Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Gotta love these late night sessions.The kids are in bed and the Mrs is snoring and out comes a unplugged Rickenbacker.You know what im talking about.

I see you're enjoying that new fireglo.

I bet there has got to be loads of unplugged late night shenanigans you guys get up to.

scotty wrote:I bet there has got to be loads of unplugged late night shenanigans you guys get up to.

I like to plug IN at night time!

Scotty, observations:

1. Nice Fireglo
2. You've had the sticker off already
3. I can see the (near empty) cookie jar reflected in the lower horn

Och aye, laddie!!

Much better acoustics in the bathroom, mate!!

Sometimes there are late night Rickenshenannigans going on over here...but usually with a headphone amp.
JimK

All joking aside Ive got to admit when trying out a hollowbody for the first time in a guitar shop i do play a while acoustically so i can hear exactly what the guitar is doing before its actually plugged in.I suppose thats maybe me but i like to listen for shake rattle and roll.

scotty wrote:All joking aside Ive got to admit when trying out a hollowbody for the first time in a guitar shop i do play a while acoustically so i can hear exactly what the guitar is doing before its actually plugged in.I suppose thats maybe me but i like to listen for shake rattle and roll.

+1

Lovely acoustic sound , Scotty! I bet she sounds excellent plugged-in!

scotty wrote:All joking aside Ive got to admit when trying out a hollowbody for the first time in a guitar shop i do play a while acoustically so i can hear exactly what the guitar is doing before its actually plugged in.I suppose thats maybe me but i like to listen for shake rattle and roll.

+2, and this applies to eclectrics too, IMHO.

If an electric guitar (hollow, semi or solid bodied) doesn't sound good unplugged, it's never going to sound good through an amp.

I do most of my playing at home unplugged. It really helps me zero in on the trouble spots of my technique. You can hear every muted string and the buzz of every misfingered fret.

Clint wrote:If an electric guitar (hollow, semi or solid bodied) doesn't sound good unplugged, it's never going to sound good through an amp.

I disagree actually. While I do think there is a relation between unplugged, and plugged sound, I don't think the above is definitive. I've played too many planks that sound incredible plugged in, and to many alive and well unplugged guitars that sounded like amplified turd when plugged in.

I do think that the the good unplugged sounds tend to be the better plugged in sounding guitars, but it's note in every case, IMO.

Of course you're right, it's a generaliztion. As a rule of thumb, it has always been true for me. I guess it will always depend on the tone you're looking for in the first place. If a guitar doesn't sound good plugged in, there are always things you can change. Swap out pickups or try different amp, etc. But if the funamental tone of the guitar itself isn't very good, I don't know how much any of that would help.

ozover50 wrote:
Much better acoustics in the bathroom, mate!!

Aitch, you haven't been playing your Rics in the bathtub again, have you????

Clint wrote:Of course you're right, it's a generaliztion. As a rule of thumb, it has always been true for me. I guess it will always depend on the tone you're looking for in the first place. If a guitar doesn't sound good plugged in, there are always things you can change. Swap out pickups or try different amp, etc. But if the funamental tone of the guitar itself isn't very good, I don't know how much any of that would help.

That's true, it depends on what you're looking for, and what you're looking to do with the guitar in question, some people just have very different needs out of their instruments.

I think that's where the major distinction lies.