Looking for an "acoustic blues" guitar

[magritte]

My budget is about 1k max, but I'd prefer to spend 200$ or so to be honest. So cheap/weird guitars are welcome. Vintage even better.

The problem is I moved into a new place and I can't plug in electric anymore. So, it's acoustic from here on out. I'm also considering something like a semi-hollow gretsch...never played one in my life, though, so I'm not sure how well these amplify without being plugged in. Does a semi hollow have comparable amplification as an acoustic?

Ideally I'd like something I can record direct with a mic, then add effects (e.g. distortion etc) via VST and computer. Again, the hollow body might be better in that case. But, I lack experience in this arena so tips would be great. One thing I know is that I can't plug in electric anymore, and I want to record some dirty and blues sounds.

This board is always fantastic for recs, so I can't wait to see what you collectively come up with. Personally I am stumped.
Thanks.

[Sean Sullivan]

I'm a little confused by the post if you want a semi-hollow body electric or an acoustic...

...if you have a nice DI (Avalon U5, for example) I think you could plug an electric in DI, add effects/use pedals, and get really great sounds. I plugged my Rickenbacker into an Avalon U5 and was blown away with how good it sounded, very George Harrison sounding.

But if you want an acoustic, I don't think one with electric is going to sound very good if you are trying to "emulate" an electric with effects.

[jgimbel]

One thing I know is that I can't plug in electric anymore, and I want to record some dirty and blues sounds.

Correction: you can't plug into an AMP anymore. Like minorleagues said your post is a little confusing, but what I'm getting from it is that you're thinking you need either an acoustic/electric, or a semi-hollow to plug in, is that right? If you're looking to try to imitate an electric guitar plugged into an amp by record a guitar direct, why not record an electric guitar, direct? It won't sound the same as plugging into an amp, but it'd definitely be closer than recording an acoustic-electric direct. I have trouble getting convincing sounds recording direct, but some people have a real knack for it. I'm not sure you need a new guitar to do what you're trying to do. That is, if I do understand what you're saying.

[magritte]

Sorry, the post is confusing.

I can't use my amp anymore, so I sold it and my electric guitar. Just kept my acoustic. Yet, I'd like to record dirty/electric sounds. Just trying to figure out the best way to go about it.

a. record an acoustic track, add effects afterward.
b. record an electric direct.

if i go with B, i can't use an amp, so i'd have to record direct into my pc. how does one go about recording a guitar directly into a sound card? is there an adapter or conversion piece?

thanks.

[woodhenge]

I've not had much luck in getting a convincing electric sound with an acoustic/electric guitar, either, so I can't help you much there, but...

As far as direct recording goes, you have a couple of options:
1) Use an audio interface that has an "instrument" input, otherwise the impedance will be off and your guitar will sound unnatural. Combine this with some amp modeling software in the box, like Pod Farm or similar...

or

2) Grab a Pod XT, X3, or Sans Amp and run that into your line input on your soundcard. This way is really the no-brainer for direct guitar recording and would be the next-best thing to miking up a real amp.

[jgimbel]

I don't think micing an acoustic guitar and then adding effects like distortion to that afterwards will give a convincing electric guitar sound. Others might have different opinions. Any effects applied to the signal will be applied to the guitar sound plus any room sound, so distorting can get some loud room noise quick. I've gotten some sounds here and there that I've LOVED by distorting a miced acoustic, but far from anything I'd call authentic bluesy.

If I needed to record guitar with some bluesy distortion and couldn't do it with an electric through an amp, I'd probably do electric direct, definitely preferring that over adding distortion to a miced acoustic guitar, unless I had very, very quiet mics and room, which I don't. For recording direct now, which I often do for bass, I go straight into my Firestudio Project, or through a DI in a preamp into that. When I was first starting, before I started loving micing everything I can think of, I plugged a guitar cable from the guitar to a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter (usually used for headphones) and plugged into the "line in" jack on my Macbook Pro. Then I'd add whatever effects/EQ afterwards. It sounded great to me at the time. Can't say listening back I love the sounds, but I think that way would give a more convincing blues electric guitar than micing an acoustic guitar and distorting it.

Acoustic guitars just generally sound different than electrics, especially the sound of an acoustic in a room vs. the output of pickups.

[honkyjonk]

i think a lot of Lightnin' Hopkins' electric stuff was actually an acoustic plugged into an amp.

However, I've never been able to make an acoustic sound like an electric. Maybe mimic it, but it's not easy. It's the highs that don't sound right.

[Rolsen]

What was that band a few years back, 'Queefus' or 'Dweebus' or something - sang 'I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby...'

Wasn't that dude's sound an acoustic piped into either an amp or dirt pedals or something? The song is annoying, to me anyway, though the tones are neat. Given my cryptic clues, you may find out who this band is and how they achieved that sound.

[bipedal]

Agree with others here -- hard to get an "electric sounding" tone if recording an acoustic guitar (not to mention playability differences -- I can't do big bluesy bends on my acoustic in as convincing a manner as I can on my electric).

I've had some success recording cool guitar tones with this:

Electric guitar -- > SansAmp GT2 pedal --> super-cheapy Behringer tube mic pre --> into i/o box (2 channel LinkUSB) to my computer.

Good variety of clean to gritty to overdrive to distortion sounds depending upon SansAmp and mic pre settings... With the right reverb, I've been pleased with the results. And no complaints about the volume from my downstairs landlords.

[Trick Fall]

What was that band a few years back, 'Queefus' or 'Dweebus' or something - sang 'I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby...'

Wasn't that dude's sound an acoustic piped into either an amp or dirt pedals or something? The song is annoying, to me anyway, though the tones are neat. Given my cryptic clues, you may find out who this band is and how they achieved that sound.

The band's name is Wheatus. I personally think it is an awesome tune. I don't know if he used an acoustic, but I do recall seeing Marcy Playground performing on Letterman or something back in the day and the guitar player was playing an acoustic through a regular amp and pedals.


To the OP, if you still have your electric I would invest in a POD XT or something similar. It will record directly well enough and you will also be able to play through it without having to turn on the computer.