NUX Optima Air Users

[Peter Z]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

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

Same here with the Anthem in my SJ-200. That guitar is quite loud, at least as loud as the Hummingbird. With pickups the SJ-200 needs much more gain than the Hummingbird for the same volume. Not a problem, but my Anthem is week.

[AeroUSA]

Originally Posted by Peter Z

Same here with the Anthem in my SJ-200. That guitar is quite loud, at least as loud as the Hummingbird. With pickups the SJ-200 needs much more gain than the Hummingbird for the same volume. Not a problem, but my Anthem is week.

I wonder if this is one reason why the battery life is so good in the Anthem? Either way I can’t see how it would ever be an issue.

[Peter Z]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

I wonder if this is one reason why the battery life is so good in the Anthem? Either way I can’t see how it would ever be an issue.

A longer battery life would be an advantage, not an issue. Gain is cheap on a reasonable mixer. :-)

[Petty1818]

Here's a post directly from an Lr Baggs employee:

We at LR Baggs are aware and acknowledge that the output of the Anthem system is "low-ish." When compared to some pickup systems known for strong output, such as some competitors' systems and our own Element Active, it can appear less than another system. The trick is not to compare its output to anything else. If it sounds great, it's most likely normal.

Here is a brief explanation of why the output is what it is: The specially-tuned crossover in the Anthem circuit imposes a sharp low-cut on the Tru-Mic signal as well as a [not as sharp] high cut for the pickup signal when the system is adjusted to use more Tru-Mic above the crossover. The circuit design required to achieve the highly effective crossover circuit, that which is responsible for such a natural sound at such high volumes, was not able to be manipulated for higher overall output from the system without lowering the signal-to-noise ratio.

[AeroUSA]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

Here's a post directly from an Lr Baggs employee:

We at LR Baggs are aware and acknowledge that the output of the Anthem system is "low-ish." When compared to some pickup systems known for strong output, such as some competitors' systems and our own Element Active, it can appear less than another system. The trick is not to compare its output to anything else. If it sounds great, it's most likely normal.

Here is a brief explanation of why the output is what it is: The specially-tuned crossover in the Anthem circuit imposes a sharp low-cut on the Tru-Mic signal as well as a [not as sharp] high cut for the pickup signal when the system is adjusted to use more Tru-Mic above the crossover. The circuit design required to achieve the highly effective crossover circuit, that which is responsible for such a natural sound at such high volumes, was not able to be manipulated for higher overall output from the system without lowering the signal-to-noise ratio.

They also told me that the Anthem volume is also dependent on the guitars volume which I find to be true.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

They also told me that the Anthem volume is also dependent on the guitars volume which I find to be true.

Yeah, I find that to be a weird statement. I mean, at the end of the day, the Anthem is still a pickup so I am not sure how the unplugged volume of a guitar can make a difference? Yes there's a mic inside but the volume should still be lower than other pickups, regardless of the guitar. With that said, it's not a deal breaker at all as it just means turning up the gain.

[AeroUSA]

The Optima Air is impressing me but there does not seem to be a way to change the blend. There is a gain control for the pickup and a level control for the IR but when I emailed NUX they told me that there is no way to blend the amount.

That seems strange to me.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

The Optima Air is impressing me but there does not seem to be a way to change the blend. There is a gain control for the pickup and a level control for the IR but when I emailed NUX they told me that there is no way to blend the amount.

That seems strange to me.

Do you mean the level is just a volume?

[AeroUSA]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

Do you mean the level is just a volume?

I thought I read somewhere that by using the ‘amp’ volume and ‘IR’ level you could create a blend but they told me there’s no way to blend. I’m not sure what is happening. Is it just a fixed blend? It sounds sound like 100% IR. The software editor is nice and it has a high and low pass filter for the IR as well as the three band EQ.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

I thought I read somewhere that by using the ‘amp’ volume and ‘IR’ level you could create a blend but they told me there’s no way to blend. I’m not sure what is happening. Is it just a fixed blend? It sounds sound like 100% IR. The software editor is nice and it has a high and low pass filter for the IR as well as the three band EQ.

Ah! Ah! Tonedexter is still the KING! [I am so happy I did not buy one, no benefit from my Nux NSS-5)

Now only Baggs Voiceprint is a decent contender for TD... As long as they can keep up the pace of Android & iOS updates...

[AeroUSA]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

Ah! Ah! Tonedexter is still the KING! [I am so happy I did not buy one, no benefit from my Nux NSS-5)

Now only Baggs Voiceprint is a decent contender for TD... As long as they can keep up the pace of Android & iOS updates...

Lol maybe. I am withholding judgement until I make an actual IR with the ToneDexter and Optima and compare them directly. I don’t use the blend feature in the ToneDexter anyway so it’s not really an issue...

[Akousticplyr]

Strange that there isn't a change log for the firmware update. I couldn't find it either, Aaron. Sorry.

My experience with the Optima Air has been positive so far with a few 'gripes.'

Goods:
-It has a small pedalboard footprint, standard 9V power.
-It works very nicely as a standalone DI box.
-The IR level knob feels like a blend to me, is quite nice and I've been happy with the sound using a JJB 330.
-I like the ability to select (and deselect) the combo mode of IR and preamp settings to tweak as needed.
-I REALLY like the recorded sound.

Others:
-I hate the XLR out on the left side of the pedal. Takes up far too much real estate, even with a 90 deg XLR cable that I modified.
-I'm not super happy with my self generated IR's, but that's probably user error and inexperience. I need to try Cuki's generator.
-I used an AKG Perception with Focusrite 2i2.
-The onboard reverb is useless to me as i always run to a QSC Touchmix for master effects, but I can see it's merit for those who prefer onboard effects in their pedals.

At the end of the day, it is staying on my pedalboard to replace a Radial Acoustic Pre DI.

[Akousticplyr]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

The Optima Air is impressing me but there does not seem to be a way to change the blend. There is a gain control for the pickup and a level control for the IR but when I emailed NUX they told me that there is no way to blend the amount.

That seems strange to me.

Perhaps the IR LEVEL is their version of blend (English translation issue, perhaps?)

[Marty C]

Well I didnÂ’t realize that there was a difference between the IR blend and IR level. I thought the higher level was actually blending more of the IR signal into the direct signal from the pickup or preamp. I did notice the more I turned this up, the louder it got; therefore, I had to back off the gain from the preamp.

I had the same experience Akousticplyr. I couldn’t get what I wanted from the self generated IR. Not really sure if it’s the Self generated IR I am not liking or just the IR sound altogether. I am not really crazy about most samples I hear on you tube videos from any IR pedal. Just my taste I guess. I actually have two presets saved with no IR. Only the preamp EQ and reverb. I am very happy with this alone. I did get a better IR from Cuki’s generator which I loaded in the Optima. Need to get outside and turn up the volume to see how this all sounds at a higher “live” volume.

I donÂ’t like the XLR from the side either.

[AeroUSA]

Here is my review: