acoustic or electic/acoustic (metal strings)?

geordief · 10-12-2011 02:59PM #1

I realise it is a how long is a piece of string question but is it possible to give any answer to this question?

If I am considering buying a guitar for less than a thousand and I am tempted by getting one with a preamp (say around 500 euros) what kind of a price would I be looking at to get a pure acoustic that would be as good in purely acoustic terms?

In other words what kind of a financial cost to the purely acoustic side of things does the electro part carry?

At what (any ?) stage do electro /acoustics perform as well acousticly as the pure acoustic guitars?

If I was determined to get an electric/acoustic how much should I be prepared to pay extra so as not to lose acoustic quality (talking about the 300 to 1000 eu range overall)?

Blackhorse Slim · 11-12-2011 05:50PM

Sounds like what you're asking is;

How much extra does the preamp add to the price?

Probably not that much. If you're looking at a €500 acoustic guitar, with a pickup preinstalled, the same guitar without a pickup would probably cost somewhere over €450. I think most guitars in that price range would have a decent, but not great pickup/preamp system. A good acoustic pickup system can cost a couple of hundred, but those are not generally installed in mid-price guitars.

If "ok" all you need, fine, the extra cost is pretty small, and the pickup will do the job. If you want a really good quality pickup, it would be better to get a pickup separately and get it installed afterwards, or get one that plugs in to the soundhole.

However on more expensive guitars, you will usually find a better quality pickup system installed that adds more to the price of the guitar.

geordief · 11-12-2011 07:28PM

thanks
I was really wondering whether the preamp would have an effect on the tonal quality of the guitar (played as an acoustic) -but I realise it is a fairly stupid question as I only need to try them out to see.

DT100 · 12-12-2011 08:31PM

geordief wrote: »

thanks
I was really wondering whether the preamp would have an effect on the tonal quality of the guitar (played as an acoustic) -but I realise it is a fairly stupid question as I only need to try them out to see.

I know what you mean.Ispent a while looking for a guitar with preamp,I also wanted a cutaway.I wanted it to be loud whan played acoustic.I was thinking the preamp plus cutaway would take a little from it.I played a lovely Tangle wood,but it didnt sound as loud as I hoped.I tried a Takamine EG320,and put on Martin strings,I was happy with the sound.But sound is personal and you really need to play a lot of them to find what you are happy with.Good luck with the search.

acoustic or electic/acoustic (metal strings)?

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