Anyone using Zoom A1 Four as a blending assistant?

[JackB1]

Thats exactly what I do....I boost the mids and then sweep to find the worst sounding frequency. But it hard for me to tell what I should cut. I'll try your suggestion of around 660 for my M80 equipped guitar and 1.2 for my piezo equipped guitar.

Originally Posted by guitaniac

The easy answer is to experiment a lot with different frequencies and cut depths and to choose what your ears like. In general, mags tend to like a lower mid cut frequency than piezo pickups. I'm currently cutting at 660 Hz for my Black Angel mag and 1.2KHz for the David Enke designed UST. Both cuts are on the modest side, and sometimes you may find that no cut at all is preferable. You're gonna need a decent amount of midrange to cut through the din in noisy settings.

The Baggs folks used to suggest an interesting way of finding the best frequency for a mid cut. Their suggestion was to actually boost the mids by a healthy amount and then rotate through the mid frequencies to hear what frequency provided the most obnoxious sound - then try cutting at that frequency, experimenting with different cut depths.

[amsmarle]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

The effect is labeled "AG PU SEL". As you're scrolling through the effects (by being in Edit mode and clicking down the left or right pedal), AG PU SEL is between "Exciter" and "BaDe Piezo". When you are in AG PU SEL, you turn knob #1 clockwise for mag or counter-clockwise for piezo.

Before you go messing around with factory preset patches that you may like, I'd click on the "setting" button, then click button #4 to get in "setup" and then turn knob #2 counter-clockwise to put "auto save" in the "off" position if it isn't already off.

When you're ready to save a patch, you click on "setting", then click button #3 to get in save, then push both foot pedals down simultaneously.

Once you're in "save", you can use the numbered buttons to select the bank you want to save to and use the foot pedals to select the specific patch number you want to save to.

Thanks, but I'm afraid I cannot find the AG PU SEL in the Edit mode, but I see it in the Guitar lab software (I've only just loaded it)..?

Alan

[JackB1]

It’s there. But don’t waste a spot for it. It doesn’t make any noticeable difference. Better to use one of the full EQ effects.

Originally Posted by amsmarle

Thanks, but I'm afraid I cannot find the AG PU SEL in the Edit mode, but I see it in the Guitar lab software (I've only just loaded it)..?

Alan

[amsmarle]

Originally Posted by JackB1

It’s there. But don’t waste a spot for it. It doesn’t make any noticeable difference. Better to use one of the full EQ effects.

OK JackB1 thanks,
No doubt as I get to know my way around a bit better I will come across it

[Marty C]

Originally Posted by amsmarle

OK JackB1 thanks,
No doubt as I get to know my way around a bit better I will come across it

It must depend on the guitar and the pickup. I can definitely hear it on one of my guitars with passive UST. Not so much the difference of UST versus the mag, but a difference with one or off. But only if I turn every other effect/EQ off.

[guitaniac]

I did the blending experiment yesterday, after finding the appropriate adapter in my gear. Works fine, using a second outboard preamp to control the signal to Aux In. (An onboard preamp with level and tone controls could also do the job.) I also went ahead and ordered a special cable from Sweetwater, as that's a more elegant solution than sticking an adapter on the end of a regular mono cable.

You couldn't call the Zoom A1-Four a real blender, but it can assist in combining the two signals to a single signal. That could be helpful for folks with a limited number of inputs on their amp or mixer.

Its also a big plus that the A1 Four has a regular 3 band EQ (in addition to all the other EQs) which can be used on the fly at the gig. I had to roll off some bass at the gig last night as the guitar top was interacting with speaker sound in a noisy and necessarily high (guitar) volume environment. (Anyone who thinks that the Lyric can't sound bassy enough should listen to my video from last night.)