Zoom A3 Acoustic Guitar Multi Effects Pedal

Product Information

The A3 provides remodeling presets for 16 different body types/shapes and 28 world-renowned acoustic guitars, allowing you not only to restore the true sound of your guitar but to simulate the tonal characteristics of other instruments as well. In addition, there are 40 onboard DSP effects, each carefully crafted to enrich the tone of acoustic guitar. For ease of use, these are organized into the followingcategories: Nabízí totiž presety pro 16 různých typů těla a 28 konkrétních modelů, které pokryjí kompletní škálu zvuků, takže si můžete vybrat takový, který přesně vyhovuje k Vašemu nástroji. A3 nepracuje jako simulace, jeho smyslem je dodat Vaší kytaře to, co ztratí, když je snímána pomocí snímače. As a preamp/DI pedal with a choice of two effects, the A3 works very well and has a good feature set, although you should be prepared for plenty of button mashing. But as a multi-effects for the acoustic performer, it's rather compromised. If you want more than one patch per song, it's possible but not easy to achieve. It's a shame that you can't recall your sounds in a more conventional fashion - an additional footswitch with up/down patch select buttons would certainly make things much easier live.

The A3 features an “acoustic remodeling function” that’s designed to restore the tone of various body types and specific instruments. Simply choose the closest body type and the model that most closely matches the guitar you’re playing and then use the balance knob to dial in the levels of the direct signal and the modelled signal. Zoom has set a high bar for features in the A3—it’s hard to think of anything significant they’ve left out, and the A3 could easily replace an entire row of stompboxes. Many guitarists will find it attractive just for its clean sound, musically useful EQ, and modeling options. The effects are limited to two at a time, but the large range of options allows you to explore at your leisure and find subtle or dramatic colors to add to your sonic palette. SPECS The A3 allows you to plug a microphone in and the balanced XLR output allows you to use the pedal as a DI box. There’s a ground switch to eliminate ground loop hum. Power models: D-18, D-28, D-45, 000-28, 000-18, OM-28, OM-18, OM-42, 00-21, 00-18, J-45, Advanced Jumbo, J-160E, Hummingbird, Dove, SJ-200, F-55, LG-2, LG-0, 314ce, LL36, LL66, Adamas, Legend, Nylon, 12 Strings, Resonator, UprightBass At one time I was going to get an A3 as an upgrade to my A2, but went in a different direction and got a Zoom MS70CDR which I put behind Fishman Pro-EQ or LR Baggs PADI pre. I'll say I'm not fond of Zoom's documentation on their gear.

Rating

body types: round shoulder, square shoulder, jumbo body, parlor body, mold body, single cutaway, resonator, upright bass, dreadnought, orchestra, triple O, double O, YMH, Silent, 12 String, Nylon String Output impedance: BALANCED OUT: 100 Ω (HOT-GND, COLD-GND), 200 Ω (HOT-COLD), GND LIFT (switchselectable) Easy-to-use interface includes LCD, footswitches, analog-style cursor keys/parameter knobs and LED indicators Use the Tap Tempo feature to set the tempo in real-time to the rhythm of a song as you play guitar. You can also use it to for delay times and modulation effect frequencies. Acoustic guitarists usually depend on effects much less than electric players, but given the chance, the list of devices we might wish to use can be fairly long. String together a preamp, DI, EQ, tuners, and footswitches for muting and boosting, reverb, chorus, delay, modeler, and a few more and before you know it you’ll have an acoustic pedal board that rivals those of its electric cousins. Or you could have all of those in a single small pedal, which is what Zoom has tried to provide with its latest acoustic preamp and effects unit, the A3.

You'll find many popular acoustic guitar bodies and types here, from Dreadnought to Jumbo, from Round Shoulder to Square Shoulder, and from Single Cutaway to Resonator. Also included are emulations of Martin 00 and 000 models, resin-body guitars such as the Ovation Adamas, and both twelve-string and nylon-strings—even upright bass. All A3 models accurately recreate the tonal differences between instruments, down to the bracing and type of wood from which they aremade. Getting lost in a mix is no fun. Engaging this feature gives up a clean boost up to 12 dB to help get your sound front and center. Guitar Tuner The digital graphic and parametric EQs are also impressive. The latter provides surgical control over offending frequencies. There are several lush sounding choruses, and aggressive strummers will welcome the available compressors. The unit’s delay, tremolo, phaser, auto-wah, and flanger effects work well, sound good, and are easy to edit. Hold the footswitch down to activate the built-in chromatic tuner in an instant. Even on stage during a performance, all you need to do is move your foot to enable tuning. You can choose between a BYPASS mode that turns all the effects off and a MUTE mode that allows you to tune silently. A dozen adjustable rooms, halls, arenas, plates, and springs that allow you to add depth and spaciousness to your sound. The A3's cutting-edge DSP microchip performs 32-bit floating-point calculations, giving it the ability to create sophisticated studio-quality effects such as the realistic simulations found here.The two effect limit is a problem. There are sonic enhacers of all types on this pedal, but when going from the A3 into a live sound board – you’re likely to need additional gear to get the sounds you want. Many online users keep pointing to the USB port and the ability to upgrade firmware as a sign that Zoom might add additional effects capacity to the pedal – but I don’t think that’s something that can be relied on. This is a box that does a LOT and does the majority of it very well. There are, however, some caveats to think about when considering this pedal. The effects sound really good. The fact that they were willing to include some non traditional acoustic effects (like reverse delay and auto-wah) into the pedal is a nice addition as well. Maximum output level: [LINE] +5dBm (Output load impedance: 10kΩ or higher), [PHONES] 5.7mW + 5.7mW into 32Ω load Here’s the basic signal flow: A large dial selects from 16 different guitars styles (such as Dreadnought, Round Shoulder, Orchestra, Double 0, Resonator, etc.), and you choose the setting that most closely matches your guitar. Then there are two input gain knobs for the unit’s twin channels, each with an LED peak indicator. Next are a 3-band EQ, master level, and a balance control to set the blend between dry and effected signals.

While there’s a DC 9v in, the A3 can be powered by the USB input or by batteries (up to 8 hours continuous use on 4 AA batteries and 5 hours when the +48V phantom power is being used for the mic input). The Pre-amp This is hardly an original thought, but every time I’m presented a new piece of gear I’m amazed at the increased processing power and portability of effects these days. The 40 effects, which have a focus on chorus, delay, reverb and other spatial effects, can make acoustic tones even more beautiful. Other effects include a compressor that suppresses input peaks and evens the volume level, an air effect that simulates the sense of space from room tone and a detuning effect that creates a sound like a 12-string guitar. You can use any 2 of these effects together as you like." The modeling is cool but more subtle than the term ‘modeling’ might imply. Don’t expect radical Variax™ type differences between the body types. In this regard the A3 feels more like a complex set of eq curves applied to your signal than true modeling. Having said that, it’s fairly easy to find a base complimentary tone to the signal that you’re using.

Selling Your Zoom A3 Acoustic Multi-Effects Pedal

Acoustic players who plug in can be subdivided into two more categories: those seeking sounds closest to a pure acoustic voice of their guitar, and those who embrace the opportunities of going electro-acoustic. The latter group sometimes uses pedalboards that electric players would envy, and signal chains comprised of a tuner, a preamp/DI box, some sort of EQ, and perhaps a reverb unit are common. Chorus, compression, and delay are also popular, as are modeling or imaging processors like Fishman’s Aura.