NUX Optima Air Users

[Stratmeister]

[QUOTE=ckalinec;6837614]Hey guys.

"So I've been using the Optima Air for a few months now and overall I'm a pretty big fan. Made my own IRs for each instrument which certainly made a big difference. However I'm running in to some issues with noise.

Has anyone else noticed that the unit itself seems to have a very large noise floor? we bought one for our church and some of the guy who have lower output pickups that need to crank the gain internally on the unit seem to raise a ton of noise. And not just a little."

The unit has a pretty hot output. My first night going through the PA with my group I got significant air noise right off the bat. I simply dialed back hard on the gain on the mixing board. I could still dial it back a bit to get broader control. I control the volume from my guitar's pre-amp and I don't have to come up much at all to get to performance volume. I notice the magnetic pickup IR's (which I do not use anyway) have a high pitch noise noise when used with my piezo. I'm fine now and very happy with the results.

What type of pickups are your guys using?

~Stratmeister

[guitaniac]

[QUOTE=Stratmeister;6841762]

Originally Posted by ckalinec

Hey guys.

"So I've been using the Optima Air for a few months now and overall I'm a pretty big fan. Made my own IRs for each instrument which certainly made a big difference. However I'm running in to some issues with noise.

Has anyone else noticed that the unit itself seems to have a very large noise floor? we bought one for our church and some of the guy who have lower output pickups that need to crank the gain internally on the unit seem to raise a ton of noise. And not just a little."

The unit has a pretty hot output. My first night going through the PA with my group I got significant air noise right off the bat. I simply dialed back hard on the gain on the mixing board. I could still dial it back a bit to get broader control. I control the volume from my guitar's pre-amp and I don't have to come up much at all to get to performance volume. I notice the magnetic pickup IR's (which I do not use anyway) have a high pitch noise noise when used with my piezo. I'm fine now and very happy with the results.

What type of pickups are your guys using?

~Stratmeister

Using piezo equipped guitars so far - UST and Hex (six individual mini saddles).

I noticed in your previous posts that you mentioned the possibility of overwriting the factory installed IR files while in manual mode. I thought that pushing the "select" button would save any changes to EQ and gain settings, but how would one accidentally overwrite a factory installed IR file with a different IR file? Does the software provide a way to do this? I thought that it's the presets which are intended to be overwritten if desired.

In any event, I was pleased to see that the IR waveforms are displayed in the software. This provides helpful info on how a precise EQ device can be applied to achieve a more balanced tone and/or avoid feedback issues.

[EWman]

Any of you using this successfully with an LR Baggs Anthem SL pickup equipped? I'm curious as to how well an IR works with a dual source pickup like that.

also, assuming I wanted to use this with two different guitars (switching out for different sets live).....would I be able to have different presets (with each preset having a different gain level setting) for each guitar?

Using a Gibson Songwriter Deluxe with LR Baggs Anthem SL (lower output) and a Martin DC-1E with factory installed Fishman (higher output).

I'm looking for a solution to be able to switch between these two without having to go into my mixer or adjust gain levels on the fly. Only two solutions I have found so far are

A) get a mini line mixer and run separate guitar cables to each guitar and preset the gain levels on each channel.

B) Get an EQ pedal with adjustable gain level and engage it for the Gibson, and disengage it for the Martin.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by EWman

Any of you using this successfully with an LR Baggs Anthem SL pickup equipped? I'm curious as to how well an IR works with a dual source pickup like that.

also, assuming I wanted to use this with two different guitars (switching out for different sets live).....would I be able to have different presets (with each preset having a different gain level setting) for each guitar?

Using a Gibson Songwriter Deluxe with LR Baggs Anthem SL (lower output) and a Martin DC-1E with factory installed Fishman (higher output).

I'm looking for a solution to be able to switch between these two without having to go into my mixer or adjust gain levels on the fly. Only two solutions I have found so far are

A) get a mini line mixer and run separate guitar cables to each guitar and preset the gain levels on each channel.

B) Get an EQ pedal with adjustable gain level and engage it for the Gibson, and disengage it for the Martin.

It sounds like the Voiceprint would fit your needs more. Lr Baggs obviously used the Anthem SL when designing it and the images seem to work well with that pickup. It also has the preset options and a ton of tweakability. I am still a bit pessimistic about an IR working with an internal mic, but the demos do sound good.

[Cuki79]

For me a dual source should not need IR.

Did you setup the mic gain correctly?

As far instrument switching, radial eng provides many solutions

https://www.radialeng.com/product/bigshot-io

[Marty C]

I used a Voiceprint with my Anthem SL. It worked great with the SL but I didn't like the Voiceprint with my Taylor and its ES-2 so I sent it back. I purchased a Venue DI as the replacement and it seems to be a good compromise.

[EWman]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

For me a dual source should not need IR.

Did you setup the mic gain correctly?

As far instrument switching, radial eng provides many solutions

https://www.radialeng.com/product/bigshot-io

You are right.....my Gibson with the Anthem SL doesn't "need" an IR. It actually sounds really good as is. But its not the only guitar I use. Radial looks nice, but pretty pricey for what it is.

This was suggested to me:

https://reverb.com/item/6328337-satu...-in-california

Looks like it wouldn't be used to "boost" the signal of the anthem SL, but more to "lower" the output of my other guitar to get them to match (assuming i use the same signal chain afterwards). And I can mute either channel.

[EWman]

Originally Posted by Marty C

I used a Voiceprint with my Anthem SL. It worked great with the SL but I didn't like the Voiceprint with my Taylor and its ES-2 so I sent it back. I purchased a Venue DI as the replacement and it seems to be a good compromise.

I have never owned one of the Taylors with the expression but have played with one a few times. I think they sound great, but it seems like they are "picky" with what external processing systems they work well with them.

I am starting to feel the same way about the guitar processing of my Anthem SL through the TC Helicon Play Acoustic. I feel like it loses something.

[mike o]

I’m a new IR user so, YMMV. Just throwing this out as an option. For my purposes, live pluged in sound for an acoustic duo, I did not get the results expected using the Nux only and blending signal through it. Much better results by sending the Original pu signal (K&K or Fishman rare earth) through my mixing board and re-amping that by aux out through NUx back into another channel. Then eq/fx each individual channel to taste and blend. You should be able to do this through any small mixer with an aux out. This enables you to capture and use the best qualities of each signal path. To be clear, I’m not looking to have a true acoustic unplugged finger style sound. That would be a very difficult to achieve w/o a good mic(s) and all the feedback troubles that come with.

[Marty C]

Originally Posted by mike o

I’m a new IR user so, YMMV. Just throwing this out as an option. For my purposes, live pluged in sound for an acoustic duo, I did not get the results expected using the Nux only and blending signal through it. Much better results by sending the Original pu signal (K&K or Fishman rare earth) through my mixing board and re-amping that by aux out through NUx back into another channel. Then eq/fx each individual channel to taste and blend. You should be able to do this through any small mixer with an aux out. This enables you to capture and use the best qualities of each signal path. To be clear, I’m not looking to have a true acoustic unplugged finger style sound. That would be a very difficult to achieve w/o a good mic(s) and all the feedback troubles that come with.

That sounds like a good idea. I don't think the Nux can blend the raw signal to the IR signal. This would allow that to take place.

[Cuki79]

Such a thing is very easy to do with the Line 6 Helix / HX stomp

[JoMas]

Hi all
I just wanted to share some experience with the Optima.
I've had it for a week now and I am extremely happy with it. I'm actually surprised. I've had a Fishman Aura for many years now, and I always liked it a lot, but the Optima is just better, and not by a small margin. The realism of the sound is better in my opinion (maybe because I'm able to make my own IR with the Nux, more on this later), and the preamp section is also very nice. I still have to try it on stage (will do soon) though, we'll see.
My ONLY complaint is that it doesn't have a blend knob. That's really unfortunate. Nux, if you are reading, PLEASE create a blend function in the next firmware update !!!!
Anyway, the reason I'm writing is to share the way I do my own IRs, maybe it's gonna be useful for some.
Instead of recording directly on the pedal, I record the two needed tracks (piezo and mic) on my DAW. That gives me a couple of advantages.
First, this way it's very convenient to play multiple takes and choose the "cleanest" one (or even to edit out finger noises, buzz noise etc, stuff that you don't want to affect your IR).
Second, this way I can eq / enhance / improve the mic track (obviously the piezo track has to stay exactly as it is recorded). The goal is to make sure that the IR will try to simulate not just the "naked" microphone sound (which may be good or not so good, depending on your microphone, your room etc), but a mic sound that you actually like. I usually use eq to shape the tone, dynamic eq to tame resonances, a touch of saturation (very little), a touch of compression (very, very little) etc (obviously no time-based effects, I'm just trying to improve the "basic" quality of the "naked" mic sound).
This is a BIG advantage of this method, I think.
Now, once you have the two tracks (the piezo and the "improved" mic track), you have two options.
One is to create the IR file directly from the DAW (using for example a plugin like Mfreeformeq). The other option is to let the Nux optima create the IR (just by re-routing the two tracks separately into the input and the return of the pedal and following the Optima's regular procedure to create an IR directly from the pedal). I was expecting the results to be very, very similar, if not identical.
To my BIG surprise, the results are very, very different, I tried several times and the IR created with the Optima are MUCH better than the IR created from inside the DAW with a plugin, with the SAME tracks. Maybe I did something wrong, I don't know, but I did follow carefully the instructions by Cuki. Again, I could be wrong.
But anyway, the IR that I created this way are VERY satisfying for me, they seem to fit my guitars perfectly (I tried with a Taylor, a classic nylon-string Cordoba, an acoustic Lag, even a very cheap Harley Benton, and I'm going to try with an acoustic baritone shortly).
Hope this helps.
Joe

[Rafajorgetto]

Hi guys, I have a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI that I use with a Crafter DE7/N playing live on church.

Im moving to a Taylor 210CE, but I think that the Aura will not sound good because the ES system right?

Should I sell my fishman and go for a Nux Optima?

Thanks

[Marty C]

There seem to be so many mixed reviews with these IR’s, all I can say is try it. I have a similar experience as many on this forum. I try it and love it… at home with low volume. Then I get out and add some volume and things change and I can’t seem to control it. I end up going back to a good EQ device and just stick with that. I am still trying.

Where are you located? If you are close, you can try mine.

[Rafajorgetto]

Originally Posted by Marty C

There seem to be so many mixed reviews with these IR’s, all I can say is try it. I have a similar experience as many on this forum. I try it and love it… at home with low volume. Then I get out and add some volume and things change and I can’t seem to control it. I end up going back to a good EQ device and just stick with that. I am still trying.

Where are you located? If you are close, you can try mine.

I'm from Brazil, thanks for the answer