irig Acoustic Stage - mic/pickup

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

Anybody got any experience with this product?...

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigacousticstage/

Good points... bad points?

Thanks.

Lewy · March 2017

No experience but watching with interest - demos sound great.
My only concern would be that my experience of using things live based on impressive sounding DI'd demos hasn't always been a happy one.....

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

Lewy said:

No experience but watching with interest - demos sound great.
My only concern would be that my experience of using things live based on impressive sounding DI'd demos hasn't always been a happy one.....

I've totally fallen out of love with piezo pickups on acoustics (well... I was never in love with them... I tolerated them... but not anymore)... so I'm interested to see how this pans out.

Lewy · March 2017

I'm generally a K&K Pure Mini and job done kind of guy but this really does sound very good...I'd worry a bit about whether the positioning of the mic would make it pick up a lot of extraneous noise from the way I play with a flatpick - my fingertips are in light contact with the pickguard and slide up and down it as my picking hand moves.....

F**k it I might just have to get one.....it's just cheap enough to take a punt and will probably be good for something.....

bluechargeboy · March 2017

I predict I would get through maybe the first verse before that thing was clipped by my flailing hand and launched into someone's pint. At least piezos are out of the way!

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

bluechargeboy said:

I predict I would get through maybe the first verse before that thing was clipped by my flailing hand and launched into someone's pint. At least piezos are out of the way!

That could be a valuable addition to my live performance. End each song with the mic-ed up bubbling sounds of a pint of Fosters.

sev112 · March 2017

I bought one with some Xmas money because it allows me to amplify my classical and uke without having to drill holes.
sounds good on my fender dreadnought
but the revelation is what it has done for my Kramer Ferrington - piezo is soooooooooooo bright and tinny, but using this and blending the two sources is great.

havent tried it live yet.

downsides
- signal is not strong, but just require turning up the amp
- I cannot believe the thin cable and connection will last a lifetime
- it doesn't fit very well on my classical because the soundboard is quite thick - one would have thought the designers might have worked that one out

still think reasonable value at the mome t

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

@sev112... Thanks for the info. Is the one you bought the new model that was announced at January's NAMM show i.e. the Stage version (with the separate pre-amp / DSP)?

With your Kramer... what does it sound like if you just use the iRig mic (with no output mixed in from the piezo)?

sev112 · March 2017

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

@sev112... Thanks for the info. Is the one you bought the new model that was announced at January's NAMM show i.e. the Stage version (with the separate pre-amp / DSP)?
With your Kramer... what does it sound like if you just use the iRig mic (with no output mixed in from the piezo)?

Yep , it's the new one

Kramer just using the iRig Mic is much much better sounding. But I find that a little bit of the piezo gives it a reasonable bit of brightness but not too much.

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

@sev112 Thanks. Good to get some info. from a user.

daveww · March 2017

Thanks guys. Nice find, pretty low cost and just what I need. Going to give it try :-)

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

@daveww Please let us know how you get on with it.

daveww · March 2017

Will do

bermudianbrit · March 2017

I also have one in the post and shall feed back.

Lewy · March 2017

bermudianbrit said:

I also have one in the post and shall feed back.

Ditto

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

@bermudianbrit and @Lewy.... you are top chaps!

daveww · March 2017

Should arrive tomorrow. Love a new gadget to play with!

Lewy · March 2017

Quick first impressions at bedroom volumes -sounds like it does on the demos. The calibration function does seem to make a difference and made the signal sound more like my guitar rather than just a guitar.

The feedback reduction works quite well and only using the bright setting generated high frequency feedback that it couldn't improve.

Theres a mic-like ambience to the sound - that's what is going to require further testing at volume to see if it stays sounding nice or whether gig-level volume reveals any honky nastiness.

In terms of build, the cable is very thin but no different to the cable on something like a DPA 4099G. The preamp is plasticky and cheap. Doesnt feel like it would survive its first stage mishap.

Will report back after louder testing.

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

@Lewy. Thanks for the info. Sounds like it's off to a promising start. I'll be interested to hear how it shapes up at volume. Meanwhile... thanks.

daveww · March 2017

I quite like it. Tried it, like Lewy, at very low volume through the acoustic setting on my THR10 and it sounds nice. The lead to the mic has to be thin I guess otherwise it'd be cumbersome. I had to play very quietly and the output from the amp seems quite low but I made a quick very fumbled recording. I'll try and get a more realistic sound recording later through a bigger amp and mic it up. I'm mainly interested in what it sounds like through a PA and it'll be a few weeks before I can try that. I also wonder how long the batteries will last.

https://soundcloud.com/david-woodhouse/untitled/s-9LIpp

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

@Lewy and @daveww. What's it like to attach to the guitar? Is it easy to attach... is it fairly firmly held in place? Does it get in the way of playing?

@daveww Thanks for the recording. Sounds good... and nice playing.

daveww · March 2017

It attaches firmly and very easily. No doesn't seem to get in the way of playing. Thanks for the comment not sure about the nice playing though ... I always get stupidly nervous when I record unless I do it a lot and I haven't recorded anything for ages.

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

@daveww Thanks for the info.

No need for nerves... as I said, nice playing. :-)

Lewy · March 2017

Some further observations after a louder test using a Tanglewood AER knock off acoustic combo (if it sounds ok with that, it generally sounds great through a PA).

- The feedback buster works but it doesn't take any prisoners. There's quite a lot of sonic collateral damage when it goes after the offending frequency so in practice you'd want to use normal feedback reduction techniques and use the button as a panic button if needed rather than relying on it from the off
- It's sensitive to how you play - if you calibrate it to soft playing with fingers and then switch to a pick, it can sound a bit honky
- Handling noise seems less than a normal clip on mic
- Once EQd and calibrated, it sounds very good. Better than a K&K or definitely any piezo
- But....you do need to EQ it properly which means you need to think about your use case(s). I wouldn't turn up to an open mic with this because I think there's a lot of potential to get a miserable sound at the hands of a disinterested house band member plugging you in and going straight to the bar. But if there's time to soundcheck properly it's a viable option and I do like the fact that the sound is so good for something you just clip on.

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

@Lewy ; Thanks for the info. Interesting that you regard it as being better than a K&K. K&K Pure Mini was my original plan. Maybe not, now though.

In my very limited experience, I find piezos harsh sounding... that's why I was interested in one of these.

Re. EQ adjustments, what were the main issues that resulted in the need for EQ adjustment? Boomy-ness... tinny-ness?

Thanks.

Lewy · March 2017

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

@Lewy ; Thanks for the info. Interesting that you regard it as being better than a K&K. K&K Pure Mini was my original plan. Maybe not, now though.
In my very limited experience, I find piezos harsh sounding... that's why I was interested in one of these.
Re. EQ adjustments, what were the main issues that resulted in the need for EQ adjustment? Boomy-ness... tinny-ness?
Thanks.

Boomy and muddy were the issues that needed correction.

Regarding the comparison with K&K - it does sound better in terms of pure sound quality but I'd still go with a Pure Mini if I was going to be plugging in in a variety of scenarios and ease and quickness of getting a good sound was ever going to be a factor.

One other thing I detected - and I'm not 100% sure and need to play with it more - but for fast picking I felt some latency which would probably stop me using it for bluegrass, for example (and I'm not "quick" by any measure).

Strat_a_tat_tat · March 2017

Lewy said:

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

@Lewy ; Thanks for the info. Interesting that you regard it as being better than a K&K. K&K Pure Mini was my original plan. Maybe not, now though.
In my very limited experience, I find piezos harsh sounding... that's why I was interested in one of these.
Re. EQ adjustments, what were the main issues that resulted in the need for EQ adjustment? Boomy-ness... tinny-ness?
Thanks.

Boomy and muddy were the issues that needed correction.

Regarding the comparison with K&K - it does sound better in terms of pure sound quality but I'd still go with a Pure Mini if I was going to be plugging in in a variety of scenarios and ease and quickness of getting a good sound was ever going to be a factor.

One other thing I detected - and I'm not 100% sure and need to play with it more - but for fast picking I felt some latency which would probably stop me using it for bluegrass, for example (and I'm not "quick" by any measure).

Thanks again. Interesting info.

I'm off to see where I can get one.

daveww · March 2017

Still messing around with it. Haven't noticed any latency though @Stra_a_tat_tat is definitely right about the feedback eliminator taking no prisoners. He's also right about calibration. Better to do this with a pick even if you're playing finger style I think. Tried through my fender blues junior and sounds better than expected but feedback was an issue a louder volumes. Sounds a bit compressed in all conditions IMO but still nice. My acoustic has a Fishman Presys mic/piezo blended pickup system but I never seem to be able to use the mic blended in live situations even with a feedback buster. I want to try the aux lead into the guitar and experiment with blends from my onboard system. Another possible down side is my feedback buster won't fit when the mic is clipped into place. Might get chance to record some more messing about this weekend.

Lewy · March 2017

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

Lewy said:

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

@Lewy ; Thanks for the info. Interesting that you regard it as being better than a K&K. K&K Pure Mini was my original plan. Maybe not, now though.
In my very limited experience, I find piezos harsh sounding... that's why I was interested in one of these.
Re. EQ adjustments, what were the main issues that resulted in the need for EQ adjustment? Boomy-ness... tinny-ness?
Thanks.

Boomy and muddy were the issues that needed correction.

Regarding the comparison with K&K - it does sound better in terms of pure sound quality but I'd still go with a Pure Mini if I was going to be plugging in in a variety of scenarios and ease and quickness of getting a good sound was ever going to be a factor.

One other thing I detected - and I'm not 100% sure and need to play with it more - but for fast picking I felt some latency which would probably stop me using it for bluegrass, for example (and I'm not "quick" by any measure).

Thanks again. Interesting info.
I'm off to see where I can get one.

You can have mine for £65 plus insured shipping if you want (prob another £5 or £6). I've played with it some more, it's good for what it is and for the money but ultimately not for me.

mellowsun · June 2017

Necro thread bump! I just got one of these for my electro-classical so I can blend the mic'd up sound with the undersaddle Fishman.

Now, live, I would just use the undersaddle plus the TC BodyRez as the iRig is very flimsy - agree with the downsides mentioned above by @sev112 ;; surprising as it is marketed for stage use but I can't see it surviving many open mic sessions let alone a full gig.

But for recording this iRig is great! When calibrated I get a lovely woody but clear sound that really picks up the nuances of my left and right-hand technique way better than the undersaddle pickup does. With a touch of reverb it is really inspiring to play.

The signal is very weak though so needs to go through a preamp.

I'll put up some sound samples next week.

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irig Acoustic Stage - mic/pickup

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