Israel U wrote:

Hi all,
I have an Alvarez AG75CE, which is a grand auditorium shape and solid cedar top.
I really enjoy its sound when I play, but not when I record myself. Recently I did the November 2019 challenge with it and its sound is unpleasant to my ears, dull and cheap.

It’s an affordable guitar but feels really good, very loud and each string has a different quality, and I really enjoy the sound when I play.

I would like to plug it in the next time I make a video and see what it sounds like when picked up, but it’s anyways weird.
I’ll be happy to hear your opinion, guys. Thanks!

Hi, If it sounds good to your ears can you place the microphone near to where your ears are? when recording studio engineers move the mic around until they get a (Recorded) sound which they like?

Totally depends on how you are recording. The absolute best is, recording into a DAW. (Digital Audio Workstation) With that, you can “fine tune” the audio using “plugins”, for EQ, compression, etc.

It becomes a challenge if you want video versions, though. What I do, is record the audio into a DAW and at the same time record the video. The challenge is syncing the audio to the video, which is done in a video editor. I first process the audio recorded in the DAW, then add that as an audio track in the video editor. This way, I know that audio will be correctly processed. The challenge is lining the audio up to the video. Which is why you may have seen movie producers use that black and white “clapper” board of the scene, ya know, were there call out “action”. That “spike” in the audio can be used to align the video with the audio. All of these techniques are searchable on the internet.

Hi Israel

I owned an AG75 and for the money they are a great guitar. I had bought it as a project and after I repaired it, I gave it to my nephew who plays it on a regular basis. His Dad said that it keeps up with some of the Taylor and Martin that he’s jamming with. Not bad for a guitar that top has 2 repaired cracks in it

According to the Alvarez website, it has a LR Baggs pickup system and LR Baggs is top quality.

I’m curious – did it ever sound good when plugged in? It could be that the saddle piece isn’t seated against the ribbon under that is the pickup. Next time that you change strings, gently pull the saddle out and see if the ribbon looks like its in place.

Keith

If it’s sounding dull acoustically when not amp’d up then possibly some new strings might solve your issue?.

I have an Alvarez similar to yours, and it sounds great when I plug it into my laptop, like this:

guitar > Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 > laptop (DAW = Logic Pro X). It sounds equally great if I mic the guitar using a condenser mic (dynamic mics don’t work well), then run that through the Scarlett and into my laptop. For me, the mic picks up the high tones better, and the pickup emphasizes the bass tones better. For that reason, for this challenge, I recorded the two inputs simlutaneously. Plus it gives a nice stereo effect. What fun!

Israel U wrote:

I’m glad to know that my Alvarez is a descent guitar, and also that many don’t just use the phone for recording, so it’s a thing with recording in general, not just my guitar.
I watched your challenge and enjoyed your playing. And the sound was indeed very good. Thanks for your help.

The Alvarez Artist series are some of best intermediate guitars on the market. I played the Jumbo model and was really surprised with quality and overall tone for $500

Your AG75CE is a really good model to learn on until you feel that you might want to upgrade to a higher end guitar.

Israel, I compare all my acoustics over the years,, The Martin guitars are the best imho.. anyway, mic or DAW whatever I read here is likely better means to record for internet showplays for any guitar..

try experimenting with new strings 12s or 13s for that acoustic

Israel U wrote:

Thanks John,
New strings is the first thing I try.

Israel

You may be aware of this but in addition to what John mentioned about heavier gauges, you will find that the formulations of different companies affect the tone of your guitar differently. Since most string sets are $5-$7 with free shipping, I tried many different brands and formulations and finally found that La Bella Phosphor Bronze sound best on my Breedlove. I just ordered strings and I’m going to try a set of Dean Markley’s Vintage Bronze 85/15 on it next just to see if they may be better. I used those Dean Markley strings years ago so I thought it would be good to give them another try.

Heavier gauges, while being a little more of a challenge to play, sometimes will give more volume. I had a Washburn archtop that I used D’Addario Chrome Flats 11’s on, sounded OK but when I went to 12’s, it was like a completely different guitar. The heavier strings caused the top to vibrate much more and the guitar really came alive.

Keith

Israel U wrote:

BTW, I just had a peek at your profile, I also have a Blackstar ID core 20 🙂

I think that Blackstar are like Alvarez guitars: a great value for the money. I was so impressed with the ID Core 20 that I bought an ID Series 260. Like the Core 20, the ID260 is full stereo and that stereo effect is addictive!!
The ID Series amps have been replaced by the Silverline series – both amps emulate 6 different output tubes and they sound very very close to a tube amp. I had been playing a Blackstar Artist 15 tube amp for several weeks so I decided to try the 260 – I was so impressed – again – that I’m selling the Artist 15

Blackstar is a very innovative company, if I were going to upgrade beyond Blackstar, I would go with a Mesa Boogie. However, Blackstar is all that I need right now

Gibson’s acoustic strings to my ear have the best body, sadly they don’t last long,(about a week tops) don’t know if it’s to do with their coatings or lack of coatings, imho while I think they give the best results on an acoustic guitar, if you are not gigging and changing their strings after every gig they are not a practical option cost wise, D’Addario strings on the other hand are a tad brighter but will last a home player at least 2 months, buy bulk sets of strings, a packet of 5 will work out easier on the pocket than buying one packet at a time.

3 years from a set of strings, geez man no wonder the poor thing was sounding dull..hahahaha