The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Acoustic Amplification

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 02-02-2018, 07:50 PM
BluesKing777 BluesKing777 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 3,517
Default Martin D18e with Aura and Tonedexter Tracks.

I recorded my Martin D18E Retro with a strummy fingerpick - 2 ways....

1. Aura (inbuilt) image #4 Neumann KM84 - direct to my A&H mixer/iMac.

2. P for Pickup Only in Easy Mode of Aura to Tonedexter in slot #22 - to A&H mixer/iMac

3. Same as 2 but with some reverb/delay.



https://soundcloud.com/bk7-3/d18eand-td77


BluesKing777.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-02-2018, 10:24 PM
noledog's Avatar
noledog noledog is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Florida's First Coast
Posts: 7,530
Default

Yo BK,

I think the recording number one; The Aura image #4, sounded best
...The Easy Mode P/Matrix with Tonedexter sounded hollow with an "O" tone. The Retro F1AP doesn't need any extra external help, it stands good on it's own. I haven't heard the Tonedexter match it yet.

eric
__________________
NOLE TUNES & Coastal Acoustic Music one love jam!
Martin D18 & 3 lil' birdz; Takamine KC70, P3NC x 2

Last edited by noledog; 02-02-2018 at 10:31 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-02-2018, 10:49 PM
BluesKing777 BluesKing777 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 3,517
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by noledog View Post
Yo BK,

I think the recording number one; The Aura image #4, sounded best
...The Easy Mode P/Matrix with Tonedexter sounded hollow with an "O" tone. The Retro F1AP doesn't need any extra external help, it stands good on it's own. I haven't heard the Tonedexter match it yet.

eric


Thanks Eric.


Of course, I did the tracks as a comparison and like you said the Retro doesn’t need anything, lucky eh, and now I will just take the D! And a guitar lead...
I had to do it - what good is the P in Easy anyhow? I mean why on this planet would anyone run with the straight pickup, though good for one of those and better than most, but really? With 9 Auras to choose from! But now I found a use - comparisons between Aura and TD files.....

BluesKing777.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-02-2018, 11:05 PM
Cuki79 Cuki79 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: France
Posts: 3,005
Default

Thanks,

I life the Aura better too. You can definitely hear the Tonedexter low-pass filter around 10 KHz.

However the comparison is not totally fair since you did not blend any pickup signal to restore some of the high end.

Cuki
__________________
Martin 00-18V Goldplus + internal mic (2003)
Martin OM-28V + HFN + internal mic (1999)
Eastman E6OM (2019) Trance Audio Amulet
Yamaha FGX-412 (1998)

Gibson Les Paul Standard 1958 Reissue (2013)
Fender Stratocaster American Vintage 1954 (2014)
http://acousticir.free.fr/
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 02-02-2018, 11:45 PM
noledog's Avatar
noledog noledog is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Florida's First Coast
Posts: 7,530
Default

I hear ya BK & agree...I would never use the Matrix by itself, it's horrible…Like I've said many times here, for plug n play straight into amp, I like my Tak's Cooltube and even the M80 for most of what I do. But now with my Retro F1AP, I have another great choice and it sounds a more natural then both the former.

Thanks for the demo dude!

eric
__________________
NOLE TUNES & Coastal Acoustic Music one love jam!
Martin D18 & 3 lil' birdz; Takamine KC70, P3NC x 2
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 02-03-2018, 02:13 AM
Groberts's Avatar
Groberts Groberts is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 2,875
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by noledog View Post
I hear ya BK & agree...I would never use the Matrix by itself, it's horrible…Like I've said many times here, for plug n play straight into amp, I like my Tak's Cooltube and even the M80 for most of what I do. But now with my Retro F1AP, I have another great choice and it sounds a more natural then both the former.

Thanks for the demo dude!

eric
Get a room you two!
I Listened again with better headphones. I think the Tonedexter sounds more natural The first recording sounded magnetic to me.
__________________
Martin DC-18E (Ambertone)
Martin HDC-28E
Martin D-18 (2015)
Collings D1 Traditional
Emerald X20
Fender CS '63 Telecaster Custom
Collings I-35LCV
Collings I-30LC
Collings 290
www.heartsoulaz.com
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-03-2018, 03:56 AM
BluesKing777 BluesKing777 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 3,517
Default

Get a room indeed!


Now to balance the register, I recorded the same sort of thing I was playing in the first track on my Maton SRS808 - plugged direct to my A&H mixer/iMac.

If I was playing the blues club, or anywhere really, tonight - I would just take the Maton and plug direct to a PA and let things fall where they fall, if you know what I mean....


https://soundcloud.com/bk7-3/dee-ap57b


(The Maton AP5-Pro pickup has it all in the preamp - easy with controls for 2 volumes and master volume + eq and sweepable mids - very important on acoustics!)
https://maton.com.au/product/ap5pro-pickup

No affiliation but I may buy a spare Maton guitar with the same pickup but different woods!


Now if I wanted to play another guitar I own with a pickup, I would take Tonedexter or the Aura Spectrum but need a lot more setup time and ..leads! But worth it.


BluesKing777.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-03-2018, 08:58 AM
gfirob gfirob is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Central Vermont
Posts: 1,273
Default

Tonedexter wins for me. Track one still has the honk in it, though track two seems like it still needs some EQ. I confess to being a Tonedexter owner and fanboy, though.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 02-03-2018, 09:22 AM
Groberts's Avatar
Groberts Groberts is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 2,875
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by BluesKing777 View Post
Get a room indeed!


Now to balance the register, I recorded the same sort of thing I was playing in the first track on my Maton SRS808 - plugged direct to my A&H mixer/iMac.

If I was playing the blues club, or anywhere really, tonight - I would just take the Maton and plug direct to a PA and let things fall where they fall, if you know what I mean....


https://soundcloud.com/bk7-3/dee-ap57b


(The Maton AP5-Pro pickup has it all in the preamp - easy with controls for 2 volumes and master volume + eq and sweepable mids - very important on acoustics!)
https://maton.com.au/product/ap5pro-pickup

No affiliation but I may buy a spare Maton guitar with the same pickup but different woods!


Now if I wanted to play another guitar I own with a pickup, I would take Tonedexter or the Aura Spectrum but need a lot more setup time and ..leads! But worth it.


BluesKing777.
First off, Wow!! Great playing!!!, Second, that sounds wonderful. Very natural and balanced.
__________________
Martin DC-18E (Ambertone)
Martin HDC-28E
Martin D-18 (2015)
Collings D1 Traditional
Emerald X20
Fender CS '63 Telecaster Custom
Collings I-35LCV
Collings I-30LC
Collings 290
www.heartsoulaz.com
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 02-03-2018, 02:33 PM
Petty1818 Petty1818 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 4,556
Default

These tests can only show so much, especially considering the fact that Tonedexter owners could literally experiment for hours making different wavemaps. However, I have to give the TD the win here. Yes it has a bit of a hollow characteristic but that could have a lot to do with the mic positioning. Also, I still feel that the new blend feature on the TD will help to tame that hollowness a bit more. I find that sometimes the TD wavemaps are just a bit too much so being able to bring in a bit more of the pickup would help.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 02-03-2018, 04:08 PM
BluesKing777 BluesKing777 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 3,517
Default

So far, for ease of use, my Maton wins hands down...the mic and piezo full on as TE suggests in a gear video, soundhole plug in, plug in to anything and have the preamp controls at the fingertips, including the sweepable mids...just crucial to me.

Now, if I want to play a different guitar? Don’t want to play the Maton? That pickup system is NOT going in any special guitar - it requires a barn door AND a hole near the bridge. So drag out the other options....I have it well covered with the Tonedexter, Aura Spectrum DI and even the inbuilt Aura in the D18E.

That said, I have been fiddling around with TD and have leads pointing all directions and today I need a rest! Acoustic only!


BluesKing777.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 02-03-2018, 10:03 PM
gfirob gfirob is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Central Vermont
Posts: 1,273
Default

Thanks for posting those tests. This is a very interesting challenge, trying to get a guitar to sound as good through an amp as it does through your ears (or a mike). Sounds to me that the Maton AP5-PRO does a better job than the K&K mini by itself (though the Maton costs four times as much) but in the end I would go with a K&K and a Tonedexter rather than an Aura or a Maton IMHO. And I have very different two guitars with K&K's (A rosewood Martin OM and 1937 Kalamazoo KG 14) and the Tonedexter accommodates both guitars and pickups with very little muss or fuss. But it is great to hear this kind of comparison, thanks again.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 02-04-2018, 03:22 AM
BluesKing777 BluesKing777 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 3,517
Default

Keep in mind that the sound is reduced to some skinny little thing to play on Soundcloud and is only a general idea of what I hear in my Sennheisers live, what people would hear in a concert PA or even an acoustic amp up loud, the main and ultimate aim of TD being a nice acoustic sound like it was mic’d? Sometimes getting the full spectrum live is great! Like, if you are hearing a singer guitarist at an outside gig, you get a bit of the acoustic guitar in the loud vocal mic, plus the guitar system.....very different from listening to a file on a computer!


BluesKing777.

Last edited by BluesKing777; 02-04-2018 at 03:57 AM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Acoustic Amplification

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:33 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=