Hi all, I'm no professional so i need your advice here. I have this accoustic guitar but i just can't seem to be able to get the erm... sound that i want. I don't know how to tune the treble, bass, mid that is on my guitar itself. Can someone guide me?

whats to tune? unless your acoustic has a pickup.
if no pickup, then your choices are to experiment with different strings, change the bridge / nut to different material.

yes yes it has a pickup. Will taking a picture of the pickup help?

Well, we won't know what "sound" you're looking for..... so very hard to recommend the settings..... plus being an acoustic, it already lend it's own acoustical value....

hmm.. true, i just don't know how to describe it. *sigh* Thanks for replying though. Oh i face another problem while playing on the guitar, the sounds seem to crack, is it because of the cable?

well what pickup? piezos? that will pick up the sound of the guitar wood etc.

alternative mod which i've seen is this...
get a feedback buster...a round plastic thing you put over the soundhole.


then cut out a slot for a electric guitar single coil in it...then output of cos like normal thru the endpin jack at the bottom.

woo... i have that plastic thing. It comes when i bought my guitar. I didn't know what was the purpose of it. The guy didn't explain much either. So what does it do?

uhh, its called a feedback buster...pretty self-explanatory.

*sigh* i'm so newbie in this. Maybe i should do more research.

every guitar has it's own sound. If you already don't like the natural sound of it, the EQ is not going to help much. EQ is more for fine tuning. My suggestion is, just continue practicing on it until you save up enough cash to get one that you like.

This post has been edited by Bassix: Jan 10 2007, 03:31 AM

ok ok i'll save and save like mad

anyway...can tell what guitar u r using??if guitar comes with the soundhole cover i think should be a decent one...

ok..to ur problems..maybe u can try changing strings...coz i used to haf this cheap roundback acoustic guitar where is put a rm10 set of strings...it really turns me off...get nice strings like d'addarion EXP or ELIXIR...excellent strings and very long lasting...n u haf a digital tuner??make sure u haf one...

next is maybe ur projection...ur fingernail shaping...etc etc

my guitar is the yamaha compass cpx-8. Ok, i'll go and get a new set of strings later. Yes i have a digital tuner. my fingernails ah... i don't have long fingernails. I keep them very short.

Edited:
Ok i went to buy 2 sets of D'addario strings. One is super light and the other one is light. I've changed the strings of my guitar and it sounded nice. But what i'm worried is i wonder how it sounds like when i plug into the mixed which i would have to wait til this Friday to find out. *sigh* Anyone can teach me how to adjust the pickup on my guitar?

This post has been edited by BlueSilver: Jan 10 2007, 03:29 PM

wow....cpx-8 is a great guitar...not cheap oso....u muz be rich...haha
if not mistaken the guitar is abt rm3k+/-.....its a 2-way pickup...piezo with gooseneck mic....

settings can try 10% of mic and 90% of piezo...should quite acoustic already...the mic try put below the soundhole...

fingernails not need to be too long...juz shape it abit abit curve..pointy sharp nails is a no...

anyways...is ur string d'addario EXP(coated) strings??

more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better. Even different guitars of the same brand and model may sound worlds apart. But if it's 3k, i don't really see how it can sound bad...

EQ adjusting, or pickup adjusting as you call it, requires quite a lot of patience. Nobody can really tell you how to adjust your EQ without hearing what your guitar sounds like. You have to experiment with the knobs yourself and always pay attention to what happens when you turn each knob. With google nowadays, you can even get useful information on basic (really really basic) sound engineering. Study the frequency band of an acoustic guitar and in time you will know how and which frequencies to boost/cut to achieve the sound that you have in your head. Speaking generally, most of the tonal qualities are contained in the mid frequencies around say 500 Hz - 2kHz. The high frequencies give the metallic sound of the strings. And on most acoustics that i have tried, the low frequencies just make the sound more muddy and boomy. But there are some guys in the recording thread who know more about frequencies and mixing. Maybe it's not such a bad idea to ask around there.

That's as much as i can offer. Probably won't help at all anyway

This post has been edited by Bassix: Jan 10 2007, 10:13 PM

the strings didn't mention at all whether it's exp coating or not. i'll experiment with the knobs then, it's kinda hard since i need it to plug it in to try it out. Thanks Reevex and bassix.

haha...no prob...but I really like to try out ur cpx-8
i saw it on Yamaha HQ but they put it inside a glass cupboard n lock it...argghh...

i've tried all lower end L series but dont really like...wanna see how cpx-8 is like...

r u in kedah??if come to pj bring ur guitar along let me try ya...haha

if i go to kl then can la

wahh.. compass series... nice.. so jelessss me...

I find that plugging ur guitar on an ACOUSTIC AMP rather than a regular one might answer a lot of questions. I think its the difference between unplugged and plugged sound thats bothering u isn't it? the sustained humm of the wood lost sumwhere in the cables LOLx thats why ovations are so popular. Looks horrible though on fatties like me

yes that is my problem. Any recommendations for acoustic amp?

thats when a two way pickup comes in when the sound too "crytalize"...actually sounds quite unnatural...most guitar used pieze pickup...which is very clear but lost the natural sound of a wood guitar...therefore the mic pickup in ur cpx-8 can blend the sound from ur piezo and mic to produce a very acoustic sound(natural)...btw...2-way pickups are very good...so dun worry much

as for amp, get AER Compact 60 Acoustic guitar amplifier...damn good amp...but for the price...

how much does it cost? must be super expensive. Are there any cheaper amps? When i plug my guitar into the mixer, it often cracks. The guitar sound sometimes can be heard and sometimes not. Any solution to this? Could it be the cable problem?

cracks?? must be the cable laahhh.. krkk krrkk rkkkrr POP! or the jak innit. or the amp itself

no amp, just straight plugged into the mixer. So i'm guessing it's the cable or the jack. Are there different types of cable? Which one is the best?

Monster Cable!!!!!!!!
and if you can't afford the RM 120 Price tag, try going for a good name brand cable like Planet Waves.

planet waves, ok i'll keep that in mind. how much does planet waves cable cost? Do i need to maintain cables?

NO.
avoid planet wave cables, cos of that weird lock it has on there at the bottom of the tip.
it might prevent the cable from slipping out, but prolong usage will damage your guitar input socket.
see that its wider at the bottom? thats the locking part.



This post has been edited by Everdying: Jan 11 2007, 03:13 PM

what do you suggest everdying? Can you also tell me the price as well?

a cheap good cable that ppl seem to prefer are the ibanez ones, or you can get fender also.
both from bentley.

bentley is a shop right? i'm from kedah. I hope they have cables like that over here. I'll go there to have a look later. Do i need to maintain the cables? Is there such thing as maintaining cables?

oh kedah, yea its a shop, but im sure got dealer somewhere there.
if dont have, closest just go penang and buy.
and if you leave the cables alone after awhile the tip will just tarnish and wont be shiny anymore...then you need to polish it again etc, sometimes it wont help.
thats why got gold plated ones

i think there a wireless wan....very convinient...dun haf to bundle up long wires...very good especially performing on stage

the AER compact 60 is abt USD1000....around rm4k...

check this out

Wireless Guitar System

wah the wireless one is too expensive and i don't perform on stage. The most is i play in church that's all. How much does an ordinary ibanez or fender cable cost?

If you are satisfied with how the guitar sounds unplugged, then don't bother with an amp. Just go straight into your PA unit via DI box. And if the built in mic is too crappy, then invest in a good mic (preferably condensers, although for church use it may be a but difficult depending on where u stand in the band) instead of an amp. The good thing about outboard mics, you avoid the DI Box, which can affect tonal qualities quite severely if they are cheapo ones.

even if i could afford a RM4k wireless i wouldnt.
you can get good enough wireless for stage performance for under RM1k.

anyway, those ibanez/fender cables if not mistaken about RM35 or so.
fender tweed cable is about RM50.

whats with you and planet waves.....???

well, go ahead and buy that cable then.

I've got one already...but not like the pic you've posted....its the Joe Satriani poster ad type one...

what poster? no idea.
but does it have those weird extensions on the tip that prevents it from slipping in the jack?
ALOT of ppl have complained about that already, that their input jacks have been destroyed and they cant use normal cables anymore cos it will just slip out like a cheap whore

Hahahaha...'cheap whores'...hahahaha...

btw... issit true that cable does affects the tone or tonal output from your guitar...apart from the krak kruk krak from normal chapalang cables, good uality ones sounds uite the same with normal cables...

pardon the kue letter...keyboard rosak...

from my experience with capalang cable, the inner copper coloured wire is easily putus. damn stupid cable. then i bought technik cables, sounds better. never tried those crazy cables yet, no money la.

Actually.... Now that I think about it...... I was using Planet Waves up until my guitar jack went kaput..... then I switched to this new german brand (and now, Monster), no problems!

Ok..... Planet Waves sucks now........

Cheap whore = good one

"Your signal path is only as good as your weakest link". I use switch craft jacks and MIJ Canare cables for my acoustic, soldered myself. Straight into DI and mixer.

How to get good sound? This is the question of the century. Some get it by merely miking their acoustic, some use effects processors and layers of EQ, some buy vintage/seasoned guitars, some say its in the fingers.

How to tune to get the sound YOU WANT? Only YOU can answer this question. Others can just give suggestions, like:

- play with the EQ. Ask the guys at the mixer to set everything to NEUTRAL or ZERO and let you control the EQ from your guitar. Once you get the hang of it, you can play with the mixers parametric mid EQ for cutting/boosting mids (cut freq. around 700Hz to 1kHz for a nice "jangly" strumming tone)

- clean your strings regularly (after playing) so that they always sound "alive" and "bright"

- use a little bit of reverb (if you have)

- blend the piezo and mic. To me, the piezo gives a all round "clear" sound, note for note, but the mic brings out the acoustic warmth and "realness". (use the feedback buster if you're leaning more towards mic).

- ensure your guitar isn't too humid. use silicon gel in your guitar case to suck-up unnecessary "water" that will cause your guitar to sound "lumpy" and dead. Dry woods "sparkle" and sound "bright".

- Try strumming/plucking at different locations ie. near the neck, over the soundhole, at the bridge to get a different sound. Listen to which sounds nicer to you.

- Lastly, remember that your GOOD guitar sound is not the end in itself. Its the music that you make with it. Amen.

get a good looking chick singer.
then no matter how bad you sound, no one will remember.

wow, thanks for all the replies. I'm learning a lot from you guys. I do have a newbie question.. what is a di box?

Edited:
I've actually tested my guitar tonight with the mixer. I've tried playing with the eq and it sounded ok when i was testing it with my headphones. But when i played it without the headphones on, it sounded rather sharp. I guess i need play more with the eq.

This post has been edited by BlueSilver: Jan 12 2007, 12:36 AM

Dude, where can i get those Monsters?

From what the pros say, it seems that they use different cables depending on the sound they're going for. So i guess it does. But i have my cordial with neutrik heads and it gives more a bit more clarity than my made in china RM 10 cable. Other than that nothing much happened according to my ears. But then again, my ears are sort of gone case already.

BlueSilver: to cut a long story short, a DI Box (called direct in or direct injection....or who-knows-what-else) is to sort of "upgrade" the signal quality of your guitar going into a mixing desk (usually). Sound techs call it converting an unbalanced signal to a balanced signal. If you want the long detailed explanation, maybe posting a 2nd question in the recording thread will give you all the techy details.

This post has been edited by Bassix: Jan 12 2007, 05:41 AM

Bought mine from the USA...... not sure if you can find Monster Pro-Links in Malaysia.......

my friend got SMX to order monster cables, as the parent company sinamex are the distributors for monster cables down in SG.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooh. Shiny....
Seriously.... I was fumbling with alot of cables over the years, and these Monster Pro Links were worth every single cent...... doesn't break..... no cereal (you know..... snap, crackle and pop), and so far holding up to alot of torture...If you can afford it, get a Monster and you'd be set for life.

thanks bassix for the explanation. I didn't know cables played a part too. I thought any cable will work. I'll try to get an ibanez or fender cable then maybe when i get better i'll get a monster cable.

Hi it's me again. I'm practising on how to improve my guitar skills and someone in the forum suggested me to practise my fingering on the fretboard. So my question is how do i apply the scales that i learn into the song that i play?

scales is very important...especially going solo on electric guitar..pentatonic...chromatic....etc etc...not to say that scales is not important for classical and acoustic...helps fingering and ur both hand coordination

i still not sure what is pentatonic, chromatic, ... etc. Can explain?

pentatonic and chromatic scales...is a type of scales...do u haf any books abt scales??u can find it in it....

oh yes, i just bought a book about scales. I'm still at the first page. Probably it's somewhere in the middle or somewhere. I'm just curious and excited.

anyways u working or studying??like so free.....

i'm a freelance web designer so yeah i'm rather free. So it's good in a way cos i have the time to practise on my guitar.

wow...anyways how much u bought ur cpx8?

i bought my cpx 8 for about RM2k ++. I can't really remember the exact amount cos it was 2 years ago.

are you going to use the cpx8 with the microcube?
Have you tried the microcube? How does it sound with the cpx8?

Just wondering ;-)

yes i think i will use it with my cpx8. Nope haven't try it yet. Maybe i'll bring it over to the shop to try out the sound of it. But first, i need to have the cash.

I just got back from KL and just got myself a new set of elixir strings and planet waves cable. Woohooo.........

This post has been edited by BlueSilver: Feb 21 2007, 04:26 PM

should be knowledgeable about notes n learning process can be much more easier.
Pentatonic = 'Penta' = 5 = like 'Pentagram'...so it should have 5 points..same thing here Pentatonic means 5 notes n repeating the same notes again at different position. i understand what it is but not good in describing those definitions unless u r sitting in front of me can show u straight away. anyway, check the link below. everything about basic major/minor scales, pentatonic or even chords are showed in very easy way. Click those arrows to change any root key u want. google more for more info.

http://www.chordbook.com/guitarscales.php


ps; anyone use Sommer cables? any good?

thanks RitzyMazzy