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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Electric → Acoustic/Electric guitars
Question.....the acoustic guitar that has a built in electronic pickup.. the type that requires a 9 volt battery .....now is this an actual pickup or a condenser type microphone in the hollow body of the guitar... the G series of Takamine guitars note that they have pre-amps...is this the same...
"Active" pickups require a battery, and are more like the standard pickups you see in your electric guitars. I have them in my bass, and I like the immediate crunchy sound you get from them. That is different than a "Piezo" or pieziotic pickup, which is usually akin to a tiny microphone in your guitar.
Yes it's a pickup that works on the same principles as an electric guitar but it's designed to give a natural warm sound that sounds acoustic (but amplified through a small brown amp). The pre-amp is the little EQ/control box on the top that takes the battery.
Compare this to a jazz or country archtop and you'll see the difference. Despite being hollow body guitars they are much heavier and have crude passive pickups like solid electric guitars. The result is a big, in-yer-face sound that can be amplified, pushed, distorted etc.
The amp is key here; an acoustic amp matches in with the desired warm sound by handling all frequencies equally. The electric amp boosts the mid-range and growls. Different worlds.
I love my electro-acoustic. I just adore the acoustic sound but every now and then I get the need to crank everything up and get some good loud distortion going. Best of both worlds.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Electric → Acoustic/Electric guitars
