[WI_Newbie]

So here's the issue. This is in reference to the Fender Montara that I just recently got.

The active elec's in it are putting out a surprisingly low level. I was able to test this by plugging into a direct box/board with the Montara and my Ibanez AEF30. Same direct box, cable, and according to the meter the Montara is putting out about 1/4-1/3 the gain as the Ibanez when both guitars have their volumes wide open.

Now I know the Fender is about 17-18 years older so the tech involved will play a large part in this. But I think I would prefer to not modify the Fender guitar body and use some kind of external preamp. Does this line of thinking make sense to you? Not that I intend to sell the Montara but the collectibility will surely plummet if I modify it for a new pickup system. Actually I'd like to get this all set up just so it's right and than sell the Ibanez, don't need both.

I did call Fender about the elec's in the Montara, but since it was a short run of about 3 years they made this, and that was more than 17 years ago, the pickup system in it is long disc'd. Fishman is their recommendation since that's what they put in the Sonoran's and Kingman's etc now.

90% of the time I play it unplugged with friends around the house, and almost exclusively plug it in at our church. So a rack mount preamp that will go in the gig case for my wireless unit (wireless is for my bass, usually play both any given Sunday) is what I'm thinking of.

So any suggestions on a rackmount unit that's moderately priced, I'm not made of $$ ya know.

[krissovo]

How about a Zoom A1 or A2? A2 is what I use for my acoustics and its nice cheap unit. I use the reverbs mostly but it would boost the signal as well as well as give some decent 12 string sims etc.

Zoom A2: Harmony Central User Reviews

[fly135]

I have two of these and they work great....

Buy ART Tube MP Studio Mic Preamp online at Musician's Friend

[WI_Newbie]

Now I never considered an effects unit to do double duty as preamp and putting some effects in there.....interesting.

Thanx for the suggestions, that helps.

[WI_Newbie]

Originally Posted by krissovo

How about a Zoom A1 or A2? A2 is what I use for my acoustics and its nice cheap unit. I use the reverbs mostly but it would boost the signal as well as well as give some decent 12 string sims etc.

Zoom A2: Harmony Central User Reviews

So I thought about both of these suggestions, thought about this A2just because the effects might be cool.

But when I called Musicians Friend they told me this was effects only and would not function as a preamp, IE it wouldn't boos the signal at all, I'd have to buy a preamp seperately...

So does that sound right? Or did I just get the worst possible person on the phone? I've always had good luck in the past with MF and since there's no stores around here with a huge inventory of stuff like this, online is my best choice.

[fly135]

I think that you got bad information... sort of. All of the multiFX units I've tried have amplification. However, they are not normally considered to be preamps as they may not have a straight clean amplification. You usually have to have some sort of amp model assigned, which alters the tone.

Here's the spec... So it has plenty of amplification.

Output(Line/headphones combined): 1/4 in. stereo phone jack (Maximum output level: +5dBm, Output load impedance: 10 kilohm or higher)

edit: Since this is an acoustic pedal, most of the amp models are probably more EQ than anything else. So my guess is that this would work fine as a preamp.

[P-90]

Originally Posted by WI_Newbie

Now I never considered an effects unit to do double duty as preamp and putting some effects in there.....interesting.

I never really looked at preamps for acoustics before, but it appears that most of them are just a little clean boost with some tone knobs. And most of them cost $75-$200, which seems kind of pricey for what you're getting. Some, like Takamine's CoolTube, also require permanent modification to the guitar's body. I have to wonder... would a simple and inexpensive overdrive pedal really be a terrible alternative?

Most of them are designed to get dirty when you turn them up high, but there's no reason you need to do that, turning it up a quarter of the way would probably give you all the boost you needed, while keeping the signal squeaky clean. And, at $15 and up, that might be a very cost-effective solution. I'd imagine that your local music shop would have some you could try out and see whether it does the trick for you or not.

[WI_Newbie]

Thanx again, since posting that I did more research over the weekend too. It appears that the ART listed by fly135 has 70db of gain, and the next model up of ART has some "voicings" on it which might be cool, the Studio V3, also with 70db gain.

The local music store suggested V3 and will try to get one in for me to try out.

Thanx again, I'll let you know what I end up with.

[P-90]

70 dB = up to about 2800 times louder. I'd think that quite sufficient!

[WI_Newbie]

Originally Posted by P-90

70 dB = up to about 2800 times louder. I'd think that quite sufficient!

Yeah, I'd hope so.

Here's some info from Musicians Friend on it:

ART Tube MP Studio V3 Mic Preamp Features:

V3 presets provide fine-tuned presets designed by top studio and live-sound engineers allowing you to quickly optimize your recordings
Features ART's Output Protection Limiter, which precisely and accurately controls and maintains the output peak signal
In addition to preamplification, the Tube MP Studio can be used as an exceptional direct box for impedance matching, amplifying, and improving the sound of any instrument plugged into it
Dynamic range: 100dB
Frequency response: 10Hz-20kHz
Maximum gain: 70dB


Unless I'm reading it wrong, looking forward to trying it.