Crowdster as stage acoustic

[jimklein]

I play acoustic (only) in a large Church... Feedback is not an issue sice we use earbuds but thinking about a Crowdster & Mama Bear combo..

Does this guitar work well as your only acoustic? As-in is it a different but good sound than an acoustic or is it an actual replacement?

How about if you lead songs from the crowdster guitar as an acoustic?
(plugged in of course)

I've got some great acoustics now & would have to sell some of them to get the Crowdster.

Much Thanks,
Jim

[tom]

our worship leader uses both if the situation is good enough for feedback to not be a problem. it was meant to be used where you would use an acoustic, not a particularly different sound. i have some great acoustics myself, but i never plug them in anymore because none of them play as good as my crowdster. there is still nothing like sitting in an intimate setting playing your fav acoustic unplugged.

[jimklein]

Much thanks for the reply!!! And a bonus to hear directly from you...

Now if only I can find a test Crowdster in Minnesota... (I've tried all stores & alternatives I know)

[ckofahl]

THis is the exact combination that I use in our church. We have 2 acoustic players as well as 2 electrics. My self and the other acoustic both use crowdsters plugged into a mama bear. The effect that the mama bear has on the sound of the crowdster is somewhat hard to describe, but it feels more like the responce of an acoustic in regard to moving air. I was playing at a city wide event, one of the worship leaders was using my crowdster for the rehersal. On the last song he wanted to switch to his d28. He plugged it in and gave it one strum, made an awful face and asked me if he could play my crowdster for the event. I'm not suggesting that the crowdster is better than the d28, but on stage and through a pa system, he liked what he heard. Of all the acoustic guitars that I own, our sound men perfer the sound of the crowdster through the mama bear. I highly endorse this combination. Hope this helps

[ryman150]

What is a Mama Bear? Is this an acoustic amp?

[ckofahl]

Mama Bear is a preamp that has 16 different input target, and 16 output targets. Each input target is a different type of pickup, you then match the pickup on your guitar to the input target, and the select the type acoustic output guitar you imulate. It's somewhat hard to describe, but it works. It's put out by Rick Turner of D-TAR. the web site is www.d-tar.com It's a very useful tool for those that wish to enhance the acoustic sound of a bridge pickup system

[GaryMcT]

I wish they had some sound samples on their web site.

Any experience using this with the piezo pickup on a Drop Top?

[ckofahl]

One of my drop tops has a lr bagg pickup in the bridge, running it through the mama bear makes it sound better than anything else that I've tried. One of 16 target inputs is a metal bridge pickup. Really a workable sound.

[TSL]

Interesting concept! Any idea what they cost? Just noticed you're in Albuquerque! Hi neighbor.
Terry

[ckofahl]

If I remember correctly, I picked mine up for about 329.00

[ckofahl]

Oh, forgot to say hi back, sorry!

[Janine Doubly]

I mentioned this on another post, but it applies here as well. I have tried the Fishman Aura with the Crowdster and have found some amazingly authentic results. The Crowdster, IMO, is the perfect vehicle for the "Modeling" that goes on inside the Aura. You get a perfect input from the Crowdster, allowing the processing inside the Aura to properly do its magic, more so than any Fishman equipped acoustic/electric. Dial in any of the Dreadnaught/Large diaphram mic or Jumbo/large diaphram settings and be prepared to believe that you are hearing a Pre-war HD28 or a killer J-200, while still getting the no feedback, perfect playability of the Crowdster. Its that good, IMO!

[getgo]

I have the Mama Bear and I have used it with my Crowdy. While it does sound very realistic, I would like to try the Aura as well. The Mama seems to add a bit more mid range than I like to the sound. I still prefer to use my Crowdy with my Pendulum SPS-1. I get a very agressive "cutty" acoustic sound this way.

[TSL]

ckofahl
One of my drop tops has a lr bagg pickup in the bridge, running it through the mama bear makes it sound better than anything else that I've tried. One of 16 target inputs is a metal bridge pickup. Really a workable sound

Thanks for the info! I'd be interested in hearing how it sounds. Are you going from the mama bear to the PA or an amp?

Terry

[ckofahl]

I go from the mama bear to the pa via the xlr, and out to a california blond via the 1/4 in out. The mama bear's xlr is a line level signal that is not effected by it's volume control. It also has a mute switch on it that mutes the entire signal path. I have tried the Fishman Aura, it had some nice sounds, but I found it to be a bit noisy. The mama bear has less bells and whistles, but is dead quiet and simple. I need simple.