I found one of these at my local music shop (The Amp Shop & Bass Exchange) and was able to spend some serious time with it thanks to the super-cool sales guy Justin. Since it didn't seem like there was any info here, I figured I'd write a review myself...
Methodology: I brought my bass (Shen Willow Flatback with a Fishman Full Circle), DI (Avalon U5) and headphones into the shop and a/b-ed the sounds of bass-> U5-> headphones vs. bass-> pre-> U5-> headphones.
The first thing that struck me about the Acoustimax was its mute switch. I love this feature and think it ought to be on everything. Sometimes I use a stompbox tuner, but more often than not, I use my Intellitouch, and don't really need to have the audience hear me tuning.
Anyway...This is a really flexible unit. The sweepable mids and notch make it possible to isolate and cut or boost certain frequencies for either detailed tone-shaping or feedback cutting applications. I was also able to get lots of different sounds out of my bass... Except for one: The natural tone of my bass!
I found this to be a very affected sounding unit. It seemed to sound ok when I was playing with the different features and experimenting with the eq and sonic maximizer settings, but once I plugged the bass back directly into my U5 it was like "Oh, yeah. This is what an acoustic instrument is supposed to sound like."
The sonic maximizer feature I also found pretty useless for upright bass. I've used maximizers as part of a foh rack for an overall mix and also on electric bass and guitar and found it to be an interesting effect that can add subtle depth and presence that you don't really notice until you turn it off, but in this setting, it just sounded brittle and added hiss.
I can, however, visualize a variety of situations where this could be a great unit. For instance if you were playing using an upright in more of a rock setting and looking for tones other than the most natural (like a dub or acid jazz type thing), or if you used it in between your DI to front-of-house and your amp to combat feedback, etc.
I don't feel I need a pre to enhance the sound of my instrument. I like the way it sounds on its own; I'd just like something to help eliminate that piezo clackiness and help isolate and eliminate feedback in live situations.
I don't consider myself a tone purist, and even I found it too affected, so I can't imagine that anyone looking for clean, natural upright tone from a pre would like this unit.
-b
Methodology: I brought my bass (Shen Willow Flatback with a Fishman Full Circle), DI (Avalon U5) and headphones into the shop and a/b-ed the sounds of bass-> U5-> headphones vs. bass-> pre-> U5-> headphones.
The first thing that struck me about the Acoustimax was its mute switch. I love this feature and think it ought to be on everything. Sometimes I use a stompbox tuner, but more often than not, I use my Intellitouch, and don't really need to have the audience hear me tuning.
Anyway...This is a really flexible unit. The sweepable mids and notch make it possible to isolate and cut or boost certain frequencies for either detailed tone-shaping or feedback cutting applications. I was also able to get lots of different sounds out of my bass... Except for one: The natural tone of my bass!
I found this to be a very affected sounding unit. It seemed to sound ok when I was playing with the different features and experimenting with the eq and sonic maximizer settings, but once I plugged the bass back directly into my U5 it was like "Oh, yeah. This is what an acoustic instrument is supposed to sound like."
The sonic maximizer feature I also found pretty useless for upright bass. I've used maximizers as part of a foh rack for an overall mix and also on electric bass and guitar and found it to be an interesting effect that can add subtle depth and presence that you don't really notice until you turn it off, but in this setting, it just sounded brittle and added hiss.
I can, however, visualize a variety of situations where this could be a great unit. For instance if you were playing using an upright in more of a rock setting and looking for tones other than the most natural (like a dub or acid jazz type thing), or if you used it in between your DI to front-of-house and your amp to combat feedback, etc.
I don't feel I need a pre to enhance the sound of my instrument. I like the way it sounds on its own; I'd just like something to help eliminate that piezo clackiness and help isolate and eliminate feedback in live situations.
I don't consider myself a tone purist, and even I found it too affected, so I can't imagine that anyone looking for clean, natural upright tone from a pre would like this unit.
-b
