Acoustic Guitars NEED Pedals Too! | Acoustic Pedalboard Walkthrough

Want better live acoustic guitar tones? Sick of that acoustic pickup 'quack'? You've come to the right place! In this video, we're walking through the fundamentals of building a fantastic pedalboard for acoustic guitar. We're talking all things preamps, impulse responses, eq, compression, reverb, and delay. So sit down, grab a coffee, and let's get started!
TIMECODES:
0:00 - Acoustic jam
0:48 - Intro
2:00 - Signal chain (overview)
3:36 - NUX Optima Air
7:50 - LR Baggs Session pedal
10:38 - One Control Sea Turquoise delay
12:04 - BBE Sonic Stomp
14:30 - One Control Lemon Yellow compressor
15:48 - Final A/B comparison
18:27 - Outro
PRODUCTS FEATURED:
D'Addario Tuner Pedal: amzn.to/37AnLbr
NUX Optima Air: amzn.to/3qNxyCU
LR Baggs Session Pedal: amzn.to/3uidlXL
One Control Sea Turquoise Delay: amzn.to/3btDyu0
BBE Sonic Stomp: amzn.to/2ZFFkT2
One Control Lemon Yellow Compressor: amzn.to/2ZFFnyc
Digitech JamMan Express: bit.ly/2MfOHGe
T-Rex ToneTrunk Minor (Pedalboard): bit.ly/3bvT5cA
One Control Micro Distro (Power Supply): amzn.to/3aG01Vx
EBS Premium Gold (Patch Cables): amzn.to/37BKyUj
Fishman LoudBox Mini: amzn.to/3byIXje
RELATED VIDEOS:
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IR's on Acoustic Guitar Sound Amazing: • IR's Are AMAZING on Ac...
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OTHER LINKS & RESOURCES:
Website: www.guitariq.com
Books: www.guitariq.com/books
KZbin: / guitariq
Facebook: / info.guitariq
VIDEO DISCLOSURE:
Some of the URL's above are affiliate links. (This means, at no cost to you, we make a small commission on products purchased via our links.) Some products featured are provided by manufactures for use in our videos. No other sponsorships or incentives are offered in exchange for this content. This video was not revised, amended, or paid for by any third party.

[@danpallottamusic]

What a generous gift it is for you to explain all of this, that has taken you years to understand, to those like me who are just in a sea of confusion about it all. This was very clarifying, and wow, what a difference with everything engaged vs. disengaged. So often the conversation is just about the pick-up, you know, piezo or mic, sound hole of glued on transducers. And all of that matters. But the pedals add a whole other universe of improvement possibilities to that universe. Thank you, thank you.

[@guitariq]

No worries, at all. Thanks for your kind words. All the best!

[@colauty2598]

From someone whose only pedal experience is my car accelerator, I find this brilliant, not rushed or boring, just great info.. we'll done, thank you

[@guitariq]

Awesome, I'm glad you found it useful. Thanks!

[@camdobie]

😅

[@brittany6903]

I have watched this video far too many times now. Really enjoyed it! Thanks for the details and the on/off comparisons. Well done!

[@guitariq]

Awesome, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it ; )

[@stillbreathing9146]

Excellent video, you've achieved a stunning sound without losing the acoustic nature of the guitar. Thank you.

[@guitariq]

Thanks!

[@melwynalmeida50]

WOW ! Thanks for the Education mate. I could use all this in my church playing. You have really so humbly, in all honesty and simplicity explained it all. I lived the sound with all pedals on. Tks again bro. Love from Mumbai, India.

[@guitariq]

Awesome mate, thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. All the best ; )

[@VintageGold]

After watching and listening to the whole video, I feel like the NUX Optima Air made the most difference in the sound and everything else in the chain did a great job of enhancing and drawing out subtle nuances of the sound. Thanks for the video!

[@guitariq]

Awesome. No worries!

[@dennisdewinter1997]

This was a super helpful video. Thanks so much. I thoroughly appreciate you explaining your thought process for why you chose your specific pedals.

[@guitariq]

Awesome! Glad you found it useful ; )

[@modalities]

Wicked good video on how to maximize tone/experience using minimalist effects. We can talk about these separately, but the cumulative result is key. Well done!

[@guitariq]

Thanks mate! I'm glad you enjoyed the video ; )

[@JayParkMusicInMe]

Thanks for the great information! The quality of your delivery was excellent

[@guitariq]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video ; )

[@NZ1one1]

I came here for your thoughts on the Optima Air as I’m looking at getting one for myself (using an electric though) and for other guitarists at church to use also. Thanks for the rundown of your rig, very clear explanations and easy to follow. Cheers, from NZ

[@guitariq]

No worries. Cheers mate! Here's a standalone video I did using the Optima Air too, if you're interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGeVf4qan9mdqJI

[@JazzStrat781]

Absolutely great acoustic tones, thanks so much for the video 👍

[@guitariq]

Awesome! Glad you liked it. Thanks ; )

[@chucklinz1702]

I was looking for simple acoustic guitar pedal setup logic which you provided. Good job with the examples and explanation.

[@guitariq]

Glad it helped! All the best ; )

[@vitkrivanek9378]

Almost a miracle dude! Well done! I am so inspired.

[@guitariq]

Awesome mate! Best of luck ; )

[@attybong]

all that i needed for my acoustic pedalboard are the preamp, reverb, eq and comp .. plus a tuner 😊

[@kriscraig7694]

Amazing acoustic tones, I’ll be copying this build, thanks

[@guitariq]

Awesome!

[@prestonmorris633]

Nice work. For such a simple setup that adds a ton to the sound. I went a little overboard with things like the venue DI, Sessions DI, BigSky, DD-500, and the MD-500, distortion, blues distortion, but I love my sound to. I really want to add the voiceprint DI and take off some of the other lr baggs stuff.

[@guitariq]

Nice!

[@ChrisGalesMusic]

I really love the NuX Optima Air. I am determined to get one of those now. I think I would only add compression and delay to that sound and maybe use the LR Baggs as a boost. Thank you so much for this demo.

[@guitariq]

Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!

[@garthosborn8400]

For me, the lesson learned is not to go overboard with a specific effect. I like how you established your base tone with the Optima Air, then sweetened it bit by bit as you progressed down the signal chain. Well done.

[@guitariq]

Cheers mate! I'm really glad you got something out of the video. All the best ; )

[@YuvalGrumer]

great direct sound!

[@KieranLeCam]

I can't lie, I like the basic acoustic sound better. It has so much more emotion to it...

[@donmartin3356]

This was very well done. I’m particularly interested in and impressed with the NUx Optima pedal. Thanks for this.

[@guitariq]

Great! Glad you found it helpful ; )

[@donmartin3356]

@@guitariq I have two Martins equipped with K&K Mini pickups. Would this pedal work with these?

[@guitariq]

​@@donmartin3356 I haven't used those exact pickups before. So NUX might be able to provide you more specific info regarding using transducer pickups. That said, IR's can be applied to any source. It's more about experimenting to find the tones you like. You can also load in 3rd party IR's, or create IR's specific to your guitar, if you don't find what you're looking for with the preloaded ones. Hope that helps ; )

[@donmartin3356]

@@guitariq thanks very much

[@VolnyCzalaviek]

Very good overview, thanks a lot!

[@guitariq]

No worries, cheers ; )

[@jaxnotdead2549]

Thank you so much for introducing these. I wanna try to replicate some of these sounds on my Headrush Gigboard. I know it won't be as good, but still. Now I know what the heck IR does.

[@guitariq]

Awesome! Glad I could help. You might find some 3rd party IR's you like over at 3SigmaAudio. Cheers ; )

[@MychaelAllenMusic]

Really great sounds. Definitely gonna try this board setup.

[@guitariq]

Nice! Cheers mate ; )

[@JoeBaileyWeddingSinger]

Thank you for this video! Great recommendations.

[@guitariq]

Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers ; )

[@AgentKing23]

Dude!! It’s sounds amazing, I’ll definitely look into IRs

[@guitariq]

Awesome. Thanks!

[@NavyJonesMusicShorts]

Hang on a second I know that bloke! I was searching for acoustic guitar pedal Ideas, and yours was one of the first to come up on KZbin. Great content by the way Luke, really helpful for a noob like me cheers mate.

[@guitariq]

Hey brother! Best of luck on your musical adventures. Cheers mate ; )

[@NavyJonesMusicShorts]

@@guitariq I've watched it a couple of times now still a very, very long way to go with the ear training, also checked out You vids on the LR Baggs and NUX pedals. Super helpful, thanks Luke!

[@jonconver3219]

Your. Tone. Is. DOPE!!!!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@guitariq]

Cheers ; )

[@garthosborn8400]

Great video and explanation. Live the on/off comparisons. I was debating whether to get an all-in-one unit (Tonedeq or Zoom AC-3) or build an acoustic board. This gives me more to think about!

[@guitariq]

Cheers!

[@elvis8burgers81]

Great little video feature, interesting and well demonstrated. This is exactly the kind of heads-up I was looking for. My Eastman acoustic with on board cheap Fishman piezo is OK but sounds harsh through most PA system. I to shape the pi

[@guitariq]

Awesome. Glad it could help! Best of luck with your rig ; )

[@elvis8burgers81]

Thanks Luke. Hit send before finishing my comment! Meant to add, I’ll use this vid to help shape my live sound! Thks

[@deletechannel13]

Sounds so killer man!

[@guitariq]

Cheers mate ; )

[@tedtanner]

Great stuff! Now if there were only one pedal that could do all of that! A guy can dream.

[@benjamintremoulet1123]

The Voicelive 3 would do most of it, plus many other things for your voice, in case you are singing as well. What it doesn't do is load IR. If you want that on top of the rest, I guess you'll have to go with the Helix.

[@Dutcharmytent]

The algorithm brought me here as this video was exactly the precise information that I wanted to know .

[@guitariq]

Cheers!

[@YELLOWNITA]

I'm agree With you, spécific pedalboard can help to find a good sound 🎶🎶

[@ronnieredneck9162]

Great video, thanks .

[@canbro28]

Luke, thanks for this detailed explanation of your amplified acoustic tone. This is certainly one of the best explanations and demonstrations addressing acoustic guitar amplification that I have seen . . . anywhere. I realize that not everyone will agree or appreciate this processed approach but having dealt with acoustic amplification for the past 18 years or so I have a great appreciation for just how difficult it is to achieve a really good acoustic sound in an amplified environment. It is possible to get an "okay" tone using an acoustic guitar with a good pickup system run straight to a Sound System but I have never heard that approach sound "really good". Acoustic guitar pickups may have gained some ground in the past 15 years but they still fall short of natural acoustic tone. I believe the very act of amplifying an acoustic guitar inherently changes that nature. In other words, it is not really an acoustic guitar tone any longer. It is its own unique sound. It can be a really great sound but it isn't the same thing as the original. That said, taking the extra steps to present a really good acoustic guitar-like tone will yield benefits in the final product . . . a sound that is pleasing to the player and the audience.

[@guitariq]

Hey Bryan, thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you found the video helpful! All the best mate ; )

[@cugir321]

Still happy with it....I'm taking mine back tomorrow....feed back is a pain in the ass when you try and get decent volume.

[@pabloguitar3778]

Awesome vídeo, thank you very much!

[@guitariq]

You're welcome, cheers ; )

[@DanijelMaodus]

Very useful video, thank you. I might as well copy everything and be sure in this way I'll be satisfied.

[@guitariq]

Nice! But in my experience musicians are never satisfied with their tone ; ) As the saying goes, "It's about the journey not the destination." Or, something like that...

[@DanijelMaodus]

@@guitariq Of course, I know that too well. In this particular example I'd put Fishman Aura 16 Dreadnought in place of the Nux Optima Air because I have one, it's possible it sounds even better but I'd have to compare them to be sure.

[@guitariq]

@@DanijelMaodus Nice.

[@joeycredible]

This is cool. Thanks.

[@matjagger]

Cool video. Thanks

[@philvandewand7182]

Your guitar sounds amazing after your signal chain. Also great playing!

[@guitariq]

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the video ; )

[@philvandewand7182]

@@guitariq subscribed right away:) do you also have a video regarding acoustic guitar overdrives? I discovered that my collection of Electric guitar ones don't really sound good on the Takamine

[@guitariq]

@@philvandewand7182 It's not an effect I typically use on acoustic... That said, the LR Baggs Session pedal is certainly capable of some nice grit! I did a dedicated video on it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ap-7Xp96ZbGSnck. Other than that, the only thing I'd suggest is getting a drive pedal that has a clean blend. That way you can blend the drive signal to taste, without losing the acoustic character. Hope that helps. Cheers ; )

[@3688jonathan]

Great video - thanks!

[@guitariq]

Cheers ; )

[@Okheerz1]

Great post! I’m a noob w pedals (electronics in general) but a half decent player. Followed you until the Sonic Stomp. There i noticed muddiness in the open d and g strings. Preferred it off, really. Great tips, listening w earbuds. Assuming you bought colored plastic knob covers? I think I’ll by the mini reverb unit. Thanks!

[@njcranes]

Sounds great!

[@guitariq]

Thanks!

[@Maximator019]

great video my dude

[@guitariq]

Cheers mate!

[@slowdawnphmusic]

Great review sir. May I know what pedals are in the FX loop of the Nux Optima Air?Thanks and cheers

[@Prabath1974]

Thanks for sharing ❤

[@guitariq]

No worries!

[@srscott10]

Thx, sounds great!

[@guitariq]

Cheers ; )

[@chadyochum6676]

Thanks to this video, the Optima and the Session have been the bread & butter of my live acoustic guitar tone for the past two years. I’m currently transitioning to a stereo rig, but I’m keeping those two pedals on my board. They compliment each other so beautifully. Thank you for making this video, and ultimately making me sound better.

[@guitariq]

Awesome. Best of luck with the new rig!

[@dharmacaristhirananda3994]

Excellent demo. Thanks.

[@guitariq]

Cheers!

[@dharmacaristhirananda3994]

Unfortunately, the One Control Mellow Yellow isn’t available in the UK. Could you recommend a similar alternative compressor? Thanks.

[@guitariq]

@@dharmacaristhirananda3994 The LR Baggs Session pedal featured in this video is a fantastic comp for acoustic guitar. I've also really been enjoying the Carl Martin Comp/Limiter as a good all round comp lately. However, if you're just looking for a solo boost... any clean boost pedal (or EQ pedal) should work well. Here's a couple of videos I've done featuring the aforementioned pedals: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ap-7Xp96ZbGSnck kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5nCYWlnp8Scj9U

[@dharmacaristhirananda3994]

Many thanks for your recommendations. Much appreciated. I already have an l r Baggs Para DI plugged into a acoustic amp that powers it, so their Session might be the best option. I just have to figure out how it all connects up especially with a looper in the chain.

[@konradkjellberg9544]

Amazingly clear and well presented, Highly commendable!

[@matthiasjanbrungers4978]

I have most of these Pedals except Delay and Loop in my Fishman EQ Pro

[@cp_guitars]

Electric player here just entering the world of amplified acoustics...man its a whole new world on this side. Does the guitar you are playing here have a piezo pickup? I just picked up an acoustic/electric with a LR Baggs Element VTC piezo/battery system.

[@tiadatarasoalcinta2461]

Awesome! 🔥

[@guitariq]

Thanks ; )

[@EloundaVilla]

Sounds great! Who can give me a hint! Where should I put the pitch fork and the hotone soul press 2 (wah+volume). Before the optima air or before the Session? I am confused. Thanks a lot.

[@SergeUnplugged]

Solid pedalboard!

[@chrisforrest4581]

Great video and great acoustic tone thx can you imputes other IR's into the Optima Air pedal ? Like the sigma ones I've heard are good (I know there's a way of programing your own guitar setting).

[@guitariq]

Hey! Yeah, you can load third-party IR's onto the Optima Air. I actually tried loading up a few of 3Sigma's IR's for the demo. Unfortunately, for some reason I couldn't get my laptop to communicate properly with the NUX software. (This could have been due to an issue on my end though. I'll have to experiment some more.) Anyway, I hope that helps. Cheers mate ; )

[@mzmudy]

About the best sequence of building up the acoustic tone I have seen. Really like the comparison at the end with everything on then everything off. I use a Fishman ToneDeq and get a nice compression and reverb (analog) with that. I think I could really benefit from the Nux pedal. Where would you put a tremelo in the chain? I have a few songs where that will be useful. Thanks for taking the time to present this. Cheers!

[@guitariq]

No worries! I usually place tremolo at the end of a signal chain (before the looper). I also like to put it after delay but before reverb. Although it can sound great after reverb too. It really depends on the sound you're going for. I hope that helps ; )

[@mzmudy]

@@guitariq Yes, Helpful! It turns out the ToneDeq has a very nice analog tremelo built in. I just didn't realize it since I usually only focus on the reverb and eq. So now it seems the NuX would go after the tuner and before the ToneDeq, is that right? Thanks for the reply!

[@guitariq]

@@mzmudy Yep. You could even try placing your ToneDeq in the FX loop of the NUX. (That way you can use the reverb and the DI output on the Optima Air.) But really, it's all about experimenting with what you like the sound of. Best of luck ; )

[@cabotlapradd5960]

I just recently purchased an Optima Air and I am getting a large amount of hiss. Is there any adjustment I can make that would help? Thanks

[@FourBarFive]

Wow! This is nothing but a very informative (and no sugarcoating) video! This is the very video I have been looking for! And by the way, what specific guitar did you use in this video?

[@guitariq]

Awesome, glad you found it useful! My guitar is a Maton EST60C. All the best ; )

[@jakeberry2292]

thanks for this some of the links to amazon are not working cheers especially the one control links

[@johnschoppmusic]

Subscribed! Nice Video!

[@guitariq]

Thanks!

[@Spacefiddler]

i would say that IR is that make the most for the sound quality and realism

[@choiceblade]

HOW CAN i LEARN TO FINGER PICK LIKE THAAAAAAAT?!? This content helped a lot. Sub on the first video, dude. I'm pouring hours into my strumming to pick up a couple songs for performance. I'm an accomplished vocalist but it's BACK to the stone age with everything til I get my acoustic hummin'. Finger pickin' video next?!?

[@guitariq]

Cheers for your kind words, mate! Keep at it and best of luck on the journey ; )

[@iliam_cl]

I learned a lot , thnks ! :)

[@guitariq]

No worries ; )

[@Rafa99721]

Very cool, thanks for posting this. I've recently got a Boss AD-2, and although I don't know much about the use of effects with acoustic guitars, I assume it does pretty much what your Session does on your board, am I right?

[@guitariq]

Hey! Yeah, the Boss AD-2 looks cool. I'd be keen to try one out. This effect isn't really the same as the Session. But it's a different way of approaching the same sort of thing. Both pedals would actually work quite well together ; )

[@CatharticGuitar]

I think I’d get a compression pedal and an EQ pedal, and be fine. Can I use my Boss GE-7 and Boss Compression-Sustain?

[@ahfint]

i would have added a switch in the lr baggs to decide if you want just a compressor or also the EQ touched. using with an equalizer it's a bit of a mess?

[@andijoseph]

Great video mate, nice that you enhanced the sound rather that drown it in fx and essentially turn it into an electric guitar. I wanna ask the name of the coloured pedal switch button covers and where I can find some. I’m living in Europe so I’m hoping they may sell them on Thomann.

[@guitariq]

Hey! Yep, they're the Mooer Candy toppers. They should be widely available. Cheers ; )

[@rstevenhanson]

Thank you!

[@bradmeesemusicphotography]

What if I don't want to plug this into an interface? I have the same amp and I want this to sound like what I am hearing in this video through just the amp for smaller gigs. What do I do then? And if I do want to play through a PA, what is the signal flow, or how to do I get this sound running this out of the DI?

[@keithharris4620]

Really liked your tone options. Would u ever think of reviewing something that you can play through and also harmonise vocals? Like the tc helicon play acoustic?…or similar

[@guitariq]

Yeah, interesting idea. I'll keep it in mind. Cheers!

[@whatwouldhousedo5136]

I really dig my Play Acoustic- sort of does what all these pedals do in one box, plus vocal processing. It would be great if TC would release a big firmware update or build a second version- things have come a long way since it was introduced. Would be great to be able to load you own IRs for example, and to have it take advantage of some TonePrint technology, more effects capabilities, etc.

[@bluesnaggletooth1660]

What is your opinion on the Fender Twin Reverb for acoustic guitar? Anyone?

[@Jack-fs2im]

good vid

[@PluckingAmateurs]

I'm sceptical about compression but will give it a try.

[@peteandpuy]

Loved it. Looking for a tone shaper preamp in Asia. I have the Fishman amp. Can I rant...the outside of this amp is destroyed by...the climate. It's tropical. The amp dissolved. Stills sounds good. My mobile PA.

[@pezzjune8928]

Best pedalboard concept on KZbin, tone chasing

[@geeky585]

Great walk through! Landed on this video searching for info on the Session. Did you dial the Optima in while hooked to PC? I understand you can adjust HPF/LPF in the editing software available on the Optima? Cheers!

[@guitariq]

Thanks! No, I was just using the Optima Air how it came out of the box. Cheers.

[@musicafteroldage]

3 years later - I can't believe that's a direct sound from the pickup... Can I replicate that in the Helix? LOL Thanks for sharing!

[@guitariq]

Thanks!

[@ngotiendung7660]

Great video! Can you make a video about IR? I read a lot but can't understand what it is. Sorry about my bad English

[@guitariq]

No worries. I'll keep that in mind, thanks ; ) In the meantime, here's a great video Pete Thorn did on explaining IR's: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnmqdYGnac2Mmbs. Hope it helps!

[@larryroberts6614]

Great video! This is one of the best enhanced sounds I've ever heard! When playing live, do you use the DI output on the Loudbox, mic the Loudbox, or just go directly from your pedal board to the FOH mixer? It would be great if we could see the settings on the Loudbox as you mention mixing in more reverb.

[@guitariq]

Thanks! I'd just use the DI output from the amp for the cleanest signal. For the demo, all of the amp EQ settings were set to 12 o'clock. And the reverb was just blended to taste. Hope that helps ; )

[@larryroberts6614]

@@guitariq Thanks! Would you say this set-up depends on using a Loudbox, or would it sound just as good in a live setting going direct to the mixer?

[@guitariq]

@@larryroberts6614 You could go direct with pedals for sure. An amp just gives you a little more control and versatility. Also, it means you have more say over your stage volume too...

[@Axman66]

+++very cool and interesting video, superb playing, tnx a lot+++

[@guitariq]

Thanks!

[@madupaul]

hey there! very very nice rig!! very inspiring. I have been geeking out on mine for a little while. Currently waiting for my Anthem pickup. I have been looking at the IR pedals as well. Are you still using the NUX? I have read people having nasty noise issues with it live and that prevented me from buying it. It's a shame cause I have heard GREAT sounds coming from it.

[@guitariq]

Hey! Yes, I've heard of some people having issues with it. However, I didn't notice any noise problems when I shot the demo. Perhaps just get one brand new from a reputable retailer. That way they should be able to sort you out if there are any warranty problems. Cheers mate ; )

[@roneilken6668]

This was so helpful! I have decided to buy your right side 4 pedals! I am still trying to figure out the rest! I started with a Boss VE-2 and then grabbed a VE-8. I like to sing and add harmonies but although I like the mic sensitivity and guitar sound I found the VE-8 just too difficult to navigate! I am thinking of trying the TC Helicon Play Acoustic! I assume I would put your pedal set up first, then the TC and out to my amp? Tough to learn all of this and so many opinions but your set-up really spoke to me! Also- what are the larger switch buttons I see on your pedals??? Thanks for your posts!

[@guitariq]

Awesome! I'm glad you found it helpful ; ) Yep, running the pedals into the 'Guitar In' on the TC should work fine. Also, the buttons are called Mooer 'Candy Toppers.

[@roneilken6668]

Luke- I finally gave up on the Nux Optima Air. I just couldn’t get a good tone when I turned on the EQ switch! I found the support from this company to be non-existent and just found the pedal frustrating! I let someone else listen to the tones of the delay and lr bagg session compared to adding the IR as well as adding IR and EQ and the delay and session pedal sound won on its own! So thanks for turning me on to those! I will add the lr bags equalizer pedal as I am so impressed with their products! Then I will hook them after my Boss VE-2 so I can enhance my voice and harmonize! I will continue to watch your channel for future updates as you have been a great influence for me! Unfortunately the optima didn’t work for me! It could be because I am using a Taylor guitar with an ES2 preamp?

[@guitariq]

@@roneilken6668 Hey Ron, really sorry you couldn't work out the issues with the Optima Air mate! Yeah, the LR Baggs stuff is really excellent, glad you like it. All the best mate ; )

[@roneilken6668]

Luke- I love your posts and I have purchased a korg blackpitch advance tuner, a Nux optima, an lr baggs align session an the turquoise sea delay that you have suggested for use with my koa gs mini plus with an es2 pickup into a fender sfx amp. I am also going to go into either my boss Ve-8 or my Ve-2 for harmonies then out to the amp. I have two questions: 1- the Nux goes to a weird setting that is not explained in the manual until you hit both buttons simultaneously- then I see the 15 IR’s? The IR sounds great but when I turn on the EQ side the signal gets much quieter than when just the IR side is on? If I turn up the gain I get more of the fingers touching the string sound. Any ideas? 2- I have been reading about buffers. The Korg tuner is a true bypass. Do I need a buffer tuner or a buffer at the end of the pedal string prior to the amp or is this not necessary with your setup? Thanks for your videos - I have taken the plunge but I am not good with all of this technical stuff! Just want to get a nice sound out of my guitar along with a good voice/harmony set up for small live performances!

[@guitariq]

Hi, no worries. Regards your issue with the Optima Air, I'd suggest contacting NUX support if you suspect things aren't working as they should. They'll be able to better explain what's going on. As for the buffer... Unless you're experiencing noticeable tone loss, I wouldn't worry about a dedicated buffer. Keep in mind, if your acoustic guitar pickup is active (i.e, if it runs on a battery), your signal is already being buffered. (Also, any pedal that's left switched on, operates as a buffer too.) I use a high-quality dedicated buffer on my electric rig (because I like how it sounds with passive pickups). But again, unless you have extremely long cable runs to your amp, I suspect you wouldn't notice much difference on an acoustic. Hope that helps!

[@akgeezer]

Coincidentally, I am just putting together an acoustic pedal board. It's very basic, but I feel it will be very sufficient for my needs. I have a Tuner, a Compressor, an Optima Air pedal, and a Looper pedal in that order. The Optima Air Pedal is the best thing since sliced bread, don't you think? Now I thought I should run the compressor after the tuner. Do you have a reason you chose to put your compressor after your Optima Air pedal? I would be interested in hearing your in depth assessment of the Optima Air. I think it has great potential, but they do not provide the detail on the full use of the pedal. For example: How to download or adjust IR's. I still have not been able to get their on line tools to download, but still the pedal is awesome for what it can do.

[@guitariq]

Nice, I'm keen to hear how your board turns out! In terms of signal chain, I mainly put the comp after the Optima Air to mimic how I often order things when I'm recording in the studio (comp after EQ). Also, my preference was to feed the Optima Air the unprocessed signal straight from my guitar. (But you can always test it out both ways and see what you prefer.) P.S. I'm actually putting up a more in-depth video focussing on the Optima Air next week, so keep an eye out for that ; )

[@bkt6025]

Good video Can the NUX blend in the plain pickup ? I like the sound you are getting, but my taste would be somewhere between the pedals bypassed, more subtle, at least for some styles

[@guitariq]

Thanks! Yeah, I originally hoped that the 'IR Level' knob would be a blend knob with the pickup sound. However, turns out it's just a simple volume adjustment for the IR's. That said, after playing around with the pedal, I didn't really miss the piezo sound-so it wasn't a deal-breaker for me. Hope that helps, cheers ; )

[@catmasa]

What are those knobs? ty

[@AlexFerreiraOficial]

Curious ¿How would the rig sound with the Nux Optima Air at the end of the chain? ¿Would the IR have a different effect on the overall sound? Maybe that way the reverb is less affected by the compressors. Thanks for this video, the best walkthrough for acoustic pedals online!

[@guitariq]

Thanks! Yeah, it's certainly something you could experiment with. I prefer to feed the IR a clean signal from the guitar. But there's no rules ; )

[@hollanderau]

What does that setup run?

[@josephestes7076]

Do you use the fx loop for your wet fx / enhancements? Curious about overall signal flow. I wonder if integrating this with something like a firefly di or any tube preamp would be a benefit. Nice sounds!

[@guitariq]

Hey! Here I'm running some sounds in the FX loop of the Optima Air pedal. But I don't use an FX loop with the amp. There's no real need as acoustic amps are generally super clean with a lot of headroom. That Firefly DI looks sweet though ; )

[@steveshaw1713]

Great post. Thank you. Am I correct in thinking that you have the Lemon Yellow Compressor set to Sustain mode (rather than to Compression mode)?

[@guitariq]

Hey! Honestly, I can't remember. Whichever sounded best at the time ; ) But I imagine the sustain mode lets more of the attack through, so probably. Either way, the Lemon Yellow comp was really more about giving me a nice boost option and the end of the board. Hope that helps.

[@TheMovieslingers]

I'm thinking of getting the LR Baggs Session DI unit. Dunno if you're familiar with that. It adds a bit of saturation and compression and has the DI functions as well. Would it be ok to plug that in with a bunch of other pedals like a delay, a wahwah, a tuner and an overdrive? Not sure how to connect everything since the Session DI doesn't have an FX Loop. Where would it sit in the signal chain? Right at the end ?

[@guitariq]

Hey! Yeah, I haven't used the Session DI. The pedal version is obviously based on the original DI unit through. I'd probably run the DI version at the end of my signal chain. Especially if you're not using a dedicated acoustic amplifier. (The main reason for this is to make the use of the 'DI output' on the pedal.) However, if you're using an amp, I'd probably place it first in the signal path to act as my main preamp. Ultimately, the comp and saturation are subtle enough that they will probably work well anywhere in the signal path. So it's really about personal preference. Hope that helps! Cheers ; )

[@ortizeg]

Hi Luke! I built a board similar to this one and love the tonal shaping I learned from you! I am curious if you've had a similar issue to me, where there is a lot of white noise coming through the PA system from the pedal board, even if I reduce it to just the NUX Optima. I tried both the DI and line output, with the same result. I reproduced the same thing with my audio interface (Apogee Symphony). If I set the interface to bypass the built in preamp, I get less noise, but still there. Once I engage the preamp and add a little gain, the noise pops right out, I can even hear it above my playing. I'm sure with a full band it would blend into the mix, but I am mostly solo. The white noise is much more subtle in your videos. Do you have any recommendation?

[@guitariq]

Hmm... Noise issues are commonly the result of: 1) A faulty cable. Or... 2) Because the outputs on your power supply aren't properly isolated. That said, if you can narrow down the noise issues to the Optima Air, it might be to do with the specific IR you're using. Make sure to select the correct IR for your guitar pickup. Hope that helps ; )

[@kentlindsaymusic]

My pedal board is looking more like yours by the day. haha Love it!

[@guitariq]

Glad I could help! Cheers ; )

[@jerrysolonsmith8471]

Excellent tone in my opinion! I like that d45 ir with the session comp! I think I like it without the bbe, which seems to carve out a scooped mid and if you were flat picking you'd more easily get lost in the mix without pushing more volume. Perhaps the bbe would be usable for strumming and staying back in the mix

[@fixitquick79]

I agree for the most part. It may be good to have to tune for a particular environment i suppose. Or to help beef up a mic pickup on a smaller bodied acoustic electric. But I don't think it is a better sound for this particular guitar.

[@choiceblade]

Noob here. WHAT is flat picking? thx

[@jerrysolonsmith8471]

@@choiceblade Probably google/KZbin search would do better than me trying to verbally describe it.

[@davidracz3]

@@choiceblade you pick your guitar with a pick that is flat instead of fingerpicks, thumbpicks, fingerstyle...

[@guitarado]

very nice warm sound with the pedals. I have Acoustic soulmate pedal and I would like to make a change because the sound of it is not what I was looking for.

[@guitariq]

Hey ; ) Yeah, I originally looked at the Acoustic Soulmate-seems like a cool unit! It looks like the type of pedal that would pair well with a nice acoustic amp. It obviously won't to the IR thing though, if that's what you're looking for. Best of luck in your tonal adventures!

[@001mladen]

I have a soulmate acustic too, but i use red eye twin for a preamp and mixer for my 2 pickups. And t rex only in effects loop

[@guitariq]

@@001mladen Nice!

[@kkdeveauxgue2784]

Sounds like the sound is pulling down everytime you strike a chord,needs the timing adjusted forward just a pinch at 10 o'clock

[@patrickr979]

Bonjour, peit être pourrez vous m'aider, je cherche a trouver la bonne chronologie pour disposer dans le bonne ordre mes pedales. J'utilise un BBE ACOUSTIMAX puis NUX OPTIMA.AIR, puis COMPRESSEUR KEELEY, puis delay BRIG puis une reverbe CLOUDBURST ( strymon). Pouvez-vous me dire dans quel ordre je doit les placer. En vous remerciant par avance.

[@guitariq]

If you're running a mono rig, I'd probably try putting the Comp > Acoustimax > Brig > and Cloudburst in the FX loop of the NUX (in that order). Hope that helps!

[@raymondmeadows7623]

Wow! Sounds great. Any one know at what point in the chain could I add the orange acoustic pedal? Would that replace the Sonic Stomp? Cheers.

[@guitariq]

I'm not that familiar with this pedal, sorry. It looks to be a EQ preamp-style pedal. If so, you could really place it anywhere. I'd try it directly after the Optima Air. Or, at the end of you signal chain (if you want to use the XLR out). Hope that helps ; )