The Acoustic
Preamp DI
Many
acoustic/jazz guitarists have said that they wished they
could carry their sound in their pocket when touring. In answer to this I sat down and designed a
valve front ended preamp that would faithfully reproduce the full
range of tones that come from an acoustic/archtop guitar. The
valve is a standard ECC83 (12AX7) but connected up in a
very different way from normal. This allows a much
broader frequency response than the conventional ECC83
circuits. After this valve stage the circuitry is
solid state but with a big difference. I have chosen to
use components that are normally used in top end HiFi.
The blend of the two technologies results in a very open
natural sound with all the dynamics that would be
expected from a bespoke guitar amp. The output line to
the desk is driven with a brand new solid state device
that performs very much like a line transformer resulting in
a very low noise floor and good common mode rejection of
pickup on the cable to the desk. The output does not
require a DI box and should only be connected straight
to the desk.
The tone
circuits (especially the parametric mid) allow the
performer to first set up the preferred guitar tone and
then compensate for any room acoustic issues. These
controls really work!
The effects
are generated digitally but are then filtered through
analogue circuitry to produce a more natural tone.
The valve is
running on about half its normal rated voltage so should
last for years without any replacement.
The amp can
either be mounted on a side table or sit in the tray
shown below. This tray is then attached to a microphone
stand.If a Shucko
European power adaptor is required please say with order
Accessories
available from source - please click on image to follow link
Microphone stand support tray 115V
2.1mm power supply for USA
Click here
to go to contact page for more information or purchase.
