Conference napalm::guitar

    I'll give it a shot until someone comes along who knows what they're
    talking about   ;7)
    
    middle pickup only
    roll off tone a little bit
    roll off volume a little bit more
    amp:
    clean channel (obviously)
    slight reverb OK if desired
    
    use fingers, or pick slowly... 
    technique will be different than electric
    
    \Gary, former acoustic/folkie

Well, actually, (a disending opinion) I say, you can't...

It'll still sound like a strat, (or an electric)

You'll muddle through but if you're looking for the 'acoustic'
sound, (or should I say, the elctrified acoustic sound)

You need an acoustic..

What ya can do is to get a tarus stand for your acoustic, and
this allows you to walk up to the guitar with your electric
on, and play the acoustic.  



 

Some digital delay and flanger boxes can give you a "12-string"
type effect if they're set up properly. Perhaps this would be a
suitable compromise. Again I'd second that it needs to be a clean
amp setting.
As .-1 says, ideally, use an acoustic or electro-acoustic with a stand, but 
you may not want to cart around/set up/tune up another instrument.
*DC

    It's gonna be hard to emulate an acoustic with a strat's "thin-ness". 
    I'd say use the neck pickup with the tone rolled towards the "bass" or off
    end of the tone spectrum and then experiment with your amp settings.
     
    Are you playing with another acoustic guitar in your band, or are you
    THE guitar?  If you are accompanying an acoustic, I'd would think that
    the former recommendations using flanger/chorus to emulate the 12
    string tone would be a nice compliment to an acoustic.
    
    Play it warm and soft!
    
    Steve

    Obviously the only thing that (to my ears!) sounds exactly like an
    acoustic is... an acoustic.  So we're talking about emulating something
    here.   That means it's down to cost.  The cheapest solution is to
    fiddle around with the pick ups/selectors.  A more expensive solution
    is a signal processor.  The closest I've heard is the ART SGX2000 (I'm
    beginning to sound  like I work for the ART) but it is impressive. I
    use mine with pitch transposer and various other effects to create a
    good 12 string feel - it also can make my Les Paul sound like a strat
    and my strat (copy) sound like a Les Paul!
    
    Of course it is expensive - (U.S. gear is biased against us UK types
    ;-)  retailing for 680 UK Pounds - that's alot of $$$s folks...
    
    -Ralph-

I'll tell ya where this all ends up...

I think, (add a dash of salt, a pound of religion, and a generous 
supply of personal opinion) 

On the other side of the spectrum..

The only way to get **THAT** acoustic sound is in a studio, with
full body acoustic, and some high end studio mics.  (*That* sound
I'm referring to could be best described by the tunes "From the Beginning"
"She Talks to Angels", "Patience" etc..)

My experience with elec. acoustics, (And I've had quite a few,,,)
is that they all sound basically the same.

Granted the Ovations with the Op. 24 systems are a step up, from
say the Balladiers with the Volume/Tone, but you could get real close
to that with a patched in EQ.  With the Ovations, I'm not sold. I just
don't like their sound as an Acoustic...

Now, Seymore Duncan makes this acoustic pickup, looks like a slide,
sticks in your hole,, this is a nice pickup.  Add some eq, and you're
all set.  Most acoustic come stock with that little peiso pickup.

O.k., but add some EQ or it won't have enough depth.

To me, the ULTIMATE would be the top end Alvares with the Op 24 config.
Nice acoutsic, add with the best electronics you can find!

/r

    re:  previous few...
    
    Do you mean to say that acoustic guitars are not actually solid-body
    electrics with spruce shells over them, and tiny little built-in amps?
    ;7)  And here I thought that's what they were...
    
    \Gary

	Is that the one with sound of Twin Reverb being Kicked during
	the chorus? "Li - la - li *CRASH* "?

	My suggestion is to go listen to a few Billy Bragg records -
	perhaps "Talking to the Taxman about Poetry" and then figgerin'
	out how to make the best of an electric guitar in an acoustic
	ballad context. Maybe listening to some Jonathan Richman might
	help too.

    
    Thanks for all the ideas. What I've noticed in many concert situations
    is that an electric CAN be used to acompany what is essentially an
    'acoustic' song almost to the extent that you don't notice. I suspect
    that its a combination of a) opting for some configuration of
    pickups/tone etc and b), probably most importantly, not
    attempting to play in the same style as you would with an acoustic. 
    
    For instance, maybe arpeggios picked with a plectrum and not in true
    finger picking style. Example would be Paul Simon's rendition of Sounds
    of Silence using a Strat (I think) at his Central Park Concert. I
    havn't analysed his technique on video but I bet he plays in a totally
    different way to the way he'd play an acoustic.
    
    Incidentally, even with medium strings on the Strat (I usually have
    ultra light on my acoustic) the Strat still has absolutely zero 'feel'
    if you trying any picking techniques. Maybe you need heavy gauge
    strings or something as well.
    
    Richard