There can be a huge difference in the tone of an acoustic guitar when played through an amp via a pickup. LR Baggs is looking to narrow the gap with the help of a floor stomp and a smartphone app.
LR Baggs has launched the Soundscape technology at the NAMM show in Anaheim, California, and is calling it "the next breakthrough chapter in acoustic amplification." Essentially, a player captures the unique natural tone of an acoustic instrument using a smartphone app, mixes in some algorithm magic and transfers the profile to a floor stomp for accurate reproduction through an amplifier.
The company is calling the instrument's impulse response its Voiceprint and this is captured by the Acoustic Live smartphone app at a sampling rate of 96 kHz. After the playback algorithms have analyzed the instrument's timbre and playing response, the tone profile is stored as a preset in the app. Up to a hundred instrument presets can be stored on the Soundscape stomp so you don't have to take your smartphone into the studio or onstage.
But there's more. The technology – which has been developed with Dr. Jonathan Abel, co-founder of Universal Audio – can also identify which resonances on a particular guitar are prone to feedback and create an anti-feedback profile. Full parametric EQ for each preset is available too.
The Soundscape unit is due for release in the coming months for US$399. The video has more.
Product page: Soundscape