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Old 11-23-2017, 03:05 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Default The Grace Alix

Well I held off a long time because of the high cost, but I finally got a Grace Alix preamp. The reason I finally went for it was that I was building a new pedal board for days where I do two gigs and I need to set up for the second gig early. I decided to make the board small and to the point. The pedals will be Bloomery passive volume, Grace Alix preamp, Keeley Delay workstation, MXR Studio Compressor, and Boss Tu3w tuner. This pedal board was setup to replicate my recorded guitar tones where I use a high quality preamp, compression, and delay/reverb. And at the heart of the board is the Grace Alix.

Man do I love this pedal. It just brings the best out of every acoustic guitar pickup that I've thrown at it. Some of the features that I love are...

500ma 9vol DC outlet: This is enough to power all of my other pedals!!!

Variable impedance input: yep pickups do sound different with the different settings and I found my magnetics like different settings than the USTs.

Switchable Notch Filter - Highpass filter: with some pickups I just want a notch which is subtle, and with others I like to roll off the bottom end.

Foot switch activated boost: This is the best variable boost control I've ever used in pedal format. It is exactly what it says it is, a clean boost that is totally uncolored and perfect for the gain difference needed for going between flat picking and finger picking.

Two ranges on the mid frequency control: the low range works great for dialing in the perfect low mid for acoustic guitars, but resonators sometimes need upper mid frequency adjustments that the upper range is great for and in combination with the Q control, it' very effective.

Build quality, this thing is built like he proverbial brick house.

Enough technical jargon: This thing just sounds great with the most musical sounding controls.

If you're looking for a great single channel unit, don't hesitate, this is great acoustic guitar preamp!

Last edited by Kerbie; 11-24-2017 at 09:03 PM. Reason: Removed masked profanity
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  #2  
Old 11-23-2017, 05:30 PM
varmonter varmonter is offline
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Great review.. I have the Felix and love it
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Old 11-23-2017, 10:50 PM
Spook Spook is offline
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Got a Felix early on and have done nothing but enjoy it. You're right that it makes everything sound better. I have a Sunrise in an oval hole archtop and it really does work well. Expensive gear that's a bargain for what you're getting and how well it works.
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Old 11-24-2017, 03:23 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spook View Post
Got a Felix early on and have done nothing but enjoy it. You're right that it makes everything sound better. I have a Sunrise in an oval hole archtop and it really does work well. Expensive gear that's a bargain for what you're getting and how well it works.
I've thought about returning the Alix and getting the Felix so I would have two channels of great pre, but I like that the Alix is more compact and that it has the accessory 500ma 9v dc for the three other pedals, it's great not having to have another power supply on the pedal board either way they both sound great and it's whatever fits your needs better.
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Old 11-24-2017, 05:52 PM
RonD RonD is offline
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Thanks for this review.

I am "on the fence" about replacing my Fishman Platinum Pro DI with the Alix. I'm just not sure it will provide enough of an improvement to justify the swap. Furthermore, I come out of the Fishman and go into a TC Play Acoustic for effects and vocal harmonies...which, I think kills some of my tone (even with Bodyrez turned off). I'd hate to invest in the Alix and then just kill the tone running it through the Play Acoustic. Alternatively, I might also just swap out the Play Acoustic for some individual pedals (chorus, delay, reverb, etc.) and just run them in the effects loop of the Alix.

Decisions, decisions.

Best of luck with the Alix.
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  #6  
Old 11-24-2017, 09:02 PM
Spook Spook is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
I've thought about returning the Alix and getting the Felix so I would have two channels of great pre, but I like that the Alix is more compact and that it has the accessory 500ma 9v dc for the three other pedals, it's great not having to have another power supply on the pedal board either way they both sound great and it's whatever fits your needs better.
Need one of each. Alix is perfect for a pedal board. Felix is more flexible to run things in a home studio. Can't wait to see what Grace Designs comes up with next.
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Old 11-25-2017, 11:44 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spook View Post
Need one of each. Alix is perfect for a pedal board. Felix is more flexible to run things in a home studio. Can't wait to see what Grace Designs comes up with next.
Yeah it's perfect for this fly-rig I put together...



But I've got the studio pre thing covered...

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Old 11-25-2017, 11:53 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RonD View Post
Alternatively, I might also just swap out the Play Acoustic for some individual pedals (chorus, delay, reverb, etc.) and just run them in the effects loop of the Alix.

Decisions, decisions.

Best of luck with the Alix.

This is what I run in the insert of the Alix and it's a very good sounding pedal with tap tempo for the delays.

The Keeley Delay Workstation...

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  #9  
Old 11-25-2017, 11:59 PM
Spook Spook is offline
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Dunno man.. looks like you need more gear.
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  #10  
Old 11-26-2017, 12:03 AM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spook View Post
Dunno man.. looks like you need more gear.
no truer words spoken In actuality though I was chasing my studio tone with the Alix and I can say it hangs with the big boy preamps!
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