AC-3

Q.In order to get the best acoustic guitar sound from the AC-3, I've heard that I should connect the LINE OUT jack to a PA system rather than connecting the G.AMP OUT jack to a conventional guitar amp. Is this true?

A.The AC-3 uses COSM technology to emulate the sound of an acoustic guitar, which has a complex overtone structure and a rich high-frequency content. To amplify this sound accurately, your playback system needs to be able to reproduce these high-frequency sounds. Unfortunately, a traditional guitar amp attenuates high frequencies, making it unsuitable for reproducing the sound of an acoustic guitar. Since a PA system has a flat, full-range frequency response, it's able to provide a natural playback sound that preserves the rich overtones and high-frequency range of the AC-3's acoustic guitar sound.

Therefore, to get the best acoustic guitar sound from the AC-3, you should connect its LINE OUT jack to a PA or other full-range amplification system.



If you connect the AC-3 to both a guitar amp and a PA system (or recorder), switching the AC-3 on/off will automatically switch the output between the LINE OUT and G.AMP OUT jacks. For details,
refer to the related FAQ:

When the AC-3's effect is on, I want to send its output to a PA system; when the AC-3 is bypassed, I want to send its output to a guitar amp. Is this possible?

Notes:

LINE OUT jack
This output produces a flat frequency response.
For more details, refer to the related FAQ:

The AC-3 has two output jacks: LINE OUT and G.AMP OUT. Which should I use, and how do they differ?

G.AMP OUT jack
When the AC-3 effect is on, the output from the G.AMP OUT jack is processed to compensate for the high-frequency attenuation of a typical guitar amp. This allows the AC-3's acoustic guitar sound to be more natural when reproduced with a regular guitar amp

(2006/03/27)

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