Another person I would look to for information on the sound you seek is Craig Chaquico. I have seen various setups of his described in great detail.

Following is what I would in chasing the ideal. It costs several hundred dollars and requires the services of a luthier, but gives you studio-quality sound in any situation. I do not address amplifiers as I go direct to the board when playing live.

I look first at how the guitar itself is set up. The frets have a tremendous effect on a guitar's sound. I had my Alvarez-Yairi D-41 copy refretted in the early 80s after reading an article on Ry Cooder in which he said he achieved a bell-like Strat sound in his Takamine electric-acoustic by going to wide or "fat" frets. I began to see some of that difference. (I also had to re-read the short paragraph in the article before I fully believed that he was describing that sound coming out of an acoustic instrument.) Of course, refretting is only if you want that extra resonance, but I recommend having your guitar's action adjusted for your gauge strings and the frets dressed if you have never had this done.

Next is the string sound. Stephen Stills and I use bell-bronze wound strings, and likely Chaquico as well. I have used nothing but Dean Markley bronze-wound steel strings since I bought my guitar from him in 1972. At the time there was nothing comparable; now it's loyalty. FRESH strings are important. When I was gigging regularly I changed strings daily. In the studio I did so more often.

Last thing I would do to the guitar itself in seeking that ideal acoustic sound would be to have my acoustic miked internally (that's what I said) AND have a palathetic* pickup installed under the bridge, with a mixing panel installed on the guitar. This was an entirely custom technique when it was written up many years ago in Guitar Player, but I'm willing to bet there are kits out there now with the electronics included. At the time it took a custom preamp and mixer mounted in the guitar. The internal mic gets all the nuances of the wood, but omits much of the finger sound.

NOW we get to the effects. Digital is a given, being infinitely flexible and near silent. Reverb, yes. Dale Sanders and Craig Chaquico both use chorus; I'm not certain that Stills was. Light compression can add to the 'sheen', but is only necessary if you lack an even right-hand technique or want added sustain. Otherwise I might consider an expander for that "hot" sound you describe.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. HTH,

R.

*This is the type used in Takamine brand acoustic electrics. They differ from standard piezo pickups in that they sense motion in three axes, whereas a piezo does so only in two. It adds a subtle but significant dimension to the sound.

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."