Whether you’re recording or performing with your acoustic-electric guitar, you usually want your tone to sound as natural and organic as possible. And if you want to add effects like chorus, delay, reverb, and so on, then you don’t want them to mess with your guitar’s core tone. Effects pedals for electric guitar aren’t designed for the wide frequency range and dynamic response of an acoustic instrument, which is why you need effects designed for acoustic guitar. There are plenty of options out there — read on to learn about some of the current favorites among guitarists at Sweetwater.
Tech 21 Acoustic Fly Rig
As its name implies, the Tech 21 Acoustic Fly Rig series was designed with traveling musicians in mind. The idea is that you can travel with just your guitar and the Acoustic Fly Rig and be ready to hit the stage wherever you land. It’s built to handle the rigors of travel and offers everything you need to perform, including reverb, delay, and chorus effects, a built-in tuner, and all the connectivity you need. At the core of the Acoustic Fly Rig is Tech 21’s SansAmp emulator, complete with semi-parametric 4-band EQ, a notch filter, and a clean boost. Just plug into the PA, and the Acoustic Fly Rig is ready to perform.
Fishman ToneDEQ
As leaders in acoustic pickup technology, Fishman designed the ToneDEQ for pristine sound quality all the way through. This compact pedal offers a high-quality preamp, a dual effects section, a 3-band EQ, a compressor, a level booster, and a balanced DI. Fishman paid special attention to the all-analog signal path — the digital effects are mixed in parallel to preserve your core tone. Speaking of effects, the dual effects section allows for two simultaneous effects, such as reverb and chorus, or flanger and tremolo, or delay and reverb, or any combination of the following: reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, or tremolo effects.
Trace Elliot Transit A
The Transit A acoustic preamp pedal from Trace Elliot puts three ubiquitous acoustic guitar effects — reverb, delay, and chorus — right at your feet with dedicated footswitches. And like other entries on this list, you’ll find everything else you need to get a great tone and inject it into a PA system or recording device. A handy Piezo switch increases input impedance, a nice feature if you use multiple guitars with different pickup systems. Unique to the Transit A is the Pre-shape switch that shapes your sound with the classic Trace Acoustic EQ curve.
BOSS AD-10
The heart of the AD-10 is BOSS’s groundbreaking Acoustic Resonance processing, which analyzes the saddle-based piezo pickup signal and re-creates the missing body and string resonances so that your tone is full and expressive. A multiband compressor allows you to control dynamics without squashing the life out of your tone. And its built-in looper allows you to accompany yourself without needing an additional looper pedal. When you factor in delay, chorus, and reverb effects, feedback reduction, EQ, a built-in USB audio interface, and more, you can see why the AD-10 is an extremely versatile piece of gear.
Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator
An enhanced direct box for acoustic instruments, the Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator packs a lot of sonic potential. As Zoom describes it, the “AC-3 automatically restores tone lost through acoustic pickups, ensuring that a guitarist’s live sound is always lush, resonant, and faithful to their chosen instrument.” Using two dials, you tell the AC-3 what type of acoustic instrument you’re playing and the type of instrument you want it to sound like and then sit back and enjoy your sweetened acoustic-electric tone. And that’s just the start — the AC-3 features everything else you need, including compression, multi-effects, a built-in tuner, and much more.
Among all of the guitarists at Sweetwater, we’ve either tried out these acoustic multi-effects processors ourselves or at least heard them put to the test. If you have questions about which acoustic-electric effects processor is right for you, we’re here to help — just call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700.
