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FDP Forum / FDP Unplugged - Acoustic Instruments / I could use some advice about effects

mjames520

USA

Nov 25th, 2011 02:54 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I am primarily an electric player but have started playing mostly acoustic in a praise band. How many of you acoustic guys use effects? With my background in electric I am thinking some reverb and a little delay in moderation would enhance my sound as it did with electric.I don't want to overdo it. any advice would be appreciated

Greg

Highland CA

Close to Corona
Nov 25th, 2011 02:59 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Sounds like a great place to start. I agree with you in that less is more. I just play fingerstyle solo pieces and all I use is a touch of reverb and delay. All it needs.

Get your EQ where you want it and you should be good. The real test is when you actually play with your group.

Good luck!

(This message was last edited by Greg at 03:01 PM, Nov 25th, 2011)

Peegoo
Contributing Member
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That chicken

is WRONG, baby.
Nov 25th, 2011 04:45 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Good advice; here's a little more detail.

Consider the venue you're playing. Is it a church sanctuary with a high ceiling? If so, it already probably has plenty of natural reverb. Why add reverb at the amp when you already have the best reverb around? Too much reverb makes things get mushy. An acoustic guitar in the mix should be crisp, sparkly, and bubbly, like champagne.

If you're playing primarily rhythm, a delay is probably not a good idea because as a rhythm guitarist, you are also part of the "percussion" that drives the solo musicians and vocalists. Delay can work--but to sound good--you generally have to tweak the delay time to match some division of the tempo of the tune you happen to be playing.

Work on getting the best possible pure acoustic sound from your guitar to the amp/board, and you'll have the best results.

However, one effect that can work really well in your setting is a chorus. Used sparingly, it can make a 6-string sound like a 12.
(This message was last edited by Peegoo at 04:46 PM, Nov 25th, 2011)

FunkyKikuchiyo
Contributing Member
*

New England

Nov 25th, 2011 09:18 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Ditto Peegoo on his excellent advice.

Also, if you want to expand "effects" to include all processing, EQs, compressors, and the like all have their place. Consider brands/product lines that are meant for general audio use and not necessarily specifically for guitar.

What are you plugging into? If you're going straight into a line in on a mixer, getting a direct box and going in through a mic-pre will sound a lot better (in my opinion) and give extra flexibility. But, we're stretching the definition of "effects" at that point. Sometimes a felt need for extra richness is because it is being robbed out of the signal chain somewhere else.

mjames520

USA

Nov 25th, 2011 09:25 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I'm playing a Takamine esn40 into a Boss ME 70 into a di box then into the PA. I have been using reverb and delay sparingly but wonder if just from the di box to a pa might giver me a more pure sound without coloring it as much.

Peegoo
Contributing Member
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That chicken

is WRONG, baby.
Nov 25th, 2011 10:49 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Do you practice with the group where you play for audiences? If so, try it "dry" (no effects, just the direct box). Ask someone to sit in the audience area for an objective assessment, while playing, of the difference between your processed tone and your dry tone.

Your tone onstage and your tone in the audience are usually vastly different.

Florida Mike
Contributing Member
********

United States

I can only Sing my Heart
Nov 27th, 2011 08:30 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Peegoo, great advice and right on the money, just want to add though that I think your KEY word on Chorus is the word "sparingly" as so many player use too much Chorus and it actually can make the guitar sound slightly out of tune when not used "sparingly". Great advice.

jay1vinton

Hawaii, USA

Perfect is the enemy of good enough
Aug 2nd, 2012 05:57 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Like the others, just a touch of delay and reverb. It works wonders for fingerstyle Slack Key and colors the signal nicely in strict moderation.

6L6
Contributing Member
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Lago, CA

Aug 4th, 2012 09:47 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
My favorite acoustic sound comes from the following setup:

Guitar > BOSS DM-2 Analog Delay > BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus > SFVC.

You'll have to fork out some bucks for a DM-2 (you have to fight harp players for them too), but they are worth every penny.

6
The Legendary BOSS DM-2
(This message was last edited by 6L6 at 09:53 AM, Aug 4th, 2012)

Vic Vega
Contributing Member
********

Massachusetts

Happy to be at the top of the food chain
Aug 6th, 2012 06:52 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
With my acoustics I use no effects at all... Ever.

Rick Plays The Blues

Austria

May I try that again?
Aug 16th, 2012 11:19 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
No effects imho is the point to start at. If you play an acoustic guitar and want it to sound like one, at least.
Noone said you could not have the idea to produce strange "electronic" sounds on an acoustic ...

But for acoustic sounding acoustic guitar, what do you need? The best possible sound imho is if it sounds like a really good acoustic, well played in a good sounding room and well mic'ed.

So reverb, delay, eq, compressor and specialities like enhancer and so on can help to get there - not used as "effects" but as finetuning tools like in a studio.
Anyway, starting with no effects sounds like a good idea to me.

jay1vinton

Hawaii, USA

Perfect is the enemy of good enough
Aug 23rd, 2012 03:03 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I add an almost imperceptible amount of delay from an ELHMX Memory toy delay and the amps slight reverb.

I don't like a too processed or overly effected acoustic signal too much, so a little goes a long way for me...

FDP Forum / FDP Unplugged - Acoustic Instruments / I could use some advice about effects

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