I like very much how you nuance your words because it’s true that there are as many « best » stuff in the world than people. Everyone’s needs are differents.
The best way to get an acoustic sound with the AC-3 is to get a Y cable out of your guitar, run the AC-3 into the PA, and run the other into a guitar amp on a clean setting and play both at the same time. That balances the depth from the amp with with sometimes brittle sound of the AC-3 from the PA.
The funny thing about ac-sim pedals is that if you use them completely differently to how they're intended then you can get some really cool unique sounds out of them
I am planning to use slightly boosted & compressed signal with the AC-3 and feed it into a Delay and Reverb for some ambient-y experimental sounds/music. I've been having so much fun doing it with just clean single coils, I feel that the AC-3 will be just right to enlarge the sound, give it that little extra something... Very excited to try this out. A bit of an expensive experiment but at least I will get an extra cool pedal to use by itself if my experimentation won't turn out well.
The Martin sounds muddy for the most part. Having a couple of acoustics under $1000 (epiphone and takamine), and playing a friends $4000 Martin and an expansive Taylor... holds true - pricey acoustics are just not worth the money. Having said that, super cheap acoustics have terrible intonation and high action, which makes them very difficult for beginners to play… I’m always in favor of getting a mid range $500 - 700 acoustic guitar that will last you years
I wish the AC-3 let you combine both outputs instead of alternating. Its not just the sound it's your band members complaining about the sudden change in stage sound. Or maybe it's just my band...
I like the pedal. BTW, as an Electrical Engineer I tell you its pronoinced PEE'zoh which is short from Piezoelectric, a crystal that changes size when a voltage is applied to it.. Thanks for your work on this,
Interestingly the sound of the Guitar through the Acoustic Simulator Pedal is in between an Acoustic & an Electric Guitar. Electric Guitars are easier to play so having an Acoustic simulator eliminates the need to worry about your Acoutic getting scratched.
FINALLY! This is what I've been looking for over the last few weeks! I'm in a context where the main band setup doesn't have a dedicated acoustic player (which does drive me mad) and I never found a good demonstration of the line out option. This with a good acoustic IR in front of it could allow me to replicate my beloved Taylor when I play. Your detailed demo helped to address a number of concerns I might have had on getting this pedal. =)
@@AlexPriceMusician The logic I'm familiar with is that Acoustic IRs would generally sound better when fed with a piezo pickup, so why not set the AC3 line out to the piezo setting before feeding the Martin D45 IR to it? I haven't gotten around to it yet, but that's the theory. Perhaps you'll get there before I do. =)
Checking in to update. Apparently, it works! Just be sure to dial out the 9715 frequency that is causing that high-end hiss and maybe a noise gate (I ran mine through my big board into the PA which is going through a buffer so maybe that could be why), but beyond that, it almost sounds like my Taylor which is more than I could hope for. =)
Fantastic review which highlights the massive tonal differences. To my ear, option 5 (Eastman guitar miced with SM57) sounds by far the best and most natural sounding. Option 6 (the Martin is also good but too dark lacks the nice sparkly high frequencies that the Eastman has). AC simulator and Piezo sounds are usable but very different from a pure acoustic sound.
Nice demo. I play more electric than acoustic so the AC-3 may really suit my needs when I want more of an acoustic sound. I've been considering getting one, so your video helped a lot.
Thank you! Your approach is logical and well thought. I wish more reviewers took the time to give actual comparisons instead of showing off their chops.
Nice test, man!!! I came here searching for an idea of mine in practice... and you were almost there! 😊 But before that, I was actually impressed with the option 2. Yup, there's the inconvenience you mentioned but... how about my idea: - A mic'ed unplugged electric guitar + AC-3 + amp. Could it reach the quality of the electric DI option 2? Could it sound even better? 🤔
Thanks for this - I've been contemplating the Graphtec Ghost system for getting "acoustic" sounds from an electric for occasional live use, but this has let me know that the AC-3 is an excellent alternative (and one that will take a lot less effort to set up) One test that I'd have been intrigued to hear that you didn't do - putting the AC-3 into the Effects-Return, bypassing the pre-amp. This might require some slightly-more-complicated wiring on a pedal-board, but could be a serviceable halfway-house between options 1 and 2 from your tests.
Ah! Good point. I didn't have an amp with an effects loop at the time of this video but I imagine that if you're using the effects loop in your amp, this'll be the best place to put the AC-3. Thanks for writing.
Hey man, not a fan of that pedals acoustic sound. Tried to really listen but not a fan But your video has been quite valuable. Thanks for taking the time to make it
With that pedal, going thru the line out, you for sure want to pair it up with a compressor so the electric guitar strumming sounds more balanced. The Roland/Boss site says to put the AC-3 before the compressor but I would experiment with the running order. I use to have the Mooer Acoustikar. It wasn't too bad for half the price of the Boss.
Compressor would be fantastic. I also find that it's helpful to dig in a bit and strum harder. An electric guitar has a much smoother sustaining quality than an acoustic. Playing hard is a way to minimize that.
Definitely like the DI position the best when using the pedal. I feel like you could have gotten a bit better sound if you had turned the highs down a bit and boosted the low end some. That’s just personal preference. I carry an acoustic an electric and a keyboard. I’m thinking I could use this and save a lot of hassle
Wheelhouse - I agree with your tips about the AC-3 acoustic simulator. A little EQ-ing to bring down the highs and boost the lows a bit would make a pretty good difference. Also adding in more reverb to the direct sound and then I think the AC-3 would sound quite nice! Maybe not exactly the same as a real acoustic but a nice sound regardless.
Excellent video. It would’ve been helpful for me if LED on the AC-3 was lit up when you were using it as a visual indication that it was on. Just a suggestion
Does it sound as good as a mic’d acoustic? Not exactly. But ive never had anyone listen to a mix where I have this pedal on, saying shit like “is that a boss pedal” mostly, its just “this sounds sick”. Just write a good song and use it. My chain: Esquire reissue>AC3>uad 610 hardware pre> uad apollo x8> uad neve 1084 plugin>eq>tad bit verb.
Have you tested it with a Piezo pickup with an electric guitar yet? I plan to get one of these as I will have a Piezo installed on my Les Paul Traditional Pro very soon, just wait for the luthier to contact me to come and collect it....
Thanx for the video. You definetly clreared my head about getting an AC-3, and the answer is no. Whell, maybe I'll do a final test with my hollow body guitar. Cheers.
Hey Alex, I'm wondering if the AC-3 would work with an electric violin like the Yamaha YEV, to give it a less electric, more acoustic properties that is. Have you tried it?
I haven’t tried it, but my instinct tells me it’s just going to make it sound shrill. I would recommend looking into an Impulse Response loading pedal like the Mooer Radar. Many digital modelers like the Helix can also do this (along with EQ shaping and adding a touch of reverb) and I get great results that way. I have an old video on my channel if you search for it - making an electric violin sound acoustic with the HX Stomp or something like that. Write me through my website if you decide to go that route and I have some free violin IRs you can import.
While AC-3 works fine in all of RUclips demo videos , I am encountering loud hiss when going to amp. Noise gates at between -40 to -30dB, but hiss is let trough when I play. Do you know what could be he issue/solution for this?
Nice video, I think There's no compares though. Acoustic guitars are on another level. Who wrote the intro at minute 7:00? Any particular Song? Thanks for the video 🙂
SM57 on the Martin sounded great but so did the Eastman. I think a really beautiful acoustic tone isn't always useful though in the context of a rock band. Sometimes all you're looking for is that high end stuff. The bass and mids will probably be lost among everything else
Is this humbucker pick up? Or this has a single coil option. Hope you can enlighten me. Because this ac3 doesnt work good on a humbucker pick up. You can hear the difference if you use single coil esp on a neck pickup. Just my opinion
Just a toy for hobbyists totally impractical for 99% of live gig situations . For kids starting off my advice would be " if you can get one good sound on stage stick with it and consider yourself lucky at that ! There is far too much going on at a live venue without messing about with your sound .
If the AC-3 goes to the PA or other full range amplification it’s a pretty decent sound. Its bad reputation is solely due people slamming it through a guitar amp.
Does anyone know if the boss ac-3 pedal works with a regular acoustic electric? Bought this for reverb but didn't really register that its designed for electric guitars...
It’s not designed for acoustic guitars, but that’s not to say it’s entirely useless. I would suggest turning to the piezo mode and dialing in a bit more body if the piezo pickup you’re using sounds a little thin.
@@AlexPriceMusician Thanks! I tried it and it sounded okay for the most part but when I added a delay pedal to the chain, it sounded super weird. Ended up just getting the JHS delay and reverb pedals. work great.
IMHO there is no big diffrrence between the Boss and the piezo. The best option is an acoustic with a k&k pure western mini, which sounds as natural as a microphone but without feedback
any idea how this pedal would work on a long scale electric baritone (a luthier-crafted semihollow guitar with both piezo and pickup options)? could it be close to an acoustic baritone?
@@AlexPriceMusician @Alex Price do you mean that i should use an acoustic DI unit instead of an acoustic simulator? since i already have piezo system built on? even if i go directly into an amp? (my main problem is, even the piezo has a lot of sustain and it doesnt give me the acoustic feeling i want) thanks for the reply (my piezo is active, im using a battery)
I thought the Eastman sounded better. If poss I'd use a mix of mic and pickup. As for the Boss..It's only hearing a side by side that I realized just how un-acoustic it sounds. Having said that, the AC-3 is another effect to be used and abused, and it could help a guitar cut through a mix.
Hi Alex, thanks for the vid. Basic, yet very informative video. Any chance you can maybe guide to a link that can show the picking pattern of the second test you did. Trying my behind off to figure it out, but cant. Its so smooth and melodic. Thank you, from the southern tip of africa.
Hi Louw 👋🏼 - try this: thumb + ring together, then individually it’s index, middle, thumb, ring, index, middle. The chord shape might be confusing you a bit since there a ringing open string that makes it sound like one string is pitched lower than it should be. Also, RUclips have a nifty feature in the bottom right corner - there’s a slow down feature that I sometimes use to transcribe music.
Boss recommends single coils for the AC-3, but I used humbuckers in this video. Maybe that has something to do with it? I also try not to dial in too much of the high end
it would be nice to hear the AC3 with less top and a liiiiiittle more body, maybe it would do the trick just fine through DI (cause a line cable it's less a problem than an actual extra guitar making space)
You'll just have to trust me with this I guess - the sound I dialed in here on the AC-3 was the absolute best I could find. The video would've gotten way too long if I had started trying all the different options.
The affordable acoustic sounded best of all including the high-end (Martin) guitar. But then again, not a big fan of that way-to-beefy lows-no mids or high-end of Martins.
microphone can sound best when miced up. Micing up during a live show will be my last option if I have absolutely no choice. . Either one can sound better than the other. . I find that the direct signal from the simulator works out the best.
I much prefer the Helix. The AC-3 is good for the money and is easy to dial in but the Helix has much more control over creating fake acoustic patches. Acoustic Tones from an Electric Guitar // Line 6 Helix: ruclips.net/video/VYx4YA3L_DU/видео.html
Hi Jynne - for what you need, I would suggest looking at the Boss Katana series amps for practicing electric guitar with headphones: www.zzounds.com/a--3971116/prodsearch?q=boss+katana&pa=29&key=q&form=search These are fantastic amps (I have the little battery powered one for practice) and all of them have headphone outputs.
Ah no sorry. I saw you said amp so I got confused. No, this pedal doesn’t have a headphone output. The Line 6 HX Stomp does acoustic simulation and has a headphone out, but it’s a little pricy if that’s all you need it for.
Definitely acoustics better than the pedal. And definitely DI better than amp with the pedal. Which acoustic is a matter of taste. Also didn't get a good feeling for acoustic with mic vs. With pickup because the mic volume was a bit too low.
The problem with the ac3 is it's just a simplified and over priced EQ pedal that boosts treble and cuts some bass. It really doesn't sound like an acoustic but it makes your humbuckers sound like single coils, which is better for clean music anyway. It's a step in the right direction.
I saw this vid mentioned on guitarforums.com and thought I'd have a look. Here's a vid of the AC-3 with an electric bass. ruclips.net/video/Evnm97AzhEE/видео.html&t The person who made that vid was not impressed. My guess is that whatever the AC-3 does to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic is not EQ'd correctly for basses.
Yes, it is related to EQ but it's a bit more sophisticated than just cranking presence. It also adds some compression and reverb. I wouldn't use it on a recording, but for a convenient acoustic sound in a live setting it works well.
Hi Carlos - you should look into impulse response technology. Any DAW with an IR-loading interface will be able to do it. In Logic and GarageBand it’s called Space Designer
All the piezo ones sound awful, nothing like a mic'ed guitar. The pedal did a better job of sounding like a mic'ed acoustic than the expensive guitar going direct, if you ask me. What would happen, I wonder, if you ran the piezo INTO THE PEDAL, would it sound more like a mic'ed acoustic?
I have an AC3, and it is very hard for me to want to use it, when compared to playing one of my acoustics. Nothing beats the sound of an acoustic, yet. I am sure they will get there eventually, Still waiting. With that being said, in a pinch, the AC3 would be good for exactly what you described at the beginning. I prefer the sound of it direct verses into the amp.
The acoustic simulator would do, just it misses some the body sound of an acoustic and the acoustic string sound I always go acoustic direct in first. Acoustic mic last option. Always recording studio albums with miced acoustic for best sound. I'd use the simulator if I just don't wanna haul an acoustic around with my electrics for shows very good demo
The electric was more transparent with the AC-3. The Eastman sounded better for a compressed RUclips video and most are probably just using iPhone speaker. The Martin would be a beast in person comparatively (not Mic’d).
ya, mid sounding a lot and then too much lows at times with the acoustic. It's the way you placed your mic. need to reference room and playable technique
I like very much how you nuance your words because it’s true that there are as many « best » stuff in the world than people. Everyone’s needs are differents.
The best way to get an acoustic sound with the AC-3 is to get a Y cable out of your guitar, run the AC-3 into the PA, and run the other into a guitar amp on a clean setting and play both at the same time. That balances the depth from the amp with with sometimes brittle sound of the AC-3 from the PA.
Something i played around with was mixing a bit of mic'd sound from the strings of the electric guitar. It adds an intresting quality
@@MASQUALER0 you mic’d the strings of your electric guitar??
This is what I always do. DI to mixer (dry), with DI THRU to amp. About 20 - 30% of the dry sound against the wet gives a good result.
The funny thing about ac-sim pedals is that if you use them completely differently to how they're intended then you can get some really cool unique sounds out of them
I am planning to use slightly boosted & compressed signal with the AC-3 and feed it into a Delay and Reverb for some ambient-y experimental sounds/music. I've been having so much fun doing it with just clean single coils, I feel that the AC-3 will be just right to enlarge the sound, give it that little extra something... Very excited to try this out. A bit of an expensive experiment but at least I will get an extra cool pedal to use by itself if my experimentation won't turn out well.
It's definitely personal preference, but to my ear, the Eastman actually sounds loads better than the Martin when mic'd.
The Martin sounds muddy for the most part. Having a couple of acoustics under $1000 (epiphone and takamine), and playing a friends $4000 Martin and an expansive Taylor... holds true - pricey acoustics are just not worth the money. Having said that, super cheap acoustics have terrible intonation and high action, which makes them very difficult for beginners to play… I’m always in favor of getting a mid range $500 - 700 acoustic guitar that will last you years
Could string age have an effect? The Martin strings sound aged imo.
the Eastman does sound much brighter too - great sounding guitsr
If you were singing with it all night you would want the Martin, or better yet a Takamine not to mention the playability
Agreed
I wish the AC-3 let you combine both outputs instead of alternating. Its not just the sound it's your band members complaining about the sudden change in stage sound. Or maybe it's just my band...
Im listening on my phone speaker, but i really dig the sound of the electric -> AC3 -> DI
Same here, that one was my favorite
Yeah i was not expecting that to be my favourite lmao
Also it eliminates the problem of feedback when i’m playing loud acoustic live.
AC-3 into DI is how i'd run it. It's worth noting the EQ wasn't adjusted between through amp and direct which would help.
I like the pedal. BTW, as an Electrical Engineer I tell you its pronoinced PEE'zoh which is short from Piezoelectric, a crystal that changes size when a voltage is applied to it.. Thanks for your work on this,
Interestingly the sound of the Guitar through the Acoustic Simulator Pedal is in between an Acoustic & an Electric Guitar. Electric Guitars are easier to play so having an Acoustic simulator eliminates the need to worry about your Acoutic getting scratched.
Exactly. That's why I bought a $2,800 Taylor and never take it out of the case. I would die, just die if it got scratched.....
FINALLY! This is what I've been looking for over the last few weeks! I'm in a context where the main band setup doesn't have a dedicated acoustic player (which does drive me mad) and I never found a good demonstration of the line out option. This with a good acoustic IR in front of it could allow me to replicate my beloved Taylor when I play. Your detailed demo helped to address a number of concerns I might have had on getting this pedal. =)
Glad I could help! Let me know how the AC-3 sounds with an additional IR please. I’m curious
@@AlexPriceMusician The logic I'm familiar with is that Acoustic IRs would generally sound better when fed with a piezo pickup, so why not set the AC3 line out to the piezo setting before feeding the Martin D45 IR to it? I haven't gotten around to it yet, but that's the theory. Perhaps you'll get there before I do. =)
Checking in to update. Apparently, it works!
Just be sure to dial out the 9715 frequency that is causing that high-end hiss and maybe a noise gate (I ran mine through my big board into the PA which is going through a buffer so maybe that could be why), but beyond that, it almost sounds like my Taylor which is more than I could hope for. =)
Great tips! Thanks so much for sharing
Hi, I have an IR loader pedal from TC Electonic- is this similar to what you’re using? What is your pedal chain, is it AC3- IR-Mixer/PA?
Fantastic review which highlights the massive tonal differences. To my ear, option 5 (Eastman guitar miced with SM57) sounds by far the best and most natural sounding. Option 6 (the Martin is also good but too dark lacks the nice sparkly high frequencies that the Eastman has). AC simulator and Piezo sounds are usable but very different from a pure acoustic sound.
Nice demo. I play more electric than acoustic so the AC-3 may really suit my needs when I want more of an acoustic sound. I've been considering getting one, so your video helped a lot.
Thank you! Your approach is logical and well thought. I wish more reviewers took the time to give actual comparisons instead of showing off their chops.
Thank you Nina! I'm glad it was helpful
Nice test, man!!! I came here searching for an idea of mine in practice... and you were almost there! 😊 But before that, I was actually impressed with the option 2. Yup, there's the inconvenience you mentioned but... how about my idea:
- A mic'ed unplugged electric guitar + AC-3 + amp.
Could it reach the quality of the electric DI option 2? Could it sound even better? 🤔
Thanks for this - I've been contemplating the Graphtec Ghost system for getting "acoustic" sounds from an electric for occasional live use, but this has let me know that the AC-3 is an excellent alternative (and one that will take a lot less effort to set up)
One test that I'd have been intrigued to hear that you didn't do - putting the AC-3 into the Effects-Return, bypassing the pre-amp. This might require some slightly-more-complicated wiring on a pedal-board, but could be a serviceable halfway-house between options 1 and 2 from your tests.
Ah! Good point. I didn't have an amp with an effects loop at the time of this video but I imagine that if you're using the effects loop in your amp, this'll be the best place to put the AC-3.
Thanks for writing.
Hey man, not a fan of that pedals acoustic sound. Tried to really listen but not a fan
But your video has been quite valuable. Thanks for taking the time to make it
I'm glad it was helpful either way!
I came here for the BOSS AC-3. Turns out I'm hooked by the MIC you used for the acoustic.
Can't beat a trusty SM57 :)
I like that affordable acoustic- sounds so sweet compared through out this whole demo
Thanks! Glad it was helpful
Agree 100%
The AC-3 sounds really good. I actually prefered it going straight into the amp as opposed to DI
Thanks for your thoughts!
With that pedal, going thru the line out, you for sure want to pair it up with a compressor so the electric guitar strumming sounds more balanced. The Roland/Boss site says to put the AC-3 before the compressor but I would experiment with the running order.
I use to have the Mooer Acoustikar. It wasn't too bad for half the price of the Boss.
Compressor would be fantastic. I also find that it's helpful to dig in a bit and strum harder. An electric guitar has a much smoother sustaining quality than an acoustic. Playing hard is a way to minimize that.
Definitely like the DI position the best when using the pedal. I feel like you could have gotten a bit better sound if you had turned the highs down a bit and boosted the low end some. That’s just personal preference. I carry an acoustic an electric and a keyboard. I’m thinking I could use this and save a lot of hassle
Wheelhouse - I agree with your tips about the AC-3 acoustic simulator. A little EQ-ing to bring down the highs and boost the lows a bit would make a pretty good difference. Also adding in more reverb to the direct sound and then I think the AC-3 would sound quite nice! Maybe not exactly the same as a real acoustic but a nice sound regardless.
fantastic review. a lot of work to produce an excellent presentation.
cheers
Much appreciated! Thanks Greg.
Interesting. Thank you for sharing. Greetings from Montreal.
Excellent video. It would’ve been helpful for me if LED on the AC-3 was lit up when you were using it as a visual indication that it was on. Just a suggestion
It was written at the bottom of the video?
I think you should've turned up the body a bit on the pedal for the electric guitar to give it a fuller sound like the actual acoustics.
Does it sound as good as a mic’d acoustic? Not exactly. But ive never had anyone listen to a mix where I have this pedal on, saying shit like “is that a boss pedal” mostly, its just “this sounds sick”. Just write a good song and use it.
My chain:
Esquire reissue>AC3>uad 610 hardware pre> uad apollo x8> uad neve 1084 plugin>eq>tad bit verb.
Would be very interested to hear the acoustic played through the pedal ! 🙂
It willl sound very bright and treble dominatrd
Sounds good. I’ve got this pedal and it sounds great with an acoustic. Like an acoustic amplifier actually. And the reverb on the pedal is brilliant.
Have you tested it with a Piezo pickup with an electric guitar yet?
I plan to get one of these as I will have a Piezo installed on my Les Paul Traditional Pro very soon, just wait for the luthier to contact me to come and collect it....
Thanx for the video. You definetly clreared my head about getting an AC-3, and the answer is no. Whell, maybe I'll do a final test with my hollow body guitar. Cheers.
Hey Alex, I'm wondering if the AC-3 would work with an electric violin like the Yamaha YEV, to give it a less electric, more acoustic properties that is. Have you tried it?
I haven’t tried it, but my instinct tells me it’s just going to make it sound shrill. I would recommend looking into an Impulse Response loading pedal like the Mooer Radar. Many digital modelers like the Helix can also do this (along with EQ shaping and adding a touch of reverb) and I get great results that way.
I have an old video on my channel if you search for it - making an electric violin sound acoustic with the HX Stomp or something like that.
Write me through my website if you decide to go that route and I have some free violin IRs you can import.
This pedal is really useful since I played Sabbath bloody sabbath live on stage. Cause I have to switch from heave electric to light acoustic.
Thanks!
Dude I came for the Supro demo now you just so happen to have the pedal I want too through the amp I want...weird!
While AC-3 works fine in all of RUclips demo videos , I am encountering loud hiss when going to amp. Noise gates at between -40 to -30dB, but hiss is let trough when I play. Do you know what could be he issue/solution for this?
See if the hiss goes away as you turn down the top knob. I found it was pretty noisy because of that
Piezo sounds like sh... In any guitar so I'd go for the AC3 + a graphic eq in the mixer. Of course the best solution would be the miked acoustic.
Thanks for posting the link on TGP. Useful comparison for reference.
Thanks Kevin! As long as people find it helpful, I will keep making these videos. I thought this would be a good one for the archives.
Nice video, I think There's no compares though. Acoustic guitars are on another level. Who wrote the intro at minute 7:00? Any particular Song? Thanks for the video 🙂
Eastman with SM57!!...simple is beautiful!!...
SM57 on the Martin sounded great but so did the Eastman. I think a really beautiful acoustic tone isn't always useful though in the context of a rock band. Sometimes all you're looking for is that high end stuff. The bass and mids will probably be lost among everything else
Perfectly said 👌🏼
In that context I like to think of the acoustic guitar as a texture and more of a percussion instrument than a rhythm piece
Excellent.
Great video
Thanks so much David!
Is this humbucker pick up? Or this has a single coil option. Hope you can enlighten me. Because this ac3 doesnt work good on a humbucker pick up. You can hear the difference if you use single coil esp on a neck pickup. Just my opinion
The electric guitar used in this video has humbuckers. There is no single coil / humbucker setting on the AC-3
Hey, can you mix a 50% acoustic tone and 50% electric tone at the same time with the acoustic simulator pedal?
Yeah! Just use the two outputs. Send the acoustic signal direct to the PA system or acoustic amp, the dry through to a guitar amp.
Beta 57. Best mic for live micing an acoustic.
How about an Acoustisonic Strat? It's an Acoustic Guitar that feels like an Electric Guitar plus it looks more Rock n Roll too.
I’ve tried one, didn’t care for it too much tbh. It was weird lol
@@AlexPriceMusician It's very comfortable to hold and play but they're way overpriced.
You know what, there's a new one the all new Acoustisonic Jazzmaster (Updated JZM).
Just a toy for hobbyists totally impractical for 99% of live gig situations . For kids starting off my advice would be " if you can get one good sound on stage stick with it and consider yourself lucky at that ! There is far too much going on at a live venue without messing about with your sound .
@@johnmilligan6605 Actually that 's no longer the case, they've cut the price down
If the AC-3 goes to the PA or other full range amplification it’s a pretty decent sound. Its bad reputation is solely due people slamming it through a guitar amp.
Does anyone know if the boss ac-3 pedal works with a regular acoustic electric? Bought this for reverb but didn't really register that its designed for electric guitars...
It’s not designed for acoustic guitars, but that’s not to say it’s entirely useless. I would suggest turning to the piezo mode and dialing in a bit more body if the piezo pickup you’re using sounds a little thin.
@@AlexPriceMusician Thanks! I tried it and it sounded okay for the most part but when I added a delay pedal to the chain, it sounded super weird. Ended up just getting the JHS delay and reverb pedals. work great.
As a bass player, I'm curious as to how an electric bass would sound thru that sim pedal...
I’ve never tried that, although I probably wouldn’t expect good things from it.
IMHO there is no big diffrrence between the Boss and the piezo. The best option is an acoustic with a k&k pure western mini, which sounds as natural as a microphone but without feedback
Nice comparison! I love the Martin sounds! SM 57 Thanks so very much for sharing 👍👏👏🎅🏻🎄☃️🤶🏻
Thanks for your thoughts John 🙏🏼
any idea how this pedal would work on a long scale electric baritone (a luthier-crafted semihollow guitar with both piezo and pickup options)? could it be close to an acoustic baritone?
If your guitar has a piezo, then I think what would better suit you is an impulse response loading pedal like the HX Stomp or Fishman Aura
@@AlexPriceMusician @Alex Price do you mean that i should use an acoustic DI unit instead of an acoustic simulator? since i already have piezo system built on? even if i go directly into an amp? (my main problem is, even the piezo has a lot of sustain and it doesnt give me the acoustic feeling i want) thanks for the reply
(my piezo is active, im using a battery)
I thought the Eastman sounded better. If poss I'd use a mix of mic and pickup. As for the Boss..It's only hearing a side by side that I realized just how un-acoustic it sounds. Having said that, the AC-3 is another effect to be used and abused, and it could help a guitar cut through a mix.
Hi Alex, thanks for the vid. Basic, yet very informative video. Any chance you can maybe guide to a link that can show the picking pattern of the second test you did. Trying my behind off to figure it out, but cant. Its so smooth and melodic. Thank you, from the southern tip of africa.
Hi Louw 👋🏼 - try this:
thumb + ring together, then individually it’s index, middle, thumb, ring, index, middle.
The chord shape might be confusing you a bit since there a ringing open string that makes it sound like one string is pitched lower than it should be.
Also, RUclips have a nifty feature in the bottom right corner - there’s a slow down feature that I sometimes use to transcribe music.
Alex Price, thank you for taking the time to explain. I do appreciate it. Now it is practice time 🙂
Dear Alex, how did you get rid from the hiss that is common on this pedal? Does your Guitar has a different pickup connection/shield?
Boss recommends single coils for the AC-3, but I used humbuckers in this video. Maybe that has something to do with it?
I also try not to dial in too much of the high end
I think the pedal sounds better in the direct mode.
Have you tried any of the other cheaper simulators or is this the closest your going to get?
The Line 6 helix is pretty incredible for this purpose. I have a video I made last year showcasing it.
sounds good enough to me!!! :-)
it would be nice to hear the AC3 with less top and a liiiiiittle more body, maybe it would do the trick just fine through DI (cause a line cable it's less a problem than an actual extra guitar making space)
You'll just have to trust me with this I guess - the sound I dialed in here on the AC-3 was the absolute best I could find. The video would've gotten way too long if I had started trying all the different options.
Could this be used with an acoustic guitar to enhance tonal quality?
The affordable acoustic sounded best of all including the high-end (Martin) guitar. But then again, not a big fan of that way-to-beefy lows-no mids or high-end of Martins.
microphone can sound best when miced up. Micing up during a live show will be my last option if I have absolutely no choice. . Either one can sound better than the other. .
I find that the direct signal from the simulator works out the best.
Thanks for your thoughts!
@@AlexPriceMusician I forgot to mention in studio, Microphone will be my first choice.
How do you like the AC-3 compared to the acoustic sim preset in your helix?
I much prefer the Helix. The AC-3 is good for the money and is easy to dial in but the Helix has much more control over creating fake acoustic patches.
Acoustic Tones from an Electric Guitar // Line 6 Helix:
ruclips.net/video/VYx4YA3L_DU/видео.html
Great job, however it seems difficult to emulate the sound of an acoustic instrument
Why does the affordable acoustic sound the best
Hi im new to electric guitar, is it possible to plug in headphones in the boss amp? Btw I love your video👍
Hi Jynne - for what you need, I would suggest looking at the Boss Katana series amps for practicing electric guitar with headphones:
www.zzounds.com/a--3971116/prodsearch?q=boss+katana&pa=29&key=q&form=search
These are fantastic amps (I have the little battery powered one for practice) and all of them have headphone outputs.
@@AlexPriceMusician oh thanks but I really want an acoustic simulator and I was wondering if they had headphone outputs?
Ah no sorry. I saw you said amp so I got confused. No, this pedal doesn’t have a headphone output. The Line 6 HX Stomp does acoustic simulation and has a headphone out, but it’s a little pricy if that’s all you need it for.
@@AlexPriceMusician oh ok thanks a lot for the reply! 😊😊😊
Hi end acoustic with the 57. 100%. Without a doubt. For the band use case scenarios- hi end acoustic with the 57. 100%. Without a doubt.
Definitely acoustics better than the pedal. And definitely DI better than amp with the pedal. Which acoustic is a matter of taste. Also didn't get a good feeling for acoustic with mic vs. With pickup because the mic volume was a bit too low.
Ac3 to Desk for me. Did you use the direct line out at all?
When I do use this pedal, I prefer the simplicity of just going through an amp
The problem with the ac3 is it's just a simplified and over priced EQ pedal that boosts treble and cuts some bass. It really doesn't sound like an acoustic but it makes your humbuckers sound like single coils, which is better for clean music anyway. It's a step in the right direction.
So a Boss GE-7 might be just as good, and be more widely useful for other sounds?
Such a sexy PRS!
Why no exploration of how the pedal's settings shape the sound???? Also the high-end acoustic's piezos are terrible.
i need a demo of this with a bass jajaja btw good video
Lol I would like that demo as well😂
Really? Maybe I could try it sometime. Honestly I don’t see it going well 😂
I saw this vid mentioned on guitarforums.com and thought I'd have a look.
Here's a vid of the AC-3 with an electric bass.
ruclips.net/video/Evnm97AzhEE/видео.html&t
The person who made that vid was not impressed. My guess is that whatever the AC-3 does to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic is not EQ'd correctly for basses.
Have you tried acoustic guitar with magnetic pickup through ac sim?
No. That’s not really what this pedal is designed for
@@AlexPriceMusician It works w/ Bass Guitar
it's nice for a live solution, but ultimately it's just your electric guitar with high presence.
Yes, it is related to EQ but it's a bit more sophisticated than just cranking presence. It also adds some compression and reverb. I wouldn't use it on a recording, but for a convenient acoustic sound in a live setting it works well.
How about a good software option to do this through a DAW?
Hi Carlos - you should look into impulse response technology. Any DAW with an IR-loading interface will be able to do it. In Logic and GarageBand it’s called Space Designer
For acoustics, the 57, for the “affordable” acoustic.
Thanks for your thoughts Richard!
Why is your top maxed out my ears
All the piezo ones sound awful, nothing like a mic'ed guitar. The pedal did a better job of sounding like a mic'ed acoustic than the expensive guitar going direct, if you ask me. What would happen, I wonder, if you ran the piezo INTO THE PEDAL, would it sound more like a mic'ed acoustic?
The Piezo Pickup sound is rather punchy
I have an AC3, and it is very hard for me to want to use it, when compared to playing one of my acoustics. Nothing beats the sound of an acoustic, yet. I am sure they will get there eventually, Still waiting. With that being said, in a pinch, the AC3 would be good for exactly what you described at the beginning. I prefer the sound of it direct verses into the amp.
Exactly. I think at the moment, the only completely convincing simulation is through a MIDI system.
The acoustic simulator would do, just it misses some the body sound of an acoustic and the acoustic string sound
I always go acoustic direct in first. Acoustic mic last option. Always recording studio albums with miced acoustic for best sound. I'd use the simulator if I just don't wanna haul an acoustic around with my electrics for shows
very good demo
It shouldn't be going true an el. amp that's a mistake, instade should be going direct to PA
I heard it should be used with singles, not with humbuckers
It works well with both I think. I’ve used it both ways and didn’t have a preference
lot of eq boost on the AC3, not fair
EQ boost?
Alex Price Top knob at 3:35 is turned to right, thats eq boost!
Oh. I was showing off the setting that I thought sounded the best. Those knobs are meant to be twiddled with 😉
The electric was more transparent with the AC-3. The Eastman sounded better for a compressed RUclips video and most are probably just using iPhone speaker. The Martin would be a beast in person comparatively (not Mic’d).
Thanks for your thoughts Dan!
Banyak cakap !!!
your acoustic mic placement is ... well really bad
It’s a 57, not a large body condenser. It’s exactly where it should be in a live situation
There is nothing wrong with his mic placement
ya, mid sounding a lot and then too much lows at times with the acoustic. It's the way you placed your mic. need to reference room and playable technique
@@lavers_1 Better to just play than spend all your time fannying about with things you imagine you can hear