Old 11-06-2018, 08:18 AM   #1
Burnsjethro
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Default Acoustic to electric guitar

Is there any way of plugging in my guitar and obtaining an electric guitar sound?

Anton
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Old 11-06-2018, 09:00 AM   #2
drtedtan
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You might be able to pull this off by making a match EQ impulse response to apply to the acoustic recording. Below is a YouTube link showing how to do this. In your case, you would need to match your acoustic to an electric. Then, you could use an amp sim like you would on an electric.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW0_DM7qAEU
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Old 11-06-2018, 11:11 AM   #3
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I was thinking you could hot-glue a pickup to the soundboard!

If you're going for a more-distorted sound, the more distortion and other effects you add the more you are going to disguise the natural sound of the guitar. A clean-electric sound is probably going to be difficult.

You might try sticking some foam (or something) inside the guitar to dampen the wood resonance.
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Old 11-06-2018, 01:05 PM   #4
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Thanks for the suggestions.

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Old 11-06-2018, 02:07 PM   #5
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Yes, I once took a hot-rails pickup, some duct tape, and 2 popsicle sticks. Rigged it right into the middle of the sound hole. Worked like a charm! I was rather surprised how well it actually worked.
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Old 11-07-2018, 07:14 PM   #6
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Assuming you're talking about plugging in a pieze-equipped electric-acoustic and trying to make it sound more like a magnetic pickup on a typical electric.


Start with a lowpass filter somewhere around 5KHz. Add some resonance. In ReaEQ, that means reduce Bandwidth from the default of 2.0. You'll have to adjust both frequency (between like 3K and 8K) and bandwidth(between 0.5 and 2) to taste, but it's actually a pretty accurate "model" of a magnetic pickup. That does nothing for the balance of harmonics which is weighted more toward high frequencies for pickups closer to the bridge. The piezo pickup is AT the bridge, so about as bright as it gets. You could try a second low pass with frequency above the first, but bandwidth much bigger - even all the way out to 4 - to compensate for that. You're still not getting the position dependent cancellation of harmonics, but it can be surprisingly convincing.


Probably does want an amp sim afterwards, though.
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Old 11-07-2018, 08:42 PM   #7
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I just plug mine in find a amp sim sound that I like (I use EZMIX) and tweak on my volume and mix knobs on my acoustic.. it gives me that semi-hollow body meat to my trks! :-)
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Old 11-08-2018, 02:42 AM   #8
Burnsjethro
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Thanks a lot for your detailed reply.

Anton

Quote:
Originally Posted by ashcat_lt View Post
Assuming you're talking about plugging in a pieze-equipped electric-acoustic and trying to make it sound more like a magnetic pickup on a typical electric.


Start with a lowpass filter somewhere around 5KHz. Add some resonance. In ReaEQ, that means reduce Bandwidth from the default of 2.0. You'll have to adjust both frequency (between like 3K and 8K) and bandwidth(between 0.5 and 2) to taste, but it's actually a pretty accurate "model" of a magnetic pickup. That does nothing for the balance of harmonics which is weighted more toward high frequencies for pickups closer to the bridge. The piezo pickup is AT the bridge, so about as bright as it gets. You could try a second low pass with frequency above the first, but bandwidth much bigger - even all the way out to 4 - to compensate for that. You're still not getting the position dependent cancellation of harmonics, but it can be surprisingly convincing.


Probably does want an amp sim afterwards, though.
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Old 11-10-2018, 02:31 PM   #9
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"I went and got a really nice acoustic guitar mic, a tube Neumann U67, and I set it up, got Stephen some headphones so he could hear what he was doing, and after I'd turned the lights out according to his request, he started playing. At this point, having watched Wally Heider record Wes Montgomery and other jazz musicians, and even though I'd done rock & roll with some electric stuff, I was pretty much a purist. So, when the old Martin D28 that Stephen played sounded really dull to me, I started adding top end and using those equalisers that we'd got for Bones Howe, while also putting a limiter on it and taking all the bottom‑end off. I just kept trying to brighten it up and get it a little more present, and once I had it sounding pretty good I thought I'd record a little, let him take a listen, and then see if he liked it and how we could change it. I was really trying to please.

"So, with David and Graham sitting next to me, I started to roll tape on the 16‑track and David signalled this to Stephen by making a circular motion with his hand above his head. Until then, Stephen had just been goofing around on his guitar, but suddenly he zeroed in on the microphone and started flailing away, and the sound was so bright that the compressor was way over‑compressed — instead of bouncing around like compressors do, it just laid down and sat there. There was also no bottom end. However, from my training with Heider I knew that I couldn't stop the take; I had to just let it go and then explain the problem and try to fix it later.

"Sitting there, I was already thinking about the things I could do to fix it, because I had totally overdone the sound, but Stephen was totally into what he was playing, and just when it looked like he was going to stop, he started another section and played some more. By now, my whole life was flashing in front of me, and certain that my career was over, I began to sweat. Meanwhile, Crosby and Nash were standing next to me, dancing — they were having a good time — and it wasn't until seven and a half minutes into the recording that the whole thing ended. Stephen had just played the basic track to 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes'...

"It still gives me goose bumps when I listen to that recording, aware that he blew through seven‑and‑a‑half minutes with all the time changes, all the pauses, all the everything in just one take,” Halverson says. "No edits, no nothing. Anyway, when Stephen was done and I could hear him taking off his headphones, I figured he was going to come in and just blast me for the horrible recording, so I was ready with my excuses. David and Graham met him at the double doors, and while they were all high‑fiving each other Stephen turned to me and said something to the effect of, 'Oh, that's the sound I've been looking for! I love it!' and I went, 'Thanks.' I was just dumbfounded. For the next 20 years, I didn't tell him it was an incredibly happy accident, and that if I had known what I was doing he wouldn't have got what he wanted.”

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/...classic-tracks
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Old 11-10-2018, 05:57 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seldrums View Post
Yes, I once took a hot-rails pickup, some duct tape, and 2 popsicle sticks. Rigged it right into the middle of the sound hole. Worked like a charm! I was rather surprised how well it actually worked.

I think this, or one of the electric guitar style pickups designed to fit a soundhole would give you the best electric guitar sound to start with and you'd have to less processing:


https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...kaAoBHEALw_wcB



but if you want to go with the piezo ashcat_lt answer seems to make a lot of sense, I've always owned and electric so never had to do this
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Old 11-11-2018, 04:30 AM   #11
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Thanks once again for all the comments.

Anton
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Old 12-11-2018, 01:47 AM   #12
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You're going to struggle to get a clean electric guitar sound

But a distorted guitar sound is possible. I used to do this back in college when I was broke and could only afford an acoustic guitar.

Your best friends are any effects that mangle the sound. Distortion. Tons of saturation. Oodles of compression. Phasers. Flangers. etc.

You basically want to disguise the sound of the acoustic guitar as much as possible.

Also pay attention to your playing style. If you're going for a distorted sound, don't strum like you would normally strumming an acoustic guitar. Make shorter stabs. Switch to power chords and mute the lower strings (throw in an EQ filter for good measure too).
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Old 12-11-2018, 02:42 AM   #13
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Thanks for your suggestions, jabardastkid2002.
While you are there, on a similar subject,I am trying to emulate the guitar on All you have to do is dream by the Everley Brothers. The electric guitar doing the stroked chords with a echo effect throughout the song.
I played my guitar straight into the interface using my guitar pick-up, which helps to give it a bit of edge, and now I am playing around with the delay and reverb settings.

Can anyone suggest any good settings for achieving this effect please?

Anton
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Old 12-11-2018, 04:50 PM   #14
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That's a tremolo effect, as opposed to a delay. I'm not in front of Reaper right now but I believe there is at least one JSFX tremolo, and there are various free VSTs as well.

Tremolo just modulates the volume (down up down up etc). On most controls, the higher the Depth is, the closer to zero volume it will go before going back up. You'll also have a speed or tempo control, which you can adjust to taste.

Some tremolo effects also let you control the waveshape of the modulation. I believe the Fenders just did a standard triangle, ie, linear up and linear down. Don't quote me on that, but it'll be a good starting point at least.

If you want to go down a rabbit hole, it looks like Chet Atkins played on that song, so you could look up what gear he would have been using at that time.
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Old 12-12-2018, 02:18 AM   #15
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I use a fishman rare earth single coil magnetic pickup and a LR Baggs M1 Active humbucking magnetic pickup. The Fishman would be best for getting an electric sound & of course with a magnetic pickup you dont get anything off the body of the guitar. I would suggest swapping to a set of nickel strings in the same gauge as you are using now.

FWIW I just sold the guitar I used the L.R.Baggs on & am now wondering if I should keep the pickup or not. Does a clever trick of using the second coil to sense body vibrations, which gives almost the sound of a decent microphone! On the other hand do I really need to be swapping pickups all the time?
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Old 12-12-2018, 03:10 AM   #16
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Thanks a lot for that Reason. I will try the tremelo out.
My delay actually sounds quite effectcive for the bridge part as I have slipped in a lot of double stops in that section.

I did put a tentative foot in the rabbit hole and I was amazed to find Chet Atkins did the guitar work. Not the kind of sound I associate with him at all. Simple but tasteful.
I do not know if you can see I am logged in as Burnsjethro! Well, Jethro Burns, one of my favourite mandolin players, was C. Atkin's brother-in-law;

And thanks once again for the tips Ivansc.

Anton
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Old 12-14-2018, 11:55 AM   #17
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I tried out the tremelo and it works a treat. Thanks for the tip.

Anton
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Old 12-17-2018, 08:20 AM   #18
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This guy pulled it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1OGQQk5HpM
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Old 01-03-2019, 11:45 AM   #19
Burnsjethro
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Sorry I forgot to thank you for the video link, wolfdogg.

Actually, using the pickup on my acoustic and then trying out the tremelo suggestion for Dream, I realised that I was leading you all along the garden path a bit.
What I was really looking for was a semi-acoustic-sounding effect to contrast with the acoustic guitar proper (the sort of sound you might get with jazzy/folky singers,... and the pickup combined with the tremelo gave me some clues. I will have to experiment more with that plus delay and reverb.

Anton
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Old 01-03-2019, 04:56 PM   #20
martifingers
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Fifty years ago these guys were amazing us (appropriately enough) by simply using a wah-wah pedal on an acoustic guitar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7px74hsZS4
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Old 01-04-2019, 06:56 AM   #21
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Quite amazing!
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