Acoustic-electric guitar
acoustic guitar fitted with a microphone or a magnetic or piezoelectric pickup
An acoustic-electric guitar, also called an electro-acoustic guitar, is an acoustic guitar fitted with a microphone, or a magnetic or piezoelectric pickup. They are used in a variety of music genres where the sound of an acoustic guitar is desired but more volume is required, especially during live performances. The design is distinct from a semi-acoustic guitar, which is an electric guitar with the addition of sound chambers within the guitar body.
Usually, acoustic-electric guitars are fitted with piezoelectric pickups, requiring a preamplifier incorporated into the guitar body to amplify the signal before it travels to the main guitar amplifier. These preamps may also come with an integrated tuner and tone controls of varying types; equalizers with up to six frequency bands may be used.
History
In the 1920s, guitarists like Eddie Lang transitioned the acoustic guitar from a primarily solo instrument to use in big bands. However, in a big band, the guitar was outplayed by the horn section and drums, and the need for amplification became apparent quickly. Various experiments at electrically amplifying the vibrations of a string instrument date back to the early part of the twentieth century; patents from the 1910s show telephone transmitters adapted and placed inside violins and banjos to amplify the sound. Hobbyists in the 1920s used carbon button microphones attached to the bridge, but these detected vibrations from the bridge on top of the instrument, so the resulting signal was weak.
The first person to create the modern electric pickup for the acoustic guitar was Lloyd Loar, who in the 1930s left Gibson and founded his own company, Vivi-Tone.
“Acoustic-electric guitar” enters the record as acoustic guitar fitted with a microphone or a magnetic or piezoelectric pickup. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Acoustic-electric, guitar and acoustic can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Acoustic-electric guitar” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Acoustic-electric, guitar and acoustic provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q988736. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Acoustic-electric guitar”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Acoustic-electric guitar primary sources, Acoustic-electric guitar archive and Acoustic-electric research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Acoustic-electric guitar”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Acoustic-electric guitar” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.