AD3 Acoustic Processor VS. SansAmp Acoustic DI

[Ken Ficara <ficara@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello everyone -- still on the list, believe it or not, though I can 
never find the time to keep up with the traffic. I'm selling off a 
Boss AD3 acoustic processor on eBay and several folks have written to 
ask why I'm selling it and what I'm using now, so I thought I'd post 
this to the list.

My current setup is Alan Elliot's "Harmonica Honker" ring microphone, 
plugged into the SansAmp acoustic DI, sometimes with some effects 
pedals in the loop as described below.

The main advantage to the SansAmp is that it's a direct box. This means
that I don't have to rely on the sound guy having a line-level 1/4"
input, and it also means I can use a high or low impedance mic, and
plug into either a line or mic level input. Sound guys are often
pretty clueless, but they all know how a DI works, and they don't need
to know anything more than that. So that's the big practical point.

It's worth noting that I do not use the SansAmp with an amp (it's
... sans amp. :-) I mostly play acoustically, through the PA, using
this device and the ring microphone. The AD3, for the above reasons,
isn't as good for that. When I play amplified I just plug an Astatic
T3 straight into my Fender Princeton and let it rip, and maybe mic the
amp, but I only play like that a few times a year nowadays. So I'm not
sure there is any advantage to using the SansAmp with an amplifier.

In terms of sound, the AD3 sounded artificial to my ears.  Its
enrichment seemed to be reaching for a clean bright sound which is
totally not what I like for harp. The SansAmp goes for a warmer, tubey
kind of sound, which I like much better. It also has more tone
controls (high, low and a sweepable mid which is REALLY useful). I
have learned to control feedback with tone and hand shape, so the
feedback-stopper (which really does work) wasn't a big thing for me
any more.

Finally, I didn't like the chorus on the AD3 (again, too bright and
not enough control over it) nor did I like the reverb (not to get
repetitious, but it sounded bright and very electronic). The SansAmp
has neither of these, but it has an effects loop, so I can use my
favorite pedals (Boss RV3 and CE5).

So to make a long story short, I think it sounds better, and it almost
completely frees me from having to wonder how many joints the sound
guy has smoked on a given night -- I can just walk in and pick up an
XLR cable and go for it. Hope that helps. Now can I interest you in
that ring mic? :-)

Ken

PS - In addition to the AD-3, I also have a feed-blok up on ebay as 
well as a few other music odds and ends (chromatic tuner, delay 
pedal). Look for auctions under "ficara".
- -- 
======================================================================
Ken Ficara                                            ken(a)ficara.net

When I started programming, we didn't have any of these sissy "icons"
and "windows." All we had were zeroes and ones -- and sometimes we
didn't even have ones!

- -- One of Dilbert's co-workers (Dilbert responded: "You had zeroes?
We had to use the letter 'O'.")

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