The Ultimate Acoustic IR Shootout

[@aaronshortmusic]

Gear/links mentioned in this video (Sweetwater affiliate): Fishman Aura Spectrum DI - imp.i114863.net/3P91LM L. R. Baggs Voiceprint DI - imp.i114863.net/NKQamV ToneDexter - imp.i114863.net/yReNB3 NUX Optima Air - amzn.to/3g0TNSi Neumann KM 185 - imp.i114863.net/7mGgQg

[@torta122]

I know its been a while you did this video. But did you ever try the IR's with the Variax?

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@torta122 I did not. The Variax already has IR’s built into it.

[@scottbecker3485]

This comparison is a huge contribution to the community - thanks so much! And every single conclusion you drew was mirrored by my sonic impressions. You literally took the words out of my mouth after every sample. Really enjoyed Kookie‘s (sp.?) IR a lot, as also the Nux Optima‘s. Could well imagine getting a Nux and trying this one day.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks Scott. Yes you should try the NUX. It’s a great pedal for the price.

[@patsysmith8030]

Thanks!

[@patsysmith8030]

My friend is so impressed with this video, it must have taken so much of your time. We really appreciate what you do Aaron.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks for the donation, it will help me to make more videos like this!

[@patsysmith8030]

@@aaronshortmusic You are very welcome Aaron and it was so easy to donate by pressing on the $sign in the heart between the Share button and Thanks button. Only too pleased to support this very helpful Channel.

[@robertgreen9675]

Nicely done. Love you included tracks at the end for us to repeatedly review.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you Robert. I thought it was important to do that. I’m glad you found it useful!

[@garygohmusic]

Wow the Optima sounds extremely impressive! And Cuki's IR is definitely top-tier, with the EQ match it's almost indistinguishable from the mic.

[@aaronshortmusic]

It really is!

[@braderrick]

Thank you so much, introduced me to the nux and saved me some cash in the process! I’m super impressed. Thanks for putting in the work and for sharing!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you for the kind words.

[@PJD02915]

This video was excellent!!!! Thank you!!! The NUIX was my favorite. The idea of being able to load an IR like Cuci's and go gig with it is really great. I can see loading a few IRs depending on the acoustic I'm bringing and being ready for anything.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you and yes I agree. The NUX is very impressive!

[@geoffallen1331]

This was what I was looking for about the best shoot out I've seen brilliant production. I'm ordering the Nux optima

[@aaronshortmusic]

You’re welcome!

[@kevingriffin9893]

Thanks for taking the time to do these videos you do sharing objective sound samples as well as your opinions. I'm in the process of exploring dual source acoustic pickup options and I've watched a few of your videos, and they've been very helpful!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Cheers!

[@brentnelson7716]

Thanks Aaron. This is super informative. I felt Cuki's IR and the Optima were head and shoulders above the others. I own both the NUX and an Aura Dread. The latter -- although usable and ok -- sits in a box. I spent an afternoon A/B ing the two. And I could get usable sounds out of both. But the Air was far better, at least to my ears and with my rig. Thanks for all of your contributions to knowledge!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you so much Brent!

[@NunaYerbusiness]

How is your NUX holding up?. I keep hearing they're fragile and not up to regular gig use.

[@LucasHaneman]

I agree with another commentor who said that the only thing that the IRs’ truly lack is the sound of the strings themselves, and the pic hitting the strings. My personal pickup of choice is The K & K quantum trinity mini. It’s a mixture of K & Ks’ Pure pickup and a gooseneck microphone inside the sound hole that run into the quantum blender, which is an external preamp to control the sound of each source. I honestly find it sounds so natural that I have never had to worry about impulse responses etc. It’s amazing to see how far the technology has come though, and certainly very nice to see all of it in one cohesive video like this. Very impressive stuff!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you so much Lucas. I agree that a good SBT and internal mic can sound excellent but IR's also offer the experience of a mic on the outside of the guitar. I am excited to see how it improves in the future!

[@LucasHaneman]

@@aaronshortmusic For sure man. The lack of worrying about feedback is certainly some thing nice about the IR World as well. I agree with you. I really enjoy that one that your friend made as well. Sounds awesome!

[@allenbitman5888]

Terrific video. The side by side comparisons really illustrates the differences. I watched it several time over and loved the deep dive. Thanks for you contribution!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you so much!

[@bogaciludzie]

Thank you Aaron!!! The NUIX is my winner. The sound is almost identical to that recorded by the microphone. Perfectly! Thank you for your work. This video is very helpful to me.

[@namede6210]

The Nux Optima Air sounds really convincing. After watching tons of videos about it I kinda think it could be a game changer for someone like me who wants to record acoustic guitar but lives in a noisy neighborhood so mic up a guitar is not an option. The Optima seems like something I could rely on.

[@Noseel]

A lot of the reviews report Optima Air being Noisey, what did you find?

[@-b0j-]

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!! Thanks.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks for watching!

[@angelabbyj]

I just got my stomp xl today BASED ON YOUR VIDEO... that Cuki sound was great and I 'just' found the website for the IR's. I am Brand NEW to IR's and so tonight will be fun figuring it out ... Stomp is updated firmware, and the edit is downloaded and going... about to put my first IR in... I'm excited... subscribed and appreciative!!!!! Thanks man!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Excellent! I have been working n these more lately myself. It really is incredible technology.

[@davidbelcher2805]

Good job Aaron. I agree with Maury, maybe a future video with the corrective EQ added to each pedal as well.

[@AlexVoinotGuitar]

Thank you so much for this contribution! This is fantastic!

[@MaurysMusic]

Well done! I have to go back and listen again on earbuds and a Bose mini. If you’re up to making a follow-up video, I’d LOVE to hear these IRs with your choice of corrective EQ. Make each one sound the best you can - subjective, I know - but that would be useful. I remember loving the Voiceprint DI in an earlier video and I’ll bet it can be the best one here with EQ. Ymmv

[@aaronshortmusic]

You are so demanding lol. I’ll add it to my list!

[@MaurysMusic]

@@aaronshortmusic I said "IF" :)

[@DavidEidelberg]

@@aaronshortmusic What is it you say about Bose? No highs no lows or something like that?

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@DavidEidelberg That’s what I hear people say. I’m not sure if that relates to the EQ or something else?

[@wychwoodmusic]

I have to agree with Maury - I'd love to hear a video comparing the best you can come up with these pedals, Andy. But that's the reward for doing a great job (thanks, genuinely!), you get asked to do more! I was real impressed with the Nux -Cuki's IR still had had a little quack or unpleasant quality to my ear, I think in the mids, but I guess that just shows how subjective these can be. Still I wonder if the more expensive and presumably high-powered pedals could catch up with or even surpass the Nux with some work.

[@GertvanderDoes]

I have the NUX Optima Air and love it! I like to run the IR at about 2 to 3 o'clock. I did not like the built in IR's or any I found online and the result making one with the unit itself left something to be desired. I built my own IR using Reaper and Melda FreeFormEQ. That got me very close! I can run this IR in anything that will load IR's so it's also in my Fractal FM3 and of course Reaper. Awesome! The other guitarist in the band is now using one and just recently I got the (electric) bassist to go direct with the Optima using bass amp IR's from ShiftLine. This video helped deciding to buy my Optima, so thanks!

[@AbitLippy]

I've read that people are having noise issues with the Optimal after it's been running a while?

[@antonioduarte1335]

The NUX optima air sounds amazing

[@aaronshortmusic]

It is very impressive!

[@fordcortina]

I too thought it sounded great... 30 minutes later it started to generate a hiss that quickly overtook it greatness.. Maybe, you get what you pay for......?

[@fordcortina]

@Elyon Alone Well, that will be useful information for some, but all the pedals on my board have to suffer the indignity of my two strymon ojais... So it becomes a case of finding pedals that work with these, and not everything is happy..........

[@josechavarria3823]

Awesome video! I liked how with your EQ it got closer. I think it's just missing the percussion of the instrument that a mic is capable of capturing. The pickup sound is super different to be in front of the guitar, so it's crazy how similar it gets. Very well done, thank you for doing this.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Cheers!

[@jul3249]

Finally someone has done it!!! Thank you!

[@aaronshortmusic]

It had to be done!

[@jul3249]

​@@aaronshortmusicdamn right! I don't understand why IR pedals are show underdiscussed in the guitar world. Acoustic guitar is Soo important in today's live music, and yet everyone go with shitty piezo. And I don't blame them, there are like 3507 channels dedicated to electric guitar tones but barely any video at all talking about IR pedals for acoustics.

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@jul3249 I agree. Unfortunately there just isn’t such a big market for acoustic guitar amplification as there is for electric guitar amplification.

[@doscheid]

I think a great part of the high end in the micrphone is the pick hitting the strings. The IRs can't reproduce that because that is a sound that isn't really present in the under saddle pickup. I felt like that was the only thing missing in the NUX and Cuki's IR for them to really feel acoustic.

[@doscheid]

Thinking about the "pick hit the string sound", that is an effect that those manufactures could develop. A kind of controlled clipping sound at a certain threshold. I think it would help in creating the ilusion.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Yes, James May mentioned this during our interview. I wonder if there’s a way to artificially add that back in?

When I didn't have an acoustic guitar, I used to record an electric with a condenser mic and mix the picking noises with the signal from the pickups, it was fairly convincing.

[@JohnDoe-xr5is]

7:20 You can change the settings of the Aura so that the eq buttons also effect the IR. I had my Aura for years, and didn't realize you can change a universal eq setting so that it effect BOTH guitar and IR signal. Don't ask me how to do it...I made the change a few years ago, and have forgotten.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Yes it’s in the user guide on page 21. Either just the pickup or both.

[@trueblack6760]

Cuki's IR with EQ Match version is mind blowing!! And wow I have to admit how good the Neumann KM 185 is. I'll wait Fishman's new model with latest tech. Thank you so much.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks! I’m looking forward to adding Aura HD to the mix.

[@gorthnahoe]

Great review. Very helpful

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you!

[@makkamccann]

Great video and well worth the time. Thank you very much. Would love to know where to get hold of Cuki's IR. Sounds sweet!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks! If you Google him then you can contact him directly.

[@drzainnas]

Great idea Aaron thank you

[@VernonFullerMusic]

Fantastic review! Thank you!

[@aaronshortmusic]

You’re welcome!

[@GuitarGathering]

Very helpful video. Thanks Aaron. - Steve

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks Steve!

[@jackprice7828]

You don't hear a whole lot in the modeling world these days for acoustic users. Thanks for doing this.

[@aaronshortmusic]

I agree!

[@11KT11]

Absolutely brilliant video as always. I must say I’m super surprised by the nux. 🤔

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks Kieran. Me too, it’s a really great pedal and NUX make a lot of great stuff!

[@andre_toyonaga_]

Great video. I really like the comment that they are good ir for live streamming but a live gig is different story. Cheers. All the best.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks!

[@MichaelNatrin]

Fantastic comparison.

[@nainportekel6431]

That was absolutely great, tyvm ! I'm all new to this but gosh I learned a lot ! And it was all useful and great listening. Sure Nux Optima Air + IR made with Cuki + Logic's Eq match is the best by far. Without Eq match, the color wasn't the same as real, I'd add/disagree to what you said, it was good but another color (plus the high freq problem).

[@MrRafaztar]

I keep finding answers in your old videos when looking for things 😉

[@aaronshortmusic]

I’m glad they are useful!

[@akgeezer]

This is great!Last year, 2020, I was looking to possibly installing LR Baggs PUP's to eliminate the "Quack" sounding piezo's I have in the three different acoustics I use. That was too expensive to really consider seriously. Then I heard of the Aura and liked what I was hearing about it, but still quite expensive. Luckily, during my research, I ran across the newly released NU-X Optima Air pedal. I was really uninformed of IR's, but was impressed enough on what I was hearing about them to buy the Optima Air. One of the best decisions I ever made. I use the units included IR's and tweek the sound with the on board EQ to get a really close result of my acoustic's natural sound. No more "Quack". It is very impressive and I would highly recommend this pedal. It has much more capability than I have used, but it has given me the results I was searching for. Your comparisons reinforce what I have discovered with this unit. It's awesome! Not perfect, but really really good!

[@rombsix]

You're doing wonderful work, brother. I've love to meet you in-person at some point. We're both NYC folks. :)

[@larryengelbe]

Nicely done Aaron! Would love to learn more about creating and loading custom IR’s EQ settings for acoustic guitar (going after that Doug Young stereo sound for finger style). I have a Sun AudioMS-2 and am looking for an IR pedal for loading IR EQ settings for different acoustic guitars.

[@ChaRahgung]

Thank you for this, I am hunting pedal for acoustic gig

[@aaronshortmusic]

You’re welcome!

[@richardstones6445]

Just listening to the sound comparisons, the NU-X sounded head and shoulders above any other device. I will watch the rest of the video to see what IR's you were selecting for some of the other devices, but just based on the recordings you compared, I like the Optima. I was really pulling for the Baggs, because the mobile phone IR creator interface sounds awesome, but the Voiceprint recording sounded like I was inside a submarine

[@aaronshortmusic]

The NUX is a great pedal.

[@greacen]

Love this demo - you have some nice friends! I'm interested in hearing how you'd use one of these IR pedals in a live situation. I looked at your video list, but didn't see one. Also curious about some of the other players out there - Hotone Omni AC comes to mind, sheesh also that Boss "acoustic simulator" thing. It seems like there are plenty of pedals aimed at squeezing acoustic sounds out of an electric guitar, but I like the idea of using one of these in a live situation to get closer to that mic'd instrument sound without the feedback & hassle.

[@markinthemix6055]

I’m currently using a T Rex Acoustic Soulmate. I like it. I wish it had an effects loop. I wish it had 2 inputs. It does have stereo outs. Blessings to you

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you, that is a good pedal. I made a review on it a while back.

[@roymeyer6837]

This is an extremely helpful video! I have a Martin with an Aura system in it, and it's phenomenal live. Recording, it sounds much darker than through a good PA. But in a live setting it sounds like a good mic. The shortcoming of that system though is that the pedal and D.I. versions of the Aura are not nearly as good unless you get lucky enough to find an image that suits your guitar and pickup just right. And it's hard to gauge that since the sound you get in headphones or a DAW is not what it will sound like live through most PAs. It's great as an onboard system matched to a guitar but not nearly as easy to get good results with a standalone pedal/DI.

[@garyworsham9471]

Thanks for doing this... I have not been paying attention to these things! My motivation is to be able to record the acoustic at home in spite of house and neighborhood noises. I think I will give the Nux a try. Doing the A/B with mic, even for just a few seconds, is helpful. The only thing I might have done differently would have been to get the pickup signal recorded at the same time as the reference mic tone, and then send that back through the pedals - just because the amount of high end you get with acoustic also depends on how you hit the strings. Even without that it was pretty convincing.

[@ronniemocciola9147]

Thnx for this.. It would be awesome if you did a bonus Acoustasonic track on this vid. Somewhat on topic as it uses irs 👍

[@aaronshortmusic]

Great suggestion Ronnie! I will save that idea for another video.

[@TruthMirrororriM]

Since we know the mics on all the pedals, I believe the missing piece of information is what iPhone was used for the LR Baggs, was the iPhone in or out of it’s case. Since iPhones are often carried in a pocket or bag, was the mic slots clear of lint or debris. Unusual, but necessary information. Very informative video. Great work.

[@cozmos21]

Nice one Aaron, I wonder if there are some newer and better pedals that came out since? Thank you for another interesting vid!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Just the ToneDexter II as far as I know.

[@TidesOnEarth]

Awesome! Connected to my home speakers. I’m astonished by what that LR Baggs unit is doing via an iPhone mic!! Thank you for doing this. I just purchased a Taylor 614 CE builders edition and while the guitar is incredible I would like to enhance the ES2 pick up. This video could not have been better timed!

[@aaronshortmusic]

I am so glad that it helped. I have a feeling that the VPDI would work great with the ES2, definitely worth a try.

[@TidesOnEarth]

@@aaronshortmusic going to pick one up this week from my local shop to try. Happy to report back!

[@TidesOnEarth]

Gotta say, just recorded my ES2 and my Taylor 614 through my condenser into a logic file and just listened to each, to really get to know my pickup and mic. Great tip! I was pleasantly surprised by how good the tone was out of the ES2. Now! It can definitely be better! I wonder if the v-class bracing and torrefied top contribute to better response from the pickup!?

[@TidesOnEarth]

Hey Aaron! Could you load Cuki’s IR on to that NUX Optima Air?

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@TidesOnEarth Yes you can!

[@56davidwright]

I have found that if l take an earth wire from anywhere on my rig and tie it tightly to the metal drain in my sink the top end gets the sweetness l'm looking for. Running water improves the contact. Getting this rig to the gig is problematic but we'll worth the effort. I put a kill switch on this wire and it acts as a 10 db boost. Using different sinks gives you effective notch filtering and shimmer. I currently use only three sinks live. A Miele for clean, a vintage Westinghouse for character and, somewhat surprisingly, the budget bin bargain from Bunnings for bluegrass !

[@aaronshortmusic]

You are a well grounded individual!

[@jwilliams-10]

To my ears, some of the brightness that you're after could come from, yes, boosting highs, but also, low-mid cuts. The NUX sounds great but it's still pretty husky in the lower mids than the mic. I like trying to get results from cuts before boosting.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks, I start by cutting the bass too as it 'exposes' the highs more.

[@SteveSingerFowkes]

very informative Aaron

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks Steve!

[@MurdaMetz]

Awesome video ! Cookies ir with the eq matching sounds so close that I can barely tell the difference if at all . The others I heard just don’t compare , I have a pair of km184’s love them , but don’t love my room unfortunately. I’ve been trying out different ways to get a di to sound like a mic’d acoustic and havnt had the best of luck . I’ve tried the session di , Neve rndi , I’ve tried using the lr baggs anthem true mic and piezo but still I can’t seem to get the clarity I’m searching for . I’m definitely considering getting the nux , hunting down cookies ir , and buying an eq match plug in ! I wonder if the aura spectrum di has merit as well . Thanks again for the video !

[@StephenWashburn]

Great video! I've been looking at the ToneDexter or NUX Optima Air (especially the NUX) and this was incredibly helpful. I agree with all of your assessments - I feel like it maybe was less that Cuki's IR and the NUX Optima Air were "missing" high end and maybe more that there was still too much low end/woofiness, which you were able to pull out from Cuki's REALLY effectively with the EQ match. To my ear there's a little too much low mids still, but its REALLY impressively close!

[@StephenWashburn]

And I almost asked if you could load Cuki's IR onto the NUX (since you had mentioned you could add external IRs) but then you mentioned at the end that you'd probably do just that!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Yeah you can!

[@RisikoAO]

great video, very useful, thx

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you!

[@practicerepobarrie]

That was really good and well done. Thanks, I appreciate your hard work. I totally get it. Maybe one day I'll need one. Since two years have passed, have there been any updates that may have changed your pick ? Just wondering?

[@aaronshortmusic]

There is a new Tone Dexter but the algorithms haven’t changed too much. It’s more the interface and the feature set.

[@markkoons8457]

Hey Aaron! Thanks for the great video. I've been looking to improve my pickup sound in both a '77 Guild D25 with a K&K pure mini and a Taylor K24CE v-brace as well as a new Guild D50 with an LR Baggs hifi in it. Before your vid, I was kind of consumed with picking the right pickup for the D50, but with the IR loader option on the NUX Optima, the pickup is less of a concern now. Have you tested and IR with the LR Baggs hifi in a dreadnaught? I would be interested to see what the results were. Do you have feedback issues with the IR's on the NUX in a live show? I've had tons of feedback issues with the K&K even with a feedback buster in the guitar at gigs. Thanks again!

[@melodology-5383]

Hello 👋 It will be great if you can answer my question if possible of course. I always trust your opinion 🙏 I recently bought a KNA-ng2 pizo pickup and installed it in my classical guitar to play in big outdoors/indoors Venue. However the sound of the piezo is just traditionally plasticy. I only want to use piezo and no mics at all due to feedback issues. I saw your review on the Nux air optima and the zoom a1 four pedal. So my question is which one of these can give me the most natural and full buddied sound? Of course with some EQ tweaking... Etc. I will hook them up to a sound mixer btw. I picked these 2 choices cuz both have a built-in reverb , which is the only effect I use. Or if you know other options (same price range and reverb availability) Again thanks for your great work and your contribution to the community ❤

[@aaronshortmusic]

I would say the NUX but you will have to connect it to a mixer and use a mic to make your own IR.

[@YuvalGrumer]

great job!

[@renmad0078]

In my mooer ge 300 i have the tone capture and with this i can emulate all the guitars i have electric and acoustics guitars. I can take a fender and play and like my gibson es 335 and same with my acoustics guitars. It's really impresiv. Nice video 😊👍

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks!

[@icarocosta4302]

you are the best!

[@harryharris1619]

Love your channel and you have been very helpful regarding the Boss RC-500 looper. In regards to this video, I would not except any of these pedals or IRs as coming very close to the real mic in the room. They all sounded muddy, thuddy and the top end was never even close to my headphone ears. With that being said you could EQ these to get closer as far as frequency range goes but still don't think its going to match very well with the real thing. Maybe this tech will get better but it is hard to tell on some sites due to the fact they do not compare their IR with the real mic'd guitar as you have done here. Very well done demo and should be the standard for demonstrations of this type of tech.

[@andrewwhite2503]

This is a great video, the only once I can afford is the NUX Optima Air as it stands, and yes it does sound really good.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks!

[@aarontorgerson2563]

It’s hard to say if they’re using this already, but one thing that may give the Voiceprint a leg up in the future is machine learning. They, thru your phone, have access to the cloud. This means the mic recording and pickup recording can be uploaded for processing. The result could be an IR where pick sounds have been added back in (as some have suggested) and common EQ anomalies removed/smoothed.

[@markwinslow1423]

very well done

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks!

[@MajesticFuzz]

Great video. I bought the voiceprint as soon as it came out and haven’t been thrilled with it. The last few gigs I went back to my lr baggs venue and I’ve been very happy. Now I’m debating weather to use hx stomp or strymon timeline and bigsky for effects. I still haven’t dialed in good sounds on the stomp yet.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks! I think it depends on the pickup you are using with the VPDI. I hope we see some more software updates soon. HX Stomp is a great all round pedal but many players love the Strymon stuff.

[@pedr0p0lis]

Hi Arron, Yet again another top video for the acoustic community, I'm new to the IR world and had the chance to try the Mooer Radar IR cab sim, i loaded a couple of purchased Sigma audio IR's in (hummingbird and D28) which made my gigging guitar TAK EA10 sound amazing, then i came across Cuki's site and fell in love with a certain Yamaha IR, its. amazing and with the Radar you have eq possibilities, BUT now, i will get hold of the NUX, what a machine, and at a price that can only be said "bargin" ive tried the on my Gibson (LR Baggs anthem) but that pick up/mike sounds good already, my Guild (K&K) sounded ok but live couldn't touch the TAK's UST with IR. The bottom line is i need "sounds great out the box" type of stuff, I'm not a great tweaker and fiddler (no I don't play violin :-), so I WILL thanks to you buy the NUX. Thanks a lot

[@aaronshortmusic]

Hi Peter. The NUX is great but you do need a mic and mic preamp to create your own IR’s. By the way if those 3 Sigma IR’s work for you then that’s great but I only have excellent results when creating my own IR’s. I find that it’s very important that the IR is created from the exact guitar and pickup. Let me know how it goes.

[@hervemerliet]

Very instructive .Thanks . Any advices for the choice of an under saddle pickup matched with the NUX ?

[@aaronshortmusic]

Maybe a Fishman Matrix.

[@steverolfeca]

I use the HX Stomp as my piezo hub, with a Martin D28 IR. Expensive, but the Stomp’s variable input impedance, gain staging, built-in mono/parallel/stereo inputs outputs and FX loop, tuner, extensive EQ, MIDI, modelled effects and IR loader make it a terrific option. Parallel blends and some parametric EQ help a lot with the HF issues that bothered you…

[@aaronshortmusic]

The Stomp is a great acoustic DI. I don’t need it with my Cole Clark though.

[@MeTuLHeD]

The Nux Optima Air sounds excellent. I would LOVE to hear what it sounds like with the EQ match. Just needs that little bit of air.

[@JulienMARY]

I have the optima air since Friday, and Cuki made IR files from the wav I sent him, following instructions. The result is spectacular with my Acus amo. The match with the guitar is terrific, a Taylor 418eR. I don't think I would change that for a Dexter.

[@CalicoSkies18]

@@JulienMARY Hi Julien, Did you get the chance to try the Nux with that Cuki IR through a PA system in live configuration? If so, were you still impressed with it? Thanks.

[@RobCmusic]

I have the Optima Air, which I use mainly for turning my Telecaster with piezo bridge saddles into an acoustic. I loaded a Guild IR made by 3Sigma (they have various IR files in their pack to suit the source instrument). I use it when I need to record acoustic guitar, when outside noise makes it prohibitive to use a mic. It works very well for me, but I'm just a strummer, mixing the acoustic track with electric guitar tracks.

[@bryancd911]

Thanks for this video Aaron. Have you also tried the Zoom A1 Four? It has an acoustic modeling feature. How do you think it fares compared to Acoustic IR?

[@aaronshortmusic]

Hi Bryan, I have reviewed the Zoom. It works quite well but the problem with pedals like that is that the IR is just generic and now made from the users instrument. All of the pedals in today's video were making IR's of the exact guitar/pickup.

[@kennyschiff]

I have a Nux Optima Air, and play my Godin Multiac through it, also my mandolin, a L'Arrivee with an LR Baggs Anthem. I mostly play online and have used the 1/4" out into my Yamaha MG06X mixer, then not my Evo 4 interface. I have been troubleshooting noise issues, and thought I'd isolated it to 1/4 out on the Nux, so I decided to try using the XLR. Since my XLR inputs on the Yamaha have phantom power, I put a phantom blocker in between. It sounded terrible, very very noisy. I went and looked online and found multiple threads whereby people reported the same. This lead me to consider replacing it. Which then lead to the acousticguitarforum, which lead me here (great rabbit hole). Have you tried the Two Notes Opus?

[@aaronshortmusic]

The NUX is noisy with all of the outputs? I haven’t tried the Opus but have heard good things. Why not get an HX Stomp or similar and load your IR’s into that?

[@DavidEidelberg]

That NuX is very impressive.

[@aaronshortmusic]

I agree!

[@BuleriaChk]

You might want to try an Adeline AD-85. It even has a volume control and 1/4" jack, and sounds exactly like I hear the guitar. And I've tried a lot of things (e.g. I own the Fishman Aura, and had Fishman Aura Pro's installed in all my Cordobas, and Takamine CT4-DX in another, all pretty epensive, but the AD-85 (at $31 on Amazon) is as good as any of them including even my Shertler sysem. IMO, and YMMV, but it was a real epiphany for me. I would be interested in other guitarist's experience with the Adeline, The sound is so natural you can use it with mult-effects (e.g., the Boss OD-200 - and now the GX-10 work incredibly well for me, and I have an Ampero 2 Stage arriving today - my Ampero 2 Stomp arrives today. But all of them work well, all the way back to the Boss GT-1 and GT-001 with the Adeline pickup (there are others, but this has the 1/4" jack, so very easy to use (eg. with EG wireless, etc). The NUX offerings are great (and of course Valeton which is related to Ampero) and even Positive Grid (I'm kind of underwhelmed by the modeling in Spark, but the software FX2 is pretty good. And then there is Amplitube, and ... and.... and.... But the AD-85 gives me a pristine sound as a basis.... IMO

[@caseyholford]

Wonderful video. I was expecting the Baggs to win but it was pretty underwhelming in this. On the other hand I was so impressed with the NUX! I think one thing these are all missing out on is the transients captured by the 184 because the sound is being captured at a different place on the guitar - I wish some of these boxes included a transient shaper. Maybe one day! Thank you for the great comparison.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you Casey!

[@Celticsaint777]

Can you add Kookie’s impulse responses to the NUX??

[@aaronshortmusic]

Cuki, yes.

[@andymacc]

Whatever is used in pro studios to make acoustic guitar recordings sound really lush and amazing is needed across the board on all our mixes in consumer studios. Your raw mic file sounds great but, it’s not the sound we all hear and adore on hit recordings. With this in mind I feel the LR Baggs with a little tweak will sound closest. Your eq settings made your friends file sound very impressive at the end of your video. Maybe share that with us 👍

[@dandial3733]

Hi again Aaron, have you ever tried out a very basic IR loader such as the TC Electronics Impulse IR Loader or the Sonicake Sonic IR for acoustic guitar? Your thoughts ? Thanks

[@aaronshortmusic]

I have not. They will work but they cannot load long IR’s which results in less bass (sometimes this is a good thing).

[@CoreyMcConnell]

Thanks for all of your hard work aaron! I hang out with a lot of majority world guys with small budgets. Do you have any opinion on the really cheap options? Cube Baby, Sonicake. I'm currently using the Cube Baby AC as an all-in-one acoustic rig; not because it's a Kemper, but because it's so affordable that anyone can get one

[@aaronshortmusic]

I’ve reviewed the Sonicake. It’s good!

[@BigHugeYES]

The pickup was my fav.

[@dharmacaristhirananda3994]

Thanks, Aaron. Really useful demonstration. Is it possible to export IR files from Logic to the NUX Optima Air?

[@aaronshortmusic]

Hi, yes you can do that. I show how it’s possible in the Acoustic Tone-match video.

[@dharmacaristhirananda3994]

@@aaronshortmusic OK. Thanks.

[@markinthemix6055]

I recently was given some Kemper profiles for acoustic from a touring musician. They are quite impressive. That’s probably the direction I will go in the future.

[@aaronshortmusic]

If it sounds good to you then it IS good! Also you have the Kemper already so it makes sense. The Kemper is able to make profiles of these pedals...

[@rabokarabekian409]

Brilliant, unusually professional vid. Still, no fingerpicking demo?

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thank you! I don’t think that fingerpicking will change the overall result, it may sound better than strumming though.

[@brianmoore9637]

Bodyrez pedal in front of (or after) the Aura DI is amazing for UST equipped guitars.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Yes it adds even more EQ and compression. Like IR’s YMMV depending on the guitar and PA etc.

[@tommocramer7220]

Aaron. Great Video. Will the Nux Optima Air work with a Seymour Duncan Woody pickup? Thanks.

[@aaronshortmusic]

It will but I’m not sure that it will work as well as with a piezo pickup.

[@tommocramer7220]

Thanks! And thanks for the great video.

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@tommocramer7220 You’re welcome!

[@AbitLippy]

Yes. It's a magnet soundhole pickup and the NUX has presets for that. You can also download other IR's or make your own.

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@AbitLippy Yes it’s just that piezo pickups tend to yield better results.

[@BucoBucolini]

How the heck did you get the NUX to sound that good? Not only that it has the fidelity of the microphone, it has the air (ha didn't even plan on a pun) that you get with the mic that others don't. I'm not getting that captured with my guitar and the NUX. Yet, hopefully...

[@aaronshortmusic]

I’m not sure. Maybe it was the mic I used? Sometimes you just get lucky when making IR’s.

[@BucoBucolini]

@@aaronshortmusic it sure looks like a crapshoot. The mic I'm using is TLM 102 so at least it's from the same family. Thanks, I'll experiment more.

[@Andrew-kg9yo]

There's a ringing in the nux. it is pretty high pitched, not everyone may hear.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Probably in the guitar itself.

[@Andrew-kg9yo]

@@aaronshortmusicI just picked one up. Straight away I made my own IRs and there is no ringing. I am happy with it.

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@Andrew-kg9yo Great!

[@dandial3733]

Hi Aaron, love the reviews. I'm looking at the Nux Optima Air. I was pretty sure I was going to buy one...then I started reading reviews on Amazon. Lots of people love the Optima Air but say it's a really noisy pedal. What's your noise experience?

[@aaronshortmusic]

That wasn’t my experience.

[@dandial3733]

Great! Did you find a way to load Cuki's IR into the Nux?

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@dandial3733 No as I was happy with the IR that the NUX created.

[@dandial3733]

@@aaronshortmusic thanks for the info. Keep up the outstanding work!

[@permjoback2580]

Cuki’s IR with eq 👍

[@makkamccann]

Yes, would love to be able to get hold of this IR.

[@silentguitarplayer6430]

Nice video, as it is always the case with Aaron :) One small nuance (and apologies if this has already been mentioned somewhere amont 1he 150+ comments :): Fishman Aura Spectrum DI actually has switchable EQ setting. You can have EQ module affect dry (pickup) sound only, or you can switch it to Global Mode, where EQ will also affect the Aura Image. This is not the most obvious feature, and involves power-cycling the pedal while holding one of the footswitches down, but it's there. It is indeed a pity one cannot load third party IRs into Fishman. I also agree that NUX really nailed it with their IR loaders, especially in terms of the bang for the buck. I got myself out of pure curiosity their junior IR loader pedal, the Mini Studio, or NSS-3, and my oh my what an increadible little gem - snickers size, less than 50 bucks, can load third party IRs, gives you access to the total of 24 IR slots (3 banks of 8 slots) and has a very easy to use and intuitive app. The only thing this pedal really misses is the wet-dry blend control, which may be a deal breaker in some cases, but other than this - excellent piece of gear.

[@JohnDoe-xr5is]

OMG THANK YOU!! I didn't know my Aura Spectrum could be switched to global mode. I thought the unit's eq only effected the dry guitar signal.

[@silentguitarplayer6430]

@@JohnDoe-xr5is , YW :)

[@StigPrice]

I love this video. Thank you for such helpful content. Have you tried the isolo gt-10 wireless pickup? And do you know if it would be compatible with any of these IR pedals?

[@aaronshortmusic]

I have. It didn’t work well for me due to too much wifi interference where I live. It would be compatible as it is an internal microphone.

[@StigPrice]

@@aaronshortmusic oh really?? That's rather disappointing to hear :(. The last thing I'd want is to be at a gig and have the connection be awful because of too many wireless signals interfering :(

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@StigPrice Yes. I do use some wireless system live that work reliably so hopefully there will be another version that works better.

[@StigPrice]

@@aaronshortmusic the fishman rare earth blend looks an interesting option as a wired solution. I really don't want anything going permanently in my guitar. What are the wireless alternatives to an isolo?

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@StigPrice Yes that Fishman is quite good.

[@mikemcclelland3864]

Great compare- but if your really gonna do a detailed- you would be adjusting the EQ to tweak out the boomy bass and get more highs- I assume most these pedals offer some eq?

[@aaronshortmusic]

Yes but I could EQ them all forever and get different results. I like to just show what is achievable at the start. Anything can be improved with EQ.

[@mikemcclelland3864]

@@aaronshortmusic I’ll be ordering my NUX soon!

[@hellsq]

Hello=) Please, can you make a video about that live expirience of IR usage on stage? I use NUX Optima, it sounds near to perfect in studio, when I made and test IRs, sometimes sound of guitar in my monitors is extremely close to natural acoustic sound (especially when I pre-EQ mic signal that goes to NUX). But when I use it on stage, quite every stage sound engeneer always make some mess with sound of my guitars. I play folk music most of the time.

[@aaronshortmusic]

I will share some thoughts on this soon.

[@hellsq]

@@aaronshortmusic thank you! IR s on stage sounds ok when pickin some slow ballads like this (this is my usual IR sound sample) kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2KYiJ-XqLCpfa8 but when it comes to strumming it mostly sounds too bad, comparing to how it sounds in my studio.

[@aaronshortmusic]

@@hellsq Yes it adds ‘distance’.

[@kalvino67]

Why is this all so hard in the 21st century! I just want to record my songs with my D18! Is that too much to ask? 😂. Great vid!!

[@aaronshortmusic]

Lol thanks! Use a microphone when you can!

[@BlakeHarper99]

I have the HX ask kookie how he set it! I want that same program on my board!

[@arataka57]

I wish there will be a nylon comparison

[@aaronshortmusic]

Sorry I don’t own a nylon string guitar at the moment.

[@FirstMM]

I'd love to see an updated version of this with the latest firmware's. Based on this I don't think that there is enough value provided by any of the pedals, all of them compromise the high end or over emphasise the bottom end. It is very much a case of only being able to process the signal coming from the pickup, though, so I'd like to hear a comparison with something like the Anthem as well.

[@aaronshortmusic]

Until they get 1 to 1 I would rather just use an excellent analog system. I do believe that IR is in the future for acoustic guitar. It just isn’t there yet.

[@eli14eli14]

i would love an IR video for specifically a LIVE setup on the Voiceprint

[@aaronshortmusic]

Thanks I will look into it. I used it live this week and it worked well!