A
A must for acoustic piezo passive pick-ups
I bought this as I have a number of instruments with passive pickups, including a banjo, mandolin and a few guitars.
The case is fairly substantial, I would guess lightweight aluminum, but enough to stop it getting broken. What I don't like, which is why i dropped it a few stars was the plastic battery compartment door. I guess for the price it is expected, but I would have much preferred the hassle of unscrewing the back completely or a metal screw door than this. This will be the first thing to break or lose, this additional would have only cost a few ¤ more and I would have gladly paid the extra cents. Anyway I will use this with a power supply. It is not the fact that I won't be using it, but if it breaks off and exposes the innards to the 'outside world' it opens the door to a whole world of possible problems.
It comes with a handy belt clip but realistically I can't see me using it, as it will remain on the pedal board and there are too many chances of accidentally changing the knob settings if it is pinned to you.
Sound-wise, there is quite a good range of boost and cut on each control and overall the unit is not too noisy. With the simple design it is very easy to find the sweet spot in the tone of your instrument. Also it is nice to have the level control as well as the tone controls to give an overall boost.
If I am honest to make this unit shine, plug in a TC Mini Spark for a super clean MASSIVE boost without any noise and then use this unit to 'fine-tune' it to your liking and you can get some really clean tones from your instruments.
On it's own it is OK (except the battery compartment which I really hate - but gaffa tape over it and problem solved), pair it with a separate clean boost and it is a really great unit.
Highly recommended
The case is fairly substantial, I would guess lightweight aluminum, but enough to stop it getting broken. What I don't like, which is why i dropped it a few stars was the plastic battery compartment door. I guess for the price it is expected, but I would have much preferred the hassle of unscrewing the back completely or a metal screw door than this. This will be the first thing to break or lose, this additional would have only cost a few ¤ more and I would have gladly paid the extra cents. Anyway I will use this with a power supply. It is not the fact that I won't be using it, but if it breaks off and exposes the innards to the 'outside world' it opens the door to a whole world of possible problems.
It comes with a handy belt clip but realistically I can't see me using it, as it will remain on the pedal board and there are too many chances of accidentally changing the knob settings if it is pinned to you.
Sound-wise, there is quite a good range of boost and cut on each control and overall the unit is not too noisy. With the simple design it is very easy to find the sweet spot in the tone of your instrument. Also it is nice to have the level control as well as the tone controls to give an overall boost.
If I am honest to make this unit shine, plug in a TC Mini Spark for a super clean MASSIVE boost without any noise and then use this unit to 'fine-tune' it to your liking and you can get some really clean tones from your instruments.
On it's own it is OK (except the battery compartment which I really hate - but gaffa tape over it and problem solved), pair it with a separate clean boost and it is a really great unit.
Highly recommended
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T
Good!
Must have for piezos!
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b
does all you would need
I switched from Active to Passive on my classical as the in-built was rubbish usual. Did the trick .. easy enough to add to the guitar bag.
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RN
Great price for a Great products
Handy little box for putting your instrument through if it does not have a built-in pre-amp.
Can tailor the sound to suit your needs and boost it too if required.
Great little problem solver to have in the toolkit too.
Use this with acoustic guitar and mandolin, sounds good on Uke too, pack one of these if you are heading for an open-mic night, as they can be notorious for bad sound, set up your instrument to sound they way YOU want it instead of relying on some random knob twiddeler.
At this price it's worth having 'just in case' you need it.
Can tailor the sound to suit your needs and boost it too if required.
Great little problem solver to have in the toolkit too.
Use this with acoustic guitar and mandolin, sounds good on Uke too, pack one of these if you are heading for an open-mic night, as they can be notorious for bad sound, set up your instrument to sound they way YOU want it instead of relying on some random knob twiddeler.
At this price it's worth having 'just in case' you need it.
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A
Little on the effect
Gives little bit of changes in the eq.. but still functional
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N
Amazing for the money
This is ideal for something with a piezo pickup. I use it on Double Bass and it is very good!
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J
Artec Acoustic Outboard EQ
I'm so pleased I bought this Pre-Amp, it's the perfect companion for a Passive Pick-up on an Acoustic instrument. Great quality, low noise, good Battery life, transparent EQ and a Phase Reverse Switch (which has helped kill many a Feedback issue). Would definatly recommend
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R
Pre amp for outside the guitar.
ARTEC. Good quality kit at a sensible price. We got this for use with a mandolin, and it does the job very well. I don't know about fastening it on your belt, we just put it on the floor with the other pedals. I may open it up and fit an extra input, so we could have a banjo going into it as well, but that would void the gaurantee! I've tried it with a guitar fitted with an Artec magnetic pickup on the sound hole and it sounds very good. Useful kit.
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A
Can't beat it for the price
Doesn't change the sound massively but just gives it that little boost and tweakability over and above the tone dial. Recommended but don't expect the earth.
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D
Good budget option
I originally gave this a good review, but after use over a few months I noticed a dreadful hum, that none of the sound engineers I know can work out the cause of, other than this unit being plugged into my rig. Also the back battery cover keeps coming loose with normal use at gigs, so the thing slips around on the pedal board. I stopped using it. Definately worth buying a more up market device. This is really cheepo.
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