Devin Townsend Shows off Acoustic EMG Pickups, and his Quiet Chops, in “Funeral”

And by “chops” I mean “skills.” Not sideburns. Obviously.

I don’t own Devin Townsend’s Ocean Machine record so I hadn’t previously heard the song “Funeral,” but damn, it’s nice to hear him in such an exposed context. Even when he croons in a softer tone of voice like this it’s still often atop 50 layers of thick guitars and drums that sound like a whale colliding with a black hole. So it’s a treat to hear a simple acoustic (through what I assume is Axe-FX’s “all the reverb our CPU can handle patch,” but still…) and Devy’s voice, and nothing more.

EMG posted this jam to show off their ACS acoustic guitar pickup, and I have to admit that it sounds damn nice. Acoustic pickups don’t get a lot of love, and sure, I’ll always choose to mic a non-electric guitar up if given the option. But sometimes, and often at performances, you don’t have that option. And the ACS pickup is as good of a choice as I’ve heard for a pickup.