What pre-amp/pedals do you use with your acoustic w/ pickup?

[RussD]

I've recently started playing with a band again after years of solo gigs. Kind of wondering if my Fishman pre-amp and Ernie Ball volume pedal are enough, and wondering what the newest technology would get me.

What pedal/pre-amp set-ups do you folks use?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Always a Baggs Para-Acoustic DI...wouldn't play an acoustic gig w/o it!

Solo gigs, nothing more.

Trio gigs, guitar -> Dano auto-wah -> Boss Super Phase -> regular Boss Phaser -> Boss Flanger -> Dano Chorus -> Dano Digital Delay -> Shobud Volume pedal -> Boss Digital Delay (FX through the PADI's FX return/send), to create different tones/textures. Used sparingly, as FX are like spices...a little goes a long way. 8)

 

[NEONMOONY]

Another vote for the Baggs Para Acoustic DI. Not the newest technology, but it'll boost guitars that have weak pickups, tame the over trebled ones. It does a lot.

 

[jcwu]

I've been using the Baggs DI for over a year now, and it's worked very well for me, so another vote for it.

Although I've recently been looking into other preamps, just because one can never have too little gear. I picked up the SansAmp Acoustic DI, which has a tube emulation thing that you can dial in. I am using this on my Baggs LB6-equipped DV52, to tame the UST sound a little bit, since I noticed with the Baggs DI, when I hit the strings hard, the sound gets a little bit harsh and brittle. For my K&K Pure Mini-equipped JV52, the Baggs DI sounds just fine.

What kind of pickup are you using?

 

[6L6]

When gigging solo I use the following:

'06 Guild D-55 w/Fishman Matrix pup

Fender Acoustasonic Jr. DSP amp

BOSS BCB-6 Pedal case loaded with the following:

BOSS TU-2 tuner
BOSS TR-2 Tremolo
IBANEZ TS-9 RI Overdrive
BOSS DM-2 Analog Delay
BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus
BOSS RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay

While the amp has most of these effects built into it (and they sound GREAT), I find it easier in a giging situation to just step on pedals rather than having to spin dials between songs.

Works fine for me!

6

 

[RussD]

What kind of pickup are you using?

It depends which guitar I use. Everything from a passive 70's Dean Markley to a new K&K mini to original 80's Guild pickups.

Don't use much in the way of effects, though I sometimes get fancy with a Boss RC-2 Looper. What I think I'd like to buy is basically a good pre-amp with a variable volume pedal.

 

[evenkeel]

I'll add one observation re: the LR Baggs. I've played out 3-4 times over the last couple of weeks. Open mic, and the host was using a LR Baggs, para DI Box. His guitar sounded great, Martin dread, spruce and ash w/ a soundhole mounted pick up, single coil not sure the brand. My guitar a Martin D2R, spruce rosewood w/ a K&K western sounded awful. Dead when fingerpicked and very distorted when strummed, particularly when you pushed the guitar. When I took the Baggs out of the loop and replaced it with my K&K preamp it sounded great. After some research and getting some tips on another forum I'm pretty sure the issue is the gain setting. The host had the gain rolled up for his guitar and it was overdriving mine. I mention this, as if you are using different guitars in the same gig you may need to adjust the gain control each time you switch.

I don't use it much anymore but I have had good results with a Zooom A.2 multi pedal. Some of the "effects" are not so good, others are terrific.

 

[plaidseason]

In addition to the Baggs I'll recommend both the Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum and the Ultrasound DI Plus/Super DI. You can't go wrong with either one for basic sound shaping. I used the Pro-EQ Platinum for years and it never let me down.

My current setup is a Yamaha Magicstomp and a Crate CA-125D acoustic amp, but I'm pondering picking up an Ultrasound DI-Plus to use when I don't feel like carting the amp around.

For geardorks, here's my current setup:

Guild F44 with Fishman Matrix undersaddle pickup
Guild DV4 with Rare Earth Humbucking pickup

I plug into a Boss TU2 tuner which goes into the Magicstomp, which goes into the Crate amp.

The reason I went back to the amp, in favor of the Pro-Eq platinum was that I thought it would be easier to dial in my sound. But in truth I'm not sure that's always the case. In a small room it's true. But in a bigger room, it's still up to the soundman. Which brings me to the part where I may just go back to a PreAmp/DI/EQ box.

-Chris

 

[NEONMOONY]

I think you have to adjust the Baggs to the individual instrument as the pickups on one may be hotter or the tones different etc. For example, I use different settings for my DV-52 than for my resonators.

 

[jcwu]

I think you have to adjust the Baggs to the individual instrument as the pickups on one may be hotter or the tones different etc. For example, I use different settings for my DV-52 than for my resonators.

I second that. The K&K Mini is going to put out a much hotter signal than (I'm guessing) the under saddle transducer on the other guitar. The newer Baggs Para DI units have an adjustable gain knob; the older models have an adjustable gain control that's inside the unit (requires opening it up to adjust).

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I think you have to adjust the Baggs to the individual instrument as the pickups on one may be hotter or the tones different etc. For example, I use different settings for my DV-52 than for my resonators.

Yup...that why I use the exact same p/u system in each of my acoustics...thus, I don't have to adjust anything when switching from 6 to 12 to banjo to mandocello to resonator.

 

[evenkeel]

I think you have to adjust the Baggs to the individual instrument as the pickups on one may be hotter or the tones different etc. For example, I use different settings for my DV-52 than for my resonators.

I second that. The K&K Mini is going to put out a much hotter signal than (I'm guessing) the under saddle transducer on the other guitar. The newer Baggs Para DI units have an adjustable gain knob; the older models have an adjustable gain control that's inside the unit (requires opening it up to adjust).

Yeep. That's just the point I was making. I do not know if this was an older unit w/ the internal gain control or not. Rather than fiddle with it I just took it out of the loop. If you are using it with different guitars and pickups I'd want to have easy access to adjust the gain.

I have never played thru one but have listened to a couple of folks play thru DTar's Mama Bear preamp. Terrific sound but how much of that was from the DTar????

 

[jcwu]

The other thing is, even if the gain is right, the EQ's probably way off, and you don't really want to be fiddling with the EQ in front of a live audience...

Someone once suggested putting white-out dots to mark presets. Maybe different colored dots for different presets?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

The other thing is, even if the gain is right, the EQ's probably way off, and you don't really want to be fiddling with the EQ in front of a live audience...

Someone once suggested putting white-out dots to mark presets. Maybe different colored dots for different presets?

By using the exact same p/u system, correctly placed, in each of my instruments, I don't have to change my EQ, at all, between instruments...I can just plug/play.

It's a little more effort, initially, but a real timesaver, in the long run. 8)

 

[jcwu]

By using the exact same p/u system, correctly placed, in each of my instruments,

Oh but what's the fun in that??

"This is my SBT guitar, this is my UST guitar, this is my mag pickup guitar..."

But seriously, I have a K&K in one guitar and an LB6 in one guitar because I like both, but neither is the be-all-end-all. It's like... being able to choose between chocolate and vanilla.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

By using the exact same p/u system, correctly placed, in each of my instruments,

Oh but what's the fun in that??

Onstage, getting a consistently excellent sound is pretty cool, IMABO. 8)

At home, I almost never plug in my acoustics.

"This is my SBT guitar, this is my UST guitar, this is my mag pickup guitar..."

But seriously, I have a K&K in one guitar and an LB6 in one guitar because I like both, but neither is the be-all-end-all. It's like... being able to choose between chocolate and vanilla.

My "vanilla" is my Guild 6-string, my "tutti-fruity" is my Taylor 12-string, my "strawberry swirl" is my ancient Harmony open-backed 5-string, my "mint-chocolate" is my Guild F-212XL, my "neapolitan" is my mandocello, my "banana split" is my other Guild F-212XL, my "Jalapeno Surprise" is my Telecaster...pardon me, this conversation is making me hungry, so I gotta go hit the freezer for my ice-cream fix! :lol:

It's all good! 8)

 

[G S E]

Hi All ,
Except for my F-65CE , my other acoustics have Fishman AG series bridge pups in them ... With those I use a stand alone preamp that I made With a Fishman onboard preamp and enclosed in a case with jacks in it ... Works great for me , and I can actually tee into it with a guitar and my fiddle ... From there the out runs down and tees into my pedal tuner along with my 335 copy , so I always have the tuner right inline to tune whatever I'm playing ... From the tuner the signal runs into my chorus and then to my sound system ... The little preamp sits on top of the monitor amp , which sits on top of the powered mixer , which is always right along side me ( since we don't have a sound guy , L O L ) , within easy reach if I want to adjust volume or shape the tone ...
Jerry