Acoustic Preamp Shootout
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ค. 2024
- A comparison of three quite different acoustic preamps - the TC Electronic Bodyrez, Fishman Aura Dreadnought, and L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI. Three different solutions to the problem of artificial-sounding signal from an acoustic guitar pickup.
You'll get lots of good info about this if you read the comments here, but just to clarify: each of these approaches the problem of 'making your acoustic guitar actually sound good plugged in' using totally different technology. I called them all 'preamps' because there is no easy word available that means 'acoustic-guitar-sound-good-boxes' but you could make the case that only the LR Baggs is a proper preamp, the Fishman may be some kind of impulse response or modeling technology, and I truly do not know what the BodyRez is doing; perhaps a harmonic exciter or complicated EQ. Anyway, they all help deal with that piezo quack that makes playing an acoustic live sound so much worse than playing it unplugged.
If you're curious, a "Four Years Later" update: the LR Baggs is the one I still use every week. So I guess time has proven it to be the winner.
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Unless I state otherwise in the video, everything I test out on here is stuff that I bought myself. There are no paid reviews on this channel and only a couple times have I ever had items sent to me for review. All opinions are my own!
AMAZON LINKS FOR THE GEAR IN THIS VIDEO:
(These are affiliate links so if you buy something, I may earn a small commission)
L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI: amzn.to/3S34rJS
I don't think they make the Aura Dreadnought anymore but here is the current version of the Fishman Aura: amzn.to/3XyzzSV
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:20 Raw Acoustic Sound (Ibanez)
1:37 TC BodyRez 50%
1:53 TC BodyRez 100%
2:24 Fishman Aura 50%
2:38 Fishman Aura 100%
2:54 LR Baggs Para DI
3:36 Fishman Aura (Again)
4:23 TC BodyRez (Again)
5:01 Switching to an old Silvertone Guitar
5:13 Raw Acoustic Sound (Silvertone)
5:30 TC BodyRez + Silvertone
6:13 Fishman Aura + Silvertone
6:55 LR Baggs Para DI + Silvertone
7:15 Concluding Remarks - เพลง
Awesome video this Man! I’ve been subbed for a while but this one jumped out at me.
The body Rez has been making some slight murmurs in the Plethora X5 group as a potential target for integration into what is becoming a little midi powerhouse of a pedal. Hope to see you in that group sometime as we push these ideas around.
More of this stuff if you are up to it mate! Good job
Just stumbled upon this. It's great. Nice job. Thank you.
L R Baggs Para Acoustic DI is my long time go to.
The Para Acoustic is such a good unit.
It's the best of these 3
Thanks for sharing this. I now know what direction to avoid. Its going to be condenser mics and effects through the amp for me.
Thank you for this vid. Exactly what I needed
This is the second video of acoustic pedals I’ve watched tonight in a matter of minutes and that bodyrez wins for me again!
Great review. Another pedal people might consider is the BBE Sonic Maximizer/Stinger, it is an EQ that also adjusts the phasing of high/low end frequency giving amped acoustics a more full and lively sound. I like what all these do but I think my stinger has a bigger impact on tone than any of these preamps.
Very useful, thanks Matt.
Need to check out the NUX Stageman Floor!
have been listening to those k & K products for a while and I amaze how natural they make your guitar sound in comparison with other pick-ups and transducer in the market, I am making up my mind to buy one of those for Christmas.
Do! I've been using K&K pure mini and preamp for years, often get compliments from PA guys on quality of sound.
K and K is closest to mic as possible, minus some highs. It also has a higher output minus the quack. With glue in install, just mix in with any magnetic soundhole pickup or run it directly into a PA right after a buffer. I am still amazed at how many people still use Piezo pickups given they are quacky and often induces unwanted brittleness. I Maybe because they just make the guitar cut better?
The LR Baggs sounds the most acoustic here. Fishman is a bit processed. I love TC stuff, but I think they have a long way to go for acoustics.
thanks for the video man that helped me a lot! :)
I once had a Zoom A3 which including multi FX was pretty good. Having said that I now get a decent sound from my Yamaha APX 600 through a Behringer DI box, neither of which broke the bank. A bit of reverb on the PA and away you go. The only thing I miss is the feedback filter.
Update: since then I got the Bodyrez which adds a mild compression, at a higher setting, and does help with cancelling low end feedback
Which DI box did you use.
Im looking to plug in my guitar into the PA but currently I own no new equipment and I really don't wanna break the bank...
John Petrucci uses TC Bodyrez for his piezo, and from this video i kinda understand why,...
thank a lot sir, esp for reviewing with a non high end guitar,....
Fishman Aura does such a great job, such a natural tones I say that both as guitarist and audio technician the sound I am looking for. only checked out this device only with Fishman guitar electronic provided guitars so far. I am big fan of it,,,..😎
The Aura is the best of taking away the quackiness/ plastic sound, but is coloring the sound a lot. If you set it at 30-35 % (10 o'clock) you get the best result. BodyRez disappointed me, it adds a lot of bass, and do not take away the quack.
The Beringer ADI21 is one of the most useful and versatile cheap pedals I own.
I initially bought it to use with a resonator guitar that was fitted with a piezo pickup and no onboard preamp.
It is great for Acoustic guitars, giving a lot of control over tonality and level.
The mid frequency EQ is great for stopping feedback.
This pedal works well as a clean boost pedal and can also be used to crank a tube amp.
I also use it as a volume attenuator in my FX loop on my amp. I've got a Fender Front man 212 that seems to only have two volume levels, silent and LOUD. Anything past 1 is on-stage level. Using this in the loop gives be a much better control curve over the level and also allows me to crank up the channel volume to where it sounds best without my neighbours hating me.
The pedal also works, not surprisingly, for what it was designed for, as a DI straight to a mixer or recorder.
I just keep finding new uses for it.
Thinking of buying a second one, just in case they stop manufacturing them.
Hi Im about to fit a basic piezo (fishman Pro Res 001) to my resonator. Is that what you have? Very happy to hear you had success with the beringer.
Came here to research the Fishman. Can't understand comparing the Baggs to the others! As Josh Foss says below it takes additional EQ to make the most of the Fishman - I imagine the Baggs and Aura would be quite good together. Good demo's though.
This is not really a DI comparison since you only have one DI there (LR Baggs). The Bodyrez and the Fishman are Preamp" devices. They all will help shape your sound as we have listened to, but a true DI will convert your unbalanced Acoustic Guitar Pickup's signal and balance it for Direct Input into a PA Mixer using an XLR cable. This will net you the best sound for performances. The Bodyrez or the Fishman can be used in-line with a DI to give you some excellent tone. Thanks for the video and for sharing.
Yes, I agree. I called the video "Preamp Shootout" in an attempt to find a term that would refer to all three different units, and in fact I bypassed the LR Baggs' DI components by using its 1/4" direct out so as to not throw off the comparison with the other two non-DIs.
When playing live I'm a huge fan of using a DI box as well but wanted to keep things simple for the video.
Matt LeFevers I’d love to hear the di combined with the fishman or bodyrez
If you did that would you go from guitar into di , then preamp (fishman /bodyrez) then mixing desk ? Or go into preamp first , then di, then mixing desk ?
Thanks !
Unless you have very long cables, 60 ft for example, balanced or unbalanced will make zero differences. A DI is just made for that purpose. The sound is just the same, it is not better . Noise suppression is the only reason nowadays to use DI with long cables, otherwise any mixer will offer gain, padding, and whatever the signal incoming from a preamp or from an effect pedal deserves. Some people use DI connecting to the mixer with a 9ft cable; it's just like using a parachute jumping from a chair.
I use the body rez and the para DI to great effect. Love that combo.
Great comp. My old Digitech electric pedal makes a $16 piezzo in a cheap classical sound HUGE with total control and unlimited effect. Bigger and heavier than these but after hearing that, old heavy gear wins:)
Also the new Mooer Radar will load acoustic images but you will have to do the setup work
Hey man I’ve used the bodyrez at my church a couple times and it was pretty solid...but my personal favorite is the bbe acoustimax
Oh, nice; I haven't tried that one.
thank you for that keep on picking!
Incredible mic MXL V65G. Love mine
you need to play around with models and eq to get the most out of the Fishman. Every model isn't going to sound great on every guitar. I have the aura spectrum and it's awesome, but it did take an evening to craft a nice tone.
Great video! Thanks!
Nice demo useful to see, I'm using an Ovation VXT, so a mix between acoustic and magnetic pick ups and the acoustic end needs all the help it can get. My Boss EQ pedal and Wampler Ego pedals improve it but still needs more clarity. Long term shoulder and neck injuries prevent me playing full depth acoustics longer than 5 minutes
EQ is a big deal, I'm guessing that helps a lot. Out of these three, the LR Baggs DI is the one that stuck around, and that's mainly because of the great EQ options it has.
@@LeFeversAudio - Thanks Matt
As in all those pedals you have to find the "sweet spot" with your guitar. I use the Body Rez with the feedback feature on every gig I play. I wouldn't play live without it. For $85.00 your sound will go to the next level. Buy it from Sweetwater (you can always return it) plug it in , mess around with the setting till you find your Sweet Spot. Play with it on for about 15 min. then turn it off and you'll go wow, amazing and you won't be sending it back. You can also get the Body Rez feature with adjustable compression, reverb, chorus, and I think delay in the T.C. Electronics "Play Acoustic" unit as well as a looper and harmonizer. Great unit.
I just traded mine in so ur wow factor doesn't pan out. It added too much unpleasant boom to my setup even at low setting and worse at high setting
I agree, I use it all the time! I have a Taylor with lr baggs pietso and a microphone inside the guitar and the body rez will give it too much base, but I also have an ovation and the body rez just makes it sound so good no matter what setting!
Just found your channel. Good stuff. I subscribed.
Thank you!
I had the Aura and couldn't find any tone I liked. I'm liking the sound of the Helicon.
the body rez is a cheaper alternative, i think a better shootout for fishman and lr baggs would have been to use the Fishman Pro EQ and the LR Baggs Venue DI. I know they cost more, but i think they sound better. Also the Fishman Aura Spectrum DI, i don't know about their smaller model, but the actual Aura pedals allow you the option to send in your guitar and have it recorded in their studio, so you have an studio image of your guitar on stage. They also have a massive data base of images of popular guitars you can install. I am not sure if that option is available in the model you have. I love my Pro EQ, but it also greatly depends on the quality of pick ups you have installed, if you use piezo's there isn't a whole lot you can do to make the guitar sound better imo.
I'm still preferring my Award Session GG10/AP10 s to anything else out there though in recent times with better modern in-guitar preamps I have been finding less benefit from them as the source is better to start with.
Agree with Marc, this isn't a comparison at all and very misleading. The whole point (almost) of the Baggs device, for example, is the ability for quite radical tonal shaping, and its low-mid section is apparently a notch filter for addressing feedback problems.So there just isn't a "sound' that is the LR Baggs device!
very good!!
Thanks a lot for the video! I wish you spent just a little more time playing with different images in Fishman, as they can yield you totally different sonic signatures (something impossible with, say, TC BodyRes and pretty hard to achieve with the EQ section on ParaDI. Do you remember what image you used for Aura, and what were the settings for ParaDE's EQ section?
For my guitar(s) I always used image 13 on the Aura. I don't think the Dreadnought version of the Aura ever explained what images were what, but if they're the same as on the Sixteen, that would be Spruce / Rosewood / Neumann U87. As far as the ParaDI, I had Low at noon, Notch (D), Mid (1.2) and Presence almost all the way down (removing a lot of obnoxious frequencies) and Treble at 10 o'clock. Thanks!
Matt LeFevers thanks! I am pretty sure either Dreadnaught or 16 can have whatever set of 16 images loaded to them via Image Gallery SW. I played a lot with those, as I play Yamaha Silent guitar which has no body,hence no sonic charachter on its own.
Can’t beat the Para acoustic DI with the Body Rez
Bodyrez~FA1-preamp and boss rv6.....i use this pedals in my guitars
I have the LR....it produces wonderful tone with my Guild JF-55 (westerly) mids and highs are really brought to the surface for perfect balance. I do not think this video represented the LR in this way. The LR is waaaayy more adjustable and tunable then the others.
It looked like he had the parametric bands "scooping" the tone out, BAD. also presence looked to be all the way down, too. Not an accurate example of the LR's tone.
I agree. Short shrift was given to the Para DI. Lots more flexibility and control of the sound is possible than was shown. Adjustments were made with the other two boxes, while none was made on the L.R. Baggs.
Also, the sound should have been compared to a performance recorded with a good mic. That’s the sound acoustic guitarists want to approximate with a pickup system.
Can’t live without by body Rez !
applehead252 it’s a game changer! Best pedal I’ve found for acoustics. Looking at getting the fishman aura too, that’s why I’m here. See if it’s worth it.
The L.R. Baggs with the Silvertone seemed to be the most natural sound. The Fishman has so many sound options ( as stated quite well by a previous comment), that it's almost unfair to judge it on one video, but to my ears it didn't sound very good. A friend of mine plays very organic natural acoustic music and he didn't like the Aura either. The T.C. Body Rez is really just an E.Q. from what I can tell. I think it's actually quite nice and paired w/ the Para, that could be a great combo. Also curios about the BBE Acoustimax as a previous comment said.
I would agree with all of that. For a while, at gigs, I did use the BodyRez into the Baggs, like you're suggesting, which definitely sounds good. My new acoustic doesn't need the BodyRez anymore so I can get away with just the Baggs but I think that's because the guitar itself has a much better sound than either of the two I had in this video.
Wow! Really surprised how good the k&k with the Body Res sounded.
I thought he said he used a fishman here?
Fishman Aura takes the cake any day.... really balanced sound and yet still rich in tones
yeah that, completly don't understand that others like the muddy muffled sounds of those others don't they have good monitoring, soundcard nor ears? Yeah it sounds fat but not good, in my opinion. But ok to have a diffrent opinion... 😎
Forgot to say Aphex Acoustic Exciter is hard to find, not expensive, and it is not a preamp but it incredibly improves whatever acoustic guitar you use... good pickin!
Just bought one it is good
I like the fish the best. All 3 are nice
Elixir Polyweb strings will cut down on those finger hisses when changing chords. Also Silk & Steel strings if you don't mind a mellower tone.
On my new acoustic I've gone to coated D'Addario strings, I'll have to pay attention to whether there's a difference on finger noise.
@@LeFeversAudio I tend to use the Silk & Steels because my calluses never build up and stay so there's constant pain. I mostly play through an amp so that makes up for the mellower tone of those strings. I failed to mention that your video has great information. I've tried so many acoustic pedals and can't seem to find "The One." I play a Taylor 114ce and a Martin OOORS1.
Ibanez with the Body Rez at 50, Silvertone with the LR Baggs,, you're ready for the coffeehouse.
Thank you, I was just looking at acoustic preamps. I really like the bodyrez at 50, 100 seemed a liitle too much. I like the Aura as well, but at 100 sounded kind of "fake" to me.
I agree with both - 100% on either of them really amplifies the artificial sounding higher frequencies and makes it sound kind of strange.
the fishman isn't really a pre-amp.. the aura is a guitar modeler which adds studio grade sound waves into the signal based on what the signal is lacking.. so it really depends on which guitar model he has loaded into the thing. Aura pedals can sound absolutely amazing or sound like utter trash depending on the model used. I.E. playing a dreadnought into an aura with a model of J200 doesn't sound that good at all.
Thanks for this; it's helpful, but it's a bit hard to know what to make of this comparison. The Baggs PADI is a very different beast from the others. With the controls flat, it tries to do as little to the pickup sound as possible (it has a high impedance buffer at the start of the signal path). The whole point of it is to dial in the 5 bands of EQ to fix your tone. You don't say what you set the EQ controls to; without that info, it's hard to know what to make of this comparison. The Aura uses a many-band digital filter to work its magic (it's not an IR, although it is based on detailed measurements of instrument responses). The BodyRez is mainly a multiband filter, but also with some "subtle compression." So the real question when comparing the PADI with these is whether its 5 EQ bands, properly adjusted, can mimic the more complex filtering the other two pedals can do. If you let us know your PADI EQ settings and how you chose them, that would help.
Yeah, that's all valid. Each unit is a totally different approach to 'making an acoustic sound better', which is why I wanted to compare them in the first place but definitely complicates any sort of a fair comparison. I didn't want this video to be ninety minutes long so I just went in with each one pre-dialed in to the best sound for my guitar. If it helps, the PA DI settings were Low and Treble straight up, Presence almost all the way down, and notches at "D" and 2 kHz to remove some of the irritating frequencies. Not very scientific, just the settings that worked best on these guitars.
Thanks, Matt, that definitely is helpful in understanding exactly what's going on in the comparison. And thanks again for showing us all three in the same setting.
Thanks for taking the time to make this. To be fair... These are all COMPLETELY different pedals with different purposes. For starters, the PADI is a DI with EQ preamp and zero effects. And so I'm curious to know if you set it up for a perfect EQ before demoing it simply because it won't do much flat. Neither of the other pedals are DIs that can convert an unbalanced 1/4" to balanced to send to the snake/board. So they would have to be used in tandem WITH the PADI or another DI. Second, I was disappointed with the BodRez (not a knock against you). I would be really interested to hear what it would sound like to send through the Fishman at 50% and then into the PADI for perfect EQ. That would likely blow your mind.
Sheridan Henson Agreed. I wasn’t doing a DI comparison so I set the LR Baggs unit for good EQ settings and then used the 1/4” direct out to bypass the DI part of it for comparison’s sake with the other two. I was treating all three as “things to make an acoustic sound better”. In actual practice what I’ve been doing is running the BodyRez into the Baggs and direct from there, that sounds pretty good.
Matt LeFevers do you still have the Aura? I’d love to hear the Aura into the PADI.
I actually just sold it - it's a terrific unit but I just bought a higher quality guitar that doesn't need quite as much 'help' with its sound.
Matt LeFevers I always say great tone starts w a setup guitar and a great pickup. If you have a solid pickup you don’t need much more than solid EQ and a touch of reverb to sound incredible.
I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more Lefever!!
For all the stuff on tge other 2 , the Bodyrez sounds the best, to me anyway.
What is the input impedance of each peddle? That is the most important first hurdle.
Hi Matt, I have a problem with my Bodyrez pedal... I'm hoping you could help me by figuring out what could be the problem so that I can try and tackle it!
My Bodyrez pedal occasionally goes on and off continuously on its own... the red power light goes on and off constantly when this happens. While it does this my signal has this irritating clicking sound.
Most often, there isn't an issue... this throws me off, because I figured that if there is an issue with the pedal it should happen all the time!
My pedal is connected to an isolated power supply by Donner... and I have an LR Baggs, a Boss DD7, a TC Hall of Fame reverb and a Boss RC30 looper connected to the same isolated power supply... nothing happens to the other pedals when the Bodyrez blinks on and off and creates this clicking sound.
When this happens, I detach the power supply to the Bodyrez but I leave the input and output cables connected and the signal flows through without a problem, but obviously without the Bodyrez magic.
Please help!
That’s very odd, I’ve never heard of that. Are you able to get the BodyRez to do it while it’s on a power supply by itself? Strange things can happen with power sometimes... otherwise I don’t know, sorry!
@@LeFeversAudiolet me try isolating the power supply for the Bodyrez!
Thanks Matt!
iLike the sound of body rez here...
Did you use the preamp mounted on your guitar? thanks
can you use a simple piezo without onboard preamp with only a pedal as a preamp?
I'm not really an expert on acoustic pickups - I've read that piezos can benefit from something like the Baggs after them, but I don't recall why. One of the guitars in this video has that onboard EQ thing and one is totally passive but I didn't do anything differently with the pedals to compensate and they both still ultimately 'worked', if that helps any.
@@LeFeversAudio it's helpful thanks, because I don't want to modify my guitar with an onboard preamp, I'll have to experiment tough I don't know how long the passive piezo signal will go
Which ones cheapest? I have an aura pick up in my martin.. i dont know which one i like ...i need one tho
Im thinking the aura will work best with my aura pick up ....makes sense ,no?
I'm sure the TC Bodyrez is cheapest, but of course with one knob it's also the least flexible. It either helps or it doesn't. The LR Baggs is my preference now that I have a good sounding guitar with a good pickup in it, I can just lightly EQ things and it sounds great, but the guitars in this video were a lot cheaper and needed more help. Yours may not need such drastic tone shaping!
I've been searching for a video comparison on acoustic di boxes. Thanks for posting!
My take: the bodyrez is pretty subtle but effective, the fishman sounded a little muddy, and the LR baggs was a nice clear tone. All were improvements over the typical piezo sound.
Have you tried the Boss AD-2?
Or even the Behringer V-tone acoustic di? Thanks!
I haven't tried those two - from videos I've seen, the Boss one sounded like it added a lot of treble, which my specific guitar definitely doesn't need, so I never looked into it further.
Yeah, my take on it is that none of these is perfect but all are better than the direct signal. Lately I've been experimenting with running the BodyRez *into* the LR Baggs which sounds pretty decent actually.
The Behringer V-Tone is pretty good and amazing value for money...I sold a Fishman Aura and replaced it with the Behringer. The Fishman had a lot of alternative settings but to be honest you just want something to take the harshness out of the piezo.
Should I still get a preamp like Lr Baggs if my soundhole pickup is already active (3v Fishman Rare earth humbucker)? Thanks
I always still use a preamp or active DI of some kind so that I can adjust the EQ, dial out some of that tinny pickup sound, etc but it might be less critical than with a passive pickup...
I saw a video where a user with active pickups plugged into the FX input to bypass the D.I.'s gain.
did you try Tonedexter? its in another level
Tonedexter might be the best one. I'm so sorry it is a bit out of my budget!
What number are you using on the Fishman Aura? Specifically at 2:40
I think it's image # 13 throughout.
nice review, thanks. what song is that? you start from 3:12
Thanks! It's not * really * anything, haha, I kind of made it up on the spot. But listening to it now, it sounds like I'm riffing on a major-key version of this song "Sanctuary" that I played on. th-cam.com/video/czDpxbW8Rb8/w-d-xo.html
I like the Silvertone Best!
Dude, were you playing Blaze Foley's Clay Pigeons for the first set of tests?
No, but I went and listened to that just now and it’s very similar, haha. I apparently stumbled on an existing riff by accident.
@@LeFeversAudio that's cool. I heard it and wondered if it was Intentional or not. It might have been cooler if you were but the fact that you went and listened to it after I asked makes up for it. I was just thinking we'll he's into acoustic and probably like the rest of us and a big lover of John Prine. Prine used to cover Clay Pigeons. John R Miller does my favorite rendition. Blaze Foley was an interesting character who was notoriously homeless, an activist, pals with Townes Van Zant and tragically he gave his life defending a disabled veteran confined to a wheel chair. The vets son was known to come around check day beat on his father and steal his check. Blaze found out and couldn't allow that to happen to his friend. In the process of standing up for his friend and what he knew was right the friends greedy son murdered Blaze. A homeless drunk songwriter that protest the establishment and wars died protecting a black disabled veteran for his so. Robbing him. That may be tragic but that is a beautiful thing because no greater love hath a man who will lay down his life for a friend. Sorry to run on there. it's just a good story to relay to new listeners. Thanks for responding.
Have you tried the newest LR Baggs pups yet?
Did you set the LR Baggs up to sound as good as possible with the respective guitars or just point and shoot?
I believe it was set up to sound as good as possible with the Ibanez and then I just rolled over to the other guitar and kept the same settings 😅
Fishman by a mile but spend the extra money on the Fishman Aura Spectrum DI with onboard compresser and feedback eliminator. All it is missing missing is reverb.
That silvertone sounds good?!!
I'm as surprised as you are, haha.
Yum yum yum
Can any of these pedals help with making the guitar sound warmer?
Hmm... the Baggs Para DI probably could, because of its EQ section. Or just an EQ pedal perhaps. Typically 'warmer' means you'd need more midrange so any pedal with a good quality EQ section to it would help, the Baggs is great for that but a Boss EQ or something might also get the job done.
The Fishman sounds the best at 100% but they all sound pretty great. I'll probably go with the body rez just bc of price
Not worth any amount. It hardly dented the sound.
The pickup type is important to know. What's in your guitar?
The Silvertone is a K&K Pure Mini. The Ibanez... has whatever entry-level acoustic guitars have 😂 not sure, sorry. Probably a piezo.
I love tc electro ice. I use my lr bags my bass guitar
Bodyrez LR fishman
Can you use the Fishman with a ABY without losing tone etc?
I don't see why not, though to be honest I started looking into ABY type things for just a moment and then went a different route. So I'm not too familiar with those.
@@LeFeversAudio interesting.. I use a ABY for my practice rig to run a micro dark and micro terror with two ppc108's to run a wet/dry... Also run a third solid state Marshall through stereo output
Well... I didn't care for the Fishman at all. The Baggs sounded pretty good with the Ibanez, but in all cases the Sears Silvertone sounded just as crappy as I remember them when they were sold new (and cheap) in 1966.
Not so good that when you get around to the LA Baggs you start fingerpicking - how then can my ear compair ?
Torben Hellborn Did you skip ahead too far in the video? I play the same riff the same way through each box, then later when I’ve finished, I move on to a fingerpicking riff and play that through each box.
Sorry, Matt I did not skip . . it just happened like I discribed. Maybe some internet fault or something.
Have a good day.
para acoustic best by far plus you get EQ and D.I. all in one
I have a question, what’s the name of the song in the intro?
Jonny Vill It’s “Creation” by Map & Compass (or an early demo of it, rather)
Wonder how he has his guitars eq settings?
The Silvertone doesn't have any... if I recall recorrectly, the Ibanez was set flat EQ-wise (all sliders in the center indentation).
I thought the LR made the Silvertone come alive. By. The way, Silvertones were quite popular when I started playing guitar..lol
It's a cool guitar, I've seen others around here and there and I always get excited when I spot one...
@@LeFeversAudio One thing that I really like about guitars like that, their tone is highly distinctive...and useful that way!
I didn't like the TC Electronic at all. Also, I was surprised that the LR Baggs didn't sound better. I expected more from the LR Baggs. The Fishman was the best sounding even when considering that it is just a processed sound.
imagine having an XLR out and be able to use phantom power with the LR Bagss Para DI.
not to mention, it sounded the best among the 3
Yubs Esperat - I agree that the Para sounds the best and most natural. I actually really dislike the phantom power thing, though... I’d much rather it had a 9v port and could be hooked up to a pedalboard. With phantom power you’re at the mercy of the sound guy remembering to keep power going to your channel... at least that’s my experience.
Matt LeFevers all you need to tell the sound man is to keep the phantom power ON. altho i still have a 9V batt in mine all the time just incase we got a stupid one on the board :p
@@LeFeversAudio cant you get a 9v adaptor and use it with a Snark or One Spot though? Like this - www.guitarcenter.com/Truetone/Battery-Clip-Converter-for-1-SPOT-Black-1274115035981.gc
@@LeFeversAudio You can run the Baggs DI on either phantom or 9v. And even when on 9v you can still run XLR to the mixer. It also has an effects loop so you can put whatever you want In there including a looper. There ya go
I agree
I have the Para Di but in this shootout the Bodyrez sounds much more crisp. The Aura is even muddier than the Para Di.
? really I don't know wat ur hearing the aura sounded best. I just traded in my bodyrez too boomy even at low setting not natural acoustic sound at all.
Just my personal opinion:
The sound of fresh strings on a good quality acoustic guitar is difficult to recreate. Professional studio engineers meticulously position expensive condenser microphones and direct the musician to stay in position. The process is very controlled. Even with such controlled conditions, engineers add additional EQ & other effects in effort to recreate the original sound. Rarely does an engineer forfeit the studio mics and use the installed piezo pickups.
No matter how awesome, expensive or popular a pickup is, it will always have that “clacky” sound. No DI or pedal is going to ignore the unwanted clacky harshness. The Fishman & TC Electronics will color the sound by using preset EQ and subtle time-based effect. The LR Baggs is designed with onboard sweepable EQ for the primary purpose to control feedback. It also has an effects loop and switch for phase. Interestingly there is a hack using the loop seems to improves the tone.
The most helpful tool to combat the inherent problem of acoustic pickups is to use a multi band EQ. Reverb & compression helps too. My advice is to stay as flat as possible otherwise the tone becomes out of balance and unnatural.
In short, These pedals are good but don’t expect a miracle.
Have you tried boss ad 10?
No, that's the one thing like this I didn't try. It sounded kind of bright in the videos I watched, which might be great for some guitars but mine doesn't need any more brightness, haha.
Yeah, I get it. I'm looking for a pre-amp myself and can't really decide on a specific one. Which one would you recommend based on your day-to-day experience?
It does kind of depend by guitar - I don't like how the BodyRez sounds on my Ibanez acoustic because that guitar is already bright and the BodyRez makes it even brighter... but it sounds terrific on my Silvertone which is a duller sounding guitar.
Ultimately I've been using the Fishman Aura the longest, that's probably the one that does the most effective job of getting rid of that weird acoustic pickup sound. The Baggs one gives you a lot of great EQ options but that artificial pickup tone is still there underneath.
Great, thanks a lot! Very informative, good luck with any future projects :)
Score +1 for the T.C. Electronics box, just for the size. Slight differences, but otherwise all accomplished the same goal within tolerances...
Bodyrez & L. R Baggs
i think you really don't do justice to the Fishman by using only one the presets where there as lots more. Irealize though the test would have taken much longer... Still.
Isn't your mic on during the playing?
No, I usually go in during editing and mute the speaking mic during all the guitar parts
......The Boss- AD-10 is supposed to be the "be- all, end- all".........
I'm using the Boss VE-8 for duo stuff and it's pretty solid. Good sound, lots of options and effects... really makes a huge difference live to have some kind of preamp ... HTH
I couldn't get any sense out of the AD 10 and sold it. I found it way too complicated. The body rez is what I use now and it's perfect for what i need
Please pardon my ignorance here. 50% and 100% of what? I'm new to this and trying to settle on a pickup and preamp (if needed).
Each of these works differently... the BodyRez and the Aura are mixing in sort of an artificial or 'captured' acoustic sound from the pedal, in with your original guitar signal, so I wanted to try a setting where it was half my original signal and half the 'image' or whatever they call it, from the pedal. If that makes any sense. (I actually don't fully understand how those two pedals work, but it's something like that.) 100% means my guitar's raw signal is out completely and you're only hearing it with the pedal's special sauce applied.
None of this applies to the LR Baggs, it's just a very high quality direct box with EQ options and stuff so it's always at "100%", so to speak.
If it helps any in your quest -- in the four years since I made this video, I've gone all in on the Baggs DI and sold the other two. It's a really incredible unit and is all I use now, personally.
@@LeFeversAudio I'm looking at their GigPro in combination with a passive pickup. That combination vs. an active pickup alone. With all the models and types, this isn't as easy a quest as I'd imagined!
😉
Your second guitar sounds better even without a pre-amp!
Nicely done. I've had experience with the Aura as well as the Baggs box. The Aura is capable of blowing everything else out of the water - but that requires using the right image with it. Demoing only 1 out of the 16 available (or hundreds if not thousands that can be downloaded to replace the ones from the factory) makes it difficult to see just how powerful that pedal is. Obviously that's not all your fault, as it would be a ridiculously long video if you demoed everything it can do!
But viewers should be aware, there are a tone of microphone images available, making Aura products a hugely underrated option in this category. And it should probably be noted that the Aura D.I. is even better due to having a very effective compressor and EQ, as well as having 16 individual settings for each guitar body size, PLUS 16 user image banks so you can download additional ones that you might like better.
Come on! Everyone knows LR Baggs is a standard among pros, whereas Fishman Aura series never really took off... The TC Electronics unit is very interesting though... What about the prices?....
The LR Baggs costs the most, but I do agree that it's the best and most versatile.
a good guitar and AMP is the most important.
Fish man x1000
There is a mic blended in there somewhere also. Your hand movements are way too loud for this to just be the guitar input.
Nah, just direct. I’m not sure what to attribute that to 🤔
@@LeFeversAudio It has to be that the room mic was mixed in also in the video. that's ok tho. very excellent video. very informative. I love the sound of the fishman and the LR baggs.
@@RajivSamaroo I get that same squeak through my pickup. Remember that those are not typical magnetic pickups, so they pick up everything.
I’ve tried everything under the moon to get a natural nylonstring sound from a loudspeaker,after forty years and godknowshowmuch money,salvation came from this fishman aura,the flat Alhambra guitar and a couple of schertler amps!God exists
Outstanding! Yeah it's a quest. Mine's a steel-string guitar but I have tried at least five different setups before finally getting somewhere decent.
Played a restaurant for many years,people came and said:thought I heard a CD,but it’s live!thank you,fishman!
The body Rez sounds best the others make it sound bass booming
It all depended on how he had the Para Acoustic D.I. 5-band EQ adjusted.
para.
Never use a guitar pickup whithout preamp
Unless it hasa preamp in the guitar