Fishman Aura

[SteveW]

Hi Anyone had any experience with the Fishman Aura?
I have a L10C and it has a Fishman Prefix Problend in it. I am also currently adding a Baggs M1 active magnetic soundhole pickup (which is magic) and running both pickups into a D-Tar Solstice to blend the signals together before going to the PA.
I heard the sound demos on the fishman aura site of a Avalon JS through an Aura and it was impressive. I love the pure sound of the L10C in the room without the electronics but I still can't get that sound over the PA - I know theres a compromise to be made when using electronics but its still worth trying to find the acoustic sound - so I wonder if the Aura is gonna help. Thanks in advance

[guitarist 4 christ]

Hey Steve,
I' m in the process of searching for pickup options for my A200C. I have used the M1 and found it to be a bit sensitive at higher volumes. I am currently using the LR BAGGS I-BEAM, it is easy to install and is really natural sounding, especially with the right gear to remove unwanted feedback from the low end. I hope this helps as I think we are all in search of that perfect sound plugged in. I just wish to replicate that unplugged sound while performing live, especially the signature sound of an Avalon

God Bless, guitarist 4 christ

[JRenn19]

Hey guys. I tried an Aura at a Fishman booth one time (IBMA Convention in Nashville). I'll be honest with you. I was really impressed. Especially when he did the ON/OFF comparison, like on the website (http://www.fishmanaura.com). It really did make a difference as drastic as the clips on the site suggest.

HOWEVER, I've heard from a couple of dealers, whose names will not be mentioned, that they have a hard time getting good results with a lot of guitars. They both told me the same thing - that it is almost like they "pick" guitars to show people to get 'em hooked, and then people try it with their own guitar and don't get the tone they wanted. Something to keep in mind - this was advice from people that making money selling the thing. Also keep in mind that they weren't telling me not to buy it, either. It just happens, I guess, that the result depends on the nature of the guitar being used. As to what causes this, I have no idea. Like I said, the only time I tried it, I really was blown away.

If I could suggest something, I would say try to find a dealer relatively close to where you are staying and take your guitar with you. Either that, or try to order one from someplace with a money-back guarantee.

If you don't have a pickup, however, you're obviously in a little different situation. My advice to you is to check out http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest.htm and http://www.fingerpick.com/pickups.htm. These demos can help give you an idea of what your setup could potentially sound like. NOTICE that Doug Young's pickup clips are NOT EQ'd!!! They have quite a bit of tone-shaping potential, they are just trying to compare the natural pickup response to the actual acoustic tone. I think there's also a link to an EQ'd page somewhere on there though. Hope this helps you guys out a little.

I'm currently getting Dave Enke of Pick-Up the World to custom-install a Dynamic Duo system on my Legacy Premier A320C. I'm pretty confident that the results are going to be great - check out the UN-EQ'd CLIPS on the Doug Young site! It sounds almost exactly like the mic'd tone! I'm excited about it. In just a few days, when I get it back, I'll post how it turns out. Glad to share what little I know, and again - Hope it helps all of you out! God's blessings to you all!

Jonathan Renn

[SteveW]

Thanks guys for the input re the aura - I had one at home today and have been playing around with it with a couple of other guitarists - and we all came to the conclusion that it was an expensive box but really added very little. I have an Avalon L10C and a 1981 Martin HD28. The Avalon is normally only played in either Open D or DADGAD or CGDGGD - in other words tuned down- There are some Avalon Jacques Stoltzen sound images to download from the Fishman Aura site and we did that but they added very little to the original sound through the PA- I added a little reverb/hall effect from my Lexicon and a touch of chorus from my TC Electronis chorus and that sounded better than the Aura - The Martin I used the HD28 sound images from Fishman Aura site - These were not bad but I found I could also get fairly close by playing around with the mixer. So for my particular needs I found the Aura unneccessary - In fact with all the different parameters to play with it became more complicated. Jonathan - I had already checked out the sites you mentioned and the examples and samples are excellent - the www.fingerpick.com is excellent but seems to concentrate on magnetic pickups - I have both the Rare Earth humbucker and the Baggs M1 active - Have to admit i did not check these out with the aura - just concentrated on the under the saddle pickups I have in the guitars - both Fishman - Matrix II in the Martin and Problend in the Avalon.
So its going back. One of the comments from the Fingerpick.com videos was that "only had the Aura for a month to play with" Maybe my day playing around with does not do it justice - Maybe it would be interesting to try it out with sound images of my L10C - Maybe Avalon want to offer Fishman a couple of Avalons to produce some images to use - However right now the Aura is not for me.