L.R.Baggs Para Acoustic DI Preamp

After all, this is what i bought it for. However:

Bass - the control doesn't respond too well and "booms - woofs" like you put a blanket on the speaker.

Notch filter - works ok only when you put on "d" - doesn't seem to make much of a difference when you put it elsewhere.

Mid -cutting does clear up but seems to do so only for certain frequencies - when you sweep you don't notice much of a frequency difference.

Presence - totally unacceptable. gives no presence but only boosts piezo quack along with a feeling of high frequency distortion. Treble - not clear when you boost, rather scratchy and hissy.

Noise - they say it's super quiet but these guys haven't really seen quiet ACTIVE gear....it adds quite a fair amount of noise when you crank up the volume knob. Things are better when you set gain high - if you have toddler size fingers to manage to twist that little tiny gain knob - and volume low but then you have to set the eq again!

Handling - ok, i knew about the little knobs, but like i already said that gain knob is TOO small - and unfortunately, for reasons just mentioned, it's NOT a "set and forget" knob like the manufacturer claims.

Quality - feels solid and sturdy, but i read a report of a user who used it for a long time and reported problems on the XLR plug because of its position - it's vertical and probably gets stressed over time because of side pressure from the female plug. Plus it's more risky for tripping over with someone's foot.

I am not a sound expert but i claim to be a very experienced musician. As a reference point,I inform anyone interested that i tested the Para Acoustic DI with a) AER compact mobile 2 acoustic amp and b) with A & H wz4 mixwizard console with MACKIE srm 450 v3 speakers. The eq of the mixwizard is a real miracle, so pristine and musical... And it's preamps are SO quiet and noise free.I thought the Para Acoustic would be like that too... All gear tested with nylon string guitar (SCHATTEN DESIGN piezo) and electro acoustic guitar (martin with integrated FISHMAN preamp.)

At the price of 275 euros I expected something MUCH better - especially since this a rather old DI box which has covered the cost of designing for its company. Also based on reviews by almost anyone on the internet i thought it would be something extraordinary. What a disappointment! I think it's worth something like 100 euros - 120 at most. 275? No way! I sent it back immediately.

As an acoustic guitar player im struck with a familiar issue that occurs time and time again, how do i get my acoustic guitar to sound as good plugged in as it does acoustically? Well this pedal is the answer. I own Martin M-36, and i love the clarity and richness of the tone when playing at home on my own or at intimate gigs. However, even after i fitted it with a K&K pickup it still lacked the fullness of sound when put into an electric full band environment, until i bought the L.R. Baggs acoustic preamp. Not only does it give you full control of your eq settings, it boosts the signal of your guitar without breaking up the signal or colouring it in anyway, allowing the quality tone of your acoustic guitar to shine through unaltered. Overall this pedal is a great edition to any acoustic players board. It may seem pricey, but after using it at your first gig it will of paid for itself twice over.

Tested with a Gibson SJ-200 equiped with an anthem system and a Martin D16 fitted with a fishman prefix.
It allows for some tone shaping with the built in eq, though i'd rather see frequencies instead of notes in the knobs. Still, you can't add anything that your guitar doesn't have, meaning you either already like the sound of your guitar or you don't, and if you don't, this is not going to help that much. The Quack of the piezzo of the fishman is still there and this unit does little to attenuate it. the anthem is nice but this doesn't make it nicer.
Tested it against a tech21 acoustic di and this one really adds something to the table besides the eq and di features. so in the end I opted for a para driver di instead of the baggs because it allows me to sneak a little saturation underneath the guitar.
The place where they put the xlr is not really helpful for cable bending. too much stress of the cable.
All that said, it's still a very capable Di, and much better than most. I would rather have this one instead of the PZ-DI or the Fishman Aura that have more or less the same price tag

The Para DI came recommended all over the internet because I have a bridge plate transducer P/U - the L R Baggs iBeam (this P/U/ was an early answer to piezo quack, acting like a mic inside the guitar, but had inherent feedback issues to go with its superior sound) in my acoustic guitar. I , can pull out offending frequencies with the notch filter, and sweepable mid section (though id prefer to boost with this function). It's a handy eq close to hand before i send to the desk, and I can send to the desk seperately before I apply a whack of effects pedals to the amp as well. It's an expensive convenience, but a necessary one at that. I only have it a week, but it's doing what it says on the tin so far.