Anyone Using DI Acoustic to Good Results?

[Local Man]

I've always been philosophically opposed to Electric/Acoustic guitars. To me if it had a pickup it's not an acoustic, and "the sound" of an acoustic guitar is the sound of a microphone pointed at one in a good room.

Well, circumstances can be humbling and I now find myself in a situation where though it is possible, it is not very convenient for me to mic up my acoustic most of the time.

So I'm wondering if any of you are getting good results with your acoustics by plugging in directly. If so, what's the secret?
I'm not a fan of the Piezo sound in general but I've heard impulse responses can help quite a bit.
Also any tips on what guitar and pickup models to look at would be nice.
I was at the Guitar Center the other day playing around with a few but without being able to actually plugin in to my interface and test out what it is I really intend to do with them, i felt kind of lost.
Prior to that I never really even considered any of the guitars that have input jacks (or even cutaway for that matter).

Also any sound examples would be super cool. If you've ever gotten a great sound by strictly using a DI acoustic, I would love to hear it.

Thanks!

[donkey tugger]

If you've ever gotten a great sound by strictly using a DI acoustic, I would love to hear it.

Never! Though not saying it can't be done.... I do use the piezo outputs but always in conjunction with mics, to give a bit of body and focus to rhythm stuff, but never on their own.

Just as an alternative, how about a clip on mic. I got a cheapy one made by some German (I think) company called TIE;

https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... itars/2BRC

It's actually quite good (and way better than a piezo on it's own). Obviously there are more expensive ones - I know DPA do one. It's has a bit less top end than a normal condenser, but perfectly usable I'd say

Just looking, can't see I've actually recorded anything with it yet though.

There are also other condenser mics that can actually be fitted inside the guitar I believe, although I wouldn't have a clue what any good ones are...

[donkey tugger]

Ere we go, just clipped the bugger on my Lindo Zodiac 12 string, pointed it vaguely near the soundhole and played some, to be frank, chordy/picking rubbish..you get the idea;

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hYMHT ... BSIVs7fkbS

Just a bit of low-mid cut applied - it's a verrry boomy guitar

[Local Man]

If you've ever gotten a great sound by strictly using a DI acoustic, I would love to hear it.

Never! Though not saying it can't be done.... I do use the piezo outputs but always in conjunction with mics, to give a bit of body and focus to rhythm stuff, but never on their own.

Just as an alternative, how about a clip on mic. I got a cheapy one made by some German (I think) company called TIE;

https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... itars/2BRC

It's actually quite good (and way better than a piezo on it's own). Obviously there are more expensive ones - I know DPA do one. It's has a bit less top end than a normal condenser, but perfectly usable I'd say

Just looking, can't see I've actually recorded anything with it yet though.

There are also other condenser mics that can actually be fitted inside the guitar I believe, although I wouldn't have a clue what any good ones are...

Clip on mic sounds interesting and I'll look into but I don't think that would solve my primary problem.
My main issue right now is with ambient noise. I'm mostly recording in a common room with my young kids in and out and a refrigerator and other things buzzing loudly right in the next room.
Every once in a while I can get some peace and quiet and get a good mic'd recording but it's rare and unpredictable when that is.
I love the freedom of the electric guitar because I can DI that anytime I want and get great results with amp sims and other processors if needed.
I'd love to be able to do the same with acoustic and get something approximating decent results.
The clip on solution would probably reduce ambient noise a bit though so it would be cool to experiment with.
Thanks.

[donkey tugger]

Clip on mic sounds interesting and I'll look into but I don't think that would solve my primary problem.
My main issue right now is with ambient noise. I'm mostly recording in a common room with my young kids in and out and a refrigerator and other things buzzing loudly right in the next room.
Every once in a while I can get some peace and quiet and get a good mic'd recording but it's rare and unpredictable when that is.
I love the freedom of the electric guitar because I can DI that anytime I want and get great results with amp sims and other processors if needed.
I'd love to be able to do the same with acoustic and get something approximating decent results.
The clip on solution would probably reduce ambient noise a bit though so it would be cool to experiment with.
Thanks.

Ah, I was thinking it was because of space considerations.... It does to be fair pick up lot less background and room stuff, and you can position it very close to the strings and still get a good result, but not I'll wager close enough to blot out the sound of screaming kids and the like etc!

[Local Man]

Ere we go, just clipped the bugger on my Lindo Zodiac 12 string, pointed it vaguely near the soundhole and played some, to be frank, chordy/picking rubbish..you get the idea;

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hYMHT ... BSIVs7fkbS

Just a bit of low-mid cut applied - it's a verrry boomy guitar

That sounds good. Certainly "usable."
It sounds like wood and air, like an acoustic should. Not like some tinny coffee shop amp. Piezo's seem to turn every guitar into an Ovation.

[BertKoor]

For the last guitar I bought this was a requirement: when plugged in it should sound close to a proper acoustic guitar. Not for recording but live gigs, so it's less critical.

I stumbled upon a used Ovation, and really, I think it's alright compared to other bog-standard piezo-fitted acoustic guitars.

Piezo's seem to turn every guitar into an Ovation.

Well no, there really is a difference. And you have to set it's EQ properly.

[Local Man]

For the last guitar I bought this was a requirement: when plugged in it should sound close to a proper acoustic guitar. Not for recording but live gigs, so it's less critical.

I stumbled upon a used Ovation, and really, I think it's alright compared to other bog-standard piezo-fitted acoustic guitars.

Piezo's seem to turn every guitar into an Ovation.

Well no, there really is a difference. And you have to set it's EQ properly.

I was just kidding about the Ovation thing.
I'm not a fan of the Ovation sound but a lot of that may be attributable to ignorance since I haven't played one in years.

And yeah for live use I'm sure there are many great solutions since that is really where the DI approach is necessary for most.
But for recording I've never really heard of anyone going that route for obvious reasons.
But like I mentioned before, to be able to DI acoustic in the same way I can DI electric would be a dream come true.

[donkey tugger]

Ere we go, just clipped the bugger on my Lindo Zodiac 12 string, pointed it vaguely near the soundhole and played some, to be frank, chordy/picking rubbish..you get the idea;

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hYMHT ... BSIVs7fkbS

Just a bit of low-mid cut applied - it's a verrry boomy guitar

That sounds good. Certainly "usable."
It sounds like wood and air, like an acoustic should. Not like some tinny coffee shop amp. Piezo's seem to turn every guitar into an Ovation.

That was actually quite far away relatively (about 4 inches from the strings) so you can get a lot closer for a more direct sound with less room.

The other possible thing are these - bloody expensive though, and in my view hideous looking, but they do seem to sound good;

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/music ... index.html

Don't be swayed by the Line 6 Variax though. The electric models are brilliant and I love em, but the acoustics are, well, shite - ok for playing the odd thing live I'd imagine, but I've never got a decent recording sound from them.

[jochicago]

I hate the sound of typical piezo, to me it's useless.

The top reason my main guitar is a Yamaha CPX 900 is the DI sound. It's the only guitar I heard at the time that actually sounded good DI.

The secret? Actual microphones. The CPX has a blend of piezo and 2 onboard mics. The whole thing is custom made to the body of the guitar. The electronics let you mix the mics and the piezo so you can customize the sound quite a bit.

I think Yamaha discontinued the top of the CPX line (they are hard to find in the US). I think the last model made was the CPX 1200 and that has even better electronics than mine. Since then I've heard at least one other guitar with similar quality of DI sound, one of the top Martins sounded about the same, but the middle-low Martins also sound poor IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASP_dr6ZfI

BTW, I do record my guitar using regular mics. When well mic-ed it does sound better than the DI, it's clearer. But I still think the DI would work just fine on a record.

[The Noodlist]

Still waiting for the piezo to be delivered from China.

The IK Multimedia iRig Acoustic looks interesting, but rather flimsy. That flimsy cable should be replaced with a jack cable into a socket on the mic. It also has very limited placement options.

[The Noodlist]

Just as an alternative, how about a clip on mic. I got a cheapy one made by some German (I think) company called TIE;

https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... itars/2BRC

It's actually quite good (and way better than a piezo on it's own). Obviously there are more expensive ones - I know DPA do one. It's has a bit less top end than a normal condenser, but perfectly usable I'd say

Just looking, can't see I've actually recorded anything with it yet though.

There are also other condenser mics that can actually be fitted inside the guitar I believe, although I wouldn't have a clue what any good ones are...

Just seen something similar to the one you posted. Micronic Microphones.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WIRELESS-INS ... SwqNBakvOs

Does yours require battery or charger being a condenser mic?
Could it clip onto a amp cab and be used with a tablet, mobile phone, etc?
This device could cover a lot of ground.
What end?

[Forgotten]

Depends on what you consider good results. I don't ever think I'm going to get the same sound as using a mic close to the sound hole, but when I plug my Epiphone electro acoustic into my Tech21 Para Driver I can tweak the sound quite a bit and get something much nicer sounding than going straight into the mixer.

[donkey tugger]

Just as an alternative, how about a clip on mic. I got a cheapy one made by some German (I think) company called TIE;

https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... itars/2BRC

It's actually quite good (and way better than a piezo on it's own). Obviously there are more expensive ones - I know DPA do one. It's has a bit less top end than a normal condenser, but perfectly usable I'd say

Just looking, can't see I've actually recorded anything with it yet though.

There are also other condenser mics that can actually be fitted inside the guitar I believe, although I wouldn't have a clue what any good ones are...

Just seen something similar to the one you posted. Micronic Microphones.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WIRELESS-INS ... SwqNBakvOs

Does yours require battery or charger being a condenser mic?
Could it clip onto a amp cab and be used with a tablet, mobile phone, etc?
This device could cover a lot of ground.
What end?

It does look very similar, but the one I've got has a mini XLR connector so I bought a cheapy adapter from ebay and plug it into my audio interface, so it gets phantom power that way. Not sure how you'd therefore configure it for use with something else.

[The Noodlist]

It does look very similar, but the one I've got has a mini XLR connector so I bought a cheapy adapter from ebay and plug it into my audio interface, so it gets phantom power that way. Not sure how you'd therefore configure it for use with something else.

True condenser, cool. It sounds good.
Been looking at some cheap mini mics touted condensers on Ebay, these have jack connectors, gotta be dynamic mics.