New Zoom AC-2 Acoustic Creator Pedal

[lkingston]

I don't see a blend control for the modeled sound. I never use more that a touch of this effect or it sounds too processed. Usually it's around 30%. I also love the sound of a live mic pointed at the soundhole and blended in at about that percentage with the undersaddle pickup. That's the sound I am going for with a body resonance box.


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[buzzardwhiskey]

Zoom missed the mark. I owned and really liked the A3. They could have really taken a chunk of the market but now won't.

The box needs:

1) Real parametric EQ.
2) A mix knob.
3) A 48v mic input.
4) And it needs to be quieter than the A3.

[hotroad]

Looks like the beginner version of the A-3. I love the A-3 and it only colors sound if you want it to. The A-3 is quite the very useful tool. I know of several session musicians who use this. It surprises me until I hear them talk about the A-3 and their use of it. Its quick, easy, portable and very clean in tone. I think Zoom really hit it out of the park with this product.

[martingitdave]

Looks a $199 price point.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ZAC2


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[xuoham]

Originally Posted by buzzardwhiskey

Zoom missed the mark. I owned and really liked the A3. They could have really taken a chunk of market but now won't.

The box needs:

1) Real parametric EQ.
2) A mix knob.
3) A 48v mic input.
4) And it needs to be quieter than the A3.

+1 Big miss in my book to, and BTW, i was still waiting for the A3's update, rats !
It has the same chip as the G3, that got updated firmware and is now able to have 6 effects.
The A3 still has 3 only. Actually 2, since the fx #1 HAS to be some acoustic modeling, which i barely uses anyway since it is most of the times too subtle and basically sounds like EQ.

I still use my A3 everyday: dual input, feedback suppressor, analog knobs EQ on the fly, boost, etc ...

Regarding the noise, and in a live (not recording) situation, the noise problem almost disappears if you use the right power supply (instead of daisy chain) in a healthy electricity environment.
It has its separate electric outlet in my rack and it makes a world of differences. Still a bit of noise but almost unnoticeable.

[erniecaster]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

Looks a $199 price point.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ZAC2


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Hi,

I don´t get it. That´s not really cheaper than an A3, which gives so much more. Why?

Sit down for an hour or two, program one good patch for every guitar you use live and never hassle with the UI again.

cu

erniecaster

[DoryDavis]

One miss here is an effects loop. They make good stuff though in my opinion. This seems a little on the high side, price wise.

[Doubleneck]

Originally Posted by erniecaster

Hi,

I don´t get it. That´s not really cheaper than an A3, which gives so much more. Why?

Sit down for an hour or two, program one good patch for every guitar you use live and never hassle with the UI again.

cu

erniecaster

I totally agree, patch for each guitar. Look at all the A3 can do? If the new one sounds similar? Sometimes listening can water down a product as well. Give me all the knobs!

[guitaniac]

The Zoom folks must think they have a good handle on the modeling thing, but it just doesn't make sense for the AC-2 to not have some way of dialing back the modeled signal's ambiance to accommodate the user's taste in tone, or to compensate for especially "live" rooms which may be encountered.

It also makes no sense that there appears to be no way to bypass the modeling section and still have the use of the pedal's other features (preamp, EQ, tuner, mute, boost, DI).

The all-in-one volume/gain knob seems like a bad idea as well. If the volume/gain knob needs to be set low to keep a hot input signal from clipping, it will be difficult to fine-tune the volume level. (The manual recommends setting the volume/gain knob at a "reference level" of noon for active pickups, and to reduce the volume level at the pickup if clipping occurs. What about active pickups with no onboard volume control?)


Regarding the A3's often-mentioned noise problem, I've never encountered that problem using rechargeable batteries. Perhaps that's a possible fix for the noise problem (albeit, an inconvenient fix for some).

[jonfields45]

Looking at the manual and it is less than crystal clear, it seems the three position pickup switch off position is used to disable modeling.

[martingitdave]

Frankly, I think they got it right. My chief complaint with the A3 was that it was too complicated to program and did too much. I wonder how many retail returns they accepted based on this fact.

I suspect most players do not use the additional effects in the A3 and were frustrated with the initial programming. At least, I was. I sold mine for that reason, even though it sounded good. They will continue to sell the A3 for those who want it. Again, it's a good product.

I also suspect that they looked at the success of the TC Helicon Body Rez pedal and decided they needed to simplify. What they came up with is the perfect balance, in my opinion, of control and simplicity. DI box simplicity with essential tone features.

I do agree that the price is too high. It should be at the $150 price point, based on the competition. $200 puts it with the some of the high end direct boxes.

Lastly, my experience with the A3 is that you don't need a wet/dry knob for the modeling effect. It's not that severe to start with.

I'm eager to get one of these and give it a go. I'd like to see how it performs in comparison to the TC Play Acoustic.


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[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

Looking at the manual and it is less than crystal clear, it seems the three position pickup switch off position is used to disable modeling.

That was my hope when I saw the "off" option, but the manual seems to imply that some tone shaping is used for the piezo and mag pickups, and that the "off" option for the AC-2 is the same as the "flat" option on the A3.

To quote the manual, the OFF switch position "turns off the pickup adjustment function".

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

That was my hope when I saw the "off" option, but the manual seems to imply that some tone shaping is used for the piezo and mag pickups, and that the "off" option for the AC-2 is the same as the "flat" option on the A3.

That's my take. They apply a filter of some sort with that switch. I think they are using IR convolution (to mimic the sound of a mic'ed guitar) for their enhancement (think Tondexter), and I suspect that switch applies a filter that shapes the response to match the slightly different impulse from mag or piezo pickups.

You can probably tell that I'm very excited about this product. If it is using IR, and includes reverb, EQ, and boost, it's going to be a great value, and of great utility.


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[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

That's my take. They apply a filter of some sort with that switch. I think they are using IR convolution (to mimic the sound of a mic'ed guitar) for their enhancement (think Tondexter), and I suspect that switch applies a filter that shapes the response to match the slightly different impulse from mag or piezo pickups.

You can probably tell that I'm very excited about this product. If it is using IR, and includes reverb, EQ, and boost, it's going to be a great value, and of great utility.


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If that "off" switch actually turned off the modeling, I have to think that the manual would be very clear about that.

As for the marketability of the AC-2, I expect that Zoom knows their market way better than I do. They may well have great success with selling this product. In terms of functionality, however, the AC-2 is missing some pretty basic stuff.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

If that "off" switch actually turned off the modeling, I have to think that the manual would be very clear about that.



As for the marketability of the AC-2, I expect that Zoom knows their market way better than I do. They may well have great success with selling this product. In terms of functionality, however, the AC-2 is missing some pretty basic stuff.

I don't think the off switch disables the modeling. I suspect it disables an additional filter applied to correct the response for each pickup type. For instance, I bet guitars with Trance, ES2, Baggs Anthem, Lyric, etc will improve with the witch turned off, because they don't need the filter.


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