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  #1  
Old 08-28-2006, 10:38 PM
jamison162 jamison162 is offline
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Default Ultrasound DS3 questions...

I tried out a friends AG50DS (2 models ago) Sunday and have GAS for one of these. I can get a great deal on a used DS or DS2.

My question's are:

Is the DS3 really that much better. There are definitely new features, layout, etc from the DS. The DS was only 1 channel, single volume control and the fx were "ok".

Other than features (2 ch., master volume, fx loop, etc.) and layout, does the DS3 really "sound" better. I heard they made it louder for one thing.

Also, are the Alesis FX better than on the older versions.

Last ?, do the volume/master volume contols affect the direct out signal level or is that a standard nominal level?

Thanks guys. I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere.
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Old 08-29-2006, 07:56 AM
CitizenAudio CitizenAudio is offline
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Wow, you've been asking these kind of questions for a while. You'll get a heap of information if you just email this post to Ultrasound themselves. Let me point you to a review where the comparison is between a DS2 and a DS3:

http://ultrasoundamps.com/images/mfreview.htm

In the end, the DS2 is still a great amp and it is hardly worth the upgrade to a DS3 if you already have it. But if you don't have the DS2, get the DS3. The 2 amps don't necessarily sound that much different from each other but with the DS3 you get more versatility since you get 2 hybrid XLR/TRS/mono inputs and the effects are interchangeable to either channel. You can also compare the specs of the DS2 and DS3 on their website. Good luck.
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Old 08-29-2006, 08:25 AM
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The DS2 and DS3 have the exact same tone, same effects package and such. The difference lies in functionality. As camelback said, the newer features of the DS3 are two hybrid TRS/XLR inputs for vocals and guitar, an optional footswitch for efx, and the ability to assign the efx to both channels.

A DS3 generally runs about $550 and you can get a used DS2 for anywhere form $300-$400.I have a DS2 and like "CB" i don't think it's worth an upgrade for those features, but if you're looking to buy your first Ultrasound amp, then the DS3 would be the way to go. Ultrasound makes a fantastic amp (probably the best for it's price) and you'd have a great one either way.

If money is an option, perhaps you might look for a used DS2, otherwise I'd go with a new DS3. As far as tone and sound, they're identical, it's just a matter of the functionality of a few added features.

If you like the amps, wait till you try their DI preamp the "DI Plus". I have one for playing direct to PA and for recording. It has the exact same tone and sound as the amps but in a small DI Box. It's fantastic.

Good luck.
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Old 08-29-2006, 08:31 AM
jamison162 jamison162 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CamelbackCinema
Wow, you've been asking these kind of questions for a while. You'll get a heap of information if you just email this post to Ultrasound themselves. Let me point you to a review where the comparison is between a DS2 and a DS3:

http://ultrasoundamps.com/images/mfreview.htm

In the end, the DS2 is still a great amp and it is hardly worth the upgrade to a DS3 if you already have it. But if you don't have the DS2, get the DS3. The 2 amps don't necessarily sound that much different from each other but with the DS3 you get more versatility since you get 2 hybrid XLR/TRS/mono inputs and the effects are interchangeable to either channel. You can also compare the specs of the DS2 and DS3 on their website. Good luck.
Thanks again CamelBack & Nelson. I have contacted Ultrasound in the past. Not saying anything negative here but sometimes you talk to folks directly involved or even the designers or owners and don't get your questions answered adequately. There was this one particular company who makes a variety of acoustic preamps (that I will not name) that just left me shaking my head.

Anyway, DS3 it will be. Maybe I can find one used, if not I have a lead on a dealer who sells for $475 shipped.
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Old 08-29-2006, 09:20 AM
CitizenAudio CitizenAudio is offline
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Actually I understand it as Ultrasound commissions a specific company to make specific coaxial speakers and drivers exclusively for them. So from theg round up, these amps are built for an acoustic guitar. Which is very cool.

Jamison, that price is the best I've seen for them. And I've asked many. But don't forget about Guitar Adoptions, they give you a freek Tuki cover which is the recommended by Ultrasound as the case covering to get. http://www.guitaradoptions.com/store...cat=261&page=1

BTW, they have been the #1 Ultrasound dealer 2 years in a row (2004 & 2005)
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Old 08-29-2006, 09:37 AM
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Never had the DS2, stayed away from it until they made the DS3 improvements in versatility before I bought mine. It ALMOST got me what I wanted, but gave me more for my buck than the price of what I was really jonesing for, which was a Genz-Benz shen-pro stereo amp.

If the DS3 had better EQ features instead of as much FX and a DI for each channel, I don't think (for the money) you could get a lot better. JMHO
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Old 08-29-2006, 11:24 AM
jamison162 jamison162 is offline
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Thanks for the heads-up on GuitarAdoptions.com CB.

Fixing to give them a call. On their website they're advertising 10% off.

$499 - 10% (= $449.10) , + Free Shipping + Free Tuki Cover. Oh yeah!
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  #8  
Old 08-29-2006, 11:57 AM
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Hi Jamison...
I own an AG-30 and AG-50 DS2. We also own another at our church and use them constantly.

If I were buying new I'd get the DS3 for the XLR/1/4'' inputs on both channels. When we want to use channel 1 on the DS2 it has to be XLR or we have to use either a ParaDI or Direct Box between the instrument and the amp.

I don't use the effects at all. I'm also not sure about the output signal on the DS3 - on the DS2 it is definitely post volume pot and not a set line level.
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Old 08-29-2006, 01:19 PM
jamison162 jamison162 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar
Hi Jamison...
I own an AG-30 and AG-50 DS2. We also own another at our church and use them constantly.

If I were buying new I'd get the DS3 for the XLR/1/4'' inputs on both channels. When we want to use channel 1 on the DS2 it has to be XLR or we have to use either a ParaDI or Direct Box between the instrument and the amp.

I don't use the effects at all. I'm also not sure about the output signal on the DS3 - on the DS2 it is definitely post volume pot and not a set line level.
I think it's quite silly to make your Direct Out level dependant on the amps volume. What if you're using the amp as a monitor, which most of us are, and you want/need to turn up on stage. You don't want the house level going up. I just don't understand the thinking behind this.

As far as I could tell, Sunday on the original AG50DS I was playing the single volume control did not affect the DI. Guess this changed with the DS2/DS3.

Last edited by jamison162; 08-29-2006 at 01:32 PM.
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  #10  
Old 08-29-2006, 03:55 PM
Tom S. Tom S. is offline
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The DS3 master volume does control output to the board. I believe on the PRO100 it is different. I use the US DI+ in parallel w/the DS3, so I can control monitor volume separately. It also has several other advantages such as being less prone to hum.
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  #11  
Old 10-03-2018, 09:53 AM
SteveYem SteveYem is offline
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Default Ultrasound DS3 - I'm confused/disappointed!

Hi all,

Sorry for bumping such an old thread, but hopefully this is relevant! Last week I picked up an Ultrasound DS3 amp for a price that was too good to resist (around 40% of what they are selling for at GC and other used gear sellers). The seller advertised the amp as having limited use, and only used by a "sick old man" (himself) in his home. As it turned out, he claimed to be terminally ill and without any family in the area, so he is in the process of offloading all of his gear, priced to sell. At the price paid, this was not a "show up, plug in and make sure it's good" scenario....it was "quick visual inspection, here's the money, thanks bye".

As a disclaimer - the goal of this post is not to gripe about an amp that I bought without trying, but rather to share my experience so far and ask for pointers on how I can make it work better for me. Financially, this has been a low-risk exercise.

So with that said - the amp appears to be in good condition with no external defects, only some dust accumulated between the knobs on the top control panel. I bought the amp sight-unseen based on rave reviews I have read online, specifically touting this amp's clarity above all else. I got it home and plugged it in, and it turned on without issue. I plugged in my Taylor 314ce with ES2 pickup system into Input 1and gave it a strum. It was muddy, boomy, with no real shape and very little treble. There was no natural resonance sound of the guitar coming through. The bass and treble EQ knobs on both the guitar and the map were set flat at 12 o'clock (flat). I started playing around with EQ settings to get a more natural sound but could not find it. Additionally, on Input 1 channel there is no reverb or other effects, so thinking that might be what is making the guitar sound so dull/boomy/unnatural I moved over to input 2. So far, I was not hearing any of the clarity that was touted for this amp.

Now on channel 2 there are the built-in digital effects, notch filter, phase selector, as well as independent treble + bass EQ adjustments. The guitar sounded the same way it did on channel 1. I was getting some feedback so I engaged the notch filter and swept through the dial to find that offending frequency, but it couldn't seem to find it....so I just turned the amp volume down a bit to reduce the feedback. Then I thought, maybe engaging the phase shift feature will help to better shape the tone. It did change the tone a little, but overall the guitar still sounded super muddy/dull/boomy regardless of EQ settings.
So then I thought maybe I could get a better sound by selecting one of the built-in reverb effects since I had been using no effects up to this point. I tried all of the built-in reverbs and found them to be lackluster and unnatural sounding, and none of them appreciably improved the overall sound of the guitar.

So then I thought, maybe it's the guitar. Maybe the amp is not designed to play nicely with the ES2 pickup system. I set that guitar aside and plugged in my Guild acoustic with Fishman Sonitone pickup system. Well, that was a mistake....it sounded even worse than the Taylor, but to be fair I already knew that the Sonitone pickup does not sound great in the first place. Finally, I plugged in my Breedlove Atlas series guitar which has an LR Baggs LR-T CV preamp with undersaddle pickup built in, and it sounded noticeably better. Still not great, or even good (but close). At this point I've set the effects selector to "3" which is bypass mode (no effects).

As a final salvo, I put a Boss RV-5 reverb pedal in the effects loop, set to the Hall setting with effect level, time and tone set around 12 o'clock. OK, now we are getting somewhere. It not only provided a decent sounding reverb to add some depth to the sound, but somehow seemed to improve the guitar's tone a bit too. Maybe the tone part was placebo effect, but in any case this combination of guitar and external reverb effect produced an acceptable sound to my ear.

I guess if I am boiling it down, my questions would be as follows:
1) Is this amp only good for use with piezo / undersaddle pickups? Maybe that would explain why I had no luck with the ES2 equipped Taylor. And I would need to keep this in mind when retrofitting pickups into some of my other acoustic guitars.
2) Is it common knowledge that the on-board effects and EQ controls on this amp are sub-par and that external effects and/or DI box are required to achieve the excellent sound that these amps are known for?
3) Am I missing something simple and basic on how to effectively use this amp?


As a counterpoint, I also recently purchased a Boss Acoustic Singer Live amp and that thing is basically plug and play with all three of the guitars I mentioned above, with minor tweaks needed to hone in on a good tone. As of now, the ACS Live is the winner between the two, but again I would love to find a way to make the DS3 work for me to justify keeping it around.
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  #12  
Old 10-04-2018, 10:25 PM
DMZ DMZ is offline
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Sounds like a bad one. Or a circuit is off somewhere. Pop the grill, has the speaker(s) been replaced? I have a ds4 and a the ac50 i think (late in bed). They are pretty consistent and do what we all say they do and well. May just cut your ties and move on.
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