Six String

I might be in the market for a strap, but the reason is one of the straps I bought a few years ago proved to be a bit too supple/soft. It still work's fine, but the slots for the tail have sort of stretched out since the leather is so soft, and it looks kind of crappy. I have a couple of much stiffer straps that are fine comfort wise so I'm fine with a bit stiffer leather so long as it retains its shape. So my question is, exactly how "soft" are they and how do they behave over time?

Then I would go with the info above. The XLR inputs are the ones with pre-amps. The others require a line level signal. If your Acoustic Electric has a pre-amp, either input should work, but the owners manual shows the guitar going to input 1 or 2 so that's what I'd do. Typically your output would go to something like a pair of desk monitors for home use or larger pair of PA speaker for live applications. However, you could use just one monitor since nothing you are doing is stereo. Again, I am making an "ass-u-me-tion" that the amp described is an acoustic guitar amp. If so, just running the one of the XLR outs from mixer to the amp should produce satisfactory results. That said, with an XLR and instrument input on the amp you could achieve a very similar mix plugging the guitar and mic directly into the amp. The mixer just allows a couple more inputs.

I'm "ass-u-me-ing" you have an XLR mic jack in 1 (or 2) and your guitar in 2 (or 1) using a 1/4 unbalanced instrument cable. That leaves 2 options for additional stereo or mono inputs. So, what additional inputs do you want to use? If you want to put backing tracks through it, you need a male 3.5mm TRS to dual male 1/4 TS adapter cable. That would let you route tracks from your phone/tablet/anything with a 3.5mm stereo out, through your board to your monitors. It seems inputs 3/4 have a -10dB pad, meaning the output from whatever device is plugged in will be attenuated 10dB. That is probably fine for a high output device like your tablet, but you can try 3/4 and 5/6 to see what seems to work best. HTH

Here is one from an open Jam in my garage a few years ago. I'm on the far right. The two on the far left are in a gigging band playing around town now.

I use either Cool Picks or the plain nylon Dunlops, for my acoustics and Dava Controls (nylon) for my electrics. Its kind of a bummer that I like these brands as they are a bit harder to locate in stores than some other picks, so I tend to keep a supply of them around rather than risk not having one on hand.

Congrats! I've actually had a mild case of GAS for a semi-hollow lately. Some may remember that Semi-hollow is not a strain of GAS that had affected me in the past, but now you are causing a flare up with this awesome PRS.

I say adjust them. Take a measurement as they currently are, raise them until they are way too high then sink them in a 1/2 turn at a time and see if you find a sweet spot. Beyond setting them far enough from the strings to avoid magnetic interference this is a totally subjective adjustment. What sounds good to you is the “spec”. Don’t forget you may find a better sound angling the pickup slightly. That can help clean up a muddy bass side and balance the output from top to bottom string. If you find it makes no difference to your ear, you can return to the starting measurement and know that’s as good as it gets with the rig as is. I concur that your options for replacement pickups will be far fewer than if you could use standard sized humbuckers. Not sure if P90s might fit.

My '13 Traditional is my No. 1.

One recurring question I've seen in the forums is what to do when you have over done it and have pain in your hands and/or elbow. It seems there is a point where we all become more motivated to play than our physical abilities will support and we end up with something hurting. I personally had a point where I had constant notable pain in my right elbow to the point it affected other aspects of my life. Doing routine tasks would result in sharp spikes of pain to the point of expletives. I found the video posted below and followed the steps 2-3 times a day for a week or so, taking about 4 days off from playing and the pain went away and has never come back. YMMV, but I post in hopes it will help others find relief. Use this video if you have overdone it. Use this to help avoid problems in the first place.

Its been a while since I was shopping to upgrade my acoustic, but when I was the DRS2 was one of the guitars I seriously considered. In general, in and my opinion, Martins tend to be less "bright" and more "full", or "rounder", or "woodier" or "earthier" or however you like to describe it, compared to Taylors. That said, the DRS1 was was tad too far in that direction for my preferences, and I preferred the spruce topped DRS2 to the all mahogany -1. I will say with an acoustic, its best to play a bunch of them, including those well over your price point to hone in on what is most pleasing to your ear and meets your budget.