Acoustic Pedals

[Irish Pennant]

I have a guitar with a Fishman Matrix Infinity that's quacky when plugged directly into my mixer, not so in my amp. The PADI tames the quack very well, as does the Zoom A3.

[Doubleneck]

Per above the Zoom A3 is another good option.

[RockerDuck]

I have a Martin GPCPA4R and I use a Zoom A3. It sounds as natural as mic'ing it. No quack.

[aknow]

Originally Posted by Halcyon/Tinker

Well, I don't think you can count on a pedal to dramatically transform the initial sound that you don't like into one that you do. You might be better served spending the money on a different pickup.

That being said, when I was gigging I used the Baggs venue DI and loved it. I was also using Baggs pu's...

Excellent advice.

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by twg1996

Hi,

First time posting here...i've been looking into acoustic pedals for my Martin GPCPA4 rosewood equipped with a fishman f1 analog system. I didn't like the quacky piezo sound so i started looking around and i narrowed it down to 3 different pedals.

1. L.R. Baggs Venue - $451
2. L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI- $285
3. Fishman Aura Spectrum DI - $393

These are the prices is Canadian dollars at the stores near me. Can anyone with experience tell me which would be a better option for me?

Is the extra price for the venue justifiable?

I play on a stage with a pa system and a sound engineer at the back.

Just so that you understand the different ways in which these units can help you improve the sound of the pickup:

The Para Acoustic DI and the Venue can help with the quackiness by giving you more EQ control than the preamp in your onboard system already has. Sometimes it's just a matter of dialing out the offending frequencies.

The Aura Spectrum DI has that same power, but it adds a digital imaging system that allows you to dial-in a digital facsimile of a guitar like yours recorded with a mic under ideal studio conditions. So in this case you can both dial out the quacky frequencies and blend in the digital image to partially cover and hide the pickup sound, while still retaining some of the bite of that sound (often useful in a live setting) and all of it's feedback resistance--very useful.

Whether or not it's worth the extra money will depend on how it sounds to you and your sound tech once you've figured it out and found a good image to work with (there's a huge downloadable library that purchase of the unit give you access to).

Some stores, both online and brick and mortar, will let you try a piece of equipment for 30 days to see how it works for you.

Louis

[twg1996]

Originally Posted by lschwart

Just so that you understand the different ways in which these units can help you improve the sound of the pickup:

The Para Acoustic DI and the Venue can help with the quackiness by giving you more EQ control than the preamp in your onboard system already has. Sometimes it's just a matter of dialing out the offending frequencies.

The Aura Spectrum DI has that same power, but it adds a digital imaging system that allows you to dial-in a digital facsimile of a guitar like yours recorded with a mic under ideal studio conditions. So in this case you can both dial out the quacky frequencies and blend in the digital image to partially cover and hide the pickup sound, while still retaining some of the bite of that sound (often useful in a live setting) and all of it's feedback resistance--very useful.

Whether or not it's worth the extra money will depend on how it sounds to you and your sound tech once you've figured it out and found a good image to work with (there's a huge downloadable library that purchase of the unit give you access to).

Some stores, both online and brick and mortar, will let you try a piece of equipment for 30 days to see how it works for you.

Louis

Thanks...I went to a music store today and had the chance to try out both the zoom a3 and aura...at first, the images in both of them sounded hollow(?) and a bit digital. had to fiddle around with the in a quiet room by myself before I found something i was satisfied with. Maybe its just me but i don't think i would be quick enough live with the pedals if i were to mess around with it.

But then again, this is just based on my personal experience with just a couple of hours with the pedals. Maybe if i got used to them it might be better.

Anyways, i think i want to go with either the platinum pro eq or the venue. any suggestions between the two?

Also, I was thinking of also buying a behringer vtone acoustic di (ADI21) just as a backup...any opinion on those?

Thank you all!

[Groberts]

Originally Posted by twg1996

Thanks...I went to a music store today and had the chance to try out both the zoom a3 and aura...at first, the images in both of them sounded hollow(?) and a bit digital. had to fiddle around with the in a quiet room by myself before I found something i was satisfied with. Maybe its just me but i don't think i would be quick enough live with the pedals if i were to mess around with it.

But then again, this is just based on my personal experience with just a couple of hours with the pedals. Maybe if i got used to them it might be better.

Anyways, i think i want to go with either the platinum pro eq or the venue. any suggestions between the two?

Also, I was thinking of also buying a behringer vtone acoustic di (ADI21) just as a backup...any opinion on those?

Thank you all!

I had a Venue for a few years. It is a very good sounding preamp. The Tuner however was useless to me. It is painfully slow and less accurate than my TC Polytune Mini II. I cannot believe Baggs has not addressed or updated the tuner in the Venue. I can usually find some middle ground and tend to not be quick to dismiss, but the tuner was a complete waste of space. The boost worked well, but I felt it altered the tone of my guitar a bit. I preferred using an RC Boost for clean boost. So that left just the Preamp. It's a great preamp. No question there.

The other issue I had with the Venue is that Velcro doesn't stay stuck to the padded rubber pads on the bottom of the Venue. So it kept shifting and lifting up from my pedal board.

I have a Fishman Platinum Pro EQ on the way from Sweetwater currently and it should be here Friday. I also ordered a Red-Eye. Very basic, but if it's as sweet as the reviews say it is, it will prove "less is more." ....I will post my findings.

[davidguevara80]

I removed a Fishman PU from my Gibson J150 and Installed a Lyric. I am very happy. I am also installed a Bone saddle from Bob Colossi and not only the plugged in tone was improved but also the unplugged tone. I use the Venue and Session DI.

[myersbw]

Originally Posted by davidguevara80

I removed a Fishman PU from my Gibson J150 and Installed a Lyric. I am very happy. I am also installed a Bone saddle from Bob Colossi and not only the plugged in tone was improved but also the unplugged tone. I use the Venue and Session DI.

+1000 on the bone saddle! I think until you get to the point your soundboard opens up more on certain guitars, a bone saddle's vibrational "kick" just adds oodles of warmth to what might just be a mediocre tone...until you discover the alternative.

I replaced a Tusq saddle with bone on my Taylor and now it's the tone I've always wanted. It won't be sold or swapped...it will be in my will. :P

[twg1996]

Originally Posted by Groberts

I had a Venue for a few years. It is a very good sounding preamp. The Tuner however was useless to me. It is painfully slow and less accurate than my TC Polytune Mini II. I cannot believe Baggs has not addressed or updated the tuner in the Venue. I can usually find some middle ground and tend to not be quick to dismiss, but the tuner was a complete waste of space. The boost worked well, but I felt it altered the tone of my guitar a bit. I preferred using an RC Boost for clean boost. So that left just the Preamp. It's a great preamp. No question there.

The other issue I had with the Venue is that Velcro doesn't stay stuck to the padded rubber pads on the bottom of the Venue. So it kept shifting and lifting up from my pedal board.

I have a Fishman Platinum Pro EQ on the way from Sweetwater currently and it should be here Friday. I also ordered a Red-Eye. Very basic, but if it's as sweet as the reviews say it is, it will prove "less is more." ....I will post my findings.

Thanks! Please do.

[Groberts]

Originally Posted by twg1996

Thanks! Please do.

Just got the RedEye on my board yesterday. VERY nice sounding preamp. Even makes my Taylor w/ES2 PU sound a little warmer, richer and sweeter. I am demo'ing the Fishman Plat Pro EQ now and have a gig tonight. But I will use one Preamp or the other since both on my acoustic board would be "one preamp too many". I will try and do a quick home demo before I have to load and go. More to come! Stay tuned!

Edit: This just in. I tested the Fishman Platinum Pro EQ and compared to the Red-eye. That was fast and easy. The Fishman Plat Pro is going back! Right away. The Redeye has a presence and sweetness the Fishman cannot match.

The Compressor on the Fishman is nice and if you have a passive UST like a K&K and need EQ tone controls, and compressor and notch filter. In that case the Plat Pro EQ offers a lot of features in one box., maybe you would enjoy the EQ tone stack on the Plat Pro. But the Redeye simply has the tone PERFECTED without having to tweak any knows. Sounds incredible. I also think the boost on the RedEye is much more natural. You get your guitar tone, just a little louder. The Boost on the Fishman sounded a little strident and edgy to my ears. Dunno. I am just so impressed with the tone and presence of the RedEye, I gave up on the Fishman Plat Pro. I could not get it to sound as sweet as the RedEye, no matter how I dialed the EQ and presence knobs.

[Paully]

This will tame a piezo, and it's inexpensive. I use it with great success.
https://www.google.com/search?q=behr...-8#pie=plaji-i