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Two Acoustic Stompboxes Square Off
Boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator & Zoom 504 Acoustic floor pedals by Randy Alberts
August 10, 2000
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Summing it Up
Both the AC-2 Acoustic Simulator and 504 Acoustic will enhance the tone of
your electro-acoustic, and -- though no one would be fooled by a blind-fold
test -- both boxes can get a reasonable simulation of an acoustic guitar
from a solidbody electric.
The Zoom doesn't sound quite as warm as the AC-2 for certain applications,
while the 504's glassier upper harmonics are just the thing for other
tastes. Bottom Line: Although the Boss's simple operation and warm sound may
be more appealing to some, we feel the Zoom's programmability, extended
feature set, onboard effects -- and slightly lower price -- make it the
better overall value.
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Can you fit an acoustic guitar into a stompbox? Maybe. The Boss AC-2
Acoustic Simulator (US $169) and the Zoom 504 Acoustic (US $159) are two
stompbox-sized preamps designed to take any electric guitar and make it
sound "acoustic" (and/or enhance the realism of an electro/acoustic guitar).
Each unit takes a different approach to tackling the challenge. The Boss is
simple, compact, and analog, while the digital Zoom -- larger but less expensive -- offers more features and a deeper programming interface.
Boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator The Boss AC-2 is simplicity itself. Plug in the axe of choice, adjust the Mode, Body, and Top controls to taste, and you're in business. The Boss has two outputs: One sends the affected signal to a full-range system, such as an acoustic-guitar amp or mixing console. The other, labeled E.G. (electric guitar), bypasses the AC-2's electronics so that you can route your guitar to an electric guitar amp. This lets you create some interesting blends between conventional electric sounds and simulated acoustic tones. This also brings up an interesting point: Nowhere in the manual does Boss mention plugging an acoustic guitar into the AC-2. Odd, since to me the pedal's main strength is its ability to improve the tone of an acoustic-electric. Despite a very brief manual that covers only the basics, the AC-2 is a breeze to use. The four-position Mode control determines the basic character of the sound (Jumbo, Standard, Piezo, and Enhance). My two favorites were Standard (which emulates an overall acoustic tone that I found best for finger-picking) and Piezo (a compressed electric-acoustic-type sound that did wonders for my Gibson's lifeless under-saddle pickup). If you want to cut through a dense mix, Enhance, which offers a bright, "Sonic Maximizer" flavor, might be your ticket.
The Body and Top knobs let you fine-tune the sound. Top (treble) is great for adding shimmer to the high-end harmonic content; Body shapes the meat of the guitar's tone. I particularly liked how the Top control let my electro-acoustic maintain upper-frequency detail without generating that brittle sound that can be so strident onstage. I was also able to defeat the annoying midrange bump of my Gibson's piezo pickup with the Body control, bringing out more of that guitar's naturally warm sound. With the solidbodies, I found some decent strumming tones that would sit nicely atop a dense mix. The dual outputs were a real asset in creating some unique hybrid electric and acoustic tones.
Because the AC-2 is non-programmable, you have to dial in the right sound every time you use it. For live playing it's a good set-it-and-forget-it stompbox, though the knobs are placed too close together to facilitate much onstage experimentation. While I'd like to be able to save and access presets for live shows, the simplicity of using the AC-2 somewhat compensates for the absence of programmability.
Cut To The Chase: Boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator The AC-2 couldn't fool me into thinking that an electric guitar could sound exactly like an acoustic, and I didn't really expect it to. But in the context of a mix, some of the acoustic tones are convincing. More interesting are the hybrid acoustic-like tones you can get from blending the two outputs, and the way it improves the sound of electro-acoustic guitar pickups.
Next Page: Zoom 504....
Randy Alberts is a musician and writer now looking for a stompbox that makes his acoustic guitar sound like an electric.
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