LR Baggs Venue DI Acoustic Guitar Preamp / DI / EQ / Tuner Pedal Reviews

Typical of L.R. Baggs equipment, the Venue is excellent. While it's engineered for guitar, I use it with a Gibson mandolin and still get amazing results. I'm also using an L.R. Baggs pickup on the mandolin and both seem to be designed to bring out the most in the instrument. The Venue may be just a little pricey but in actuality, it's worth the money for everything it does to make me sound good on stage.

I have 2 Venue DI boxes. It adds to the sound of any guitar. It enhances Acoustics, & Electric Guitars as well. It's worth every penny.

I purchased the Venue DI from a recommendation from our guitar player who uses one on his acoustic guitar. I have been looking for something to make my Michael Kelly acoustic bass playable on stage. I always had poor sound and feedback issues. This thing was pure magic. I run it directly into the board and send it to my vocal monitor. It sounds fantastic. I understand it works equally as well for upright bass. Great product.

For being a 1st time customer, I was genuinely surprised how quick shipment was. Product came in perfect condition and works really well with my acoustic guitar.

Everything I hoped for when using my passive guitars. Absolute beast. Highly recommended.

With my recent acquisition of a Taylor 224ce DLX Koa acoustic guitar, I needed a DI to "dial in" my tone and the sound I had been looking for. The LR Baggs Venue DI accomplished the task! I am still just a bedroom basement player, but as my skills improve, I want to be ready to take it to the stage - whenever that day arrives. After adding the LR Baggs Venue to my acoustic board and dialing in the EQ, I feel I have NO WORRIES when it comes to any feedback or "quack" from either my Taylor of my Yamaha acoustic. As I have said in other reviews of gear that I have picked up in person at Sweetwater, I would rather drive the 1.5 hours from Toledo, Ohio for a pack of guitar picks than ever step foot in a "box guitar store" ever again! Although, for this purchase, I went the online route and I am totally satisfied !

If you have not made the trip to Sweetwater, even if it is a bit of a drive, make a "day trip" out of it. I promise you will enjoy the experience!

I've been playing guitar since 1964 and have used pedals for acoustic and electric guitar from every maker out there. For truly rich, clear, warm, bright, or whatever acoustic sound you're going for, playing live or recording in the studio, this is the pedal that can do it all, and has an actual tuner that is extremely accurate, not just something thrown in as an after thought. Every feature of this LR Baggs pedal was carefully planned and extremely well executed. Simply the best.

Easy to use, great EQ, it fits well on a pedal train board with an LR baggs Reverb pedal while allowing room for one or two additional effects if desired, depending on the board size. I do tend to notice comments about the tuner but it's just like any other digital tuner. Sometimes they're finicky whether it's a floor or headstock, I have a TC electronics headstock tuner and it's a bit touchy as well. I think the negative comments come from people who don't have patience. 60 seconds or so to tune a guitar can seem like forever but probably only to the one who's doing the tuning, so just relax and become comfortable with the mute/tuner so you are then comfortable with it in front of an audience.

Purchased this for a lap steel and the boost function works great for that. Now I use it for an Acoustic guitar and it still works great.

I needed more volume from my guitar into the mic input of the mixer at our church. With only 1/4 output from the Venue I now have plenty of volume output. Additionally I can now decrease midrange frequencies which sounds great when accompanying other instruments. The tuner works well and I use the boost feature when I add fingerstyle to the arrangement. This will be a great tool for me when I play at church.

I have been a user (and fan) of the LR Baggs Session for over 5 years but recently met another local musician using the LR Baggs Venue......after trying it out, I see it as a clear upgrade to an already great DI. Have used it now on a couple of gigs and L-O-V-E.

You will be very happy that you picked this up and you will LOVE hearing yourself in the PA for a change. You can dial-in such a great sound on this.

I looked into the LR Baggs Venue after playing a friends guitar thru one. Then I saw another musician with the same pedal. Then I saw the price and thought I better read the reviews. Yes, it's not cheap. Neither is my Taylor 314, but I've always been a bit disappointed with the sound when plugged in as I like to say it tends to be a little trebbly. Mostly mid and high notes, not much in the lower register. The out of box experience with this LR Baggs Venue mirrors the great reviews people give it. I used it on stage this week and whoa! Between the EQ and adjustable boost I am loving the sound from my guitar like never before. For solo's the boost combined with the control over tone is such a pleasant surprise. The tuner is a little slower but is accurate and silences your guitar with the touch of the pedal so you can quickly unplug to swap guitars. No regrets on this purchase.

From the very first moment I plugged in both my Martin D42 guitar with it's Fishman pickup and my five string Stelling Banjo with the KAVANJO pickup system to their respective LR baggs Venue DI preamp's a smile lit up on my face.
The sound, the controlled sound, the natural sound that came out of each device was absolutely wonderful.
I would have to say that my banjo sounded incredibly smooth… And the guitar tone was the best I've ever gotten from my Martin D 42.
It was a pleasure to listen as a strummed or finger picked each instrument. And you could tell that the audience was listening intently… There was no distortion whatsoever.
And I've really just started using the device, and haven't fully dialed in the potential.
I'd also read a lot about the tuner not being accurate… Well I have two Petersen tuners… Clamp-ons … one on each instrument and I double checked it with the baggs built-in tuner… And so far it has been spot on.

The boost switch is fantastic and the mute couldn't be better.

I am completely satisfied and delighted that I purchased one LR Baggs Venue DI for each instrument.

A piece of gear that you will panic without from now on.
Smooth, silky, stout, perfect. Best purchase I ever made for any and all my efforts.
It's on the short list for a second one.

If your acoustic sounds lifeless live at gigs (usually the soundman's fault, but they're in their own world) this is the fix. YOU have a good measure of control over output, tone, phase, hum, feedback, etc. rather than just plugging into Input #17 on the snake and let the chips fall where they may.

I only got it because I could return it to SW if it didn't work, but I'm keeping this one. Easy to learn and use, and has recessed controls so your foot won't turn them, though I keep mine on my amp. It is built like a tank, to be used as a stomp box or not.

Have done 2 gigs with it and even the bad sound guy was raving about the signal he was getting, saying he didn't have to do anything (set flat), which proved that my ears work fine. First time I've ever had an acoustic in a rock act sound like a real acoustic should, and at rock volume. Already our other guitarist picked one up.

The downside... The tuner pretty much stinks but I can turn down the volume on my guitar and use my Snark if needed. It's just a little slow and glitchy.

I would buy one again if stolen, immediately.

This unit does all I ask of it. I love the eq control over the tone, the fx loop is cool, the boost works great, a gain adjustment meter, the tuner is admittedly a bit weird but I think I have it figured, can control feedback into the PA with the notch adjuster, can do all adjustments at the venue or connected pedals and dont have to mess with the mixer board. Very happy.

Whether plugging into my amp or directly into a P.A. I have dislike the sound . The LR Baggs Venue DI Acoustic Preamp solves this problem. It lets me control the sound of my uke. I couldn't be happier

I have a Martin Dreadnought (D35) with a decent Fishman pickup. Whenever I've gone direct into a PA it's sounded disappointingly thin. The Baggs Venue DI allows me to dial in the richness I hear coming directly from the sound hole. It's totally awesome. Also, having a tuner in there is pretty rad.

Love this. You can really dial in your tone in any venue and it makes the acoustic sound much sweeter. Bought one a few months ago and had to come back for another for my band mate.

This is the second one I"ve had. It works really well for me. I use a clip on tuner along with the onboard one. That is the only problem I"ve had.

This is my favorite DI/Preamp. It"s got eq in every area I need it.. which most other preamps don"t. It has a notch filter on top of that. Also... a tuner and a boost. It"s not too fancy or ridiculous... but it"s exactly what I need. Used mine for 5 years, and I gig a ton. Switches went out and parts started breaking.. due to normal wear and tear. Sent back to company and they repaired everything for $45, renewed the warranty, and even gave me a free little zip up case to go with it!!! Great product. Great company. Great support. I can"t recommend it enoughz

I can't speak highly enough about this box. As a banjo player, I've always had trouble getting a great pickup tone. I've used other high end processors and preamps but this one is the best. My banjo can be warm and sweet while still having plenty of punch and attack. The midrange is really great and natural as well.

I have also used nice preamps for my gypsy jazz guitar that gave me the option of either boomy and muddy or shrill and harsh. This will clearly replicate the natural tone of your instrument even with an average pickup.

The boost switch is also really helpful for solos and I love the fact that it's powered by a 9v. That's one less cable I need to run and you can always check the battery life with the indicator.

The tuner isn't that great on the unit, but I still give it 5 stars for all the other features.

I use two of these (one for my Fiddle and the other for Mando). They are well made, durable, and have all the controls you could need. I don't use the boost feature however as that's the FOH guy's job. The tuner is a wee bit touchy. That means I am criticizing it for working too well! That being said, the only way I can see to improve on this gizmo would be to make it have a smaller footprint in order to open up real estate on the pedal board..

After much research I bought this di to get a better sound from my Taylor acoustic. My Taylor was too bright with no warmth and this di allowed me to get the sound I love. The added tuner is icing on the cake and the boost button is nice when finger picking and needing a little more volume.

This is the first DI that I have bought and I wasn't sure what it would do for me. I own a Gibson Chet Atkins SST that I love, but it has been unbalanced from string to string. This DI as allowed be to balance the strings an improve the performance of my SST. For that alone it was worth the price.

I love the way this works with my Breedlove Premier, but I'm also blown away by how much it adds to my Fender Stratocaster sound (active EMG pickups)! While I know that's not what this DI is for, it adds a nice blend to my tone when I'm going through a system. It's now a fixture on my pedal board too.

Jonathan Casarow from sweetwater recommended this to me versus the Fishman Platinum Pro.

I think he was spot on. The sound is incredible either from 1/4" out or the isolated XLR, the tone is perfect and the tuner is incredibly detailed and accurate. I look forward to experimenting with it. Thanks Jonathan!

We use these with all of our acoustic players in multiple services each week.

LR Baggs is already my go-to company for acoustic guitar pickups, and this DI box really solves a lot of problems for me. Instead of bringing along my tuner pedal, overdrive (for clean boost/warmth) and amp, I can just show up with much less weight at my acoustic gigs.. and when you're a 1 person show, slingin' merch in the heart of crusty DTLA with dope-sick vagrants circling your car in the back alley ... well this item certainly saves you a hell of a lot of time and stress.

Pull the trigger. If you're a serious gigging musician and you're looking for a decent DI preamp, get this. I highly recommend it.

It does everything it's supposed too! Tuner is just a tad slow, but once you figure it out it's seamless.

Wow, this unit is everything it is advertised to be. Whether you're a weekend warrior or a touring concert act, this box of tools will get you the acoustic guitar sound you're after. The functionality is spot on, exactly what I needed with the Baggs legendary quality. It even comes with a protective case, a real plus, helping to protect even further the nicely recessed control dials. I have other quality parametric or semi-parametric pedals of different brands, but none of them are essentially four different units combined into one like the Venue D.I. When considering this unit is a direct box, parametric E.Q., tuner, and boost pedal all in one box, the price is a smokin' deal!

The Venue DI is a solid unit. I play a Maccaferri style gypsy guitar with a K&K definity transducer through the Venue. These guitars are typically hard to get a good balanced sound with just a piezo, but the K&K with the Venue produces a great tone at all volumes. My Venue was over 3 years old (beyond the warranty) and it had developed a crack in the phase button. I contacted Baggs and the service rep told me that even though it was beyond warranty, the button should not have failed. I sent it in to them and they replaced the button free of charge and turned around the unit in a week. I have never had that much luck with music gear, but these guys are great. The quality and technology is there AND they are great at customer service. I'm with Baggs.

I have many guitars with preamps built in that work great. For some of my older stage guitars that have custom pickups, but no preamp this more than fills the bill. I love it. The tuner just works and the boost is perfect!

Musical Background box would not light up.

First time I used the Venue all my band mates could hear the improvement in the sound quality!!! Well worth the money!!

This product the LR Baggs Venue DI Acoustic Preamp EQ/DI/Tuner Pedal is a must have in every Violinist/Fiddler's Gig Bag.

The sound is crystal clear and its clearly the BEST thing on the market. It is worth every penny. I have been a professional violinist/fiddler for 20+ years and this makes my job effortless sounds like I was in the studio. I full endorse this product.

For 40 years I have tried to find something that made my fiddle sound big and fat with varied success. Luckily or unluckily my ToneBone got stolen from a gig and I decided to shell out for this Baggs. Everyone in the band said "WOW!" Sometimes it takes a bad thing in life to make a change. It was the first time I had anything stolen but I'm kind of glad it happened! Doesn't matter if I'm sawing on bluegrass or tripping in my Dead band this is the ****

This tool was a game changer for me... I am a professional gigging violin player and have had all sorts of trouble. No one knows how to make the instrument sound good; you never have enough control and you have to be on the same wave length with whoever is running sound to get it right, no matter what. This is the first DI I saw a violinist endorse. Got it and it is still my most bragged about piece of equipment to date for 2 and 1/2 years (and lots of my other stuff has cost more). Before this, everything sounded awful; after: heaven! Even if I go to an amp, I use this guy! I'm never without it! I'm a multi-instrumentalist and have told my blessedly understanding wife that I would take 3 or 4 of these (one for every instrument I perform on) in a heart beat... if I could justify it. Guitar/mandolin/violin/even electric violin... I swear it is an amp with no speaker! Now that I'm doing more electric violin instead of my acourstic w/a pickup, I am using the fx loop more, which is awesome. Volume boost, which is adjustable, is very adequate for an electric band, and one can tweak it off a bit for an acoustic group. Being a multi-instrumentalist, the mute is VERY important... no one needs feedback in the middle of a song from an un-used instrument. TURN IT OFF! I also love that the amp-out is different from the direct impute. it gives you more control in loud settings or practice. I sincerely feel this is the replacement for an amplifier! It is also is a GREAT pre-amp! This tool is even better than some of the instruments that I play on!... Guitar: please, it was intended for guitar... but it is so versatile that it handles everything! You still need to be in good contact with your sound guy for violin (ie. roll off the highs like crazy, but still...) Very solid metal design. If it ever broke, no one could ship a new one fast enough... sweetwater has the best chance, but we are really talking about my patience...

My performance signal chain is 60s Gibson Heritage -> Baggs Dual Source transducer/condenser blend -> tuner ->Genz-Benz Shenandoah 60 - direct outs -> board.

I LOVE the tone of my Genz Benz.

But it weighs 40 lbs and lugging it to the rehearsal space is killing me.

At a pound or so this baby produces AT LEAST that quality of tone and detail straight to the board, and, if anything, greater flexibility in tweaking the tone.

I was teetering on buying the ubiquitous Para-D.I. when our mando player bought one of these to use with his Schertler PU. He didn't like that combination much but I had him try a prototype Bryan Gumsher (BG Pickups) transducer Bryan had loaned me to beta, and now he loves it. I borrowed the Venue to try it out and immediately fell in love.

For me the configurable clean boost made the price spread over the Para-D.I. well worthwhile, eliminating the need to fiddle on the fly with the Dual Source's soundhole controls for a lead. As other have noted, the tuner is slow and imprecise. A standalone pedal tuner like the Digitech or my favorite, the 2-ch Korg Pitchblack, is vastly superior and belongs in your chain.

i still haven't done any extended tweaking of this thing because it sounded so wonderful right out of the box but I can only imagine it will somehow get even better with some quiet time alone with the board (hard to come by at rehearsals, so I'll have to set up a day for solo tweaking).

This might be the best gear purchase I ever made.

Since I didn't buy this di specifically for the tuner, I won't count that against it. I wanted a di that sounded as good as my lr baggs para di, CHECK. I wantd a di that had a great boost feature, CHECK. It does amazing at both of those main tasks. The eq sounds phenomenal just like the para di. The tuner is very annoying to use. Even thought its accurate, it's slow and annoying live. Also sometimes, it doesn't even show up at all, and I have to unplug it just to get it to recognize the tuner. However, it's amazing at the rest of the things it's used for, and that's why I love it.

I recently purchased this DI Pedal and have been thoroughly impressed. The sound is true L.R. Baggs quality; it sound crystal clear and the EQ functions perfectly. I was probably most impressed with the tuner however. It is very accurate and easy to use, but most of all it is extremely bright- I can see it from all the way across a lit stage. I have had several comparable acoustic guitar preamp pedals such as the BBE Acoustimax and this blows them all away. You can't go wrong with L.R. Baggs!

L R Baggs Venue DI is Awesome! I love being able to use the boost when I go from strumming to finger picking. So far, the battery life has been great, which was kind of a surprise.

Solid well built. It really works. I use it with OM 42 and high end classical guitar that have K+K pick ups. Great tone control. Tuner is a bit slow to respond but works.

I'm very happy with this preamp. Have run my PRS acoustic and a Godin nylon string guitar through it and the sound is excellent. It's nice having a DI, EQ, tuner all in one unit. I was able to get lots of gain with this unit with no feedback. I discovered that if I want a little grit in my sound, it's possible to raise the gain and drive the preamp a little. This unit also has a boost switch, which is handy for soloing. I use a very minimal pedal board. This is perfect. Glad I got it.

I only took off half a star because it doesn't come with a power supply.
Otherwise it has everything you need to dial in a great tone for your acoustic gigs. You can mute and tune. Love it!

Leave the treble behind and gain the mids. This DI has it all. This DI is the only device I use between my guit and the board. The boost is intuitive. Seems to know what needs help to cut through without just being louder.

It's f-ing great buy it. I bought it for my Gibson Dove and it's kick ___ Eq is bass, lo mid w sweep, hi mid w sweep, treble, presence, notch, phase, muted tuner, boost w adjustable volume. 1/4" and xlr out. Gain has a bit of soft knee compression but very slight which I like. And of course there's a separate volume out. It enabled me to play my "real guitar" on an actual gig.

Overall an excellent product. I use it at nearly every performance. The tuner is a little slow to respond, or I would have given it 5 stars.

I am very pleased with the Venue pedal. Makes my OM28 sound much better amplified. Would probably give it a 5 once I use it some more.

This is my first time using a Direct Box. I used to use my amp and use the Line Out jack into my mixer. Since I have been playing a Nylon string guitar lately, the strings aren't quite balanced This DI allows me to ballance the out put and improve the over all sound. The tuner is handy also. I would recommend this DI to anyone.

This unit is the bomb for acoustic playing, especially if you are running straight into the board. I play in the band at my church and this unit is a perfect fit for what I am doing. My only gripe is that the tuner is not as good as you would expect in a unit this amazing. Great fine tuning for your sound.

Great unit. Quality product. So far so good. I plan to use this for live Nylon guitar, which can be tricky on stage. My LR Baggs Para EQ is very powerful as well, and I like the phantom power, however I was amazed how long one 9V battery was lasting in the Venue, didn't have my power supply yet. Like having the boost stomp option, and built in tuner. Ed Nystrom and crew were great to work with as always.

I used my new Venue in a gig situation for the first time this weekend and it was above and beyond my expectations as a pre amp and DI. Honestly I"m still learning how to tweak my sound but it"s very user friendly. I especially like how sturdy it seems. The tuner does take some getting adjusted to. It seems accurate but it seems to jump sharp/flat pretty quickly while tuning. As always Sweetwater was amazing to do business with!

This LR Baggs DI sounds great! I wish it had 2 inputs, but otherwise I love everything about it!

This is a great preamp to pair with an acoustic guitar pickup or acoustic-electric. EQ gives you granular control over your sound, as well as a notch filter to cut out problem frequencies. The built-in tuner is great and more accurate than the pedal based tuner I was using from Planet Waves. I didn't give this 5 stars ONLY because it doesn't have an automatic feedback control (such as some of the Fishman systems) which is useful. The notch helps but you may find yourself adjusting settings to control feedback if you're switching between different guitars like I do.

Been using the LR Baggs Venue DI consistently for a couple years now with my Gibson J-45 Standard for live performance and I have come to the conclusion that it is the best acoustic instrument DI on the market (which the price reflects). That is not to say it doesn't have its problems, but you won't find a better overall package anywhere.

PROS
- unique, all in one package (tuner, EQ, notch filter, ground lift, adjustable clean boost, preamp/DI)
- top notch sound quality
- relatively durable and road worthy

CONS
- Tuner is a fickle beast. At times you have to turn it on and off several times until it registers, sometimes very forcefully (stomping on the footswitch). Thankfully the lower half of the circle flashes green when it engages so you do get a visual cue when it works. I have owned two of them and they both had this same problem so it's definitely a design issue. However, it will always mute the guitar regardless of whether the tuner engages.
- As others have mentioned, the footswitches are somewhat loud especially if you are playing in a quiet setting. This is not a problem for me at all in my full band setting but if you were switching between the boost and normal channels in a dead quiet solo performance they would be very noticeable. And if you're stomping on it to get the tuner on forget about it.

Other than those two things though, it's basically ideal. Go ahead and get it.

Love this peddal, especially all the components packed into one.

It really is a fantastic DI. They only issue I have is that the tuner is not very accurate.

Okay, I've only used this pedal a couple of times 'live', but am already pleased with it. For starters, just holding it, you get that feeling of 'heft' and quality you don't see that often these days. Sure, it has a bit of vintage look, but as others point out, the knobs are arranged lower than the edges of the chassis to limit potential damage from something falling on it (or...being stepped-on). Even just plugging it in, with everything at 12 o' clock, my guitar (Taylor 814CE, with the Baggs Anthem system installed) immediately sounded better, with none of the raging feedback issues I was having before. Sure, it's pricey, but you "get what you pay for", as they say. Now, for the 'cons': every review I read mentions the tuner. I even called Baggs and spoke to their support about it, asking if they'd upgraded it (nope). They feel the negative press is due to the tuner timing out and having to be re-activated with a couple of button pushes, but that's not it; it's just a terrible tuner, with the LEDs wobbling all over the place while you try to find the 'sweet spot'. I gave up pretty quickly and just use my trusty Snark (for now; might get an inline solution soon). Also, the switches feel 'cheap' to me, with very noisy clicks when pressed. Granted, this isn't an effects pedal you're going to be stomping on all night, other than the 'Boost' feature (which I only really use for switching between finger-picking and flat pick), so it may not be a deal breaker for you. Even with those few negative elements (taking away one star), I'd still say it's a good investment and a great core for your pedal board. Between the build quality of their stuff and the very friendly, knowledgeable, and (most importantly) accessible customer service, I'd say I'm a 'Baggs Guy' for life; at least, until they eventually sell out to some huge conglomerate and then have their quality take a dive (looking right at YOU, SWR).

I have used an LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI live for many years. I play with another guitarist now, which means I have to play solos and single-string acoustic lines...I am anticipating the boost function helping with that. Having used it at home so far, the EQ is up to the standards of the Para, and the knobs are smooth, the feedback eliminator works well. Just need to have a gig to play it on, and I'll report back with any findings...but right now it sounds great!

Love it. It has greatly improved sound on my acoustic guitar and banjo . The tuner doesn't seem to tune so much though, not sure why that is

Aloha from Honolulu,

Before purchasing, I'd read the LR Baggs produced fabulous acoustic-guitar tone, but was quite useless as an on-stage tuner.

And... what I read was spot on.

I already knew from listening to a fabulous slack-key guitarist that the LR Baggs rocked (so to speak) when it came to helping a great acoustic guitar sound fabulous when PA-ed. And I'm happy with my current tuning choices.

That said, I will agree with a reviewer I read: why? Why have a useless tuner — I just played a 4-hour gig and could not rely on the LRB to even identify the string I was plucking — in a great DI acoustic preamp? Makes no sense any ways you look at it.

So... love my LRB, NEVER use it to tune.

So... if you're looking for tone, check the LRB out. If you're looking to tune your acoustic guitar on stage, find a better, solid solution!

Warmest aloha!

Cat

Been using a Fishman that I loved for a decade. Now I have a new love. Hot output

Built like a tank, with a convenient user interface, this parametric EQ is great. I can precisely tweak the tone of my acoustic just so. And, using the Gain control along with the boost switch, run through my Sparkle Drive, I can get respectable sustained leads. What a blast! However, the tuner is a piece of junk...a confusing indicator that gives inconsistent/inaccurate tuning results--the only reason it's not a 5-star pedal.

Regardless of the type of pickup or preamp your acoustic may have, this is a must have piece of equipment. Set your onboard pre flat and use the Baggs Venue DI for all your gain & EQ settings. Very flexible unit for control and FX loop. When you can, use an AC adapter as this does not use phantom from the board and a 9v battery lasts about 4 to 5 - four hour gigs.

This really helped smooth out the LR Baggs pickup in my acoustic. Great addition.

I've had this pedal for over 5 years. It's always worked and sounded great. In comparison with other DI's, this has the bang for the buck.
The only "issue" that I've had is with the power jack. It's solder joints have come loose 3 times since I've owned it and I've had to take the unit apart (which is a timely and meticulous chore in itself) to repair it with LR Baggs instructions.
The third time, the lands on the circuit board by the jack were too far gone and unrepairable.
But, because I like it so much, I have just ordered another Venue from Sweetwater.

This little guy provides a very good sound and tons of flexibility. I used it on a recent gig with an acoustic bass guitar and it worked flawlessly. I much prefer to run an ABG through this thing than into my stage amp.

Only used it twice,learning more about it, set your sound the way you like it and send it to soundman the boost is great. Also my radius mandolin pickup sounds good very pleased with both of my purchase, my fishman loudbox want a great amp. Sweetwater will have my business great company thanks for all the help willie bob peace out

I replaced a para di with the Venue. I really like the Venue. Great EQ--lots of tone shaping ability. Love the boost function, the mute button. Love the fact it has a ground lift. The tuner works well, but it is a little quirky-takes a little getting used to but works great. The only negatives to me are the size of the unit and the ground lift does not quiet all the hum I get at my church where I use it every Sunday. Overall I am quite happy with the Venue and also like the fact you can power it with an adapter, where as the para di was battery driven only. Would recommend it.

This is a nice acoustic DI, depending on your setup. I had the chance to compare this to a couple other DIs in the price range, and I have to say, against expectations, I actually like the Fishman Aura Spectrum better. The Aura is definitely better if your guitar has an undersaddle pickup. If you have a higher-end pickup with a microphone then the benefit of the Aura may not be realized (the Aura imaging process sounds much better with an undersaddle pickup rather than a mic). If you really want to use a microphone pickup, you could probably use the Venue or the Aura (with no imaging) and get similar results.

One drawback that I've found for the Venue is that the audio signal is extremely compressed. I really noticed this when I recorded my guitar through the venue DI. When looking at the waveform you can see an enormous amount of compression. I've tried to find a way to change this, but I haven't found anything yet.

Despite my preference for the Aura, I do like the Venue, and you will probably be happy with it should you choose to buy it.

love the LR Baggs Venue DI, use it for solo acoustic gigs.
like the tone and the feel, feedback notch filter is great.
t

I was very excited about purchasing this unit. I've had nothing but great results from LR Baggs equipment. The EQ section, the direct out, the effects send/return, the boost feature are all 5 star. The tuner is slow and quirky but not useless. But here's where excitement ends and disappointment begins. The foot switches are unbearably loud! The mute/tune feature is rendered useless in a live setting. The boost switch is only slightly less noisy. It's annoying to me and my audience and can't be good for speakers. Did I mention that they are loud? I've had to go back to my old Boss tuner (which works better and quieter than this one in the first place) for mute/tune and use a volume pedal for boost. If I didn't mention it before the foot switches are really loud. Essentially I have paid... for a direct box with EQ. This is almost but not quite an amazing product.

I love this pedal and how it can dial in the sound of my Taylor 814ce. As a gigging musician I need reliability in the products I use. However, while the sound is great, I cannot have the boost button stop working.

What has happened is that when I depress the boost button, it gets stuck. So if I am switching back and forth between boosted and not-boosted, I can no longer make that happen. I have had to attach my old Dunlop boost pedal to the chain after the Venue DI in order to get that boost that I need.

So, while I love the sound, I am not especially fond of the durability of the unit. I have owned this unit for about a year.

LR Baggs makes good quality gear. I have another competitive DI that has great features, but I was having trouble dialing in my acoustic guitar sound. At church, I had the opportunity to use one of the Baggs Parasound DIs and was very happy with the sound. The Venue seemed to have the legacy of that Parasound, but added the integrated tuner and had more EQ capability. So I bought it.
Compared to my competitive DI:
1) the Venue has a better footprint for the pedalboard. The competitive one has an odd shape.
2) the Venue runs with a standard 9V power supply. I use a One Spot. The competitive one has a proprietary power supply.
3) the Venue only has a single XLR out that is post-EQ. The competitive one had one post and one pre-EQ out.
I was hoping to reduce the size of my pedal board by integrating the tuner with the Venue. (I also have a compressor and a digital reverb on the board). The tuner is not very good on the Venue. The high strings seem to tune easily, but the low strings - especially the A string, just doesn't want to register with that tuner. I checked and there are no firmware updates that can be applied to this device.

The tuner is extremely slow to react. I actually complained shortly after I bought it and Sweetwater replaced the one I had, but the 2nd one does the same thing. When you hit a string to be tuned (in tuning mode) it takes nearly 10 seconds just to register (start picking up the sound) so it makes tuning on stage impractical. I don't have several minutes to wait for this tuner while I am performing. Instead, and meanwhile I've been using my smart phone tuner. I'll probably need to buy another tuner specially for my acoustic guitar now.
Also the boost does add volume and I use it when taking a solo but the tone is a bit harsh.

It's a great pedal. The eq and boost is awesome. Only complaint I have about the eq aspect is the volume literally does nothing. But maybe I'm missing something. But all the reviews I read everyone just went on and on about how great the tuner was. The tuner is absolutely the worst tuner I have ever used. I've only gigged it once and I was literally wishing for a snark or my tu-3 the entire set. Over all though I think the pedal is great. Just wish it didn't have the tuner and was about $75 to $100 cheaper. But all of this has been said after just one gig with it.

The power jack on mine is loose and if I don't put something against the power plug to keep it in contact, it looses power. Contacting L.R. Baggs on yielded an overpriced estimate to repair it. I opened it up and was not surprised to find that the jack is soldered to the board and is a cheap Asian part. I never liked their built-in tuner and always use a Boss tuner in front of it and use the 9V out from it to power this.No more. As soon as the better Preamp/EQ/DI pedal I just ordered comes in, I'm giving this one away with the advice to stick 9V batteries in it.

I have 3 acoustics but 2 are high end with great electronics. Takamine EF360SC TT and a Larrivee L-03E.
First, with all the negative reviews online about the tuner you would think LR Baggs would have fixed it? They haven't and it is basically useless. Not the end of the world though, just makes no sense.

But I also do not feel the EQ actually shapes the sound as I would have expected.
Guess I expected too much. Oh well!