Pedals for acoustic

MikeWoodward

Hi - I have a good Taylor electro-acoustic, basic boss looper pedal and Fender Acoustic 100 amp. Old git Playing a lot of singer songwriter type stuff to a basic but improving level and love it! Some aspiration to eventually perform (probably the local pub when we’re allowed!). I know best way to sound better is practice but is it overkill to be investing in pedals/gadgets to help adjust tone - eq, compression, delay, reverb etc since the amp already has capability to do this? Looked at everything from single function pedals to products such as T Rex Soulmate (looks great but maybe a little complex for my stage of development). Any help gratefully received thanks Mike

Gulliver

MikeWoodward said:

... is it overkill to be investing in pedals/gadgets to help adjust tone - eq, compression, delay, reverb etc since the amp already has capability to do this? ...

I think you're asking the wrong question.  Is there anything you'd like the amp to do that it currently doesn't?  If so, those are the pedals to start looking at. 

Alternatively, if the amp does all the things you'd like, but the switching isn't convenient, that would be the next step.

Personally, I've got a little acoustic board that I take out because I don't have an acoustic amp - that has a Boss Acoustic Preamp pedal on it that does some EQ and reverb stuff, a tuner, chorus and compressor.

MikeWoodward

Thanks Gulliver - that helps. Think compression is main thing amp is missing, and I guess there are pedals that would give better overall control of the eq than the amp. Merry Christmas Mike

ICBM

I would probably get something like a Boss AD-10 or Zoom AC-3. They’re really completely comprehensive and contain as much as a decent-sized pedalboard, and even if your amp does some of those things it’s more flexible to have it all in a pedal if you want to go to small gigs where it’s more convenient not to take one, so you can plug straight into the PA. They’re surprisingly simple to use too, even if you’re not very familiar with multi-FX units.

MikeWoodward

Gulliver said:

MikeWoodward said:

... is it overkill to be investing in pedals/gadgets to help adjust tone - eq, compression, delay, reverb etc since the amp already has capability to do this? ...

I think you're asking the wrong question.  Is there anything you'd like the amp to do that it currently doesn't?  If so, those are the pedals to start looking at. 

Alternatively, if the amp does all the things you'd like, but the switching isn't convenient, that would be the next step.

Personally, I've got a little acoustic board that I take out because I don't have an acoustic amp - that has a Boss Acoustic Preamp pedal on it that does some EQ and reverb stuff, a tuner, chorus and compressor.

Thanks Gulliver - that helps. Think compression is main thing amp is missing, and I guess there are pedals that would give better overall control of the eq than the amp. Merry Christmas Mike

Whistler

Mike, you mentioned compression and EQ. My always on acoustic pedal is a TC Electronic BodyRez pedal, a one knob compressor and EQ. It might be worth your having a go with one to see what you think.

The difference between you and me is that these days I tend to plug direct into the desk so there is no guitar combo. I use the BodyRez and a reverb pedal and that is all between my guitar and the desk, both set to my taste at soundcheck and left alone after that.

MikeWoodward

Whistler said:

Mike, you mentioned compression and EQ. My always on acoustic pedal is a TC Electronic BodyRez pedal, a one knob compressor and EQ. It might be worth your having a go with one to see what you think.

The difference between you and me is that these days I tend to plug direct into the desk so there is no guitar combo. I use the BodyRez and a reverb pedal and that is all between my guitar and the desk, both set to my taste at soundcheck and left alone after that.

ICBM said:

I would probably get something like a Boss AD-10 or Zoom AC-3. They’re really completely comprehensive and contain as much as a decent-sized pedalboard, and even if your amp does some of those things it’s more flexible to have it all in a pedal if you want to go to small gigs where it’s more convenient not to take one, so you can plug straight into the PA. They’re surprisingly simple to use too, even if you’re not very familiar with multi-FX units.

Thanks for the advice - really appreciated

Wazmeister

Mike,

Seasons greetings !

I've been down this rabbit hole recently, and I found that the LR Baggs Align series were excellent. The Align Session in particular offered a real improvement in sound, and kinda made it 3D through my Fishman Acoustic amp.

A really good pre amp pedal helps too. I tried several but nothing touched the Grace Design Bix.

Both of these are now up for sale, and this isn't a sales thread, just offering my experience. Im only selling as I need to fund my Fractal FM3 by Monday, and Im hoping that this will take over the acoustic role at church.