Fishman Aura Spectrum DI - will it work with this particular guitar?

[Camannwordsmith]

Hi all. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I don't know the answer to this (I'm just now, after many years of playing, starting to learn about gear), and I'm hoping that you can help me.

I play a 12-string Alvarez Yairi. It's an acoustic-electric. The preamp sits in the body itself, powered by a 9V battery. Through an amp, it sounds lovely. Through any audio interface, it sounds *awful*, even with a DI and by adjusting the EQ in my various DAWs.

After doing a lot of reading, I have determined that the best way I can correct this is by using a DI specifically designed for this type of guitar. I have identified a few of them (LR Baggs, Boss, etc), and I think that the Fishman Platinum Pro EQ / DI is the right one for me. Unfortunately, they're expensive, and while I can find them used on Craigslist and such, they always seem to be Local Pickup Only, in areas far away.

Last night, though I found a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI. The person claims it's in excellent condition (and it appears to be, from the photo), and the cost is about half of what I'd budgeted for the Platinum Pro.

I know these models do different things and the Aura's big selling point is imaging, but what I'm primarily concerned about is having my sound be clean and actually *pleasant* to listen to. This seems like I ought to go for it...

However, I've also heard that the Spectrum is designed to work only with an under-saddle pickup, and since my pickups are internal, it doesn't appear that my guitar fits that description.

So my questions are:

1. Is what I've heard true, that the Aura wouldn't work for my particular guitar?

2. If the Aura's not an option and I can't manage to find a used Fishman Platinum Pro EQ / DI that I can afford, what SHOULD I be buying instead, given the type of guitar that I have and the fact that I'm using it primarily for recording?


I thank you for your time and consideration!

[lschwart]

You need to first figure out what kind of pickup the guitar has--FWIW, it's probably undersaddle (I'm not sure what you mean when you say it's not because it's "internal"). If it is undersaddle, the Aura does have 12 string images, so you should be good to go, although you would be doing something different from getting the direct sound from your pickup (you'd be adding the Aura image mixed in to taste). If you're not into the Aura part of the thing, I would look for a used Platinum Pro or some other unit, since that will give you more in the way of other functions you might want to use.

But there's a bigger question here: if what you want to do is record the guitar direct to your DAW, all you need to do is make sure that you can send the right kind of signal to the interface you're using. You should be able to do all the tweaking you want in the DAW itself (more than any preamp/DI will let you do). Explain why you've concluded that you need a preamp/DI to get the guitar to sound right going direct into the computer. What have you been using to interface with the computer? Also what sort of amp are you using when you say the guitar sounds good going into that? It might be that what you don't like is the pickup signal itself, which you're getting raw into the computer. It just might not be a sound you can work with--or you might not have figured out yet how to get the DAW to do to the signal what that amp is doing.

Louis

[NoodleFingers]

You should be able to find an image in Fishman's gallery that sounds nice. But it will probably be a laborious (and tedious) process of trying all of them, writing down which ones sound OK, and then choosing the best from among those.

I wouldn't give a lot of credence to Fishman saying you should try the image closest to your own guitar. The best one I found for my cedar/wild cherry S6 dread was a spruce/mahogany (I think) Taylor GA. It sounded pretty good, though.

Your best bet would be a ToneDexter, which you can train to your own guitar and chosen microphone, but it sounds like that would bust your budget. You should be able to get pretty decent results with the Aura, just be ready to spend a bunch of time finding the right image to use.

EDIT: Sorry, I missed the part about you not having a UST. The Aura probably won't work very well for you. But I've never tried it.

EDIT2: You might try the TC Electronics BodyRez. Not very expensive, and lots of people find it does enhance their pickup sound. But I'd definitely try it before I bought one.

[guitaniac]

Recording directly off an undersaddle pickup is difficult to do if you happen to be a strummer. The piezo quack is painfully noticeable with direct recording. The Aura Spectrum DI can help, but unless you get very lucky and find the perfect sound image for your guitar, you won't be able to use a high enough sound image blend to completely obscure the quack. (I've tried.)

An Audio Sprockets ToneDexter could solve your problem, but it costs $400 and you also need a good mic and there's a learning curve involved.

If you have a tight budget and you don't want the hassle of miking your guitar the conventional way, you could always get an iRig Acoustic Stage mic to record with for $100 or less. I've used this method of direct recording in the past and its worked decently well. I must add the caveat that I found the iRig Acoustic Stage to be too feedback prone and cumbersome for live performance.

https://youtu.be/x1NgeCrpnMc


A word of caution about the the volume level. Don't take the volume knob past halfway when recording aggressive strumming. That little preamp will limit a strong signal when you take the volume level past halfway. Its better to leave the volume control at halfway and make up the difference at the recorder.

Preamps are NOT supposed to work that way, but this one does. I presume its an attempt to compensate for the relatively low (3v) power supply and output signal.

[lschwart]

If you like the way it sounds coming out of your amp, you could try just recording the output of the amp with a mic into your computer.

Louis

[Camannwordsmith]

Thanks, everyone. It sounds like the consensus is that the Aura COULD work if I spent a ton of time on it, but there's a good chance that it wouldn't anyway and I should be looking at other alternatives.

I will see if I can find the the equipment above and make it work in my budget. Thank you!!