Martin & Fishman raise the bar with the new Aura!
So real, it's scary.
By Maury Rutch
Martin and Fishman have been bringing us acoustic-electric solutions for many years, but this new system is hands-down their best effort to date! Over the past 4 months, Tim Perry and I have had the opportunity to record and perform live with Aura-equipped Martin guitars, and the results have been consistently amazing.
The Martin "Aura" models take the idea of acoustic amplification much farther than anyone has before. Each Martin model is paired up with an Aura "brain" that was specifically built just for that model. We'll take the Martin 000C-16RGTE Aura that Tim has been gigging with as an example. A prototype 000C-16RGTE Premium was recorded at Fishman, using the best studio microphones available. These mic "images" (careful - this is not modeling) were saved and the R&D guys loaded their 6 favorite sounds into the Aura.
These 6 images will not work with any other Martin model. If Martin would try and take the Aura from our 000C-16RGTE Aura and install it in an OMC-Aura, for example ... the result would be less than authentic. Different bracing patterns, bridge materials, even different finish types render this mix-n-match idea a bad one. That's just how accurate and specific this system is.
The 6 Aura images in our Martin are fed by the famous Martin Gold+Plus under-saddle pickup, which is still featured in many other Martin acoustic/electric models. I know, I know - some of you saw the words under-saddle pickup & immediately put both hands in your pockets and ran the other way. Come back! It's OK. If you're not a fan of the typical under-saddle tone, that's all the more reason that you need to hear the Aura to believe it!
|
 |
The Gold+Plus picks up the string & saddle vibration and sends this information to the Aura's "brain". The player can then blend between 100% pickup - 100% Aura or anywhere in-between... and we've been using 100% Aura at every gig. There is no remnant of UST tone anywhere!
It may sound very complex, but it's efficiency is its beauty. The first time Tim and I got to the gig with this guitar, we learned just how powerful and user-friendly it was. Tim simply plugged-in, wheeled through the 6 mic images, chose his favorite and set the slider to 100% Aura. With the first strum we all knew that this was light-years ahead of any other pickup he has ever used. Every note on the guitar was full, round and as loud as its neighbor. There are no dead-spots, hot-spots, or other abnormalities common to other pickup types.
Since we're blending in mic images, and not a real mic - there's NO FEEDBACK! The Aura's phase switch and an automatic notch-filter make absolutely sure that even if you're the most feedback-prone guitarist you do not have to suffer with howl & squeal. Other features on the Aura's preamp are EQ (bass, mid, treble), a digital tuner which mutes your signal when engaged, and an Edit feature that allows you to customize the Aura's mic images even further.
Tim and I have never experienced a plugged-in tone that sounded this good. I can truthfully tell you that in my professional opinion, the Aura-equipped Martin guitars are the very best choice in acoustic-electric instruments. Martin's legendary acoustic tone is finally allowed to come through to your audience, without hassle, without sacrificing playability, without sacrificing anything. If Martin hasn't already convinced the working musician that the best-sounding acoustic electric guitars are made in Nazareth, PA, I suspect that's about to change... fast!
|
|
|
!
