The Hub

Hi everyone,

We’re really excited to be joining The Looth Group as new sponsors, and we wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves.

I’m Ben, and together with Paul McGill we run Go Acoustic Audio. Paul is in his 50th year of guitar making — a milestone that speaks to both his craftsmanship and his persistence in chasing better sound. He’s spent a lifetime building instruments for players at every level, listening closely to what works and what doesn’t on stage. I come from the engineering side, with a background in pro audio electronics, always focused on how to design systems that deliver consistent, reliable, and musical results.

Go Acoustic Audio grew out of a shared frustration we both saw again and again: even beautifully made guitars can fall short once they hit the stage. Paul saw this firsthand over decades of building instruments for professional players — guitars that sounded beautiful acoustically, but once plugged in, players were fighting feedback, inconsistent string balance, and a loss of tonal richness. At the same time, my background in pro audio electronics gave me a clear view of how limited many pickup and preamp designs really were. Together, we set out to create systems that could preserve the natural character of the instrument while giving players the reliability and control they need on stage.

Our focus is on giving builders and their clients solutions that respect the instrument, deliver tonal depth, and solve the problems that have too often been accepted as “just how pickups are.” Balanced strings, strong feedback rejection, and a sound that feels like the guitar itself are the core of what we do.

We’ve also had the chance to sit down for two video interviews with the Looth Group team where we go into the technical side in more depth — if you’re curious about the details, I’ll link those below.

More than anything, we’re glad to be part of this community. We’d love to hear from you: what challenges do you run into when it comes to pickup systems in the guitars you build or service? What are your clients asking for?

Thanks for the warm welcome, and we look forward to the conversation.

— Ben & Paul

Go Acoustic Audio

🎥 Introduction to Go Acoustic Audio — Paul McGill & Ben Shaw

🎥 Installing a GoAA Pickup in Nancy Wilson’s Takamine