Fishman Aura - The OG of IR | Red Hat Review

[@dannyveras]

I’ve been using Aura Fishman for almost 10 years now , and I think it’s part of my success , the guitar sounds brighter and more real than just the fake sound of the pick ups, any of my guitars sounds great , regardless if it’s a Taylor or a cheap one, I deceided to keep the spenssive guitars at home, and use the cheap ones live , nobody really pays attention if it’s Taylor or not, people love the sound anyways!!

[@dcarlisle123]

This is the proper way to review a product, not talk your audience to death. Thanks!

[@redhatreview]

Thank you. Glad you found it informative.

[@alamoestepario9096]

Hey man, thanks for the video. I got 2 questions. First: would it be better to have a guitar without preamp? I mean to connect the guitar straight from the piezo to the aura. Second: having this type of pedal, should I run the rig into a PA? Cause I figure the sound would be changed if I connect it to an amp, let´s say a Roland Ac33. Cheers!

[@redhatreview]

I personally like active systems in my guitars, but a passive system without a preamp can work with the Aura as well. The Aura was designed with piezo undersaddle pickups, so those tend to work best, but I’ve had good results with bridge plate pickups as well. I usually go straight from a pedal like this to the PA. There’s no reason you couldn’t plug into an amp, though. The tone shaping on the amp may not be as needed, but that’s ok.

[@huubdijckmanns7752]

Hi Red hat, I would like to know if there are any images/mic images that you prefer over others for your Gibson-like guitar? thanks in advance, Huub.

[@AaronMarkson]

I almost always use the Gibson J45 Soundelux E47 image. Others that have worked for me are the Gibson J45 DPA 4011, the Gibson AJ35 Schoeps CMC64G, and the Epiphone Masterbuilt AJ500 Schoeps CMC64G

[@huubdijckmanns7752]

@@AaronMarkson Thanks very much!!!!

[@savsongs1306]

I was thinking of getting this product I just bought a Martin D-42 with Koa back and sides and am having an LR Baggs Anthem installed. I have a question, what are the settings for instance the top setting says dreadnaught, but then at the bottom it says user images which I assume are the mic'd up versions of some guitar? I haven't seen anyone explain what the different guitar style settings represent above the User Images button? Like what is the difference between having the button on Dreadnaught vs User Images?

[@redhatreview]

User images are ones you can download from the Fishman Aura software and upload to the pedal. All other categories are factory installed by fishman. In general, the best images are going to be closest to your actual guitar. Shape, size, woods, etc. but sometimes other images just work. I highly recommend going through the image library and trying as many as you can to find good matches and out those on the pedal to use.

[@ajimotor96]

Some of the images would emit high pitched rings 😵‍💫

[@daverenick5830]

Im getting one but have this question, will this be compatible with my K&K mini pickup? I guess this contains a D.I. yes? Will I still need an EQ? Is this bit of gear all I need to run with my acoustic through an amp (a deluxe reverb is a good example, or do I still need a ton of gear modify this thing?

[@marcelchaloupka]

IR means Impulse Response. generally you record your guitar and the pedal takles the recortded sound of you natural sounding guitar and maps the responses (your natural sounding guitar) to the rrespnce ( to trigger the response) the pick up is used as the trigger for the resoponse. you can blend the IR sound with your pickup to get a blend ogf the two or you can use it at 100% response. basically it doenst matter what pickup you have and for that matter you could record any guitar to the response and uses and cheap guitar and get the sould of and expensive guitar.

[@necipfazilaskar]

There is a problem with Aura gallery III. It is not working on Windows 10. There is error at install process and program not starting. Anyone can help?

[@redhatreview]

Unfortunately, I cannot help. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

[@jixxxxer17]

what does the thing go and why would someone need it if they already have a really nice high end Fishman acoustic amp ? maybe explain what OG and IR stand for in the intro, just a suggestion , Peace !

[@AaronMarkson]

OG is just a way of saying "The Original". IR stands for Impulse Response. Check out my explanation at 5:51 for what this is doing and why someone might want one. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@alfarero777]

Hi the Fishman Aura have boost? or something like that to do solos...?

[@redhatreview]

Nope. The platinum pro eq pedal does, but not the aura spectrum DI.

[@JohnDoe-xr5is]

My main gigging guitar is a Larrivee OM with a LR Baggs Anthem. The Anthem on it's own sounds the best of any acoustic pickup I've ever used. The Aura sounds don't do anything for me. I set the Aura on 0% effect....100% guitar/Anthem. I've tried and tried, but none of the internal Aura sounds improve my tone. I follow the instructions where they say a mixture of guitar/Aura is best...don't use 100% aura tones. So many of the internal Aura tones have this weird midrange honk about them. But I continue to use the Aura for two reasons: 1) I have eq adjustment at my feet. I don't have to go over to the mixer and try to change it there. 2) The compressor is awesome. I tried a few cheap compressors, and they were awful, so I came back to the Aura. I do have a 12 string with an undersaddle (with the horrible quack) and I do mix in a little bit of tone from the Aura.

[@redhatreview]

I wouldn’t use the aura imaging with an anthem either.

[@rstevenhanson]

How does this compare to the Boss AD-10?

[@redhatreview]

I haven’t used the Boss AD-10, but to my knowledge the boss does not have any impulse response capability, so sort of apples to oranges in terms of what they are aiming at.

[@lucaventuriniautieri7982]

hi, thanks for your video! May I ask you a question? is there any annoying or relevant latency between when you play the guitar and what comes out of the Fishman Aura Spectrum? Thank you!

[@redhatreview]

None that I have ever experienced.

[@lucaventuriniautieri7982]

@@redhatreview Thanks a lot for the answer!

[@benwalz5201]

I have a Baggs anthem. How did you like it on this pedal and did you use any of the anthem mic in this demo? I’m also very interested in the feedback button feature and how well that works.

[@redhatreview]

I like the anthem a lot as a pickup, but I don't generally use it with the Aura. For this demo, I turned the mic completely off in the anthem to show the capabilities of the Aura. In real life, I would use the anthem with the mic at 100% (the pickup still/always handles low frequencies) or as much as possible given the environment.

[@scottstambaugh8473]

@@redhatreviewI'm considering the Aura, but have the Anthem in all three of my gigging guitars. I get the Anthem will "work" with this pedal if I dial the mic off, but would it work less well than if I had a strictly piezo under saddle like a Matrix? I guess what I'm asking is, is it worth purchasing an Aura if you have the Anthem, or do you lose an appreciable amount of the efficacy of the pedal by having a pickup system that's inappropriate for it? Thanks. I'm kinda torn on spending the cash for a pedal if I'm going to get less than full benefit from it.

[@redhatreview]

@@scottstambaugh8473 I wouldn’t get the Aura if you are using the Anthem. I would opt for a good eq pedal.

[@roamsy]

Great review! Such a complex pedal concept that is difficult to wrap my head around but you helped me understand more than any other review. I read people with nylons saying that they couldn't find a great sound. I have a Cordoba Fusion 14 Maple and am trying to see if they have a toneprint in the Aura Gallery. Is there a way to check the library before purchasing? I will look up the other pedals you mention as well. Thank you.

[@roamsy]

Also, based on your experience if you recommend any of the pedals over another please lmk!

[@redhatreview]

Thank you. I am glad it was helpful. You can download the Aura Gallery and search for the available images without owning the pedal. There are some nylon models. I just looked up your model, and there isn't a specific image for it, but you may have good luck with one of the other nylon images.

[@redhatreview]

@@roamsy I am planning to tackle a review of the VPDI soon and hope to do a comparison video as well. They each have some strengths and some weaknesses. It's hard to say what is best.

[@roamsy]

@@redhatreview Thanks for looking that up. I will watch your other videos and check out some of the other IR options out there.

[@roamsy]

@@redhatreview Decided on the Nux, bc I have access to a nice preamp and different mics. And obviously the cost factor. I just can't see an Iphone mic really doing the job, but look forward to your VPDI review!

[@cpfwriter]

This was great, thanks! Trying to salvage the amplified tone of my dreaded Fishman Sonitone in an all-sapele Martin, which sounds great acoustically but not so much otherwise. Appreciate the video!

[@antonio.lovric]

@cpfwriter so do you use Aura with your Guitar with Sonitone?

[@cpfwriter]

@@antonio.lovric Not yet, I'm deciding whether to buy the Aura and give it a try.

[@antonio.lovric]

@@cpfwriter I own Gibson G-45 with Sonitone. Acoustic unplugged sound is great, but Im not satisfied with Sonitone. But Aura Spectrum is a little bit expensive..

[@cpfwriter]

@@antonio.lovric Yes, in my case that Aura costs more than half the price of the guitar the Sonitone is sitting in, which is why I've waited so long!

[@andyshull8229]

@@antonio.lovric my Fishman Aura died while using tuner. Zager guitar not that old, well taken care of . CRAP!

[@scottschmittmusic]

Thanks!

[@pedr0p0lis]

Great explanation, thanks.

[@bennyhill3505]

Cheers. Decent review. Thanks.

[@marcozappalaguitarist]

In your opinion, better this or Tone dexter?

[@redhatreview]

It’s not a simple one is better than the other. I like the aura’s blending better. I also like the compressor and eq in it. As for the IR part, if you find an image that works, it’s fantastic. Tonedexter will work for more people, and has gotten much better than when it started, which may imply that it will continue to improve. There is still something about the sound and feel of it that doesn’t work for me. For me... Aura. But I might not always recommend it over the Tonedexter. A lot depends on context and style. I’m hoping to do a bit of a compare and contrast at some point. Thanks for watching and if you have any other specific questions about either, I’d be happy to share my thoughts.

[@marcozappalaguitarist]

@@redhatreview Thank you. It would be great a video where you compare these pedals.

[@koolkat808hawaii]

What picup system is your Gibson? Thanks

[@redhatreview]

Trance Audio Amulet M

[@koolkat808hawaii]

@@redhatreview Thanks, sound great just by itself

[@redhatreview]

@@koolkat808hawaii No Problem. I agree. It is one of my favorite pickups.

[@HL-OOI]

Guess nobody use pedals for busking thru an acoustic amp..🤣

[@miguelmelo7707]

Hiii do you prefer the aura or the lr baggs ? I was going to pick aura but lr baggs Launch a voice print 🫣

[@redhatreview]

The voiceprint works with a much wider range of pickups and has more powerful eq abilities, so I give the edge to Baggs, but if you have an under saddle pickup and you find the right aura image, the fishman still works well and sounds great.

[@miguelmelo7707]

@@redhatreview thank you for your response, I have an undersaddle pickup. I’m going buy one of them. With an undersaddle what do you think wins? And as a di ? Thank you