Mando Acoustic Sim

[coveredinbees]

So I primarily play electric guitar and mandolin (I know...weird combo but I feel like everyone and their brother plays acoustic guitar and those are the two I most enjoy playing).

Anywho, I've been thinking about getting myself into a Kemper or Axe Fx for xmas. Partially looking to see what they can do based on industry accommodations since I work for an audio company that I won't disclose here.

I'll also say that I have owned a Fishman Aura and didn't find any of the mandolin profiles to be very impressive as well as things like the UAD Tone Works (which works fantastic for acoustic guitar) but ends up sounding very harsh on the Mandolin. I have a K&K twin pickup on it. I also have an AT clip on mic but that is often not an option when playing venues where that could possibly feed back.

The email I got from Kemper stated that it could be possible to do a kind "tone match" through the send and returns section but it's not currently possible w/ the current firmware. On the other hand there are a lot of acoustic sim profiles out there and I could potentially profile a good sounding amp.

The Axe FX does have the tone matching feature which seems to work very well but I'm not sure if I like the electric guitar amp models as much as the profiles on the Kemper.

The problem with both the Kemper and Axe FX obviously is that they're both VERY expensive and comparatively something like a Line 6 DT25 Tube Modeler sounds pretty good and is more affordable and can be financed and I could feasibly use another unit for my mandolin when playing live.

I'm looking for thoughts, opinions and most of all experiences with products.

[mandroid]

Unsure if it works so great in the Higher pitches Of the Mandolin , But the Y'ha AG stomp box has a bunch of complex reverb processing (algorithms?)

they aimed at taking a Underbridge piezo signal and emulating playing into a variety of microphone types and at a near and farther from, distance.

[almeriastrings]

I'll also say that I have owned a Fishman Aura and didn't find any of the mandolin profiles to be very impressive as well as things like the UAD Tone Works (which works fantastic for acoustic guitar) but ends up sounding very harsh on the Mandolin.

I am not sure what your 'gold standard' is here... but I tried the UAD Toneworks plug for a while and found it very unconvincing indeed. Certainly not acceptable for recording if you were hoping for anything close to 'natural' tones (except maybe a rough demo) . I let the trial expire as I could see no use for it. I have had the Fishman Aura system for several years (and also TC Electronic's Bodyrez as in their 'Play Acoustic' system). These just about cut it for live performance... and seem to work better on fingerstyle guitar than they do for driving flatpicking, but they still sound a long way from 'truly' convincing. All of these involve sacrificing the best possible sound for convenience. I have not heard results from any of them that do much for mandolin... bottom line, for an acoustic instrument a simple SM-57 beats them all easily, let alone a high grade microphone system.

Obviously - if you play electric mandolin, it might make you sound somewhat "more acoustic", but if that is the object, I think I'd just get an acoustic mandolin which will give you the real thing, not some pale imitation.

[coveredinbees]

I am not sure what your 'gold standard' is here... but I tried the UAD Toneworks plug for a while and found it very unconvincing indeed. Certainly not acceptable for recording if you were hoping for anything close to 'natural' tones (except maybe a rough demo) . I let the trial expire as I could see no use for it. I have had the Fishman Aura system for several years (and also TC Electronic's Bodyrez as in their 'Play Acoustic' system). These just about cut it for live performance... and seem to work better on fingerstyle guitar than they do for driving flatpicking, but they still sound a long way from 'truly' convincing. All of these involve sacrificing the best possible sound for convenience. I have not heard results from any of them that do much for mandolin... bottom line, for an acoustic instrument a simple SM-57 beats them all easily, let alone a high grade microphone system.

Obviously - if you play electric mandolin, it might make you sound somewhat "more acoustic", but if that is the object, I think I'd just get an acoustic mandolin which will give you the real thing, not some pale imitation.

Apologies if I was confusing in the previous post. I play electric GUITAR and Mandolin mainly (I use an acoustic mandolin... an F-style equipped with a K&K pickup).

The simulation is mainly for live application as I have a pretty good mic'd setup for acoustic that I get great results out of. I think I will ultimately bite the bullet and get an Axe FX since the guitar amp modeling is great and the "Tone Match" feature will allow me to emulate the frequency response of my mando acoustic sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZixaSgBOy4