Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Gibson L-130 Amazing Acoustic / Dull and Thin Plugged in


ryancohenmusic

Recommended Posts

first off thank you to all who have helped me in the past your expertise and amazing advice makes owning a Gibson so much better. i've written before about upgrading the electronics in my Gibson L1 30 or simply buying a preamp such as the LR baggs or red eye fire eye preamp. I completely understand that by just plugging my 2001 Gibson into my BOSE L1 compact direct will unfortunately not give me the greatest representation of my acoustic. I am hesitant to change the electronics at this point - but was hoping i could get more control of the acoustic tone with an external pedal like a Lr baggs venue. Is there any other thing out there that could help make this Gibson shine when plugged in. I'm a solo singer songwriter so the acoustic sound is critical and 50% of my show. you guys are the best. ryan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

first off thank you to all who have helped me in the past your expertise and amazing advice makes owning a Gibson so much better. i've written before about upgrading the electronics in my Gibson L1 30 or simply buying a preamp such as the LR baggs or red eye fire eye preamp. I completely understand that by just plugging my 2001 Gibson into my BOSE L1 compact direct will unfortunately not give me the greatest representation of my acoustic. I am hesitant to change the electronics at this point - but was hoping i could get more control of the acoustic tone with an external pedal like a Lr baggs venue. Is there any other thing out there that could help make this Gibson shine when plugged in. I'm a solo singer songwriter so the acoustic sound is critical and 50% of my show. you guys are the best. ryan

 

I perform live on an acoustic all the time and would never do without this little box: "Fishman Pro EQ II Acoustic Guitar Pre Amp" In fact, it has made such a difference that I bought a spare and another of the band members (with 45 years of experience) had to have one too. This particular model is no longer produced but there are still some on Ebay. (even a few new ones) It's not expensive at $149 or so. This thing is basically an external eq that allows you to punch up the gain, the highs, mids, lows. I highly recommend it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the fishman pro EQ II looks like it would give me great control of my tone but would this be better than say a k & k solo trinity preamp installed in place of my fishman? the thing is my compact l1 BOSE does NOT have a control for mid high and low. which is unfotunate bc I am stuck w the fishman piezo sound which I am assuming is what I dislike!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your biggest limitation is the Bose L1. Second is the piezo pickup currently installed in the L-130. My suggestion would be to dump whatever UST pickup is currently in the L-130 and install a K&K. Get a good preamp with bass/mid/treble control (I use the K&K preamps), run it between the guitar and the Bose, and you should get a much better, more natural sound that you'll have some control over. Next, I'd upgrade from the Bose to something with more versatility.

 

Good luck!

 

DC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I second the suggestion to use microphones, if you can get away with it. No piezo is ever going to sound like the guitar it's in. Even something like a soundboard transducer is not really going to sound like the guitar, no matter how much pre-amp you use. That's life, though. Most people don't care as much as we do. What kills me is that we spend so much money on these great guitars, and then use some kind of piezo system that would sound just as good in a $500 guitar. I know many will disagree with me there, but...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jesse! I literally said the EXACT same sentence an hour ago to my friend regarding the fact that we spend so much money on these Gibsons

but can't truly replicate the sound plugged in. Which makes me wonder if my money would have been better on a not as great guitar but

used 600$ to upgrade the electronics to the best of the best. The sad part is, when plugged in, it probably would be the same. Unplugged

obviously is a totally different story.

 

I've never tried micing he acoustic live - I don't move around a lot so it probably would work. It just seems so backwards, ya know? I want to

enjoy my Gibson plugged in. You are right when you say that most people don't hear a difference except for ourselves - but since i do not

consider my consider myself someone who plays a Gibson guitar just because I could afford it - I own a Gibson because I want my performance to

sound the best. Or i would have settled on my first Epiphone a long time ago, ya know?

 

It seems like the best answer has been to upgrade my fishman electronics to K&K Mini with a preamp - as well as possibly getting rid of my BOSE

l1 pa system for something with more control of EQ - The bose has basically nothing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ryan, I have the Fishman Solo-Amp - poor man's version of your Bose. Used to play a Martin with a UST (Highlander) and I used the LR Baggs Paracoustric Direct In Box, always did fine. Might be all you need. I have heard JM play live - and he really knows how to get the sound out of his gear. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/lr-baggs-para-acoustic-guitar-di-and-preamp?pdpSearchTerm=lr%20baggs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want to try the pre-amp/eq route, I've got a like-new in the box Fishman Pro EQ II that I would sell for $ 75. plus shipping.

 

At the end of the day, I think you would be better off with a better pickup to a better amp, but that is a lot more coin.

 

jayhorton2(@)gmail.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you Jeremy! What kind of mixer would be able to be used with the Bose l1 if i did that route, to give me some EQ options with the guitar and vocals?

 

Ryan,

You may be best suited to get a very small mixer so that you are able to have EQ control over both your guitar and vocal. Maybe even something that can ad a little reverb. This will give you much more control over your sound.

JM

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...