|
Post by hughesy on Jul 10, 2024 18:59:34 GMT
Hi all,
I know virtually nothing about electronics on an acoustic guitar so looking for a little help.
I have a guitar which just has a pickup under the saddle - looks like a plastic shim with a wire going to an end jack. I bought the guitar used so have never used the electronics but did briefly test it through an amp at the sellers home, so pretty sure it at least functions.
Normally I only play acoustically, but in a couple of weeks I am playing at a smallish event and will need to be amplified. There is a PA and microphones provided and a sound person as well.
With my undersaddle pickup thing, can I just plug straight into the PA and get a reasonable sound? Or is some other "device" needed in between?
Thanks, Joe
|
|
mandovark
C.O.G.
Posts: 3,058
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Birds_eye_maple.jpg","color":""}
Mini-Profile Name Color: ff003a
Mini-Profile Text Color: 05b724
|
Post by mandovark on Jul 10, 2024 21:35:39 GMT
If you've got someone doing sound on the night then you should be fine going straight into the PA. You might need the EQ tweaking a bit to get the bass/treble balance right, but the sound engineer should be able to sort that out for you on the PA.
Good luck with the gig!
|
|
|
Post by colin on Jul 12, 2024 6:38:07 GMT
Does the guitar have a battery somewhere, and / or volume & tone controls?
Basically I'm asking if the guitar has a preamp built in. In the situation you are describing you probably don't _need_ one, but without it you don't have any control over the sound from the guitar and the signal from the pickup will likely be a lot less than the PA expects to see.
The Behringer ADI21 is a reasonably capable preamp that is cheap enough to be ok to buy one as a 'just in case' standby.
|
|
|
Post by borborygmus on Jul 12, 2024 7:36:56 GMT
I would be tempted to get some form of preamp with EQ capabilities. There are two unknowns: you don't really know how your guitar sounds properly amplified - does the bass overwhelm the trebles at volume, for example. And you don't know how capable the "sound person" is - she might be a genius in dialling things in, or he might be the only one strong enough to carry the PA. It won't cost much to get some peace of mind for the night, and it's one less thing to worry about, so you can think about your performance. Invest in some decent guitar leads as well.
Good luck - please let us know how it goes. Peter
|
|
|
Post by hughesy on Jul 12, 2024 13:13:58 GMT
Thanks very much. There is no battery or anything in teh guitar, so I have ordered the behringer preamp just in case.
|
|