Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มิ.ย. 2024
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A comprehensive review of the Boss AD-2 acoustic preamp pedal, released in late 2016. One of the more compact acoustic guitar preamps available, this pedal follows the familiar Boss form factor and features a notch filter, ambience and acoustic resonance effects and a balanced line out in addition to the standard unbalanced output.
In this video I spend quite a while discussing the acoustic resonance effect, which in my opinion is not really an effect at all, but more of a dynamic EQ control.
Bookmarks for video:
00:00 Intro
00:36 Pedal specifications
02:05 Output vs. Line Out
04:02 Power supply options & battery life
05:10 Ambience effect to output options
07:14 How does it sound? Demo with Takamine CP7MO TT.
10:57 Ambience effect
13:44 Notch control
14:46 Acoustic Resonance control
22:21 Demo with Breedlove Atlas Retro OMSMe
25:13 My thoughts on the acoustic resonance control
25:26 Conclusion
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Great video. I truly enjoy your videos and find them very professionally done and concise.
Thanks Randy, appreciate your support. You might also like to read the written review here: glbproductions.com/index.php/2017/04/27/boss-ad-2-acoustic-preamp-review/
Thanks man! I just bought it a year ago and i really love it! i'm really satisfied by the sound that i've got, but... watchin' your video i just understood lot more about that poor gain in that output that's been burnin' my soul out! Helped me a lot too your view about each knob. Geat Job bro! Thank you for sharing!
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
the best review so far!! definitely Subscribed!
Great review. Very thorough in both explanations and demonstration. Thanks!
You're welcome James, glad it was helpful!
This is very well prepared and delivered. Good job.
Thanks for watching, Frank!
Hello i have a question, i have a thinline acoustic guitar thats sounds not like a guitar with a larger body, do you think this pedal would help it sounds bigger or maybe i should get a modelling like zoom ac2?
Agree with a lot of these comments - best review I have seen, especially re: the resonance control. Great ears.
Thanks Den!
Great review!!! Will you be doing a review on the BOSS AD-10? Thanks.
Thanks Allen. No plans to review the AD-10 at this time.
about using a active 2 way crossover on powered sub & tops?
Since you've made this review have you by any chance tried this with a magnetic sound hole pickup. I have a Duncan MagMic in my guitar. I'm wondering if the Acoustic Resonance dial will have the same effect. Also wondering if the feedback notch will be effective. If it makes even a slightly more pleasing acoustic sound than the pickup already has then I suppose it would be worth it.
Hello Frank! No I have not tried this preamp with a magnetic pickup. I suspect it would work just fine - the feedback notch would definitely work the same, as would the ambience control. The acoustic resonance effect is the question, as it is specifically designed to work with piezo systems. You would need to try it out on your specific guitar to be sure.
In my experience magnetic soundhole pickups generally sound pretty good if they are installed and adjusted correctly.
Excellent review. To me (been playing for 30+years... have Takamine, Ibanez, Martins).. this pedal is indeed subtle....so much so that I am not sure it adds anything. Nice review...thanks for your time!!!
Thanks Andrew! I recently revisited this pedal and agree with you completely. The ambience knob is indeed subtle to the point of acting more like a 'thickener' for the sound, and I never use the other two knobs. So I really treat it like an active DI box with a built in reverb ;)
Would this pedal work well paired with the LR Baggs Session DI? Great review by the way!
Thanks for watching Mark. I'd say this would be an alternative to the session DI with different features - they are both designed to be standalone acoustic guitar preamps.
Wow, one of the best reviews on the internet, thank you! I have a Seymour Duncan Woody (passive pick up) on my acoustic guitar but it sounds with a lot of mids, kind of metalic sound, do you think that this pedal will help me?
greetings from Mexico!
Thanks Daniel! This pedal was designed to work with piezo pickup systems - the SD Woody is a magnetic soundhole pickup so this pedal probably will not help. However the only way to be sure is to try it out 😉
@@GLBProductions thank you! Great channel, Great videos! Greetings from Mexico!
You're welcome Daniel, greetings returned from Singapore 🤗
Great vid! Now, with regard to other effects: Should the AD-2 go before of after compression, chorus, and delay, for instance? I intend to run mine in front of an amp.
That depends on whether you intend to use the pedal as a direct box to send your processed signal to a mixing console - if this is the case, it needs to go at the end of your signal chain. If not, would probably be better placed towards the beginning. Experiment and see what sounds best :)
@@GLBProductions I'm using an amp, and have experimented different positions since I got the pedal. I think I'll stick to comp into AD-2 into modulation into delay. Thanks!
Great review! Nice work
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this review. Very informative.
You're welcome Fillipo :)
Great Review!
Can you help me with this issue?
I already use a preamp from LR baggs with gain control and compression EQ. And I'm looking for other pedals to improve my tone and add some ambience or reverb efect without sounding too much artificial. I thinking to use this boss unit with the Session DI from LR baggs, but I'm not sure if the compression in both will be worse than not use it. What do you think? Any other recommendation ?
Thank you so much
Hi Thiago! I've been experimenting for years with various acoustic guitar pedals - currently my favourite all in one pedal is the Zoom AC-2: this doesn't have compression but it has a switchable boost function which I use for fingerstyle. If you are looking for a compressor pedal my current favourite is the MXR studio comp. If you already have the session DI then I would just get a reverb pedal, perhaps this one, perhaps one from another company. Hope that helps!
I am no expert, but have been doing a lot of research and listening to many, many demos. I think the Baggs Session DI (if it's the one with the "saturate" control) does many of the things the AD2 does - except for the reverb. I agree that adding a reverb pedal might get the results you need without the redundancy. I am looking at the Fishman AFX series - the effect is processed separately from the guitar signal, which appeals to me.
Nice Review and Demo.👍🏻
I wonder what does it sound when plugged into an Electric Guitar with an Acoustic Simulator?
I'm afraid I haven't tried that combination. Thanks for watching!
Great video! Question: could the simple eq on guitar do a similar job as acoustic resonance knob? You talked about mid cut in the first half of know. Eq could do the same job except the compression.
Not exactly the same job - I suspect they are using a relatively complex EQ curve with several frequencies being cut at the same time and several different bandwidths.
GLB Productions thx for reply. I have seen a review of irig acoustic stage where they compared it with this boss. For me it seems like much better solution cause the sound from boss still has that “piezo pickup” sound characteristic but the irig acoustic sounds much more like natural acoustic sound... similar to mic recording. What is your opinion?
@@romankorenec I've never used the iRig so can't make a direct comparison. The best way to work out which is best for you is to try them both with your particular guitar and any other processing that you use during gigs.
GLB Productions I have tryied the iRig compared to this boss with standard piezo and there is a huge huge different. I can truly recommend use iRig. It has a much real acoustic tone character. I feel much better the gutar itself. I am really happy for irig. Unfortunately boss become useless now.
@@romankorenec Well that's good news! Sell the Boss and move on :)
When I connect to a mixing desk using the TRS LineOut, do I have to be careful of phantom power from the desk? Or is the Boss quite capable of handling that, if the guys applied it from the desk? Thanks.
There is actually no mention of this is the manual, and I don't have the pedal anymore so can't test it 😄 If in doubt, use an adapter to run into the 1/4" input of the mixer instead of the XLR, as the phantom power only appears at the latter.
Great video as always! I have an acoustic-electric guitar that use a P90 pickup, do you think I can use this Preamp with my guitar?
No I would use electric guitar pedals with that pickup.
@@GLBProductions Thank you! Can you recommend a preamp with built-in DI for my guitar.
Is it a jazz/archtop type guitar?
@@GLBProductions yes! It is, it's a The Loar LH 301t
Also, I'm thinking of getting a BOSS rv6, do I need a preamp to go before it?
Ah one of those! I would personally treat that as an electric guitar which happens to have air inside it ;) In other words the amplifier you use is part of the sound, especially if you use any amount of overdrive. I would just get a regular DI box and put it after your last pedal.
No you can go directly into the RV6 pedal, it's designed for electric guitars.
Superb review Bruno thank you 👍🏻👍🏻
You're welcome :)
Our church have been using guitars from different brands, both church own or musicians' collection. Takamine is really a good sounding guitar, that's why not much different when adjusting that magic knob. Sometimes not much EQ is required if the musician play well.
My thoughts exactly!
It's the 'acoustic setup' version of the Boss EH-2 Enhancer. I use them both. EH-2 enhances my overdrive signal path. AD-2 enhances my clean/acoustic signal path. Paths are selected via an LS-2 Line Switcher.
Sounds like an interesting setup!
I have an Alhambra classical guitar with a piezo pickup and a Fishman pro blend preamp. Can I connect her output to this pedal, the impedances are compatible. And in terms of resonance, will I gain anything from this? I play mostly fingering-based.
Yes you can. I have never used this pedal with nylon string guitar, so I suggest you try the combination out before buying.
Very useful video, good explanation & detail thank you. I can't decide it between this & Joyo AD2. Cheers.
Thanks for watching! The Joyo unit has more controls and connections than this one so you should pick the pedal that has the features that suit your needs.
@@GLBProductions Thanks for the replied I really appreciate that, right now all i need is the good sound. After watching your video & many others i think i will pick the Boss one, thanks again for the demo. Cheers.
You're welcome. The Boss is great when you need something simple to set and forget.
Hello! Is it possible to connect other effects after AD-2? Reverb, Delay, Chorus. Will it be technically compatible?
Yes it's perfectly fine to do so. You can also connect them before the AD-2 if your guitar has an active preamp.
Can I just run a regular cable out of the output into a DI going to the board? As opposed to TRS in the line out. I won't be playing with an amp onstage anyway.
Sure you can, although it seems a bit redundant when the pedal already has a balanced output.
Liked and subscribed can u recommend this for epiphone dr500mce masterbilt with esonic 2 pick up?
Sorry I'm not familiar with that particular pickup system but it should work fine.
Thanks for the nice instructions, but my question is this, Is there any need to have Boss AD-2 with Boss Compressor CP 1x? Cause my ears like telling me AD-2 it's compress. That is misunderstood for me.
That's up to you - if you feel the AD-2 offers enough compression then you don't need an additional compressor. Try it out and see what you think.
@@GLBProductions thanks alot
Good job. I watched many reviews and this is the best.
Glad the review was helpful!
Question please:
Is this AD-2 Will work perfectly and sound like the acoustic guitar to the piezo pickups on a MUSICMAN JPX or JP models with piezo output?..... because I’m planning to buy an LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI, but if this will work perfectly as the LR baggs, it will be much cheaper for the same sound. Because I cannot find any reviews on this pedal used on a piezo on a JPX or any JP models with piezo pickups on em. Replies are appreciated. Thanks a lot.
Hey Alvin, I've never tried this pedal on such a guitar, so the best advice I could give you would be to bring your guitar to a music shop and try it out. With guitars like that the voicing is often built into the active preamp in the guitar itself, so I'm not sure it needs another preamp in front of that.
@@GLBProductions Thanks for the reply, yes it has a built in pre amp, but still it’s missing some elements of the acoustic voicings… yeah maybe I need to bring my JPX to the shop just to try… if it would enhance more and sound as close to a woody sound. of acoustic guitars….
If that is your aim I would look at a modelling pedal instead - something like the Zoom AC-2 or AC-3. Those do much better if your aim is to re-create an acoustic sound from a piezo pickup.
@@GLBProductions i alrwady tried and bought it it works perfectly i owned yhe AC-3 simulator and it doesnt get the sound i want on the acoustic guitar. This preamp works perfectly as i wanted to. Really cool works on my piezo pickups on my JPX model. I like the sound better than AC-3 .... i like my settings and sound from my JPX Piezo pickups both Ambience and Resonance at just before 3 o’clock or at 3 o’clock itself. On my JPX that would sound more natural acoustic with depth of the hollow body of an acoustic guitar. Sounds great really thanks a lot for your infos. That inout impedance of 10Mohms makes a difference and the sound from kine out DI is amazing. Theres definitely a difference between those 2 outputs. I like the line out better
Great to hear that! All the best with your music :)
"I have a Martin 0-18NY and I appreciate the lift in Bass and the filling effect of a larger body guitar.I am interested in using it with a banjo...believe it or not. Haven't gotten the pedal yet, but I am sure htat your eveal. will be a good guide of comparison."
Thanks for watching - be sure to try before buying, in a quiet environment if at all possible.
Hey great job on the video my preamp on my guitar stopped working will this pedal alow me to play through my amp thanks
It depends - in most cases if the guitar preamp stops working the signal from the pickup will not reach the output socket, so some rewiring may be needed. If you can find a way to connect the pickup directly to the pedal it should work, assuming that nothing else is amiss.
Ok thanks wasn't sure about this it's an in expensive guitar but it plays good and since then I bought a martin dsr1
Best review of this product on TH-cam ✅
Thanks for watching Brian!
What about a sound hole pickup is ut expensive to have this put on my guitar this guitar im talking about is a estabon guitar its the mid night moon guitar i like it a lot thanke
Sorry I don't understand your question.
Can I use a takamine - Boss - stereo Delay pedal - Active DI stereo (with the pad on)?
I want to run stereo thats why I need a stereo DI like the Radioj48. I confuse about a preamp going to a DI just for the stereo . Thanks a lot
Yes you can do that no problem. Just be sure that the channels on the mixer are panned hard left and right, otherwise the end result will not be stereo.
Thanks!! :D Cheers from Perú
hi Bruno, will this work well with Taylor 110 with ES-t system?
Yes I'm sure it will work fine. But remember that this is a very subtle-sounding pedal and has only one effect. It is basically a DI box with a built in notch filter and reverb :)
GLB Productions do you have any experience with LR Baggs Session Acoustic DI? basically I am looking to warm and soften the quaky sound of the Taylor ES-t system through a Church PA. the Church has a low end Behringer DI which I intend to remove from the chain, replace with a preamp DI.
I've used it once or twice but not enough to do a review - I'd give both of these pedals a try and see which one sounds better. The LR Baggs has the advantage of a full-sized XLR output plus being to run on phantom power but it it is much more expensive than the AD-2.
Hello! (My english is bad) I installed on my nylon guitar a passive transducer pickup, and i need buy external preamp. Can i buy boss ad-2 to do that? I cant understand how boss ad-2 works like a preamp for passives pickups becouse dont have gain/volume knob. This product normalize the signals?
Thanks for ypu attenption
You're right to check this Andre! According to the website the AD-2 does not add any gain to the signal - it has a nominal input and output level of -20dBu. So input level = output level. So whether it will work or not in your case depends on the output level of your pickup, which is probably much less than -20dBu.
Greetings! Please tell me, will this preamp fit the yamaha 104 sv electric violin?
It's designed for instruments with piezo pickups so it would probably work ok - try it out and see!
@@GLBProductions Thanks a lot!
Sounds like it adds compression and a pretty serious mid scoop with high end boost. Similar to the Baggs session Di but without the saturation that Baggs offers. But it will help cut thru a band mix without losing body
I would agree with your first sentence - I've never owned the Baggs session DI so can't comment on that.
How could you even use a TRS to XLR adapter to connect the line output of this pedal to an XLR input of a mixer that is expecting a microphone level input? Wouldn't there be an extreme impedance mismatch? If they put an XLR connector on it then you could use phantom power which means you wouldn't have to buy the proprietary power supply (sold separately), so it's probably a sales department decision to exclude an XLR connection on this so-called "direct box".
The line output on this pedal is designed for an input impedance of 600 ohms or greater, so would be fine running into your typical microphone input. I agree with you that this is far from an ideal solution, but adding an XLR connector would require a redesign of the pedal housing which would drive up the cost. I think this is a good solution for those who either a) don't need a balanced output but still want the tonal options the pedal offers or b) alternate between using this on a pedal board and as a stand alone preamp solution.
Super review! Thanx!
You're welcome Bobby!
Best video on this pedal.
Thanks for watching Adam!
Great review
Thanks for watching :)
Great review! And for soundhole magnetic pickups? How does it sound? Has anyone tried it? I own a Fishman D02 Humbucker pickup for my acoustic, and I'm looking for a nice preamp with reasonable cost. Thanks! =)
I'm sure it will sound fine but you should really try out the combination of your guitar and playing style + this pedal before buying. Also remember that this pedal has little to no EQ so if you need a lot of tonal control this is not the best option.
@@GLBProductions Thanks man! Helped me a lot!
I’m assuming this pedal is still helpful even with a sound hole pickup?
It's designed for use with piezo pickups - you'll need to test it with your particular soundhole pickup to see how it sounds.
Thank you Bruno.
You're welcome Michael!
I got this pedal for the mute function as when i put my guitar down it feeds back. Not one review shows how the mute function works. Maybe you can add another?
The mute function is very simple: hold the pedal down for more than 2 seconds in any mode and it goes into mute. The red LED flashes to alert you to this and no signal is passed. This is actually stated on the front of the unit just above the BOSS logo ;) Hope this helps!
Is it ok to just use the resonance knob and use the reverb on my pa and have the ambience on the pedal at zero?
Yes it is! Although it seems a bit of a shame to buy the pedal and then only use 1/3 of its features 😅
@@GLBProductions No problems.Thanks for the quick reply.I had a gig tnight using the ad2 with just the resonance knob at 9 oclock and my own reverb at halfway from the pa and it sounded very good.Thanks.
Great to hear that! All the best with your music :)
Have you ever tried the Joyo AD2?
No I have not.
Im thinking about getting one of these for a solid body with a peizo. Any thoughts, internet?
Might work - only way to be sure is to try one out.
Better than LR Baggs session acoustic DI?
Better in what sense? The Session has more features but is also more than twice the price of the AD-2...
in your opinion, do you think this can help electric violins?
It depends - what specific problems are you dealing with?
So, the takeaway I'm getting :
Think of this as a DI , that also has subtle room reverb , and a mid shaping that of marginal usefulness , if the guitar already sounds reasonably good ?
( That's not a total slam . I suppose if you are in need of a DI anyway , adding subtle options are better than no options .)
Of course it would be more educational to start with a really crappy sounding guitar , and use a pedal of this sort to try to gain a medium acceptable tone .
Yes that's about right - plus a notch filter to deal with feedback. There are people who really love how subtle this pedal can be.
LOVE , AMEI O SOUND .
"I appreciate the subtlety of the pedal's effect. After all if one spends $$$$$ on a guitar I am assuming that we are trying to match it to the less expensive PA system."
Why would you put a stereo output on the preamp? Surely it's desgined to go first in your signal chain?
This pedal does not have a stereo output - it has two separate mono line outputs that each carry the same signal. One is balanced for connection to a PA system, the other is unbalanced for connection to a stage amplifier.
The reviewer said (27:35) that "The lack of stereo output, for me, is significant." My question is: What stereo source are you going to put before it, or what stereo processing is it capable of?
Oh I see what you mean. On any effects pedal which has time-based effects such as reverb or chorus I like to have the option of a stereo output so that the effect can be heard in stereo. This is available on units such as the Zoom AC-2 as well as the Boss AD-3, previously reviewed on my channel.
@@GLBProductions I get that, but this doesn't have any stereo effects in it. There's no stereo signal in it to put out. I guess you mean that you'd like the 'Ambience' to be a stereo effect?
That's right.
Do you consider the AD-2 to be an improvement over de AD-3? which one do you prefer?
No I would consider the AD-2 to be a simplification of the AD-3. I still use both of them - the AD-2 when I need a simple and quick set up that gives me some reverb and a balanced output, the AD-3 when I have more time to set up and want to run things in stereo. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the reply!
Complete overview about ad2.
Thanks for watching!
This guy did his homework.
"How much gain did you find on the output?"
Not much - on my Takamines with their active preamps it's pretty much a unity gain device.
What I think is that it would be a different Guitar the sound would be completely different.
Only sounded good when you had the resonance cranked..must roll off the shrill top top end
That is also dependent on the guitar that you are using but yes most piezo systems sound too bright out of the box IMO.
@@GLBProductions yeah i've never been happy with under bridge saddle piezo rod systems. I once messed around with passive piezo disks for months one time, tried all types of preamps, di boxes and stuff. the best results i got were when concocted a pickup and attached it behind the bridge with this wire device made from old coat hangers..like a sping tension paper clip that went around the body (looked ungodly and impractical) but it worked...putting downward pressure on the back of the disk..seem to retain a lot more of the bottom end,,,piezo release electrons/signal when they under pressure. they should work much better than they do, but let down by the quality of the piezo rod..you would think that under all the pressure of the strings tuned and under the thin saddle would be enough...but it never seems to be. theres some science of why piezo sound shrill..its because a piezo in a circuit behave like a capacitor, when added to the input resistor on an amp/pa/ preamp it naturally makes a high pass filter..so all the low end frequesncies are missing..the preamps job is to counteract that..this Boss one seems ok!!
But wouldn't it make an electro/acoustic with a built in pre amp even "hotter"? .
Perhaps slightly, but not excessively so.
Excellent review! Very detailed and shows a lot of effort. Thanks!
You're welcome, thanks for watching!