Experiences using an iRig Acoustic Stage live?

[shatteredmind]

I'm currently shaking off some rust and re-learning to play guitar and as part of this process, I'd like to hit some Open Mic nights. I'm looking at how to best "electrify" my acoustic that is in not great shape and my rule is, I will not spend more than the guitar itself is worth to do so...so let's just say, $100 is the limit.

Out of all the options I've looked at, the iRig Acoustic Stage is the one that has me most intrigued, but I'm interested in hearing whether or not anyone has actual experience using it. Most of the videos on YouTube are either someone comparing it to a $1,000 condenser mic and calling it crap (no surprise there), or PR videos made by the manufacturer showing how awesome it is in conditions specifically created to show off how awesome it is....

I'm wondering if anyone has any "real world" experience with it and what their thoughts are, or suggestions for alternatives. Keep in mind, I'm talking about hitting up open stages, at best, I'm probably plugging into a DI box and having my own pre-amp is NOT an option, even if one was in the budget.

I understand that for plug and play simplicity without any fear of killing the audience with feedback that magnetic soundhole pickups are probably the way to go, and I've noticed that in the sub-$100 range, they all sound pretty much the same, leaving me to wonder, how low can you go? Are the $10 models workable for my purposes?

Thanks in advance.

[Jack Orion]

If I wanted to get a workable pickup for as little outlay as possible I'd look at a Neo D from Fishman - passive, easy install, reliable sound, no doubt available second hand on ebay etc at a decent price.

[89bruin]

I’ve used the iRig Acoustic Stage in small live settings with acceptable results but primarily out of curiosity. I play in nursing/retirement home settings and have used the iRig when I wanted to play my Larrivée parlor which has no pickup. When I do that I do run through a LR Baggs venue and then into either a Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge or a Fender Acoustasonic. I can get a decent sound but I’m a solo fingerstyle player working in a small venue.

[guitaniac]

I've found it to be very feedback prone in noisy settings where a lot of gain is needed.

Another problem factor is the relatively low output signal due to the little preamp's relatively low 3v power supply. I've witnessed a situation where the host had her PA set up for more typical guitar signals and couldn't get enough level boost from the guitar channel. (She could have gotten enough boost by raising the powered mixer's master level, but then she would have had to re-adjust the levels on the other channels.) On this particular occasion I interceded and provided the use of my outboard preamp to raise the guitar signal level.

Yet another problem (which I learned from recording experiments) is that heavy strumming will overdrive the little preamp and cause severe signal limiting (not outright distortion) when the volume control is set at max. If you're a heavy strummer who's going to go open miking with the iAS, its best to set the iAS's volume control at halfway and use an outboard preamp to further boost the signal level.

A nice feature of the iAS is that you can blend in a second source with the mic signal. One downside of this (for a live setting) is that it gets a little unwieldy with all the wires going to and from the little preamp which is clipped to your guitar strap or pocket.

My favorite use for the iAS was direct recording. I found that blending in a little undersaddle pickup signal helps to reduce that in-the-well sound.

[Rev Tim T]

My wife and I both have them. She uses one a bit more than I do. We've had pretty good results and to our ears very acceptable sound. It has settings where you can set it for a nylon string instrument if that's what you're playing. She generally uses it with her Pono or her mandolin. We play in church which seats approximately 250. We are on a platform in front of the sanctuary. We do not play the instruments through the house sound system. She plays through a Fender Acoustic 200 and she always plays while seated.
I have used one when I play my mandolin or ukulele. We both like that it is easy to attach to different instruments. I play standing up and play through a Fender Acoustasonic 150. We have not had any feedback problems and I have not used it in conjunction with the onboard electronics but that is a good feature being able to blend with the instruments electronics.
We get about 8 hrs out of the batteries.
We've had pretty good luck with them and are pleased with the sound we get. We're not professionals so our ears aren't the best. We've previously used shure SM57's though the mentioned amps.
Not bad investments when you can catch them on sale or use a 15% off coupon from MF. GC often has open box ones too for around $70

Tim

[shatteredmind]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

I've found it to be very feedback prone in noisy settings where a lot of gain is needed.

Another problem factor is the relatively low output signal due to the little preamp's relatively low 3v power supply. I've witnessed a situation where the host had her PA set up for more typical guitar signals and couldn't get enough level boost from the guitar channel. (She could have gotten enough boost by raising the powered mixer's master level, but then she would have had to re-adjust the levels on the other channels.) On this particular occasion I interceded and provided the use of my outboard preamp to raise the guitar signal level.

Yet another problem (which I learned from recording experiments) is that heavy strumming will overdrive the little preamp and cause severe signal limiting (not outright distortion) when the volume control is set at max. If you're a heavy strummer who's going to go open miking with the iAS, its best to set the iAS's volume control at halfway and use an outboard preamp to further boost the signal level.

A nice feature of the iAS is that you can blend in a second source with the mic signal. One downside of this (for a live setting) is that it gets a little unwieldy with all the wires going to and from the little preamp which is clipped to your guitar strap or pocket.

My favorite use for the iAS was direct recording. I found that blending in a little undersaddle pickup signal helps to reduce that in-the-well sound.

Thanks for the reply. I am definitely a heavy strummer. I feel like if I'm going to need another pre-amp, that kind of defeats the purpose of getting the IAS in the first place. Furthermore, the house gear is likely set up for built-in USTs.

Hmm, I suppose I will have to sacrifice sound quality and go with a magnetic.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by shatteredmind

Thanks for the reply. I am definitely a heavy strummer. I feel like if I'm going to need another pre-amp, that kind of defeats the purpose of getting the IAS in the first place. Furthermore, the house gear is likely set up for built-in USTs.

Hmm, I suppose I will have to sacrifice sound quality and go with a magnetic.

If you can score a used Lace California mag off ebay, that one has a nice strong output and would be pretty inexpensive. It would work well at most open mics, but it still helps to have an outboard preamp to be ready for all situations. I've seen players use the extremely cheap Behringer AD!21 (with a mag pickup) with good results.

[ManyMartinMan]

Rather than buy a cheap pickup for open mic’s, I would just mic it. They’ll have extra mics you can use for that purpose. You’ll likely sound much better.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

Rather than buy a cheap pickup for open mic’s, I would just mic it. They’ll have extra mics you can use for that purpose. You’ll likely sound much better.

That's not always the case, unfortunately. I can recall three local open mics which only had one mic. One of those open mics was quite nice with respect to having an enthusiastic and supportive audience.

[shatteredmind]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

That's not always the case, unfortunately. I can recall three local open mics which only had one mic. One of those open mics was quite nice with respect to having an enthusiastic and supportive audience.

Exactly. I'm trying not to rely on anything that may be out of my control. (Besides, like I said, I'm shaking off some rust, I'm not sure I want to worry about standing perfectly still while dealing with everything else that goes into a performance).

Thanks everyone for the input. I think I'm going to go with the Fishman Neo-D, it seems like the best balance of price to quality.

[bquindawl]

Originally Posted by shatteredmind

Exactly. I'm trying not to rely on anything that may be out of my control. (Besides, like I said, I'm shaking off some rust, I'm not sure I want to worry about standing perfectly still while dealing with everything else that goes into a performance).

Thanks everyone for the input. I think I'm going to go with the Fishman Neo-D, it seems like the best balance of price to quality.

Just wanted to give some input, that I have played a Bluegrass Show with the iRig Acoustic Stage. I personally liked the sound of it, and really didn't have any issues with it. Used it with a boost pedal to get some extra volume for leads. I did tape the wire to the guitar (gaffer tape) to cut down on noise and such, and when a song was over I would mute with a tuner pedal to cut down on handling noise, and of course to tune. I really didnt have any issue with it. As far as sound, it definitely has a compressed sound to it. (Belt Clip Preamp Volume app. 50%) I find the sound wasn't the MOST natural sound, but it did lend itself to some "cut" when you needed it.