Acoustic Guitarists.....

[americansinner]

 

What's on your pedalboard for acoustic gigs? What specific effects are you using on you acoustic? Discuss.

 

 

With Dean Markley Humbucker sound hole pickup..

 

Voodoo Labs Giggity for boost etc. ->

Zoom G3:

---acoustic simulator 'pedal' (sigh...i know right?) ->

---A very short reverb, early reflection or room

---Compressor

Hardwire (lexicon) RV-7 Reverb

 

The reverbs will be switched depending on the room.

 

The Zoom also has all other modulation effects, and envelope filters, but I so rarely use them, I can't even remember exactly what those patches consist of.

[Shart]

Line 6 M9, Boss VE20

[BlueStrat]

 

Nothing. Just a slight smattering of reverb/delay in the acoustic channel.

 

 

Me too. When I play acoustic, I want it to sound like an acoustic. If I want a processed sound, I'll play an electric.

[lroyb]

With my martin GPCPA-1 I go straight in with other guitars I use the LR Baggs para DI. Very little effects for me when playing solo.

[Potts]

 

Me too. When I play acoustic, I want it to sound like an acoustic. If I want a processed sound, I'll play an electric.

 

 

Sometimes a little processing is what's needed though to get the most out of an acoustic. Thats why some use Para DI's or Auras or something. I'm just playing devils advocate though because I don't use anything that colors my acoustic other than a splash of verb on the board.

[saturn1]

LR Bags Anthem to Line 6 Floor Pod Plus to the board. I use 4 presets on the floor pod - 1 is complete bypass, 2 uses the generic tube preamp setting so I can use the EQ controls and a little compression, 3 adds a touch of chorus and 4 has a bit of delay. Reverb is added on the board so it is the same reverb as the vocals and the other guitar. 60% of the time it is on bypass, 25% with compression/eq, the other two settings are used very selectively for specific songs or parts of songs. I have occasionally used the wah and the volume pedal, but that's usually just because some odd vibe in the music or the crowd compels me at that moment and I am unable to resist the urge. I try hard to be brief and sparing with their use to minimize the regret later.

[moogerfooger]

I'm running a line 6 relay 90 wireless as well but that sucker eats AA batteries. I've also heard great things about the aura spectrum DI. I want a really natural acoustic sound coming from my Hummingbird so I might need to look into that.

 

I use the aura spectrum DI, but not the models. they are almost impossible to use live. Its a great sounding preamp, but the models suck . if you're plugging in a Hummingbird or in my case a D28, why apply a model of a gibson or a martin?

[BlueStrat]

 

Sometimes a little processing is what's needed though to get the most out of an acoustic. Thats why some use Para DI's or Auras or something. I'm just playing devils advocate though because I don't use anything that colors my acoustic other than a splash of verb on the board.

 

 

Yes, it can definitely depend on the guitar and the PA. I bought my guitar, a Seagull S-6, after playing about 15 of them in the store- Takamines, Taylors, Gibsons, Blue Ridge, and a few other Seagulls . The S-6 I ended up with "spoke" to me, and had the most natural sound out of all of them. I get compliments often about how much it sounds like an acoustic guitar. My old 1976 Takamine F-360 with the Baggs ribbon transducer and internal mic needs a lot of help though! I use a Baggs acoustic EQ box with it and sometimes a BBE as well. Mostly it's tuned to an E or G chord and I use it for slide anyway.

[mymartind35]

My Custom Legend has a built-in exciter limiter/compressor. I run it through a Boss Dimension C Stereo chorus into 2 Crate 30 watt acoustic amps. Really fat. I sing through a Shure Beta 58.

[Potts]

 

My old 1976 Takamine F-360 with the Baggs ribbon transducer and internal mic needs a lot of help though! I use a Baggs acoustic EQ box with it and sometimes a BBE as well.

 

 

Do you feel like gabbing about the BBE a little bit? I've heard some players say they wouldn't play without them. I know absolutely nothing about them though.

[southpaw pete]

I use the aura spectrum DI, but not the models. they are almost impossible to use live. Its a great sounding preamp, but the models suck . if you're plugging in a Hummingbird or in my case a D28, why apply a model of a gibson or a martin?

 

I've found the models work really well, but they aren't designed to try to make your guitar sound like a different guitar, just to sound like your make/model through a good mic. So you just want to try a model closest to your own (if they aren't already loaded in one of the presets, you can check the other models on their site). I use a Guild JF30 and have found a few good patches based on the GAD JF30 that sound good with it. Either way, if you can't find your specific model, it is best to use images of a guitar of similar build to your own (body shape, woods...).

The other problem some people have found is that they are dialing in too much "image". For live performance, Fishman recommends only about 40-50% image - just enough to take off some of the piezo edge but still cut through.

It can also depend on what kind of pickup you are using...

 

Sorry, you may already know all of that and still just not like any of the images.

 

My main acoustic setup is:

Fishman Aura Sixteen> Hardwire RV7> Boss RC20> LR Baggs PADI (and a clip-on Snark tuner)

[Terry Allan Hall]

I've found the models work really well, but they aren't designed to try to make your guitar sound like a different guitar, just to sound like your make/model through a good mic. So you just want to try a model closest to your own (if they aren't already loaded in one of the presets, you can check the other models on their site). I use a Guild JF30 and have found a few good patches based on the GAD JF30 that sound good with it. Either way, if you can't find your specific model, it is best to use images of a guitar of similar build to your own (body shape, woods...). The other problem some people have found is that they are dialing in too much "image". For live performance, Fishman recommends only about 40-50% image - just enough to take off some of the piezo edge but still cut through. It can also depend on what kind of pickup you are using... Sorry, you may already know all of that and still just not like any of the images. My main acoustic setup is: Fishman Aura Sixteen> Hardwire RV7> Boss RC20> LR Baggs PADI (and a clip-on Snark tuner)

 

Tested out some of the Auras and found that they work pretty well on a specific type of acoustic instrument, but if you carry more than one style of guitar to a gig, you'll need more than one Aura if you want each to sound their best...for instance, if I were to use them, I'd need one for my jumbo 6-string, one for my jumbo 12-string, one for my banjo and another for my mandocello and/or mandolin. Or if you used a dreadnaught for flat-picking and a Single Aught for fingerpicking, you'll need two, if you want each to get their best signature sound.

 

It'd be kinda cool if they made an Aura where you could store, say, a dozen distict "instrument images" into a single unit, so that a multi-instrumentalist could carry just one Aura, but have each instrument sound equally good. Called the company up one day to see if this was feasible, but quickly got the message that they'd prefer I just buy 5 or 6 Auras...

 

Thus, I'm still using my PADI, and getting an acceptable sound out of all my instruments, through careful pickup tweaking. But, hopefully, somethng will come along someday that'll store a dozen distict "instrument images" into a single unit.

[americansinner]

Tested out some of the Auras and found that they work pretty well on a specific type of acoustic instrument, but if you carry more than one style of guitar to a gig, you'll need more than one Aura if you want each to sound their best...for instance, if I were to use them, I'd need one for my jumbo 6-string, one for my jumbo 12-string, one for my banjo and another for my mandocello and/or mandolin. Or if you used a dreadnaught for flat-picking and a Single Aught for fingerpicking, you'll need two, if you want each to get their best signature sound. It'd be kinda cool if they made an Aura where you could store, say, a dozen distict "instrument images" into a single unit, so that a multi-instrumentalist could carry just one Aura, but have each instrument sound equally good. Called the company up one day to see if this was feasible, but quickly got the message that they'd prefer I just buy 5 or 6 Auras...

 

When I tested an Aura, while I appreciated that it was quite sophisticated in its approach to modelling, I wasn't convinced that it was that much better for de-magentic-pickup-ifying my acoustic guitar than the ZoomG3 acoustic simulation + compression. I felt like it was better, but I couldn't truly A/B it, since they did have my rig in the store. But the zoom lets me have a 'Banjo' (piezo pup) patch which is EQ, 2 Comps, & clean boost and accordion (which is internal mics and it EQ & a mild chorus.)

 

Obviously, it is marketed as an electric guitar pedal, but there is nothing to stop you from turning off all the electric vPedals and using it for other things.

 

I can't say it is the perfect sound, because admittedly, I wont record with that set up, even for a 2 tracked mic/pickup setup, but it is sur-decent.

[southpaw pete]

Tested out some of the Auras and found that they work pretty well on a specific type of acoustic instrument, but if you carry more than one style of guitar to a gig, you'll need more than one Aura if you want each to sound their best...for instance, if I were to use them, I'd need one for my jumbo 6-string, one for my jumbo 12-string, one for my banjo and another for my mandocello and/or mandolin. Or if you used a dreadnaught for flat-picking and a Single Aught for fingerpicking, you'll need two, if you want each to get their best signature sound. It'd be kinda cool if they made an Aura where you could store, say, a dozen distict "instrument images" into a single unit, so that a multi-instrumentalist could carry just one Aura, but have each instrument sound equally good. Called the company up one day to see if this was feasible, but quickly got the message that they'd prefer I just buy 5 or 6 Auras... Thus, I'm still using my PADI, and getting an acceptable sound out of all my instruments, through careful pickup tweaking. But, hopefully, somethng will come along someday that'll store a dozen distict "instrument images" into a single unit.

 

I understand your predicament. But actually, on their "sixteen" pedal their Spectrum DI they have the option to hook up to your computer via USB and load whatever images you need (up to 16). And now you can also upgrade from a normal "dreadnaught" Aura pedal or whatever to a Sixteen version (for a small fee) - that's what I did. And the Spectrum, in addition to being able to load 16 specific images of your choice, also has a ton of other images loaded in for a number of specific body styles as well. Looks quite impressive.

 

So I have images for two of my guitars loaded on my one Aura pedal right now - a smaller bodied Takamine Santa Fe and a jumbo Guild JF30. Works like a charm.

[BlueStrat]

 

Do you feel like gabbing about the BBE a little bit? I've heard some players say they wouldn't play without them. I know absolutely nothing about them though.

 

 

The best way I can describe it is that it adds 'sparkle" to the sound, and lends a bit more CD type quality. In some boomier venues, I use an old Alesis rack mounted compressor to smooth out the vocals and the spikes in some of the guitar notes. The BBE adds some of the highs and those rich high overtones on the low strings back that get squashed by the compression.

[Pitar]

Nuttin, honey. I use a guitar and house PA. If no house PA I have my own amp. I might play with a touch of 'verb. Don't like fx.