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  #46  
Old 02-16-2018, 03:43 PM
leew3 leew3 is offline
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At the end of the day they are great but they won't fix all issues.[/QUOTE]

That's for sure, I have had some great preamps but my Travis picking has not improved a bit!
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  #47  
Old 02-19-2018, 11:20 AM
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KevWind KevWind is offline
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To the OP

" My Guitar only louder " is theoretical goal for the unattainable . There is no such thing as straight wire with gain..... The search for perfection can be goal but it is never a destination.
There is no amplified sound that perfectly matches the unamplified tone.

Then to the more added sound, other players, and added audience noise further complicates the issue.

Arguably the audience in a noisy bar isn't going care much how accurately the acoustic guitar sound matches an unplugged acoustic sound.( you may, but they mostly do not)
They and you may be better served if you focus on getting it to sit well in the mix and be heard, than be acoustically accurate.
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  #48  
Old 02-19-2018, 12:29 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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I've never like the phrase "my guitar only louder". Sometimes I like the big solid low-end you can get from a pickup system that isn't naturally coming off of the guitar. I never get that sound with just a microphone!

I play quite a variety of gigs, from the noisiest of bars to the most intimate of venues, and in my car, at all times, I have at least three different systems that I use in different venues. The EQ curves do change with volume, and in some venues they change drastically throughout the show as the room fills up with people. And although I like the Bose T1 and the QSC touchmix (I keep both with me at all times) for what they are, I find a good pedal board with analog style controls help me change quickly on the fly for volume/room adjustment.

The Grace ALiX, and Empress ParaEQ are both great for quick EQ adjustments especially when dealing with runaway low end feedback and brittle quacky top end. I've also used the original Fishman Platinum Pro with success although the build quality of those leaves something to be desired (as in the shoddy battery compartment door, and the cheap adhesive they use for the rubber pads on bottom).

I've been using the AliX now for a few months and I like the variable HP filter. It really helps keep the low-end in check. I also like the Q control on the mids as it helps when dialing out problem mids while keeping the tone natural. I find a mid/large Q with a gentle cut does wonders for that! I've read some reviews of people saying the ALiX has too many bells or whistles or it's too complicated to use. Well if you want consistent good sound IMNSHO it would be well worth the time it takes to learn how to use it. Although there are a lot of knobs. If you break it down to the basic components it very straightforward, so anybody who can't grasp the basics of it shouldn't be running their own sound. Because if you're going to be playing loud none of the basic preamps di boxes (ie, easy to use), are going to be powerful enough to handle the wicked EQ problems associated with volume. I set up four of my powered speaker setups in a large room in my house and auditioned the ALiX through all of them. The speakers were, Schertler Jam 400, Schertler Jam 200, JBL PRX-710, and Mackie HD1221. I tried it with all of the systems working at the the top of their volume ranges and the ALiX was ridiculously effective with all of the systems. So much so that I immediately went out and bought the two channel version Felix!!! I am building a 2 channel system with it right now combining the Felix, a MXR Studio compressor, and a Lexicon MX300 rack fx unit. I already programmed about 20 songs into the Lexicon and the unit as a whole sounds great, with the comp and FX patched into the insert of the Felix.

Last edited by rockabilly69; 02-19-2018 at 12:34 PM.
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  #49  
Old 02-19-2018, 01:35 PM
varmonter varmonter is offline
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I keep trying things almost to a fault (just ask my bandmates). I try to buy
used so i can resell without losing too much. I recently bought a tonedexter
and tried that for awhile. Now i am playing around with a
boss ve8. it's a nice unit and seems to put the vocals
and guitar in that "spot" in the mix we are talking about albeit a bit processed.
I keep going back to the Felix as a go to device
for live acoustic guitar and mandolin. It is that good.
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  #50  
Old 02-19-2018, 03:18 PM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
I've never like the phrase "my guitar only louder". Sometimes I like the big solid low-end you can get from a pickup system that isn't naturally coming off of the guitar. I never get that sound with just a microphone!

I play quite a variety of gigs, from the noisiest of bars to the most intimate of venues, and in my car, at all times, I have at least three different systems that I use in different venues. The EQ curves do change with volume, and in some venues they change drastically throughout the show as the room fills up with people. And although I like the Bose T1 and the QSC touchmix (I keep both with me at all times) for what they are, I find a good pedal board with analog style controls help me change quickly on the fly for volume/room adjustment.

The Grace ALiX, and Empress ParaEQ are both great for quick EQ adjustments especially when dealing with runaway low end feedback and brittle quacky top end. I've also used the original Fishman Platinum Pro with success although the build quality of those leaves something to be desired (as in the shoddy battery compartment door, and the cheap adhesive they use for the rubber pads on bottom).
I use the Platinum Pro with great results...doesn't seem to get much love on here though. Never have any issues with sturdiness but I'm pretty easy on my equipment.
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  #51  
Old 02-22-2018, 12:31 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
I use the Platinum Pro with great results...doesn't seem to get much love on here though. Never have any issues with sturdiness but I'm pretty easy on my equipment.
I own two platinum pros, as I always kept one in my studio which I used for a DI for a while, and I have a Bass Platinum Pro that I used to use for a duet gig that I did. I would have the bass player go direct into it then into the PA. It was for low volume gigs and he was just supporting my acoustic guitar. I also used it for a Porchboard that I built. The Fishmans always worked great, but with heavy use, the battery doors on two of them broke, and the rubber pads on all of the ones that were on the road would come loose as if they were left in the car for any amount of time in the summer as the heat from the car would loosen up the adhesive. That's a cheap design, for example the ALiX has screw in rubber feet that stay put! But as I said, sonically they were pretty good and very versatile with good EQ, on board phantom powering, multipl outputs, and a nice little compressor built in. But they were all shelved after using the more powerful Empress ParaEQ, which is stellar, and then the Grace ALiX which frankly is the best of the single channel pres I've tried.
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