Can i make an electric sound accoustic.

[daveb]

Here is the problem, I play with a church band and I have been trying different pickups and microphone combinations and none are working very good.
The style of music we play sounds best with the accoustic sound.
I feel like a good electric with a good pickup using some effects I should be able to get a clean "accoustic" sound.

Is this possible?

Dave Berryman

[mrmando]

Some electrics have piezo bridge pickups that result in a somewhat acoustic sound.

What pickups have you tried? Have you used a preamp? Most piezo pickups (Fishman, in particular) are not going to sound like much without a preamp to condition the signal.

Or, consider something like a Rigel, Ovation, or Godin with a built-in pickup...

[EdSherry]

I don't know any way to make a solid-body "electric" mandolin (e.g., a Mandobird or an Eastwood) sound realistically "acoustic."

If you want to plug in an "electric" mandolin but still sound reasonably acoustic, I'd suggest you check out the Godin A-8. #It's the best I've found for that application. #

If you're proposing to plug in your existing mandolin, it helps to know (a) what instrument you have, (b) what pickup you're using, © how you're plugging it in (into an acoustic amp, into a direct box into a PA, etc.), (d) the extent to which you have a soundman (or other assistance) to make you sound the way you want, (e) whether you need monitors, and (f) the overall volume level you're looking to play at. #

With that info, people can make recommendations. #Without it, it's hard to figure out what would help solve your problems.

[daveb]

I tried a stick on condenser mic with a preamp, now I have a K&K twin spot internal. I have gone through the preamp and straight into the sound system and the main problem is that the entire body is amplified. The pick click is very loud and the body sounds like it has a mic inside it. It picks up fretting the strings, strap noise and everything.

Dave

[mrmando]

Is there some kind of warranty on the K&K installation? Possibly the person who installed it put the piezo elements in the wrong place. Maybe check with the K&K folks to see if they have a recommendation. Notch filtering/EQ might ameliorate some of the noise.

What was the problem with the stick-on condenser?

[daveb]

The installer is me. I am a builder (accoustic) and there were no problems with the installation, it was very straightforward.
The problem is the same with the condenser mic, anything you touch on the instrument is amplified, I mean loud !
The pick noise on the strings is almost as loud as the notes are. When picking a solo, there is a constant pic,pic,pic, with every note.

Dave

[Chunky But Funky]

Dave,
I also play mando with my church's worship team. I regularly use an AT Pro 37 that sounds great. Feedback can be an issue, but you just have to be careful with monitor placement and levels. I also mix this mic in with my Bourgeois and Baggs M1 pickup which is a very nice combo. Other choices to consider might be the AT 4033 LD mic or the Schertler Dyn M, but $$$. Good Luck!

Doug

[bradeinhorn]

i recall that those parker fly guitars have a fairly impressive acoustic sound for a solid body electric instrument. what's the technology behind those?

[EdSherry]

Brad -- The Parker Fly uses a custom Fishman piezo pickup built into the bridge. #

I have a Schwab electric 5-string mando with a custom piezo built into the bridge (as well as two humbuckers) that sounds reasonably "acoustic" as a single-string instrument, but does not give the double-string "acoustic mandolin" sound.

Depending on the bridge setup, it should be possible to retrofit a piezo pickup into an eight-string solidbody electric.

I still question how "acoustic" it will sound. #In my experience, most of the piezo-equipped electrics (including the Parker Fly) do a passable job of emulating a piezo-equipped acoustic-electric, which is to say they still do not sound like a good acoustic played into a mike.

I have one of the Yamaha AG units described in a previous post. They improve on the straight "piezo" sound, but still are somewhat lacking. Same with the Boss AC-2 "Acoustic Simulator" and similar units. (Most of them are voiced for guitar; I haven't tried them on mando.)

Dave -- You can notch out the "pick noise" sound with a good parametric EQ. #It sounds like your overall signal is too hot, which can be fixed by turning down the gain.

[daveb]

Yea Ed, I have been working with the sound man and the drive and gain on the pre amp is all the way down and the instrument is still way too "hot".
I will use a stand mic this weekend if I have to.

Dave