Acoustic Guitar Amplification

Welcome to the wonderful world of amplifying acoustic guitars. It is a challenging but hopefully gratifying endeavor. My aim is to help cut through some of the common misconceptions and provide information to help figure out what is appropriate for you.

Application, application, application!!! This is where we must start. Of course what is fine for the weekend warrior may not be appropriate for the seasoned professional. Let us start from the ground up:

1) Magnetic Sound hole Pickups. There are many choices available at reasonable prices. Companies like Dean Markley, Lawrence, Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, EMG, Sunrise and others offer this type of pickup. They work much the same as electric guitar pickups, sensing the movement of the string though a magnetic field. These pickups are perfect for some one who is looking to plug in with a minimal investment and doesn't want anything to be permanently installed.

There are some things you should be aware of before running out to your local music store. These pickups work the same way that electric guitars pickups do, consequently they often don't sound very close to what you hear when you're not plugged in. Some people consider sound hole pickups an eye sore. As their name implies, you mount them in the sound hole of your guitar. If they are not wired to a �strap-jack� (further explanation later) you'll have a wire running down the top of your axe. It's not very attractive and can get in the way of your awesome right-hand technique.