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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | Spent some time playing around with my KOALA tonight. Just playing through my little Marshall AS50R. Not going to bother setting up the big PA just to test a guitar.
I'm curious what settings people are using for their VIP. Right now, to my ear image #2, set at about 45% seems pretty good. I pulled down the bass quite a bit, but left the amp flat. Very natural sound. Certainly eliminates the piezo quack. But there seems to be a fine line between "no quack" and "very boomy".
What are you guys using? |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 430
Location: Lebanon, TN | I prefer setting #2 also but tend to have it blended 66/33 image/pickup. I agree you can kick up too much bass if you pump it up in volume. |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | Does anyone use this Aura technology live?
As good as the Aura sounds, it doesn't work for me in a band situation. It just doesn't cut through the mix.
Great for a acoustic group or solo though. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 1421
Location: Orange County, California | Ahhhh... The dreaded "I can't cut through the mix with my acoustic guitar" tale of Woe.
I have to admit I was adamant in another thread that the VIP was not "modeling" while the Aura was. In fact, I all but bad mouthed the Aura, and I should apologize. It's the same great technology when properly applied: match the mic/model to YOUR guitar to get an accurate acoustic sound while plugged in. The I had problem was the marketing and mis-application I witnessed with the Aura. Some chumps were actually trying to make their $200 piece of plywood sound like a $45,000 masterpiece in front of a $8000 mic. It never worked. It never EVER came close to sounding natural to me. Well, the Martins with the Aura onboard work. So does the VIP. And now it's available to the aftermarket in the Eclipse Aura.
So, How to cut through the mix with one of these technologies? Well, I'd simply slide over to the "dry signal", and EQ it the way you need to in order to cut through. Then, blend back in the "image" (which has it's own fixed EQ) and turn up the gain until you find the feedback threshold. I bet it's louder than you need. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Originally posted by Omaha:
Right now, to my ear image #2, set at about 45% seems pretty good. I agree, and also use setting No. 1 with the same mix. I am curious as to what models/configurations the settings are based upon. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | I'm not sure how much I'll use it in my group. I expect to dial it in some, but perhaps as you say bringing it down a little will give the sound a bit more bite to cut through.
The other thing I was thinking about overnight is that its really hard for me to tell how a guitar sounds when I'm playing it. There's just too much going on. I need to record it and listen carefully to really get a sense of the sound. In this case its particularly tough, since I can hear both the acoustic and the amplified sounds at the same time. Makes it all but impossible for me to know what I am really listening to. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 1421
Location: Orange County, California | Oh, I think you'll be surprised how much you use it. Just think of it this way: It's just an OP-Pro with an extra little knob and a fourth slider. The beauty in this is that (as several of us discovered) less is more with this pre-amp. It sounds great on just the pickup. It sounds even better with some "image" dial in. Just EQ it for maximum joy in the mix, and think of the image as topping on the cake. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I think the VIP is fantastic will be more appreciated as more of them get out there. For most outside our little tribe it is still a treasure to be discovered. |
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