Finding the best acoustic guitar pedals that will give you the effects your sound needs is tricky. There are tons of different acoustic preamps, EQ pedals, and DI boxes that all have similar features but completely different purposes.
That’s why we made this article. We review all the top acoustic pedals that you should think about getting for your live or studio acoustic setup. Whether you want to boost your acoustic signal, equalize your frequencies, or just add a sweet effect that will make your sound stand out, we have the perfect pedals for you below.
Let’s jump in and check out the most popular top-rated acoustic effect pedals on the market.
Click Below to Compare the Top Acoustic Guitar Pedals & Preamps in 2020
Contents
- 1 Click Below to Compare the Top Acoustic Guitar Pedals & Preamps in 2020
- 1.1 LR Baggs Venue DI
- 1.2 BBE Acoustimax Acoustic Instrument Preamp with Sonic Maximizer
- 1.3 Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp Pedal
- 1.4 MXR M108S Ten Band EQ Guitar Effects Pedal
- 1.5 Fishman ToneDEQ AFX Preamp EQ and DI Box with Dual FX
- 1.6 LR Baggs Align Equalizer Acoustic EQ Pedal
- 1.7 Boss AD-10 Acoustic Guitar Processor Pedal
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here is a list of the best acoustic guitar preamp pedals that you need to add to your pedalboard and tone.
- LR Baggs Venue DI
- BBE Acoustimax Acoustic Instrument Preamp with Sonic Maximizer
- Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp Pedal
- MXR M108S Ten Band EQ Guitar Effects Pedal
- Fishman ToneDEQ AFX Preamp EQ and DI Box with Dual FX
- LR Baggs Align Equalizer Acoustic EQ Pedal
- Boss AD-10 Acoustic Guitar Processor Pedal
LR Baggs Venue DI
Specs, features, and benefits
The LR Baggs Venue DI is specially designed for the traveling musician – just plug in the Venue DI, a few tweaks, and you are good to go.
The pedal has these features:
Volume control knob
- Four-band EQ with presence – bass, low mid, hi mid, presence, and treble control knobs
- Two parametric EQ control knobs for fine-tuning
- Notch filter control
- Gain control knob
- Phase inversion control knob
- Tuner with led indicators – when the tuner is engaged the DI is muted
- Boost Footswitch – with an adjustable volume control knob on the back panel on the box
The pedal has Send and Return inputs for effects loop, and an XLR output for ground convenience. It can run on a 9V battery or a power adaptor.
The LR Baggs Venue DI is a great tool for the traveling acoustic guitar player!
Pros and Highlights
- Crystal clear – This DI sounds great with any PA system;
- Great features – The notch filter, the EQ section, the phase inversion, the gain control – are all great features that all acoustic guitar players have the need for;
- This unit will last a long time – The Venue DI is built in a sturdy metal box, it feels sturdy, and it will last a long, long time;
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The tuner and the booster are not the greatest, and it’s a bit pricey too;
Bottom line
The Venue DI by LR Baggs is an overall good DI box that has all the right features that an acoustic guitar player would ever need. It sounds great, and it’s sturdy. The only cons are the tuner – that is not very responsive, the Boost needs more controls to make it suitable for everybody, and the price is a bit pricey. Other than these three, the Venue DI is a great tool for the touring musician with the right features. The EQ section, the notch filter, the gain knob, and the phase inversion features are really the things that make this box shine!
BBE Acoustimax Acoustic Instrument Preamp with Sonic Maximizer
Specs, features, and benefits
The BBE Acousticmax is a versatile preamp and DI box that can serve touring musicians with any
acoustic instrument in their hands.
The box contains these features:
- Three-band EQ with sweepable midrange and notch filter
- Sonic Maximizer for adding fullness to the sound
- DI out; FX loop port, line out, tuner out
- Ground Lift, Phase shift, -12db PAD, Pre/Post DI
The BBE Acousticmax is built like a tank, and it comes for a pretty affordable price. The sound you will get with this unit plugged in is just amazing!
BBE Acousticmax has two footswitches, one for the Sonic Maximizer, and Mute.
Pros and Highlights
- Sturdy built – The Acousticmax is built very-well and designed so it can take the beatings of the touring musician;
- Sonic Maximizer and the other features will impress you – You will be amazed how much your tone can be improved with this feature. The other features like the EQ, the notch filter, etc., are amazing too!
- Affordable – For this kind of tool the price you will pay is very low;
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It died! – Many players reported that the box died during a performance. A lot of the owners are completely satisfied with the sound and performance of this product, but also many of them reported that the pedal died and ruined their performance.
Bottom line
The BBE Acousticmax might be the perfect DI box for your acoustic, but it also can die during your show. So, having that in mind it’s really hard to judge if this pedal is good or not.
The sound this box provides is awesome, and the features are great, it’s also built like a tank, but if it just stops working, as many owners claim, this unit is not recommended.
Hey BBE, take notes!
Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
Boss products are inevitable in a Top pedals list, and here we are – The Boss AD-2! Packed in the sturdy standard Boss box, with three control knobs, and two outputs, the Boss AD-2 is very famous pedal among the acoustic guitar players.
The pedal has these three controls: Ambience, Notch, and Acoustic Resonance.
The Ambience control knob is actually a reverb control and has a specially designed reverb effect that will suit your acoustic guitar, and not make it cloudy.
The Notch control will easily remove all of the feedback problems you experienced in the past. And the Acoustic Resonance is basically a carefully design EQ tone control, that lets you easy-tune your sound.
It has two outputs, which means that you can go into an amp or directly in the PA system, both ways you will sound great. The Line Out is actually a DI out. On the footswitch, the pedal has a mute option, which you can activate with holding it down for two seconds. The pedal can run on a 9V battery or on a 9V DC power adaptor.
Pros and Highlights
- Easy to use – There are only three control knobs, you don’t need to tweak a bunch of bells and whistles to set the perfect tone with this unit
- Sturdy and compact – This pedal can last decades of use – perfect for the touring musician, and it is pedalboard-friendly too!
- Affordable – The Boss AD-2 is a pretty cheap unit for what it can do to your tone;
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The Ambience effect is prone to producing some unwanted feedback – This feature is put on the pedal to add some depth of the sound, but if you over-use it, it will produce unwanted feedback that the notch filter can’t get rid of. So, be gentle with it! 🙂
Bottom line
The Boss AD-2 is a great addition to your acoustic guitar rig. It’s easy to use, it will enhance your sound, and it will diminish the occurring problems with your acoustic set. The pedal comes for a very reasonable price, it’s sturdy, and it will last a long time. Great quality, compact pedal!
MXR M108S Ten Band EQ Guitar Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
The MXR M108S is a Ten-band EQ pedal that can cut or boost up to 12dB. The pedal has ten sliders for the EQ, a Volume slider, and a Gain slider. The pedal is powered by an 18V power adaptor that comes with the pedal, giving you a good amount of headroom to work with. The pedal is very sturdily built, it is true bypass, and has LED light on each slider, for easy tweaking on the stage.
The MXR M108S has two outputs, allowing you to plug yourself in two amplifiers.
The pedal works great with both electric and acoustic guitar, and with bass guitar too! It probably works just fine with every string instrument like mandolin, banjo, etc.
Great piece of gear, for a great price!
Pros and Highlights
- Flexible – The ten-band EQ is allowing you to set your sound to your very likings;
- It boosts! – It has enough power so you can use it as a booster too!
- Sturdy – The pedal can take the beatings without calling on the cops!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The LED lights are too bright! – Many owners complained about the lights claiming they are too bright. This is a fixable problem, just put on some sunglasses! 🙂
Or you can probably cut them off. If you are handy of course! 🙂
Bottom line
The MXR M108S is a flexible ten-ben EQ pedal that will sound great with your acoustic guitar. You can boost or cut the problematic frequencies, and you can add volume and gain.
The pedal is built like a tank and will serve you for many, many years. Some players reported that their pedal stopped working after some time of usage, but let’s be honest here, this can happen with any pedal. Of course, trying before buying should be applied when buying this unit.
The MXR M108S is also an affordable one, so, if you want to enhance your overall sound image, go and get one!
Fishman ToneDEQ AFX Preamp EQ and DI Box with Dual FX
Specs, features, and benefits
The Fishman ToneDEQ is really something special. It’s the perfect solution for all your sound problems as an acoustic player.
The pedal has two Reverb effects, two Delays, two Chorus effects, Flanger, and Tremolo effect, with control knobs for their level and time/rate.
Also, it has:
- Compressor control knob; Volume control knob
- Low, Mid and High control knobs
- Phase inversion switch; Three-way low-cut switch
It has DI output and right next to it with the pre/post-DI push-button and amp output. On the other side there is the input, the input trim control, and the boost level control.
The pedal has three footswitches, Reverb/Delay, Chorus, and Boost.
Pros and Highlights
- All in one box – With this box, you have all the features that you’ll need as an acoustic guitar player;
- High quality – The pedal’s circuitry is an all-analog one, and all the features this pedal has, and all the components they are built from are high quality – all of this results in producing a crystal-clear sound!
- Easy to use – This is a very easy-to-use pedal, just plug it, tweak the knobs and set your perfect tone in under a minute of time;
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Pricey – The pedal is pricier than the most of the other pedals.
Bottom line
The Fishman ToneDEQ is an amazing tool for the acoustic player. It has all the features that you will need with your acoustic guitar to have great tone. The pedal is sturdy and sounds great. It’s a little pricey, but the quality you will get with this unit will justify every penny spent.
LR Baggs Align Equalizer Acoustic EQ Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
Packed in a compact, vintage looking box, the LR Baggs Align Equalizer is one of the most desired preamp pedals among the acoustic guitar players community.
It has two big control knobs, one for Volume level, and one for Notch filter, six-band EQ, three-mode high-pass filter switch, phase inversion push-button, and three-way gain stage switch.
The pedal has “engage” footswitch.
Pros and Highlights
- High-quality sound – Due to the all-analog circuitry of the pedal, you’ll have a beautiful, warm sound with your acoustic.
- Compact, great design – The design of this pedal is looking great, but it also is very intuitive and easy to set;
- Sturdy – The pedal will be your side-kick on the tour, it won’t break and will last a long time;
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are looking for the best Equalizer for acoustic guitar, you just stumbled upon it!
The LR Baggs designed the Align Equalizer especially for acoustic instruments, and not only you will get a six-band EQ, but you will also get Notch filter and phase inversion button!
Very easy to use, an intuitive box that will solve all your on-tour problems with your acoustic guitar! Great pedal!
Boss AD-10 Acoustic Guitar Processor Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
Boss really made a ton of features on this unit. This is one of the most versatile, flexible, multi-effect processor for acoustic guitar.
The pedal contains these features:
- Anti-Feedback Reduction knob, and two notch filters
- Acoustic Resonance section
- Compression section
- Delay and Chorus section
- Ambiance section
- EQ section with Low, Mid, High, Presence, and Level control knobs, and low cut push-button
- Output Levels control section
- Memory section with ten presets bank
- Booster
- Looper with eighty seconds of record time
On the back panel you can find the inputs and their control knobs for input levels (you can use this processor with two guitars in), the line outs, the XLR outs, Ground lift switch, Mono/Stereo switch, USB port, Send and Return inputs, Expression out, the power input, and the on/off switch.
Pros and Highlights
- All you will ever need with your acoustic guitar on tour – This pedal has a ton of features to offer! You can even use it with your partner in crime – the second guitar player!
- Great Tone – The pedal will produce a high-quality tone, no matter where you play;
- Presets! – Set your guitar in seconds with your stored presets;
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No Cons!
Bottom line
The Boss AD-10 is truly one of the greatest acoustic guitar processors. It has a ton of features and probably everything you will ever need as an acoustic guitar player, other than your acoustic guitar, and a pick maybe.
What We Recommend and Why
This is a hard one! There are a lot of good choices here on the list. However, nobody can beat the LR Baggs Venue DI! The pedal is brilliant! It has all that you will ever need, and it is the highest quality one too! It’s a bit pricey, but the quality of sound and performance of this pedal is worth every penny.
And Bodyrez pedal ?! Opinion about him! Tks