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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | I had the opportunity to play my new VIP-equipped KOALA at church today. Its the first time I've played it out.
I've been experimenting with different settings at home on my Marshall AS50R. One thing that I've noticed is that plugging in using a 1/4" cable into the "instrument" channel results in a very bass-heavy sound. I ended up dialing the bass on the amp down almost all the way in order to leave the bass flat on the guitar. But interestingly, plugging into the vocal channel using an XLR cable results in a much more evenly equalized signal. I found I could leave both the amp and the guitar flat and still get a good sound.
I should add that both of the above scenarios are based on using image #2 with about a 50% to 80% "image" mix on the slider.
At church I always go straight into the mixer. We have a 16 channel Yamaha board. I actually have no idea what amps we are running through...we have a couple of 8' tall racks of amps in the back, but they are for a variety of systems and I don't know which ones the music mixer feeds through. Anyway, the place is a barn (they\'ve got a nifty photo album here) .
I plugged in using an XLR cable and the dummy plug. First observation is that the VIP puts out a lot more signal than the ES in my Taylor. We normally leave the input pots trimmed to about 30%. At that level, I would vary my Taylor's output from 50% to 100%. The VIP, by contrast, was clipping at 30% output.
Now to the really substance of the matter: Tone. I have to say I was absolutely impressed with the VIP. I view any sort of acoustic/electric pickup system to be something of a compromise, but I have literally never heard one that sounds as good as the VIP out of the box. It has the clean tone of a piezo, without the 'quack'. In fact, it really makes it easy to hear the quack...just dial the mix back to 100% 'dry' and there it is.
As I indicated, I am running image #2 at between 50% and 80%. The tone is just amazingly natural. It really does sound like a well mic'd guitar. And its easy to run too. I left the mixer stone cold flat, and just pulled the bass slider on the preamp down a tad. That was all it took. Sound check couldn't have been easier.
How does it compare to the ES? They are both good. They both have a great tone, but at this point I'd give the tone award to the VIP. The ES requires some pretty nifty EQ gymnastics to get a natural tone, and even at that there is no way to completely eliminate the 'hot b' issue. These are subtleties, of course. I would still take the ES over any conventional piezo based system.
But the VIP seems to effectively correct the inherent issues with piezo pickups, while retaining the positive things that piezos deliver.
And as an overall package, the VIP (being an Ovation) is head and shoulders above the ES: Things like onboard tuners, EQ, easy battery replacement, XLR output, etc. IMHO, Taylor was forced to try to make the cosmetic footprint of the ES too low-key. As such, they left out key features. The absence of a low battery indicator, for example, is a real PITA. On the other hand, when you have gorgeous Indian rosewood sides on your Taylor, you don't want to hack a huge hole in it just for the preamp.
The only VIP gripe I have is the necessity of the dummy plug. I'm sure down in the depths of the VIP there is a reason that that makes sense. But it is an obvious kludge.
In the final analysis, I couldn't be happier with the KOALA. Great (and unique!) looks, combined with outstanding acoustic and truly exceptional electric tone. Its the complete package. |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | I have the VIP technology in my Fishman Aura and use it from time to time with my Ovations.
I have found it works best in a more "acoustic" enviroment or at lower volumes. Absolutely shines when fingerpicking or playing very expressive pieces.It definately adds another a rounder dimension to the tone.
When I'm playing with the band however, I leave it at home. I get a better cut through the mix going direct.
Still, when I plug in my 30 year old Glen Campbell 12 string with it's 30 year old preamp it still sounds good. It's no wonder that nothing even came close to the plugged in tone of an Ovation back in the day. |
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March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | I hear you there. I still way prefer the ouput, both for sound and simplicity, of the Optima over any of the newer preamps I've tried (Pro, OP-30, OP-50, Studio, VIP). Granted, the Optima's not that old, but I'd still take it over anything but the Studio in a new guitar. I only got to play with the VIP for a brief time, and overall wasn't impressed, mostly because I didn't have the time to fiddle with it long enough to get the sound I was looking for. Obviously, I'll have to try some more on that one. Thanks for the awesome review. |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | I like the Aura but sometimes I think these type of units alter the classic Ovation electric/acoustic tone too much. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | The Adamas that I sold before getting the KOALA had the Optima in it. I really liked that preamp. Not just the tone, but also the notch filter. One thing I had forgotten is how easy (relatively) it is to get feedback on a piezo pickup. I've been playing my Taylor exclusively for six months now. You have to try pretty hard to get the ES to feedback. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 1421
Location: Orange County, California | Originally posted by richardd:
I like the Aura but sometimes I think these type of units alter the classic Ovation electric/acoustic tone too much. AHHaaaa!! ANOTHER instance of this technology being mis-applied!! You can even screw up the known good acoustic electric tone of an Ovation with an Aura...
There are images of an LX Elite and Legend and a Super Shallow Celebrity on the Fishman website. Unless you own one of these guitars and are trying to duplicate their acoustic sound while plugged in, of course it's going to alter the tone.
Seriously, I agree with both Omaha and Andrew. I like both Image 2 (Dynamic mic'd close) mixed in, AND the high headroom, clean sound of the OP-Pro (or the Optima). There is a definite balance between image and pickup to maintain the natural tone of the instrument while plugged in. |
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Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | On a tangentially related note, did anyone catch Alejandro Escovedo on ACL last weekend? There was one song where he was playing his wood-box (with sound hole plug) and the tone was almost a perfect recreation of the typical Ovation piezo sound. It was kind of neat to hear that tone coming out of a wood box.
Back to your regularly scheduled thread... |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Didn't see it, but it was probably a cajon. |
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Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Originally posted by cliff:
Didn't see it, but it was probably a cajon. Good ghod, cliff. I didn't mean, literally, a wood box with a sound hole. I meant a wood-box guitar. I thought it was a Martin, but I don't keep up on those things (wood box guitar *or* cajons). |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | Its an interesting question...at some point the distinctive piezo tone became desirable in its own right. That quacky, edgy tone that some find objectionable kindof grows on you.
Even though the purists would say that the objective is to create an amplification system that sounds exactly like the natural guitar tone, others might say that the piezo sound has been around so long that people have grown to like it.
I'm somewhere in between. I actually like the piezo tone, but I like a natural guitar tone better. I really like the way the VIP gives me the option to mix and match, live, as I see fit. That's a really cool level of control. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Tone is subjective and may be dependent upon the specific number. Our postlude song last Sunday was Willie Nelson's On the Road Again. I had the Tak EF75 (it is as close to Willie's beat up Martin as I can get) and added some twang and delay. I thought the tone was great for that song, particularly the leads. In most other songs, it would sound too thin. |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | Originally posted by mtnbikerfred:
Originally posted by richardd:
[qb] I like the Aura but sometimes I think these type of units alter the classic Ovation electric/acoustic tone too much. AHHaaaa!! ANOTHER instance of this technology being mis-applied!! You can even screw up the known good acoustic electric tone of an Ovation with an Aura... I haven't mis-applied anything. You assume that my sound images came from the Fishman website.
It's a good idea to be in possession of all the facts before shooting your mouth off. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 1421
Location: Orange County, California | Richardd,
I assume nothing, including responsibility for my own comments most of the time :p :D :p :D .
Ok you busted me. I'm sorry and I didn't mean to imply that YOU misapplied the technology. Did you edit/create your own image? Are we even talking about the Fishman or something else? How'd you do it? What mic did you you use? etc etc.
I'd love to be able to share more ways to get the "natural acoustic" sound of your guitar while plugged in (if that's what you're after).
truce? |
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Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Waskel and I are going to have to make you an honorary "John," Fred, just so people can say, "Quit being a PITA, John!" :D
Can the user really edit the Aura/VIP images? That would make the VIP muy interesting to me. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | You can load additional Aura images from the web. You can even send your actual guitar to Fishman and they will custom make an image for you. I don't know of a way to personally edit an image. The last I looked (maybe nine months ago) Fishman hadn't released an image building toolkit. Maybe things have changed.
As to the VIP, it doesn't appear to have any sort of standard I/O port that you could use (eg, no USB). In order to change the software, you would need 'their' (Ovation? Fishman?) propriatary interface. But even if you had it, you would need a way to make an image, and that goes back to the lack of an available toolkit. |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | That would be an interesting move, in and of itself. I wonder if Ovation's guys have considered adding a user-customizeable option to future versions of the VIP? If that's the new wave of the future in acoustic technology, it would seem obvious that updates in terms of images or software would be necessary down the road. Heck, my iPod needs updates all the time. |
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Getting to know the VIP
