Choosing and using an electro-acoustic
Basically my question is : "are electro-acoustic guitar a good/fair/bad thing ?". But in case this question depends on context or needs I will describe my plan. I'm open for any comment.
Where it started
I was curious about electro-acoustic guitars. This is quite handy as it doesn't forces me to play only on amp - I like the idea to just grab the guitar and play, but I also want to record. I play many kind of rock (prog, alt, stoner ...) . Surely I will try few on a shop in order to feel how it sounds, but I raised some specific concern I wanted to adress. (And by the way baritone guitar is not the main topic but if you have some comments you think I should absolutely know don't hesitate).
Context
I'm a regular player since few years, I don't play live but I would like to compose and record music. I currently have two low-end guitars (cheapest), one acoustic (Ibanez) and one electric squier. For a new guitar I have a 400-500 € budget, this can help me enhance both of my guitars for the price of one. But really ? I have some soft and hardware for recording (Studio One, Katana amp, Audio-technica micro ...).
Questions
I heard that mic inside an electro-acoustic wasn't really good. Should I forget this idea to record with inside mic ?
Does such guitar sound fine on acoustic ? The body seems quite flat, I don't expect to sound loud but at least does it sound nice ?
If I record an EA guitar on inside mic, do I have a way to "mute" the acoustic part ? Isn't it a "problem" ? Should I record both anyway ?
Conclusion
Do you have any general comment ? Any propositions ? Should I settle for another kind of gear ? A nice electric-only guitar ? Is my budget reasonable ? ...
Thank you in advance for your comments !
(2)2 Comments
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I heard that mic inside an electro-acoustic wasn't really good. Should I forget this idea to record with inside mic ?
This depends. You can get cheap guitars with low-quality components, and more expensive guitars with high-quality components including a good mic.
Does such guitar sound fine on acoustic ? The body seems quite flat, I don't expect to sound loud but at least does it sound nice ?
The ones I've heard sound good, these were acoustic guitars with a mic inside, so when you don't use the mic it sounds identical to an acoustic.
If I record an EA guitar on inside mic, do I have a way to "mute" the acoustic part ? Isn't it a "problem" ? Should I record both anyway ?
This depends. You can get EA guitars with a magnetic pickup, a piezoelectric pickup, or a microphone. If you have a microphone, it'll obviously pick up the body vibrations. A piezoelectric pickup will do this too. A magnetic pickup will record only the vibrations of the (metal) strings.
Body vibrations are essential if you want the amplified signal to sound like an acoustic. If you're going to treat the guitar like an electric, you don't need the body vibrations and a magnetic pickup will be a better fit.
There are two very different situations: (1) live gigs, and (2) studio recording. Which one are you trying to do, and is there a problem with it? The electric part of electro-acoustic guitars is meant for live gigs, and it cannot sound like an acoustic guitar played acoustically in a room. The electric side, you should consider as being a professional tool for getting a job done in potentially difficult conditions. I have an Ibanez electro-acoustic guitar that cost almost nothing, and its playability, sound and features are absolutely fantastic for the price. It has a built-in tuner, great direct sound and even a balanced XLR output - and it cost something like 330€, with a hard case! That's nothing. If you want an actual acoustic western style guitar, with a full sound, you're looking at a price tag of something like 2000€ and up. What do you want to do? Do you have actual problems with the things you already have?
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