ACOUSTIC versus ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC the pros and the cons

Having done the "two mics" bit for years back in folkie days, It's easy to see where folks like the convenience of simply plugging in a guitar with on-board electrics.

You don't see a whole lot of professionals using anything else, though they do tend to use high-end systems with both piezo and microphone on-board.

If you're really picky about the sound, and you have a really good set of mics and a really good amp... Then likely you'll get the nicest reproduction that way.

But will your audience care?

To my ear, a decent axe run through a decent system sounds just fine regardless of how you run the amplification.

I believe it was Merle Travis who said,  "You're going to have to amplify. Doesn't make much difference which side of the strings the pickup is."

NELA, define good sound? For you, the audience? When you play, your amp is behind you.
I have a Marshall AS100D acoustic, but more used as electric amp.
The price is not relevant but if you look and listen to a 1000 - 3000$ el - ac, I can't tell you the difference. A nice trick is let the seller play before decision.

Of course, some of us go the cheezy route with good effect....I usually play my cigar-box resonator guitar (about 25 bucks total plus a couple weeks of labor) through my Danelectro "Honeytone" amp.  (about 20 bucks).

Sounds good to me....

All depends what you're after.

cigar box resonator in acoustic? Never heard of it.
NELA, sorry, my answer was sharp.
I just tried to tell that when you play, you hear the sound behind you or another place, I compare it with a very simple thing IF YOU SING A SONG AND YOU RECORD IT? YOU ARE AMAZED THAT YOUR VOICE SOUNDS DIFFERENT, same = looking in the mirror and compare with a picture that was the essence

I believe it's hard to judge YOUR own music since we do become a little too critical of our sound. I try to judge my sound by the comments I get, or lack of, from the people listening. Prior to playing I try, during practice, to tweak everything as best as I can. During a "sound check" last minute touches can be made to improve everything you have put into place. I like a lotta styles of music but mostly stick to the older country, blues, light gospel. Since I play rythem, I want to hear the song through the strums and chord changes. I don't want to sound like another player, I want to sound like myself. I want to play for the person singing so they can follow the melody of the song. Together, at least for me, these are the 2 key elements for the success of the song.

Nela

NELA, I think we walk on a parallel road.
MY POINTS ARE
1) If you sing, the melody coming out from your vocal chords, will be different, because of the anatomic structure, so if you record your voice and listen, it sounds different.
2) Same with a guitar, you sit with the back of the guitar body on your body and the hole is in front, so if you record that too, or if someone plays on your guitar, hole in your direction, the sound will be a little bit different
This is all "physics" and about VIBRATION waves.

HOW GOOD ARE THESE "CIGAR BOX" shaped guitars? ELECTRIC OR ACOUSTIC? It sounds like fun to make such a guitar.

Lieven when you hear yourself talk or sing normally a good percentage of the sound is transmitted internally to your eardrums but when you hear a recording you are hearing externally through your ears canals only (just as everyone else hears you) which is why you sound so different. I, and I am sure many others who record regularly, are so used to this that we do not notice the difference anymore.

Roger

Thanks Doug, but you can't get rid of me as easy as that . A serious PC crash followed by a minor illness and a trip to the UK for my baby girl's 40th birthday have kept me off line for a while.

Aplogies to Lieven for going off topic.

Roger