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#1
12-20-2023, 10:42 AM
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NPAD: Grace Design BiX Acoustic Preamp Pedal
I've been using a Sunrise buffer/preamp box w/ great results w/ my Fishman Blackstack soundhole pickup. Worked with the Fishman as well as it did for the Sunrise.
But I've always wanted a bit of control over the volume and tone. Something high quality and transparent that I could afford was the main consideration. The Grace only has treble and bass controls so I was unsure how useful it would be for tone issues. They do suggest the mid range (no mid knob) can be controlled w/ the gain knob. Got the Grace yesterday and AB-ed it withe the Sunrise preamp and for my use it's perfect. The quality of sound is very similar but the Grace has more output (and a boost footswitch) and the tone controls work very well for my rig set flat at 12 o'clock, it's transparent and the tone controls are in the right range for my needs. High quality construction, very sturdy, great feel on the controls and when I went to remove the rubber feet to install on my pedalboard I found they were screwed in (!) instead of just stuck on. Easy to remove and easy to replace if I ever want to use it was a stand alone unit. And it's built in the USA. The simple controls might not work for everyone, I was happy w/ my sound but just wanted more control, if you're fixing an issue more tone controls might be necessary, particularly in the mid range. Last edited by stephenT; 12-22-2023 at 12:00 PM. 
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#2
12-21-2023, 09:12 AM
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Thanks for that report/review. I've been staring at those for some time, and that was helpful. An A/B audio recording would be good, too!
__________________
"I know in the morning that it's gonna be good, when I stick out my elbows and they don't bump wood." - Bill Kirchen
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#3
12-22-2023, 03:01 PM
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#4
12-22-2023, 04:09 PM
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Stephen, Welcome to the Grace Design Happy Players Club--Enjoy Your BiX!
__________________
Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas MD80 NWT Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5
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#5
12-22-2023, 11:02 PM
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#6
12-25-2023, 08:56 AM
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StephenT, I am glad the Bix is working for you. I never thought the Blackstack
or Sunrise was particularly finicky about the preamp feeding it. I mostly use the sunnaudio Prestine DI2 but have had good results with SR buffer, Venue, Platinum Pro, Redeye, GMF AI ProTube, sunnaudio Stage DI........ The Blackstack is a great pickup. The only downside is some extra weight. I don't understand why it doesn't get more love from AGF.
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#7
12-25-2023, 08:23 PM
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But as to weight, coming from a Sunrise the Blackstack is featherweight. What a difference on how the 00-15 sounds acoustically between the two pickups.
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#8
12-27-2023, 02:45 PM
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The problem with many consumer pre amps is they're built to a price point design and construction. When you buy something from Grace, Fire Eye, or SunnAudio, among others, you get fine grade parts and a solid gain stage. It is amazing how little you need when you are not EQing for the shortcomings of the pre itself. This is what you pay for with Grace products.
__________________
2007 Martin D 35 Custom 1970 Guild D 35 1965 Epiphone Texan 2011 Santa Cruz D P/W Pono OP 30 D parlor Pono OP12-30 Pono MT uke Goldtone Paul Beard squareneck resophonic Fluke tenor ukulele Boatload of home rolled telecasters "Shut up and play ur guitar" Frank Zappa
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#9
12-27-2023, 02:48 PM
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I admit that I have my eye on a Grace Alix. The new Tone Dexter is getting up to that price range, and certainly in the range of a used Alix. I know they are completely different approaches to good acoustic sound, but they would fill the same spot in my setup.
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#10
01-16-2024, 10:06 AM
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Slightly related - I noticed that they've changed the input impedance to the more K&K friendly 1MΩ, removing the need for the adapter. I just wish they'd done this with an external dip-switch, as I have a Radius pickup that wants the higher impedance. Well, I may focus on the used market, though these seem to be pretty rare there.
See section 7.1 in the manual (Link to Grace Design site manuals page).
__________________
"I know in the morning that it's gonna be good, when I stick out my elbows and they don't bump wood." - Bill Kirchen
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