I ’ ve been playing more acoustic gigs lately . And if I ’ m being completely forthright , my tone hasn ’ t exactly been spectacular .
Now look , my Breedlove Passport C250 / CME is probably one of the best acoustic guitars you can get for the money — I nearly stole mine for a scant three hundred bucks out the door — but plugged straight into the board , it sounds a bit lacking . Dull . Flat . Boring . Pick your adjective .
Of course , I could blame this on the constant rotation of sound guys I work with , the limited control set on the guitar itself , the reflections in the room or perhaps even the solar positioning of the earth and moon in relation to Jupiter — but I ’ m not a guy who likes to make excuses .
This is where the Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp comes in .
AU NATURALE
The AD-2 promises quite a bit : natural , studio-quality acoustic sound while performing on stage . And let ’ s be clear — somehow replicating the complex resonance of an unplugged acoustic guitar through an amplified system is no small feat .
Let ’ s just say that I went into this experience with a healthy dose of skepticism . During my first set with the AD-2 , I set the Acoustic Resonance and Ambience controls to noon . Later , I cranked the Ambience knob all the way up , but was pretty happy with the amount of resonance and left that alone . And that was that . I was sold . Allow me to explain . Due to their designs , most acoustic guitar pickups just aren ’ t able to reproduce the same rich , resonant complexity that unplugged acoustic
GEAR SPOTLIGHT
BOSS
AD-2 ACOUSTIC PREAMP
REVIEW BY NICK RAMBO STREET PRICE $ 99.00
I ’ ve been playing more acoustic gigs lately . And if I ’ m being completely forthright , my tone hasn ’ t exactly been spectacular .
Now look , my Breedlove Passport C250 / CME is probably one of the best acoustic guitars you can get for the money — I nearly stole mine for a scant three hundred bucks out the door — but plugged straight into the board , it sounds a bit lacking . Dull . Flat . Boring . Pick your adjective .
Of course , I could blame this on the constant rotation of sound guys I work with , the limited control set on the guitar itself , the reflections in the room or perhaps even the solar positioning of the earth and moon in relation to Jupiter — but I ’ m not a guy who likes to make excuses .
This is where the Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp comes in .
AU NATURALE
The AD-2 promises quite a bit : natural , studio-quality acoustic sound while performing on stage . And let ’ s be clear — somehow replicating the complex resonance of an unplugged acoustic guitar through an amplified system is no small feat .
52 TONE GEAR SPOTLIGHT TALK // How // To Boss Master AD-2 Your Acoustic Jazzmaster Preamp
Let ’ s just say that I went into this experience with a healthy dose of skepticism . During my first set with the AD-2 , I set the Acoustic Resonance and Ambience controls to noon . Later , I cranked the Ambience knob all the way up , but was pretty happy with the amount of resonance and left that alone . And that was that . I was sold . Allow me to explain . Due to their designs , most acoustic guitar pickups just aren ’ t able to reproduce the same rich , resonant complexity that unplugged acoustic