Squonk
Being much of garage kind of player, I do sometimes do the occasional live performance, weddings and funerals etc (I actually did one the other day, opened myself up to many 4 weddings and a funeral joke)
I am still in search of a good sound live. The setup is generally just me singing and playing either a nylon or an acoustic.
What I have Yamaha Stagepas 300 PA, Takamine Acoustic and for effects I have a Zoom G2.1u that I use mainly to add some EQ and delay etc.
any suggestions on getting a good acoustic guitar sound live. I saw some guy playing at a coffee shop with a cheaper Cort and his sound was good, not chorusy or processed. He told me the secret was Elixir strings. a bit pricey to just try and I have always been a fan of D'Addario's.
Any Tips?
AlanRatcliffe
Elixirs are nice strings and well worth the extra money for the durability alone. I wouldn't say they have a better tone than non-coated strings, though. If your PA is decent (and if I'm not mistaken, those Yammies are...), your main weak point is your effects unit. The Zooms are popular because of the features they offer at a relatively low price point, but don't come close to more expensive units - especially in the sound quality department. You mentioned the other player's sound was "not chorusy or processed", which tells me that you regard yours as being so - which also points a large, stiff finger at the Zoom.
There's still a little you can do with your current setup though. I know you have a multieffect pedal, but for acoustic sounds, the simpler the better - turn off any compression, keep chorus to a subtle minimum and go with a bright plate reverb. Delay to taste, but make sure it's synced to the tempo of each song. Also make sure you have any amp or speaker simulations turned off as well as distortions and all the other effects. You should only have EQ as a corrective tool for odd frequency humps or dips or feedback elimination, not to shape the sound.
Does the Zoom G2.1u have settings for the system you are plugging into? Something like "guitar amp", "PA", etc.? If so, make sure it's set to PA.
