M/Bear And Aura Vs Pendulum SPS1?

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

To get the full benefit of a pro level piece like the Pendulum, the entire "package" (guitar, mikes, amplification, speakers, etc.) needs to be of the same quality, which may not always be the situation. Large condensors are wonderful but you can't use them in many live situations, as an example.

The Pendulum is superior but Auras and other similar products have their place. My stage chain is very different from my recording setup. My stage guitar has electronics, my others don't even have guitar straps. Suit the tool to the task........

I need to audition a Pendulum, but I don't know whether I would use it "live"

A SPS-1 would be redundant in your situation. You already have much of it's function with your Genz Benz (main) unit. And your two channel strips cover more functional bases than an SPS-1 would.

I don't know that I'd totally agree that you must match the SPS-1 up with equivalent level gear (i.e., pickups, effects, power amp, speakers). I ran mine for a couple of years with a pair of Ultrasound 50E extension cabinets and a (fairly cheesy) Lexicon MX100 stereo effects unit. It sounded rather good overall. Upgrading those parts certainly improved the overall sound and behavior, but the earlier setup was fine.

[toddfields@mac.]

Thanks sdelsoray for getting back...I will adjust the back knob...

I've had an Aura, have a Para D.I. have used, Dual Source, Imix, M1, Sunrise, K&K, Fishman Matrix etc...

The SPS-1 does sound great...one thing that is cool in a live setting is the ability to pan each pickup to 10 and 2... I use ears and in the ears this sounds amazing...

There are times when I just grab my Larrivee L-09 with the Imix and it sounds great through a Baggs D.I.....it's a simple no fuss lightweight approach and it really does well. I like the simplicity and sound of that...you have to tweak the settings on the onboard pre to get the ibeam to sound right with the element, but the combo of the two is really good.

The Aura sounds good, but to me it lacks some musical give to it...
I play electric guitar as well and am used to great tube amps that sag...
The para D.I. is class A as well as the SPS-1 and they both FEEL musical...
The Aura sounds good, but doesn't quite feel totally right to me...
I'm real picky though...

I love the K&K stuff and their trinity system and pre sounds really good...
I added a sunrise and run that through the pendulum with the pure western mini and that sound REALLY good...

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by toddfields@mac.

Thanks sdelsoray for getting back...I will adjust the back knob...

I've had an Aura, have a Para D.I. have used, Dual Source, Imix, M1, Sunrise, K&K, Fishman Matrix etc...

The SPS-1 does sound great...one thing that is cool in a live setting is the ability to pan each pickup to 10 and 2... I use ears and in the ears this sounds amazing...

There are times when I just grab my Larrivee L-09 with the Imix and it sounds great through a Baggs D.I.....it's a simple no fuss lightweight approach and it really does well. I like the simplicity and sound of that...you have to tweak the settings on the onboard pre to get the ibeam to sound right with the element, but the combo of the two is really good.

The Aura sounds good, but to me it lacks some musical give to it...
I play electric guitar as well and am used to great tube amps that sag...
The para D.I. is class A as well as the SPS-1 and they both FEEL musical...
The Aura sounds good, but doesn't quite feel totally right to me...
I'm real picky though...

I love the K&K stuff and their trinity system and pre sounds really good...
I added a sunrise and run that through the pendulum with the pure western mini and that sound REALLY good...

The rear recessed gain pot controls the main gain stage in the rack unit. If you haven't tweaked it, that is likely your issue. It requires adjustment for the situation, but it's pretty much set and forget. For a K&K mini anywhere between 1/2 and 3/4 should work just fine. You want the green LED to light up constantly when playing soft and the red LED to come on occasionally when playing your loudest. The red LED comes on at +14dBu, and there's still +13dBu of headroom remaining after that, so don't worry too much about the red LED, unless it's on constantly at low input levels. Setting levels between and among the 5 gain/volume/attenuator controls to obtain the best gain staging should be your next goal. Two of the controls are shared by both channels (volume on the module and master volume on the rack unit). Three of those controls are unique to each channel (each of the recessed gain controls and the channel volume control). There's a "groove" for them depending on the pickups/mics involved. Once tuned in optimally, you'll notice the least amount of noise this way and slightly better dynamics and overall presentation. These are pretty much set and "almost" forget too, except the master volume.

[Grey]

I'm gonna stick up for the Aura here. I've used a number of other pickups and preamp systems (never a Pendulum) and what I have going right now I'm very pleased with.

I run an HD28 with an LR Baggs Element Active UST through an original Aura blender with the Neumann U47 sound image for the HD28. I usually only blend a little of the sound image in there and I use a bit of the compressor. As has been discussed before, it's extremely important to get the phase settings correct as well. I just got back from a gig tonight, and have to say, I really love it. Lot's of definition, snap, a little thump ..... good, good stuff

I do not like Fishman's Matrix pickups, but I do like the Aura very much. Get it set right and it outdoes anything else I've tried. Would like to play with a Pendulum system though.

Enjoy the day.
Grey

[zb0430]

Wow... I just put two and two together and just realized who you are...

I'm a huge fan of yours, Todd. I've had the privilege of worshipping with you leading at North Point Live, 7|22, NPCC and I believe once at BBCC. I've had a few lunches with Eddie Kirkland and he's been giving me some advice and encouragement as a young worship leader. He's had nothing but awesome things to say about you, Elliott Moon as well. It's always great to see your passion and enthusiasm on stage, and your music is a valuable asset to worship teams all over the place. Thanks for your ministry! Sorry for the awkwardness of an online random meeting of some crazy kid on a guitar forum... Don't be too alarmed... I look forward to meeting you some day.

Oh, and... Welcome to the forum!

On topic...

I'll have to say, your acoustic tone live is always quite good. I'm always impressed by your acoustics. I've seen you playing a couple Larry's and a Martin at one point, and the tone you'er getting in the house is always great. Makes me seriously consider the SPS1 for my Taylor, instead of the K4 as a preamp.

I do have a couple of questions...

Since you're all using ears at North Point churches, do you have problems with feedback from the K&K, or is the stage pretty dead? I've heard talks of how they're a little prone to feedback in hotter venues. Ever had to resort to a soundhole cover? Also, are you generally running wireless when you lead, or wired? If going through a wireless receiver, what's your signal chain look like?

Thanks for any replies... and my apologies for stepping in on the thread...

- Zach Brown

[rainsong]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

I can tell you from personal experience that a UST/external SD condenser mic through a SPS-1 sounds much better than a UST through any of the digital modelers, and (perhaps more importantly) the behavior is more akin to an unplugged setting (i.e., dynamic, sustain, transient responses).

I would agree that a UST/external SD Condensor mic, even thrugh a simple PADI, sounds at least as good (maybe slightly better) than an Aura. I used that set-up for a few years before going the Aura route. I just got tired of the extra set-up, etc. So, is there anything equvalent to an SPS1 that isn't a rack unit?

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by rainsong

I would agree that a UST/external SD Condensor mic, even thrugh a simple PADI, sounds at least as good (maybe slightly better) than an Aura. I used that set-up for a few years before going the Aura route. I just got tired of the extra set-up, etc. So, is there anything equvalent to an SPS1 that isn't a rack unit?

The D-TAR Solstice, Raven Labs PMB II and likely the Highlander PAMDI (I haven't tried it) are probably closest, but certainly not equivalent. I don't think there is an equivalent, at least not in a single unit.

[toddfields@mac.]

Originally Posted by zb0430

Wow... I just put two and two together and just realized who you are...

I'm a huge fan of yours, Todd. I've had the privilege of worshipping with you leading at North Point Live, 7|22, NPCC and I believe once at BBCC. I've had a few lunches with Eddie Kirkland and he's been giving me some advice and encouragement as a young worship leader. He's had nothing but awesome things to say about you, Elliott Moon as well. It's always great to see your passion and enthusiasm on stage, and your music is a valuable asset to worship teams all over the place. Thanks for your ministry! Sorry for the awkwardness of an online random meeting of some crazy kid on a guitar forum... Don't be too alarmed... I look forward to meeting you some day.

Oh, and... Welcome to the forum!

On topic...

I'll have to say, your acoustic tone live is always quite good. I'm always impressed by your acoustics. I've seen you playing a couple Larry's and a Martin at one point, and the tone you'er getting in the house is always great. Makes me seriously consider the SPS1 for my Taylor, instead of the K4 as a preamp.

I do have a couple of questions...

Since you're all using ears at North Point churches, do you have problems with feedback from the K&K, or is the stage pretty dead? I've heard talks of how they're a little prone to feedback in hotter venues. Ever had to resort to a soundhole cover? Also, are you generally running wireless when you lead, or wired? If going through a wireless receiver, what's your signal chain look like?

Thanks for any replies... and my apologies for stepping in on the thread...

- Zach Brown

Thanks Zach!

I've never had the K&K pure mini feedback with our bands...with ears there is no sound coming at the guitar, so you get a great pure sound out front and you can save your voice as well because you aren't screaming to overcome the drums..
I always run acoustic wired....electric I've started using the X2 Digital Wireless system. It sounds amazingly great and if you are using a single source cable, I think it would work nicely for you.

Blessings!
Todd

[$ongWriter]

I have one of the first Aura boxes and love it. I use it with my Martin with a lr baggs element pick-up. It also makes my nylon Taylor sound great. I know it is supposed to be used only with pick-ups under the saddle but I also get a good sound running my 614ce with the expression system through it. Has anyone else tried it that way?

[keyshore]

Hey Folks,
i think this is an old thread please excuse me.

I am going to add on to this by saying that I have got a Aura Blender which sounds great with my takamine 12 string. i did consider the SPS pendulum but found it beyond my reach with $xxxx price tag for a 230 V version. also my thinking is as i will not be blending it with 2 pickups it would be an over kill for me. However i has got a decent PA which comprises of a APB prorack mixing console, Dynacord CL1600 amp and EV Zx5 speakers.The SPS would have been in good company.

As off now i am happy to use the Para DI with my Bone LB6 pickup and happy with the sound on the PA

Keyshore