Best Acoustic Guitar Preamp Di (2023 Update)

I bought this used through Guitar Center to boost the output of my Eastman 815 acoustic-electric mandolin, which has an internal microphone but was too quiet. I'm a hobbyist but play in worship settings. I was able to EQ the output to sound like the natural mandolin tone and to boost the volume which was important to me, since, on occasion, I play outdoors or in a large church sanctuary. The tuner is a great asset, making clip-on tuners unnecessary. The tone boost gives the mandolin even more volume for those times when you want to play a solo. The unit runs on a 9V battery or a 9v DC adapter. I happened to own already own a 9v DC adapter, and it gave the unit much more power than the battery, which was great. I definitely recommend getting a 9v DC adapter. This was a good buy!Jamie

I love the verstile tones this preamp provides. Using the guidelines in the manual I can recreate the acoustic sound of all my guitars, which, formerly all were predominatly quacky from the piezo pickup sounds. The only negative for me is the tuner sensitivity. You have to pluck the string pretty hard to get it to register. This is a big negative if you need to check tuning on a quiet stage or when you're waiting to walk on at the Bluebird! I use the D'Addario sound hole tuner in place of this one. The D can hear a gnat blink. Overall, still recommend this to make your acoustic sound right through FOH.Thom R. (Raleigh, NC)

I agree with all the positive comments. As for the negative, the specifics are missing, so I can't judge. As for myself I use a 1999 D-28 and a 1979 Yairi DY-50 cedar top. My original DY-50 had a rich, wide-range piano-like tone during the 14 years I owned it. I picked up another from the same limited edition recently that had a thin, brassy tone from a total lack of humidification over 37 years (which I'm slowly trying to reverse), but the Spectrum made it possible to attain the same tone as when new. That makes it well worth having. I also own a D-28, which I use mainly for downtuned finger-picking and has a different tone with stonger lower-mids. Thanks to the bank of 16 user-selected IRs, I can switch instruments and turn the selector by one click and I have two great-sounding guitars. What's missing (rather, what more I'd wish) would be MIDI-control of all the settings, but that would be too much for most acoustic guitarists. The only funtional down-side is that the machined aluminum knobs (some of which are small) have smooth sides, which requires a firmer grip than on any of my other devices and stomp boxes. Not a big deal, as the sound is what really matters.JFairweather

The Fishaman Aura Spectrum is very solidly built. The instructions are very clearly written and easy to follow. The unit comes with eight image banks. Each bank has 16 acoustic guitar images. Additional acoustic guitar images can be downloaded from Fishman's Aura Image Gallery. The gallery has a search function which allows the user to easily match the appropriate images to their specific guitar. The sound quality is excellent.jobutte-0

I play acoustic guitar, mandolin and upright bass on stage and was looking for a professional-quality pre that I could easily plug them all into. Although there are only two inputs, most of the time that's enough. What really amazed me, though, is how little tweaking I have to do when switching between instruments. When I'm going from acoustic guitar to mandolin, all I really have to do is cut out most of the "Low." Otherwise, the tone is excellent for both instruments. I did notice, however, that making sure you've matched the Tonebone to the correct pickup type (magnetic or piezo), makes a HUGE difference. If they aren't matched, the sound is thin and noisy. Still, I mostly use the Tonebone through a Roland AC60 (except with the bass) and could not be more pleased. The "Boost" switch is very handy for solos. My only wish is that it also had compression, reverb, and chorus thrown in. If it did, I'd never need another acoustic box.Doofus1

Exceptionally powerful preamp with flat response and headroom. The Piezo Buffer feature ensures that a passive piezo has enough juice and impedance to sound its best and if you have an active pickup, turning off the PZB ensures ample headroom and adequate impedance. The EQ is super effective and the hi-pass filter is a great feature for pulling rumble out of your guitar and if that doesn't work, there's a 200hz hi-pass and a Notch Filter. No excuse for feedback. I've used mine with two guitars equipped with passive Baggs piezos (LB6 and iBeam) and the LB6 sounded its best with this unit. I think, in the future, I'm going to set up the PZ Pre to blend inputs instead of toggle between guitars. I'm possibly going to add an active mic to my guitar and I think it'll be interesting to experiment with its blending capabilities. This preamp does it all but I won't give it a perfect score as some might prefer separate EQs for separate sources. That said, it's pretty much perfect.Erik

Been doing an acoustic duo gig on a regular basis for a few years now. I was using the Boss A/B 2 which worked great switching between my acoustic guitar and my slide guitar. The problem was that my slide guitar (Fender FR50) didn't have the output that my Guild DC 1E did, and I had to reach for the volume on my guitar to turn up for my solos. Enter the Radial Tone Bone. I spent a day on the floor at the NAMM show specifically to find the right pedal. Unlike everyone else that has an acoustic preamp pedal, Radial made a pedal that you can: a) plug two guitars into with separate volume controls so you can match the outputs of each guitar b) a boost function that you can send to a volume knob, fx loop, or both c) extremely musical eq, it's almost impossible to find a bad sound on this thing. While everyone else had chorus, tap tempo delays and a bunch of other stuff that I would use in an ELECTRIC gig, Radial packed all of the features that I need into one reasonably priced unit. This was also the only acoustic preamp pedal that I found that had two inputs. What professional musician shows up to a gig with one guitar? Answer: The guy that's not gonna have a gig next week. Plugged a Carbon Copy into the loop for my gig last night, and I'm in awe of the tone listening to a playback of the performance. Go get this pedal!!!Dirtbag

Excellent pre-amp with many features and very well-constructed. It has both reverb and chorus effects built-in, so for me that eliminates the need to use any additional pedals before the amp (a big bonus!).mixalis0209

Świetny preamp, już przerabiałem kilka tego typu przedwzmacniaczy akustycznych i ten sprawuje się najlepiej. Preamp z regulacją 3-zakresową+pogłos+chorus- Więcej nie trzeba do grania, także 'na żywo'. 3 wyjścia sygnału, idealne rozwiązanie w każdej niemal sytuacji. Jak będzie niezawodnie działał, to idealny sprzęt! Polecam w 100% produkt jak i Sklep.Przemek

This is an affordable DI from Hotone. It has all the necessary features to make it an essential tool for live acoustic players. The Phantom power comes in handy for eliminating the need for power supply or battery. Great for coffee houses or concert stages the 3 band EQ will help improve your sound and eliminate feedback. This is a hands on review by Jim at Sam Ash 36DrJ

I was disappointed in the sound this unit provided. Sounded good at home but was flat live. It pretty much cut my sound probably a quarter of what was normal to me. Had to turn it up which then caused feedback even with the double notch filter on. Had to tweak on the fly. I actually had to put a feedback killer in the soundhole of my Taylor to kill the feedback. This was all during my gig! Not cool. This box would probably be best for home studio stuff but I will Not gig with this unit ever again. P.s I love Boss. I own 2 Katanas and various pedals. I just don't love the Ad10.Frank G

Than-you Josh Estock for getting it to me and keeping me posted on shipping & delivery. I am really liking the Boss AD-10 Acoustic Preamp. I have been waiting for some time for the AD-10 to be available. I like the Boss AD-2 as well. But the AD-10 makes it so I don't need anything else. I can run AC or 6AA batteries for the power. Then adjustable gain in on 1 or 2 channels even 1&2 at the same time. Digital EQ on both channels. Adjustable Low Cut 10-990Hz , Mid adjustable 200Hz-5.0kHz, Treble, Presence, and Level of eq. Anti-Feedback Reduction, 2 notch switches. 3 Types of Acoustic Resonance (Think Aura) kind of. To me it sounds more woody and natural. You can adjust the tonal quality as well. It's a fully adjustable blend with the pickup. Off, Soft or Hard Compression, 3 Delay effects, 3 Chorus effects, 3 Ambiance/Reverb effects, Boost, 90sec Looper, extra Effects Loop, Tuner, 10 memory Preset Banks. Option for volume pedal or switches. Smaller than a iPad. Just played with the mic and pickup on using a Bose Compact 3 ft away at 97bd w no feedback. Fits perfectly in my SKB iSeries case. I Gig with two nylon string guitars a Andy Culpepper Spruce Blanca Flamenco with a LR Baggs Dual Source Pickup (Element and Mic) I run the Element into input 1 and Mic into 2. I mix the signals at 60%pu and 40mic. I do eq each separately. My other guitar is a Cordoba GK Studio Limited with the Fishman Presus Blend pickup. It's two sources a undersadle and mic blend. The AD-10 sounds great with the GKSL . For most gigs I see myself bringing the Guitar, Smal Case with Boss AD-10, and Bose L1s or Compact, with a few cables. For gigs with no AC I'll use same guitars, Boss AD-10 with batteries and a Behringer Europort MPA40BT. Good for outdoor wedding ceremonies or smaller gigs 75-150 people. The Boss AD-10 makes my life very easy. I will try using two Line 6G-30 for wireless functionality soon.Victor

The constant striving to make even a really great acoustic guitar sound as good on stage (especially through other people's PA systems) as it does in a studio with a Neumann mic is probably like looking for a musical unicorn. I've tried LOTS of Acoustic pedals and amps, and the AD-10 is likely to get closest. It sounds fine through my PA, a Fender Deluxe Reverb, a Boss Katana 100 and even a little Bose S1 Pro. The upside is lots of functions (meaning you can tweak endlessly); the downside is lots of functions (meaning that it has lots of menu items to get your head around). Other pluses of course: two inputs with separate levels and eq; usable effects, tuner, reverb, comp and boost; noise reduction (gets rid of slight whine when using Boss WL-50 wireless); will run off a powerbank; acoustic resonance (still not a Neumann in a studio but useful) and especially 10 memories: so I already have presets to suit a Taylor, a Fylde, a Seagull, a Sire, a J160E and a Tele with a Fishman Powerbridge and I'm deciding which guitars to use the rest on. The looper would not meet Sheeran requirements but it's handy if you want to solo over a verse/chorus pattern you previously played. So far very good, and the manual is reasonably easy to follow. Nearly 5 stars, but that's reserved for when a pedal is as good as a Neumann.Mick C.

Overall: I was looking for something that would give me compact unit that would leave me prepared for any eventuality.This box with its outstanding effects for acoustic, and great options for output, leaves me feeling prepared for any eventuality. No direct box needed!Its very small footprint gives me a lot of functionality in a very small space, without chincing on quality. IT feels durable and substantial without being a tank.My Taylor K14C sounds awesome through it!Its hard to comment on customer service when you have had no need to contact the Mnfg. so don;t consider my rating on that since I cant really commentJoseph

I love this thing! Pairs well with my Taylor 110. The preamp is responsive, the boost is a nice touch, and the chorus and reverb are lush. Tap tempo delay is great. I will use this weekly for worship guitar at church. My only bone to pick was the power adapter was bad right out of the box. I had another so it worked out, but still. Great unit and you definitely get what you pay for.Imnotluckyjustsaved

I play mandolin and guitar in the church band and I have long since found that going direct through the P.A. system is the most efficient and quickest way to get a fidelity acoustic tone into the mix. The great thing about the Trace Elliot is that it is a quality direct box with XLR outputs with quality effects. I love the simplicity of the controls which allows me to individually dial in the effects such as reverb, delay, chorus, and, since I often take solos, a dedicated boost stomp for the extra punch I need for taking the lead with distinction. The simplicity of the controls allows me to make individual tweaks right on stage, unlike my Zoom A3, which has to go through several computer digitized manipulations, and actually requires pre-programmed patches. The Trace Elliot eliminates the digital windows through plain straightforward simplicity.randalcummings

its easy to use the product, has a lot of ways to improve your sound. But it doesnt work for everybody in my opinion. i have a taylor 414ce and a gs mini koa (undersaddle pickup). Always looking for the perfect acoustic sound i bought this pedal. I´ve try it alone, with different pa systems and also with a fishman aura spectrum, fishman tone deq and on live performances a tc hellicon voicelive. in short, my gs mini sounds amazing with this, cant imagine a live performance without it. not such a perceptible upgrade using it with the 414ce. This pedal adds a more round, natural sound, it reduces that synthetic "plastic" sound that comes from undersaddle pickups and is evident when strumming, but when fingerpicking you get the most from this pedal. This adds colour and naturality, youll still need a pedal tuner, an eq, and effects etc. This makes a huge but sutil improvement on your acoustics that everybody will notice. Lr baggs has an amazing quality and perfect taste for acoustics so you wont get wrong with this, thou you may have other pedals first to buy before spending 250 for an amazing sound polisher.Rudy C.

This is a great little pedal. At first I thought it was a bit expensive for a pedal with very few knobs and no eq shaping ability. But what it was designed for it does very well. For me the compression adjustment alone is worht it. Takes the sound of all my guitars up a notch. I have a Taylor GS Mini with the EST whichsounded okay with passive DI but plugged into the session has vastly improved the live sound. I am a less is more kinda guy so i don't use alot of the compression or the saturation. But a little goes a long way. The other features i really like are the mute switch and phantom power. I love having everything in one case and just plug in, adjust and go.xxsierraxx

First let me commend Musicians Friend costumer service; Thanks. After playing this Session DI, It does sound good, but quality sound depends on your system. The gain and saturation knobs raise the noise level, but this is what makes the pedal sound good. If you lower the gain and saturation you get no noise and lack of fullness, so I needed a noise reduction pedal to cure it, however this is why I couldn't record with this. Kind of an oxymoron since its suppose to have come from studio techniques. My unit had a bad input jack and with that I returned it and bought the LR Baggs Venue instead..Rockerduck

Great little product gives me flexibility with volume and tone on my passive pickups. Means I can now use more of my guitar collection and the feedback feature fixed my problem.Deane Sozza

Back in the 1970's, I heard many famous artists using an Acoustic 360. I would die for one, but couldn't afford it on a gigging musician's pay. I've been playing that long, and that sound, has never left me. Now, in this little sandwich of a unit I've found the sound of the 360!!! . So delighted with this little unit / got tons of gear preamps, etc. but finally for the price of a great bottle of wine, I'm finally realizing my longing for the great Acoustic 360 sound . the Overdrive is identical to the "FUZZ" feature on the 360, it's awesome!Tomasso

The build quality is nice. Unfortunately, the XLR output does not use a transformer and the only sound you'll hear through the house system is silence if they have phantom power turned on (which is basically anyone with microphones).James L

I bought this pre-amp because I could use it as a headphones practice amp with input from my iPad and also in live situations. It works well EXCEPT the output is a half step sharper than the input signal. I discovered this when I was playing my acoustic bass and I had to remove one side of my headphones. I knew something sounded off, and I figured out the reason was the note I heard from the bass was flat compared to the headphones. Interestingly enough, it seems that the headphone output must do the same thing because I'd been using is as a practice amp with my electric bass and had never noticed it. For playing live you'll need to use a tuner after the pre-amp or you will be a half step sharp compared to the others on stage.Buzz

when The Ibanez system became faulty on my AEB 8E Electroacoustic 4 string Bass – due to piezo pickup intermittent fault I decided to replace the whole system. The Lindo Package offered a good affordable option from a reputable UK based Guitar supplier. Lindo provided the dimensions I needed to check if their parts would fit. I had to make some small changes to the size / shape of the apertures in the body of the instrument to accommodate the Lindo parts as they were slightly different shapes from the original equipment. Once the apertures were the correct size the Lindo parts were fitted tot he guitar quickly and easily with plug and sockets avoiding the need for any soldering. Fitting this kit was well worthwhile – I played the instrument seriously – through an Amp while accompanying a guitarist – for the first time last night and the sound was great – better than the Ibanez had sounded before the fault had become apparent. A good range of adjustment to the tones and presence with the pre amp allows a really good range of timbres to be developed from the final amp. Volume from each of the strings is well balanced so none are dominant and the bass has become a more responsive and relaxing instrument to play.gordon6352

I am using the Orange Acoustic Preamp Pedal to boost and shape the signal from a piezo pickup on my double bass. The notch and Q controls on the parametric plus the XLR phase inverter have greatly reduced my feedback problems at higher volumes.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I’ve been searching for multi effects/DI pedal to compliment my Weissenborn style acoustic guitar. My sound hole passive pickup does a great job except for a somewhat weak output. Enter The Zoom AC-3 to the rescue. Now I have output headroom to spare. Everything about it is top shelf. Extremely flexible effects (kudos to ZOOM for using knobs rather than menu driven). And, it’s build quality is terrific. Very solid unit. I’m very glad I decided to try the ZOOM AC-3. BTW, the AMS payment options are unbeatable!SC n NC

I needed a DI box that could also boost the signal to the PA for solos and the Zoom does that well; the stage tuner is helpful, though I still use headstock tuners from habit and have accidentally muted my guitar stepping on the tuner switch when I wanted the boost switch. Providing presets for guitar body style should be useful, but once an effect is chosen I'll likely stick with it and use the equalizer knobs instead. Rarely use reverb playing with other instruments through the PA. The anti-feedback function and lift button haven't been needed though that was a big problem with my old DI box. Not using batteries, but two AA ones probably wouldn't last long.Mike

Makes a 200 dollar guitar sound like a 1000 dollar guitar. Makes a 1000 dollar guitar sound like a 2000 dollar guitar and so forth. The tape delay and tremolo sound so lush and amazing. The other effects sound amazing too, but I love the tape delay. What is amazing about this pedal is that it gets your little nuances and fixes them by smoothing them over. It's hard to find this pedal under 300 dollars, but if you have to own just one pedal for an acoustic then this is the one.satu87121

I looked at the Fishman Platinum Pro and LR Baggs Venue. Decided I didn't need all the features of those so went for the Stage preamp. No regrets. I needed something to feed a higher level into a TC Helicon Play Acoustic. The Fishman Stage does the job wonderfully well. It has made subtle but significant improvements to the amplified tone from both Taylor ES systems and also the Baggs pick up in a Gibson Hummingbird. I would buy this again.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I used this with a Fishman bridge pickup on an upright bass. It worked great playing bluegrass. I ran it through the PA and was able to tweak my sound easily, wearing it on my belt. Nice alternative, and huge improvement to using a microphone.Steve

Product works awesome. You not only get a boost in sound, but can filter low feedback out. You can boost Low, Mid, High, or cut them if you choose. The largest advantage for us is that when you have a need to cut or increase volume it is right by you side, no walking to the amp to make adjustments. If you are playing into a system in which the control board is across the room, you can make adjustments quickly without having to contact the soundboard person. If your acoustic guitar pickup has no equalizer, no volume control, or only a Bass and Treble, you can compensate quickly.rossford

Cool little DI Box, much smaller than I thought it would be (A good thing). I like that it has a balanced out and a 1/4 out so you can feed a PA and a stage monitor.buck-wheat-7

This enhances the Graphtech Ghost bridge I installed. Installation was relatively simple since all the wiring is modular and plugs into the pre amp. Minimal soldering was required for the jack and switches. There are a lot of wires so the electronic cavity in my guitar is full but I did not have to enlarge it or modify the cavity.Martin

Absolutely the best acoustic guitar sound from any electric guitar hands down. I've tried and owned aftermarket piezo systems and OEM piezo equipped guitars, the ghost just has that nature sound. It reacts like a "plugged in" acoustic guitar. Soft passages are smooth and even, all the strings have equal output, something the other systems did not have. Step into it and the Ghost just gets dynamic, no piezo "quack" or unnatural thin, sharp distorted tones. Add the fact that string breakage becomes a thing of the past, will pay for its self inside a couple of months. Once you've been able to play a cool acoustic intro, then light into the electric chorus, you'll never go back!Anonymous

Put this in my LP Studio and I've got better acoustic tones than many Taylor players I've heard. The difference on the Graphtech compared to regular piezos is dramatic. This setup is worth every penny!bdotson--vm.q

Palmer Acoustic Pocket Amp – excellent. Does exactly what I need. get the sound I want at home, plug into someone elses PA and no problems getting my sound.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I bought this portable preamp a few months ago and I love it! it's robust and has everything I need. You can switch from modern to vintage sound and you can also mix signals. I highly recommend it.gabriel

Overall: I installed this item on my guitar and plugged it in. Immediately, there was a bunch of static. I traced it to the jack on the bottom of the unit where the line from the input jack plugged in. I can't move my guitar without the noise. The pickup is unusable, and zZounds refuses to allow me to return the unit. I am very disappointed in both the Acoustifex Go and zZounds.Jim

I was debating whether to buy a new acoustic electric guitar. But I love my yamaha acoustic and only wished it was acoustic electric. I was going to buy a cheap pickup and I decided to invest in this pickup. I feel it was worth the money. I've been recommending it to my buddies and can't wait to show it off to family when this pandemic is overSalTheBeardedBrewer