The Aura Spectrum DI has multiple uses in
studio as well as onstage. It can be used to “re-
amp” a dry, pre-recorded guitar, or it can be
included in the initial signal chain. If you record
with a pickup and a mic, you can use the DI to
sweeten up the pickup, or you can apply the
Images after the fact. Either way, it gives you
a much bigger sound. You could even make
several copies of your pickup track and apply
different mic Images to each track, giving you a
“wall of acoustic guitar” type sound.
defaults), and then choose the microphone
that was used to create the Image. For an orchestra model made of spruce and rosewood,
there are five mics to choose from: a Schoeps
CMC64, a Neumann M147 and KM84, a Soun-delux E47, and a Shure Beta 58A.
I decided to download some additional Images. The Aura Image Gallery software gallery
installed onto my laptop in a snap, and I was
surfing through the available Images for other
similar guitars in no time. I decided just for
the heck of it to snag a few Images from one
of Laurence Juber’s guitars, in addition to a
couple other models that seemed close.
The Final Mojo
Skip If...
you are one of the lucky bastards that
still gets to mic your guitar on stage.
If you’re looking for a way to recapture a mic’d
sound in a mic-unfriendly environment (which
is sadly where most of the gigs are these days)
Rating... 4. 5
Back to the guitar again, I ran through the
models. Laurence Juber’s Images sounded
great (big surprise), and I had fun switching between bypass and image to hear how
much difference there really was. It was quite
dramatic. I have to say I didn’t care for several
of the Images, but that’s okay—it’s a personal
taste thing, and your guitar may sound fantastic with Images that don’t work for my guitar.
Fishman’s got you covered. It’s a remarkably clever idea, and honestly the difference
between the dry signal and the “Imaged”
signal is very dramatic. If I have any complaints,
they’re visual: the print on the unit is very hard
to see in low light, and the knobs just have a
notch to show where they’re set, which you can
barely see even in good light. It’s not just the
young folks with good eyesight buying gear!
ONTHEWeb
Click here to hear sound clips
of the unit in action at
premierguitar.com
Record Time
Overall, I’d say this is a versatile piece of gear
that’s got a lot of potential. And according to
Chris DeMaria, Fishman’s Director of Marketing, you can send your guitar to Fishman and
they will image your guitar and send it to you
on a disc. Sweet!
Street $330
fishman.com
you long for the tone you get with
a mic, but have to use a pickup
onstage most of the time.
Buy If...
Fishman Acoustic
Amplification
huber-ad_3.5x4.8125_080201 01.02.2008 14:21 Uhr Seite 1
NIK HUBER
guitars
www.nikhuber-guitars.com
Borsigstr. 13 • 63110 Rodgau/Germany • Tel.: + 49 (0)6106 77 21 66
www.premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR NOVEMBER 2009 181
