I’m thinking about purchasing an audio interface. I know that I can plug an electric guitar directly into most of them. My question is, can I do the same with an acoustic guitar that has a pickup? Or would a microphone be a better solution?
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If your acoustic with a pickup requires a battery, then YES, it will work plugged directly into the audio interface. If your acoustic with a pickup does not require a battery, then it will probably work, but you’ll need to turn the volume control for that input higher than with your electric. If you can’t get enough volume, then a simple boost pedal or similar will give you the extra volume you might require.
That being said, you may not be happy with the tone you get from the pickup. In that case, the microphone will pick up the same tone that you hear coming out of the sound-hole.
YMMV
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As @Fast-Eddie suggests, your acoustic pickup may not be loud enough on it’s own, and it’s possible you may need an additional pre-amp.
You will also want to look for an audio interface which has instrument compatible inputs. A lot of excellent consumer audio interfaces have combo inputs that can accept line inputs, microphones, and instruments, and can provide “phantom power” to power connected devices (normally condenser microphones).
My personal recommendation is to look at the Behringer UMC series, particularly the UMC204HD which is a 2-input interface with great specs at a good price.
Cheers,
Keith
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Hi Marcin,
On recommendation from this site I bought the UMC series AI, I went with the 202 (2 input) which is really all I needed (1 x mic 1x Guitar), it’s been great. Now, further down the track I sort of could use a 4 input or a mixer instead.
My acoustic is an active Piezo pickup (battery) however the sound I get when plugged directly into the AI is not very good and in fact I never do this now as I think that the sound is just not acceptable. So, because I have an amp (Katana) I plug via the amp into the AI and this provides a far better sound even without dialing in effects.
Others can probably expand on this idea of acoustic direct to AI but my experience is that the sound is rubbish (for me anyway).
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Thank you all for all the advice!
@Fast-Eddie
I have an L.R. Baggins Stage Pro Element – powered by a 9V battery.
I tested it with an electric guitar amplifier and it worked fine
@Majik
The UMC204HD is exactly what I’ve been considering. I probably don’t need anything better for my needs 
@CD02
Unfortunately, I don’t really have a way to connect my amplifier to the interface – I have a cheap tube amplifier, the HB Tube 15.
And what about a microphone, just for guitar use – not vocals – which one would you recommend? Something to plug into the UMC that’s just right for an amateur 
I was looking at the Shure SM57 and the Sennheiser e609.
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This should work fine.
If you are looking for mic to mic up a speaker cabinet on a guitar amp, these are both great choices.
Cheers,
Keith
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I was thinking more about setting up the microphone right in front of the guitar and capturing the sound directly from it
Good call. I find acoustic guitar recorded with a microphone to sound much more pleasing than acoustic guitar recorded with a piezo pickup.
You can do both at the same time, too, and then blend them to taste (i.e., one input/channel for the microphone, one input/channel for your pickup cable).
I wouldn’t recommend either of those mics for acoustic guitar. They can be made to work, but a condenser mic would be much better.
Cheers,
Keith
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