1. If it's a CBG wouldn't it sound like a CBG if it had a mic in front of it in stead of a pickup?
otherwise it's just an electric guitar with a box that does nothing except look cool..
2. Does the Pezio give the best of both worlds?
3. why do resonator guitars have pick up when the pure sound comes from the reso?
I know ones not really better then another and there are no rules BUT this just had me thinking when I compared them...
Thanks You Thoughts
Replies
I've done several builds this way and like it.... I think the reason for wound pups is that they can be driven harder and give more reliable effects that you can get from a piezo.... Nothing like showing up with a simple box and then lighting up a room with a fat sound....
On the other hand, there are times and songs that I like a near acoustic sound run thru a prime system (old low watt tube amp or micro amp driving a vintage speaker box)... That's what multiple CBGs with varing setups is the answer for me. Don't reach for "one size fits all..." because it don't...
the b est,
Wichita Sam
David Lloyd said:
If you add a 3 way switch for a mag pup and a piezo (or 5 way if you have 2 mag pups plus piezo) you have the option of either or both at the same time - I did a quick amateur video to show the differences (easier than trying to describe in words) and really like the both together sound.
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/comparing-cbg-pickups
"If you're playing for an audience, you're going to have to amplify. How much difference does it make which side of the strings the microphone is on?"
A well-set-up microphone arrangement on an acoustic guitar sounds very nice, but you are always prone to feedback, extraneous noises, and are pretty much stuck in one spot.
By plugging in, you get a bit of freedom to move around, there are generally less problems with feedback, and you can tailor the sound easily for desired effect.
So, largely a matter of taste IMO. I played for years in an open-mic club where essentially no one had any sort of built-in amplification. It was only after we'd been going there for years that folks started showing up with various sorts of pickups in their guitars.
The current generation of acoustic-electric instruments, with on-board EQ, sound very nice onstage.
I put a piezo in my resonator guitar,and I love the sound. Crank up the overdrive a bit, and it's naaasty.....
---Or, to think about it another way, if the body of a guitar made no difference to the sound then no one would bother with semi-acoustics and a Gibson 335 would sound the same as a Les Paul.
(2) No
(3) See the answer to (1)...ie. Firstly, the tone doesn't just come from the resonator (although obviously the resonator plays a very big role - and when playing acoustically it is the main route through which sound is channeled out of the instrument and to the ears of the listener). Secondly, by using a pickup you can find musically useful tones expressed from other parts of the instrument - and those tones will be affected by the resonator because it is supporting the strings.
1) Yes.
2) yes
3) because they can, and for the same reason in #2
Ok all kidding aside, I think all your questions are valid. I have been wondering myself why there aren't many playing acoustic cbg's that are just miked. I have watchhed several live performances by local string bands here in Cincinnati and noticed that they keep it acoustic and mic all their instruments-banjos, guitars, mandolins. I think you could do they same with cbg's
As far as electric cbg's go, I do think that 6 string fretted electric cbg's just sound about the same as any other electric but when you electrify a fretless 3 or 4 stringer you get a sound that you cannot produce with a standard electric guitar.
Just my thoughts