Recommend me a semi acoustic for recording €350-400 range

ZV Yoda

I posted this on the musical instruments section too, but since I'm specifically looking for a semi-acoustic for recording purposes (and because you lot are never shy about offering opinions on anything) I though I'd ask here too...

I’m looking to get myself a semi acoustic, primarily for recording work in a home studio. I have had an Art & Lutherie for years (solid cedar top). It’s fine for playing acoustically, but doesn’t translate so well when recorded (via pick up or mic).

A mate has a Yamaha CPX700 like this & it sounds great when recorded. Not sure I’d necessarily go for the same strummer if I wanted it to gig, but for recording, it seems to be a good choice. I have a budget of c. €350-400 (I’ll probably buy online from the UK) so before I take the plunge, I was looking for any advice on what alternatives might be worth a look in a similar price range.

fitz

That price range isn't going to give you a lot in terms of quality and a nice recorded sound.

I'd look at Simon & Patrick. Sound much more expensive than they are, or maybe a Taylor Big Baby.

If its just for recording, your best bet is an acoustic without a pickup. The pickup isn't gonna give you as nice a sound as micing, so you'd only be compromising what you get for your budget by including something you don't need.

Mickarooney

Id spend the money on a good condenser mic, maybe an AKGc1000s or something.
Of course the guitar matters but you'd get a decent acoustic if you look around but if your recording it in through a pickup it wont sound as nice as a condenser mic.
Just my opinion. :-)
on the guitar side I bought one of these guys
http://www.thomann.de/ie/ibanez_ael_10_ebk.htm
but I use it for live gigs (built in tuner is a godsend) and it isnt too pricy.
But when recording I use it with an AKGc1000s and I get a lovely recorded sound.
If you chose to record using the pickup it would be worth getting a decent DI box too.

ZV Yoda

Good points… & I agree with the logic that says get a good sounding guitar & then mic it rather than spend "unnecessary" money on an integrated pick up.

It makes sense if recording in a decent sounding room, but I don't have that luxury in my home studio (the room is really set up for recording acoustic drums, so it's fairly dead). I have a pair of Rode NT5s (drum overhead mics) that work well on the acoustic & a few SM57s too, but the room sound is muck for guitar, so it's not really working out for me.

The reason I liked the pick up option is that the room has less impact on the sound (because the pickup is inside the guitar). Also, I'm not the world's greatest guitarist (or drummer for that matter!) and I find it difficult to eliminate external noises when strumming (e.g. bumping off stands/desk etc in a very small home studio).

The Yammie in the link appealed to me, because my mates one sounds really nice when recorded. It's has a new type of pick up (A.R.T?) & I think it sounds great

DamagedTrax

^^ have to agree. a nice mic would be your best option. a DI'd semi always sound horrible. the only time i'd ever use one would be live (and even then id rather mic up a full acoustic)

ZV Yoda

DamagedTrax wrote: »

^^ have to agree. a nice mic would be your best option. a DI'd semi always sound horrible. the only time i'd ever use one would be live (and even then id rather mic up a full acoustic)

... would you still mic it even if the room was dead?... micing the acoustic just seems to give me a very dead sound (which is what I need for drums recorded in a samll room... adding ambience later).

I know my current strummer is not great & so wanted to get a new one anyway. In keeping with the notion of "fix it at source & not in the mix" on the guitar, I thought it better to go with one that has a pick up as a compromise (since I can't really change the room acoustics)

DamagedTrax

yup. a good mic will give a better tone overall. and you can always add a quality reverb afterwards (altiverb or waves IR) for a little room, or even better buy a long xlr and record in another room!

a semi (or pick-up) DI'd sounds cold and plastic and thin IMO. you'll never get it anywhere near the full bodied sound of an acoustic.

just 2 days ago i had someone here recording with a takamine. the tone of the guitar on its own was stunning but as soon as we hooked it up to tune it, it lost everything that made it so nice in the first place.

PaulBrewer

Some acoustic guitars with pickups don't perform particularly well acoustically.

Takamine come to mind as an acoustic that rarely sounds great acoustically but can sound good plugged in.

They're often damped much more than a 'regular' acoustic to avoid feedback issues.

As is pointed out by another poster, why pay for a pickup if you don't use it.

DamagedTrax

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Some acoustic guitars with pickups don't perform particularly well acoustically.

Takamine come to mind as an acoustic that rarely sounds great acoustically but can sound good plugged in.

They're often damped much more than a 'regular' acoustic to avoid feedback issues.

As is pointed out by another poster, why pay for a pickup if you don't use it.

dunno what model it was (possibly an aftermarket pick-up even) but acoustically it sounded full and warm, as soon as i plugged it in the whole sound just collapsed, there was none of the initial depth that you normally associate with a well made acoustic guitar.

Mickarooney

alternatively buy new strings ;-)
yep the extra long cable and record it in another room is a good option, my kitchen has an excellent sound for some reason!
and my hotpress is my vocal booth :-) you cant beat singing wiht your socks around ya

dav nagle

Get a Hohner!

Ba dum tsst.


But really don't get any of these!

First Act guitars
mavericks
Marlin's


Get a Fender or a Tanglewood!

dav nagle

Buying a guitar online is like going on a blind date




Don't buy yizzar guitars online ya mad yokes you don't know what it feels like or plays like! Waste of money :eek:

old gregg

dav nagle wrote: »

Buying a guitar online is like going on a blind date

or a mail order bride

besides, who'd want to pass on the option of some pre-pay fingering

artvandulet

If you don't already have a decent mic to record your guitar then no acoustic in that price range is really going to sound great recorded.

If I was you and I didn't have the guitar or the mic, I'd spend €250 on the guitar and the rest on something like a Fishman Aura(don't knock it 'till you've tried it). I wouldn't buy the guitar online either. Crazy IMO! Every guitar is different. You'll get a lot more guitar if you get one 2nd hand from the likes of adverts.ie . Make sure its at least a solid top, stick a new pair of strings on it and your in business.

frobisher

A favourite topic of mine. And a topic about which a hell of a lot of faff is spoken. Watch people when they discuss acoustic guitar tone, they nearly always need to look at the name on the headstock before they say whether or not it sounds good.

You already have the answer to your question. Buy a Yamaha. They are the only budget acoustic guitar that consistently impresses me.

Paul is right about Takamines. They're like station wagons and you can't fault them for their functionality but they are as sexy as a colostomy bag. I did play one once in the acoustic centre in London that blew me away but then I found out it was a special edition and cost £4k. Martins are a funny one too. They have a rep that I'm not sure they always deserve. They seem to be cashing in on their iconic status and some of the newer models sound to me like they should be half the price they actually were. Although when they're good they're very good!

So go buy that Yamaha.

ZV Yoda

Thanks for the comments. I tried out a couple more Yammies, Takamines & Corts. All ranging from sub €200 to over €1200. I made an offer for a 2nd hand Takamine on adverts (but missed out).

Then I played a Taylor 110e (I didn't really know too much about them TBH, my "main" instrument is drums, so I'm not all that well up on acoustics). Playing the Taylor was a mistake, because I loved it. It sounded good, was really comfortable/easy to play & sounded great through the amp.

I guessed it was a bit more expensive than the others, and the sales guy confirmed my suspicions. Still, I knew it was what I was after, so I took the plunge & stretched the budget more than I should have. I just need to figure out which one of the kids I'm going to have to sell...

Now I’ll really need to learn more than 4 chords. Ah well…

eamon234

Regarding mic/DI'ing semi acoustics - isn't it the norm to do both to seperate tracks for a fuller sound?
Has been in any studio I've ever recorded in. I'm no expert though - just an observation!

frobisher

eamon234 wrote: »

Regarding mic/DI'ing semi acoustics - isn't it the norm to do both to seperate tracks for a fuller sound?
Has been in any studio I've ever recorded in. I'm no expert though - just an observation!

It's not done for a fuller sound. It's done for options. I've often done it then left in the DI'ed in for the chorus with some effect or other on it.