do acoustic-electric guitars sound the same as acoustics when they aren't plugged in to anything?

[phatj]

so I'd just want to know... if I played an acoustic-electric without plugging it in to an amp or anything... would it sound the same as a regular acoustic? I've played acoustic on a $100 washburn for a couple of years now but I want to upgrade the old piece of crap to something in the $400 range....

will the acoustic-electric have lower quality (I assume this will be the case but I hope) sound (just talking without an amp) than a comparable acoustic?

Closest guitar center is 40 miles away.. so I figured I'd ask here before making the trip next weekend.

Thanks!

 

[Fritzo]

No, they sound exactly the same. Acoustic electrics usually use a piezo pickup, which looks like a metal "toothpick" that fits underneath the bridge of the guitar. It in no way affects the sound of the guitar. However, the amped sounds of these guitars will sound on the "tinny" side because of their position.

Some guitars have sound hole pickups, which can affect the guitar sound, but you don't find many guitars that come from the factory with soundhole pickups (these are usually addons). There are a few different varieties of these, but generally they're only used when you want your guitar amped, so you can take them out when not in use.

For the most natural sound though, nothing beats a condenser mic fed through a good quality PA system.

 

[Vegitto]

I thought an acoustic with a (couple of) normal pickup(s) in the soundhole sounded the most natural?

 

[SandInMyShoes]

No, an acoustic-electric doesn't sound worse due to the electronics, but since it costs more to make an AE, you'll usually find that acoustics sound better than an acoustic-electric at the same price range. I'm not sure what the AE premium is in the $400 range, but the $1000 Breedlove I was looking at the other day is only $900 without the electronics. So, if unplugged sound is very important to you, you'll get more guitar for $400 if you skip the acoustic-electric.

That said, when I was at Guitar Center a few days ago I was really impressed with the Yamaha FG735S acoustic at $350. While you're there, feel free to drool over the desire of my heart, the Breedlove AD25 SR Plus.