Acoustic, no preamp needed!

pima1234

pima1234

Fractal Fanatic
I discovered something that surprised me. With my acoustic guitars, just running into and directly out of the FX8, there is no need for a preamp. And, this includes my guitars with passive pickups. Bit of a game changer for me!

Anyone else running acoustic this way?

This makes my desire for an updated version of the FX8 even stronger...

And yes, I was recently able to get an FM9. I just prefer the form and function of the FX8.
 
The timing of your post is perfect! I recently started playing my Taylor again, and setup a preset on my Ultra, which is great for this. But your post got me thinking of making a preset with the FX8 and eliminating the need to bring a foot controller.(FCB1010)
What's your preset look like? EQ, Comp, Reverb/Delay?

I agree with you that it would be nice to see an updated version of the FX8 but the FM9 pretty much is that but with more bells and whistles.
 
G-Man Music said:
The timing of your post is perfect! I recently started playing my Taylor again, and setup a preset on my Ultra, which is great for this. But your post got me thinking of making a preset with the FX8 and eliminating the need to bring a foot controller.(FCB1010)
What's your preset look like? EQ, Comp, Reverb/Delay?

I agree with you that it would be nice to see an updated version of the FX8 but the FM9 pretty much is that but with more bells and whistles.
Click to expand...
I think I started with a comp, then graphic eq (I am going to play around with that order), then chorus, delay, multi-tap, reverb, para eq, exciter. It's a work in progress.
 
So I made a preset with the GEQ, Comp to tone shape the piezo and was surprised at how well it sounded without the the use of an acoustic IR.
My Taylor 414ce has the Fishman "Barn Door" Prefix system with a 3 band EQ. Kept the EQ on the Fishman flat and blended the piezo & internal mic to taste. Cut the lows on the GEQ and removed some low mids and slight boost in the 4-8k region. Add in reverb/delay a little pitchshift and found myself playing for a couple hours. Man my fingers hurt! LOL I'm not used to playing with those acoustic tree branches they call strings.

I'll upload a preset when I get a chance.
 
It works great with every guitar but the Emerald X20 Nylon I recently received. With that guitar, I'm struggling to obtain the correct string balance. It's difficult to eq out the boominess of the bass strings, without killing the tone of the higher strings, but also bring out the high E more. I'll keep working on it, of course. It is much better amplified though. Acoustically, the high E lacks headroom and projection, but that has to be something with nylon strings and carbon fiber top.
 
pima1234 said:
It works great with every guitar but the Emerald X20 Nylon I recently received. With that guitar, I'm struggling to obtain the correct string balance. It's difficult to eq out the boominess of the bass strings, without killing the tone of the higher strings, but also bring out the high E more. I'll keep working on it, of course. It is much better amplified though. Acoustically, the high E lacks headroom and projection, but that has to be something with nylon strings and carbon fiber top.
Click to expand...
My first thought was the Multiband Compressor, but it's not available in the FX8. Have you tried the Parametric EQ block? A low cut, along with a fairly narrow Q cut at any offending frequencies, should fix the boominess. You can add any upper frequencies if you lose any tone in that range.
 
JoKeR III said:
My first thought was the Multiband Compressor, but it's not available in the FX8. Have you tried the Parametric EQ block? A low cut, along with a fairly narrow Q cut at any offending frequencies, should fix the boominess. You can add any upper frequencies if you lose any tone in that range.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. I am certain that the multiband comp would do it. I'll be working on a preset this weekend on my FM9. I also have some classical guitar IRs to work with. I'll get it, I'm certain. Thanks!
 
I found what seems to be a really good solution: Using a blend of classical guitar IRs in the cab block. In Cab Lab, low cut set to 70Hz. I still have a studio comp before it, and I'm playing around with the multi-band comp as well. I haven't even touch any eq yet. Getting a little happier about it. Back to work!
 
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