Acoustic preamps and pedals - prices

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lincolnbluelincolnblue Frets: 294
As a mainly acoustic player I've been interested in the acoustic pedals available such as Fishman, Ashdown etc.
The problem is they all seem to be so expensive. Any idea why or if there's some good alternatives that are more affordable?
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  • bluechargeboybluechargeboy Frets: 1894
    edited August 2019
    I have been gigging with the Fishman Platinum Pro for a year or so and it's been great, so I'm sure the Platinum Stage for about half the price would also be a good'un.

    Do you have an onboard preamp on the guitar? Maybe you only need a DI box?

    Thomann is a good place to see a large variety of these. Here and here
    I'm just a Maserati in a world of Kias.
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  • I have been gigging with the Fishman Platinum Pro for a year or so and it's been great, so I'm sure the Platinum Stage for about half the price would also be a good'un.

    Do you have an onboard preamp on the guitar? Maybe you only need a DI box?

    Thomann is a good place to see a large variety of these. Here and here
    Yes I have an onboard preamp so just looking for something to shape the sound, maybe reverb and tremolo, delay etc
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Check out the Boss AD-10.
    That seems to do it all but it's nearly £300.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71952
    There are several Zoom models that are quite good. I forget which is the current one, they keep changing the range...

    Or if you have a preamp in the guitar, you can use any standard electric guitar FX unit - just be careful with the distortion :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • preston61preston61 Frets: 690

    I play exclusively acoustic and have gone through multiple pedal setups over the past year and a half. However the on thing that stays is the LR Baggs Venue DI. Used for about £150, it's a pretty big pedal however it contains so much within it that it's worth the money. The feedback function/notch is brilliant, the eq'ing is priceless for my Pure Mini pickup which needs a bit more shaping. I like the tuner, it gets some flack, but it's very easy to use (it gets the flack because people say it doesn't work if you leave it on for a while. All you have to do is switch it off and on again, it's deliberately like that as a battery saving function) I also use the FX loop for putting all my effects through and run 2 separate signals from it, one from the line out and one from the DI.

    Effects wise, I think if you're using anything modulation, delay or reverb based it really doesn't have to be one made intentionally for acoustic guitars. Those pedals are built with certain frequencies in mind, but nothing you can't address with a normal pedal and some eq'ing. The LR Baggs Align series is good if you only need certain things (like the post above said, if you've got an on board pre-amp etc). I really liked what the Session pedal did, but it is a lot of money for something that's an always on sound that most people wouldn't know if you had it on or not.

    Currently I run a HX FX through the effects loop of the Venue, with a EHX B9 in one of the additional FX loops and I can get pretty much any sound I want out of it. I pretty much have one simple patch and then 3 additional snapshots with more ambient settings. I can't recommend it highly enough

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  • I have a pedalboard which I usually go through but for times when I don't want to lug it around I fancy something smaller. 
    For an acoustic DI any idea what the Zoom AC2 is like?

    Does the HX FX have any acoustic shaping tools in it?
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  • timbuk02timbuk02 Frets: 271
    The new Hotone Omni's look really decent, the AC works with both acoustic for and electrics...

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  • I have the Boss AD10 and i'm delighted with it. Pretty big but has everything I need and even a tuner and looper.
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  • preston61preston61 Frets: 690
    I have a pedalboard which I usually go through but for times when I don't want to lug it around I fancy something smaller. 
    For an acoustic DI any idea what the Zoom AC2 is like?

    Does the HX FX have any acoustic shaping tools in it?

    Like with all the Helix stuff you can use some IR's to help. I know 3Sigma are very well regarded for theirs if you use a piezo style pickup. Like with all this stuff it comes down to how you hear it and there are plenty of EQ options and the compressors are very good, so there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get the sound you wanted out of it
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  • droflufdrofluf Frets: 3612
    ICBM said:

    Or if you have a preamp in the guitar, you can use any standard electric guitar FX unit - just be careful with the distortion :).
    @ICBM is that because adding distortion to an acoustic is wrong, to me at least :) , or is there a more fundamental reason?
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  • preston61preston61 Frets: 690
    drofluf said:
    ICBM said:

    Or if you have a preamp in the guitar, you can use any standard electric guitar FX unit - just be careful with the distortion :).
    @ICBM is that because adding distortion to an acoustic is wrong, to me at least :) , or is there a more fundamental reason?

    It's more to do with the feedback issues that you get when you start using drive/distortion with acoustic guitars
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  • droflufdrofluf Frets: 3612
    preston61 said:
    drofluf said:
    ICBM said:

    Or if you have a preamp in the guitar, you can use any standard electric guitar FX unit - just be careful with the distortion :).
    @ICBM is that because adding distortion to an acoustic is wrong, to me at least :) , or is there a more fundamental reason?

    It's more to do with the feedback issues that you get when you start using drive/distortion with acoustic guitars
    Thanks!
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71952
    Yes, just that you need to be very careful with the gain and volume if you're going to use any. It can sound good, if done right - although magnetic pickups tend to produce better results than piezo ones. It's generally more useful for adding texture to rhythm playing rather than electric-guitar-like soloing. You will also usually need to use some sort of amp and/or speaker emulation, or it will sound buzzy and bad through an acoustic amp or a PA unless you very heavily EQ it, which will mess up the normal clean sound.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • thomasw88thomasw88 Frets: 2316
    Award Session do/did and acoustic preamp pedal.  I have one and it works very well.  Doesn't have any effects tho
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    I tried three or four earlier this year and ended up with a Zoom AC-3, which was priced at about half what I was prepared to spend. 

    It "sort of" claims to model various acoustic guitar types, but unlike previous generations of Zoom acoustic pedals it sounds and feels pretty natural, rather than trying to superimpose a radically different tone on top. 

    I've gigged it a few times now through my own PA and through others, and I can dial up a usable tone in seconds. 

    I tend to dismiss Zoom as kind of low level almost consumer electronics type stuff, but am really impressed with this, it feels pro rather than gimmicky. 
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  • GulliverGulliver Frets: 848
    Played the Boss AD-2 today and that thing is surprisingly good.  Not a tonne of tweakability, but it sounds fucking amazing.
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