cams_campbell's Reviews

Great sound

The sound off this little amp is incredible. It is a bit limited if you want to use guitar and microphone, so I use a small mixer in between. The reverb effect is really nice.

Dependable

I've been using this live for many years now, and it has been in daily use in a bistro where I play for the past three years. It does what it does well - including mixing a five-piece acoustic band with an AER Compact60 as the main speaker.

Rock solid

I use this twice a week at least for gigs and I've had it for fifteen years.

Mastering cans

I use these for mastering in the studio. They are very comfortable over long periods and have helped me a great deal with mastering because my room sucks.

10 Years in and Solid

I got this installed in a SCGC Vintage Artist model when I got it in 2006. I use it with a Baggs Venue DI for bluegrass gigs and backup / solo fingerstyle in a Scottish trad dance band. I've had and still have a variety of pick-ups and I'd have to say that this one is the most trouble-free and simplest to use. It takes AA batteries.

My first keeper.

The tone is deep and rich and it was that depth of tone that captured my heart. The craftsmanship is outstanding, something I’ve come to expect from German luthiers.

It has a nice oil-based finish, something which I hadn’t seen before and haven’t seen since. It really brings out the natural wood and there’s none of that swish of clothes rubbing against it as is the case with satin finishes.

But, aesthetics aside, let’s get to the meat of the matter: the tone. I’m a bass lover – always have the bass button pushed in on my stereo, iPod EQ set to bass boost, nice, meaty subwoofer for the 5.1 amp, you get the picture. And let me tell you, this guitar floats my boat. I don’t know whether it’s the depth, the wood, the bracing or what, but this guitar has some real meat to it.

Saying all that, one would be forgiven for thinking that the guitar is bass heavy. It isn’t. That’s what makes it so remarkable. It’s well-balanced but with presence, if that makes any sense.

The quality that this guitar has, besides the rich depth, is sustain. For Celtic fingerstyle, the only guitar I’ve played that I liked more was a Walker, and they are about three times more expensive. It has a kind of dry, vintage-like tone similar to what one would expect from mahogany, and also like mahogany, it favours the fundamental. But the similarities with mahogany end with the sustain – I could pick a note, switch on the kettle and it would be still be ringing as I was pouring in the milk.

Versatile

I have this installed in a Heiner Dreizehnter Model A. I was using PUTW pickups for years but found them unreliable, although great when working. Reliability trumps tone though, and the Anthem has been rock solid. I wanted the ability to adjust the blend, so opted for the full-fat version over the SL. Tonally the PUTW was a better fit, but this isn't bad and, when paired with the Baggs Para Acoustic DI or Venue DI, I can just about get the tone I hear in my head.

I use it for small venue coffee shops with a five-piece acoustic band, and larger village hall wedding gigs with the same band. It's generally paired with the PADI

A bit boxy in my guitar

I have this installed in a Kim Walker SJ in Adirondack spruce / maple. It's okay at low volumes, but gets a bit boxy at higher volumes. It requires some pretty drastic EQ, but with a Baggs Para Acoustic DI or Venue DI, it just about works. For solo acoustic gigs in small venues, it's fine. For larger venues with the band, it's more trouble than it's worth. I don't gig with the Kim Walker now anyway, so it's kinda moot.

My go-to DI

This is my #DI for acoustic guitar. It gives me all the EQ I need to get good tone from my instrument. I use the boost feature a lot for solos in the bluegrass band or for switching from backup to fingerstyle. The mute button is very useful indeed. Shame the tuner isn't so great. I would happily have done without that to get phantom power.

One thing well.

I've been using this box for acoustic guitar for probably 15 years. It does what it does very well indeed. My favourite feature is the 48v phantom power. Wish my Venue DI had that!