NUX Optima Air Users
 

Is anyone using one of these and happy with it? I’m working on a review and it would be useful to hear your experiences.

In your Review Aaron, be sure to try both a passive pickup and a weak ouput one.

Also demo the blend pot.

The main features are:
1) 2048 pts IR
2) Hi impedance input
3) clean gain
4) Blend pot
5) Display

Also it would be great if you cut the same IR to 512 pts, 1024 pts and 2048 pts and compare the 3 of them at 100% blend. You could comment the sound buy also the «feel»

What is a weak output pickup?

from AGF feedback
HFN
PUTW
Baggs in general

That’s not my experience... (Haven’t tried PUTW).

You mean HFN passive was as hot as a K&K for you?

We should make a pickup database with all the AGF inputs to have solid data on those things.

I don’t remember. I’ve never had a pickup that wasn’t loud enough.

With my two Anthem guitars one is noticeably louder but it’s a Dreadnought and Baggs told me the volume of the actual guitar is relative to the pickup volume.

I strum hard so maybe that results in less issues.

Yeah, that's strange. I have always found the Anthem to have a weak signal.

I guess it depends on the volume of the actual guitar, how the trim adjustment is set in the preamp and how hard you play. I can imagine an OM guitar played fingerstyle will have a much weaker signal than a Dreadnought that is strummed. I also play through pedals/preamps/audio interfaces and mixing desks that have gain adjustments.

Yeah, gain adjustments will help for sure. When I test pickups, I often run them through my Grace Design Felix and into a QSC speaker. It's crazy how weak the Anthem is. I mean weaker than some passive pickups (K&K). I know it's something Baggs have addressed. It's just part of the design but honestly it's not an issue at all because it's a simple fix. It can just be a bit of a shock if you set the gain for the Anthem and then plug in another pickup with a hot signal. Watch out!

I have been using it several weeks now. Being new with the IR thing, I had some trouble to capture a good recording to develop an IR. After some practice, I am developing some good results. Truthfully, I think the preamp is very good. I get great sounds with this alone. However, add in a little blend of the IR and the end result gets better.

The reverb sounds great. Not over the top like like many, but more natural.

So far I have used this with my Taylor with ES 2 and also a Martin with entry level UST (Sonicore I believe). Both with good results.

The gain is good addition. It is perfect to make up the signal strength when I back of the blend knob of the IR. I don’t like a full strength blend. Sounds way too boxy for my taste and not natural at all. I many stay in the 25-50% range.

Only used once live and this was outside. Really liked the result. Gets better with more experience.

Thanks! Any tips on training? Which mic did you use?

AKG P-170. When I recorded using the Nux to capture the IR, I got way different results depending on what I chose to play. If I played chords in the key of E, it was boxy. If I played in the key of D, it seemed too bright. Same when I played anything up the neck.

This is where is where I struggle a bit. I get different results depending on what I play. How are you guys doing this?

I play fingerstyle that might be the reason I find the Baggs weak but I have less that feeling with other brands... could be me.

My Baggs Lyric was significatly weaker than all my other pickupd

Just plugged it in and updated from firmware 1.x to 2.x. Does anyone have the change log?