Aura questions

[Tycho]

I have an Aura that I bought about a year ago, before I got my D-03RE.  At the time, the idea was to use the Aura to spice up the onstage sound of my Martin DXB, which was my only electro-acoustic.  It did that quite nicely, since I was able to employ the image of various Martins to make the DXB sound a bit more like an "authentic" Martin.

My question now is: do people think the Aura has much use with a Larrivee dread (or any Larrivee, for that matter)?  I've only used my D-03RE onstage once, and it sounded absolutely great by itself.  I find myself wondering if I need the Aura anymore, except maybe to use with the Martin, which frankly I don't expect to be doing as much (though I'd always bring it as a backup).

My recollection (I haven't looked lately) is that the Aura has no Larrivee sound images, and I don't really see any point in sending my dread off to Fishman so that they can make me a custom image.  If I can't think of a compelling reason to keep the Aura, I'll probably try to sell it.

Before doing so, I thought I'd see if anyone here is using the Aura.  If so, with what guitars?  And what sound images do you use?

[Tycho]

To partly answer my own question, I went to the Aura site and I see that the following Larrivee images are now available: C-10, L-09, OM-05 and OM-10.  None of those help me much with a dread, though the rosewood L might work in a pinch.

[drathbun]

Fishman says they will create a custom image for your guitar.... just sent it to them! Yeah.... right! LOL

[Tycho]

To be fair, people who have done it say it works really well and Fishman gets the guitar back to you very quickly.  But considering that you have to pay shipping on top of the $199 (US) charge, it seems like more trouble than it would be worth for my limited purposes.  If I did more acoustic playing out than I do, I might be able to see it. 

[seenthelight]

I have the Aura as well.  The L-09 sound images come preloaded from the factory.  I have an L-09E with the B-Band A2.2 and I lke the sound of the B-Band going to the board via a Radial DI box better than the Aura.  I've tried the Aura with a bunch of sound images and different settings and although it does sound clear ike a miked guitar, it just doesn't cut through a mix without sounding harsh - no matter how it's EQ'd from either the Aura or the FOH.  I'm gonna sell my Aura, I think.

Josh

[sdelsolray]

To be fair, people who have done it say it works really well and Fishman gets the guitar back to you very quickly.  But considering that you have to pay shipping on top of the $199 (US) charge, it seems like more trouble than it would be worth for my limited purposes.  If I did more acoustic playing out than I do, I might be able to see it. 

Actually, you get four custom images for $199, not just one image.  Folks that have gotten custom images seem to like them better than the stock images, and that's not surprising given the technology involved.  Of course, you're still dealing with a UST as the source, hardly a great place to start from.

[Tycho]

Ah, right -- you get four different mic images to go with your guitar.

[dberch]

I'm sorry - I just don't get this whole Aura thing  :huh: .  I buy guitars because I like the way they sound.  I add pickups which reprduce that sound pretty well (K&K, B-Band, Baggs, etc. - there's lots of great choices these days) or I mic them.  Why would I want to add an expensive pedal that makes them sound like something else?   Or even more oddly - disregard the signal that I'm sending, and replace it with a "digitally modeled" signal that sounds - like my guitar! 

This will probably get me flamed, but the only use I can see for an Aura (or any of the digital modeling systems) is to make a Martin Backpacker with a Fishman sound like a real a guitar. 

If you have a good guitar and a good pickup, why do you need digital modeling?  Sounds to me like cell-phone-itis.  We do it because the technology allows it, not because anybody asked for it.

What am I missing?

David

[Tycho]

Well, the idea was to make a good guitar sound like it would sound mic'd, as opposed to run through a quacky pick-up.  As a secondary use, Fishman says the Aura could be used to make a "neutral"-sounding guitar (read: a bland, characterless electro-acoustic) sound a little more flavourful.  It's not really meant to be a modeler per se.

But I take your point, which is why I'm wondering about keeping mine now that I have the D-03RE.  As I said, I played out with the D-03RE once (not using the Aura), in a fairly divey bar, running it straight into the low-rent PA, and everyone was telling me -- unsolicited! -- how amazing it sounded.  So what else do I need?

The Aura does, however, significantly improve the live sound of my Martin DXB, which as you may know was one of the first HPL Martins, and is a very quiet and polite-sounding dread.

(Also, the Aura has a good blend feature, so it doesn't just completely obliterate your usual sound; you can blend them together in any percentage you want.)

[dberch]

The Aura does, however, significantly improve the live sound of my Martin DXB, which as you may know was one of the first HPL Martins, and is a very quiet and polite-sounding dread.

(Also, the Aura has a good blend feature, so it doesn't just completely obliterate your usual sound; you can blend them together in any percentage you want.)

Ah, well, I guess that does make sense, then.  Thanks for enlightening me, Tycho!   My goal for live sound is basically "Most true sound, as cheaply and simply as possible" and that doesn't leave much room for pedals or processors.   Preamp and tuner is pretty much it.

Hope I get to hear an Aura sometime.  Maybe I'll become a convert...

David