FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Acoustic Pre Amp

Question:
I'm looking for a couple of things... one is some kind of pre-amp or DI (not too sure on the terminology here) so I can plug a couple of acoustic guitars in to our PA. One is a Takamine dreadnaught and the other is a PRS Hollowbody II, both piezo equipped guitars. Is there some sort of rack mount that I can use where I can plug 2 (or more) separate acoustics in for live use to get the best sound when going direct to the PA. Is a pre-amp necessary if the guitars both have internal 9v batteries or do I just need a DI? (Or are a pre-amp and a DI the same thing?) Also, if we decided not to use a rack mount unit, what would be a good stomp box type thing to use to hook our guitars up to the PA?

Answer:
It sounds as if that's what you're describing. If so, then you should be able to plug into the PA without any other gear(if you have the available channels). If you are only equipped with a pick-up (under the saddle) you'll likely need to run the guitar through a pre-amp of some sort. I run my Martin HD-28 through a small battery powered Fishman pre-amp and then to the PA. This works rather well for me. I tried a direct connection to the pa without the pre-amp and got a very thin and low signal. No character at all. But again, it sounds like you have a powered pre-amp on those guitars, so I'd say you can go directly to the PA. You need to set the levels for your guitars and balance their output so they're not stepping on or washing each other out. That's the tricky part. I 've been successful running 2 vocals and 2 guitars through a 6 channel pa and getting just what I needed for a small to middlin' venue. Try it out before you spend any cash on more stuff. If the guitar has 9v batteries and knobs or sliders, it most likely has a pre-amp. There are few other purposes for batteries in guitars. These days, most guitars with piezo pickups already have pre-amps as the raw levels tend to be low. A pre-amp and DI are not the same thing but can incorporate the functions of the other. A pre-amp is generally intended to boost and EQ signal levels. They can also be used to lower signal levels, but too high a signal from a piezo element is usually not the problem. A DI box, on the other hand, usually converts impedance levels. This allows unbalanced high-impedance sources (such as guitar pickups) compatibility with balanced, low-impedance inputs, like the front ends of mixers.