys can give pointers toward possible solutions. Cheers.

Not going to lie, I am a bass player who has learned to play guitar through necessity (school teacher - 'Oh you play guitar (BASS), do you fancy playing along with the piano in assembly'). I now find myself enjoying guitar almost as much as bass and at 59 forming an acoustic duo with my wife who has never done a gig in her LIFE but doesn't want to look back on regrets! Any ways, looking to pick up advice on getting the best from my acoustic(s) and amp(s) / PA. My present guitar gear list may or may not be supplemented as a result of registering here! Simon & Patrick Electro Acoustic Taylor GS Mini Parker Fly P38 (piezo/HSS) model Godin SA nylon string + GR20 Ashdown Acoustic Radiator Tech 21 Trademark 60 BBE Acoustic Preamp A&H Zed10 + Alto TS310