Players' Comments
Dear Rick, Evan, Brandon (and everybody else at D-TAR),
Just a short letter to let you know how much I really LOVE my new DTar Equinox! I’m using it with my 175-year-old German double bass to make it sound like…well…a 175-year-old German double bass! (And just so you don’t think me effete, also with my 40-year-old Kay plywood upright.) I’ve used it both as an “external EQ” on the effects loop of my Eden amp and as a “pre-amp/D.I.” when working solely with a PA monitor wedge. (So glad you added the XLR out!) It shines in both applications. In addition to being a very powerful and versatile “tone shaping” tool, it’s also very clean and quiet; Truly “audiophile quality”. With an amp, I’m able to just set the amp’s EQ flat and “tweak” using the Equinox or, with particularly “troublesome” rooms, use it conjunction with my amp’s EQ as three additional needed bands of equalization. As a stand-alone preamp/D.I., I plug it into the PA, work with the soundman to get an “acceptable” upright bass sound in the wedge then polish it into the sound of “my bass” with the Equinox. When touring, I don’t fly with my bass. Flying with a double bass has become a real logistical headache. There’s the ever increasing expense not to mention the seemingly increasing risk of damage to your instrument from uncaring baggage handlers with an “agenda”. (Can you say “LaGuardia”?) So fly dates for me mean a “crap shoot” of a rented instrument and usually no amp. I’m sure the Equinox will prove to be indispensable in these situations. Also, the notch filters are a stroke of genius! Why has no one else thought of this? (But I bet you’re glad they haven’t!) Get thee behind me feedback! Love the size/weight/appearance! I got the carrying bag too so no reason not to take it with me wherever my DB goes. As an acoustic musician, (like every other acoustic musician in the world), I’m on the constant quest for an accurate amplified image of my instrument and my “tone”. Consequently, over time, through experimentation you wind up with a box full of pickups, preamps, EQs, foot pedals, etc. ad infinitum! The Equinox has rendered all my other preamps and EQs useless. Look out Craig’s List!
“With respect to acoustic tone,” what a great way to sum it all up. Again, at the risk of sounding elitist, acoustic musicians care so much about an accurate amplified representation of their instrument. Your “tone” starts in your head and in your hands; your instrument is only an extension of that. After spending years to foster and develop one’s “tone”, it’s so frustrating that it all can be lost as soon as you plug a cord in. It’s so nice to have a company that understands and appreciates that. Thanks so much for being “those guys.”
Brad Albin,
Double Bassist and DTar Endorsing Artist
Nashville, TN
Some useful and interesting comments on Equinox from our DTAR Artist Ed Hamilton
Hi Kellie,
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. The new Broadway show I am working on has had a crazy intense schedule.
http://www.drowsychaperone.com/
Some feedback on the Equinox.
I am using this on the show. I am playing mostly acoustic guitar and this little box has been a lifesaver.
The orchestra is 19 pieces and I am sitting right in front of the conductor and NEXT TO the drummer. There is no way an acoustic guitar can compete with an orchestra that size and still sound like an acoustic guitar – until the Dtar.
The combination of the Dtar and a genelec studio monitor and for the first time ever – my acoustic sounds just like an acoustic guitar only louder!
The feedback notch filters are great and quickly address those frequencies. And the parametric eq’s quickly let me sculpt the sound to achieve a natural sound. My Breedlove has the LR baggs pickup/mic combination in it. The Equinox lets me use the Mic instead of the piezo. This is simple unheard of previously.
The Equinox was also a lifesaver at the record date for the show. Broadway record dates are one day marathon events.
The entire show is recorded in one 14 hour day. With such a tight deadline there is literally ten minutes allotted to getting a headphone mix together. Imagine that. Ten minutes that effect the next 14 hours. This has always been a nightmare for me.
So I took the dtar. Paired it with a little mixer and blended it with the main headphone mix. This gave me my own private cue system to add in my own guitar sound to my satisfaction. The Equinox let me eq this mix to perfection in that 10 minutes. It was acoustic guitar bliss in my headphones for the next 14 hours!
Please pass on my complete satisfaction with the unit to those who created it. Its a great little box and I will need more of them as they seem to solve any problem in every situation.
Very best regards,
Ed Hamilton.
This one comes from Bassist Joe Kyle of the Waybacks, an eclectic Bay Area band that fuses everything from newgrass and western swing to jug band and jazz, from folk and fiddle music to improvisational excursions that defy categorization:
Equinox, like its esteemed relation Solstice, kicks ass. I've dialed in some seriously good bass tones over these past two weeks. Even with the application of very minor equalization, the circuitry of the device adds definition and clarity to my amplified tone. The notch filters are most useful in dealing with problematic low frequency hot spots which can differ wildly from room to room. Amplifying upright bass in moderate-to-high volume settings is always a challenging venture. The D-TAR units always make my job easier!
Joe Kyle
The Waybacks
The following Q&A exchange comes from fingerstyle diva Muriel
Anderson and a fan:
Dear Muriel,
I really enjoyed your recent performance in California. Quite aside
from the fact that you played exquisitely, your guitars SOUNDED
wonderful. What kind of pickups / preamps / amplification system
do you use to achieve such a natural sound?
Mike in Los Angeles.
Dear Mike,
I play through a D-TAR
pickup with the D-TAR Equinox. Rick Turner and Seymour Duncan
designed it.
Muriel
D-TAR Equinox (Chad’s Take)
I’m kind of renowned for showing up every week with a new piece
of equipment for acoustic amplification: a new preamp, EQ or pickup.
I’m not the greatest player, so it’s imperative that my
guitar sounds great! I’m a Vineyard Worship Leader, so I spend
a lot of time playing in the context of a band. I play all sorts
of rooms that are often EQ nightmares. I need good control over
my EQ. I also need plenty of volume without feedback. I am a singer/songwriter,
as well. I want a good woody feel to my plugged in sound…I’m
a snob.
I have two Taylor® 810s [that are] REALLY good guitars! They
are both 12 years old and are both equipped with K&K Pure Western
pickups. I LOVE these pickups. They are passive (no battery…yay!),
therefore I need a preamp with volume and EQ controls. Other pickups
I’ve tried: Fishman® Matrix, LR Baggs® Double Barrel,
LR Baggs® iBeam and Pickup the World® #27.
My previous acoustic preamps have included Fishman Blender, LR Baggs
Paracoustic DI, BBE® 386 Acoustic Preamp, Crate® Acoustic
Preamp, Trace Elliot® Tap Preamp, Raven Labs® USIP, Raven
Labs PMB-II and the Pendulum® Preamp -- this one was borrowed
to try out. My favorite was the Raven Labs USIP (of course the Pendulum
was nice, too). What I did not like was the fact that it was a rack
mount only. I got it for the parametric EQ section combined with
the blending feature, however, I could never completely dial in
the RL’s parametric EQ.
I was pretty sure I’d exhausted my leads on acoustic preamps.
I was about to order the Highlander® PAMDI when I decided to
do a Yahoo search for acoustic preamps. D-TAR? What the heck is
D-TAR? I started reading, but there wasn’t much to read. I
found myself very interested in the Equinox. Parametric EQ/Preamp/not
rack mount? Tell me more. I couldn’t find any reviews, so I
started digging. I called John at
Shoreline Acoustic Music because I always check things out with
him first. Though he said he would carry them if he could get his
hands on one (AND if he liked it) he could not tell me anything
about it. I decided to pre-order and chance it myself…
I guess this is the point where it gets interesting for you… I have had my Equinox for just under a week now. (Many thanks to
Brandon at Guitar Heaven and Billy at D-TAR!)
When I walked in with a new preamp on my pedal board, I got the
same rolling eyes that I always get… “He’s not going
to be satisfied with this one either, I bet!” The skeptics
were out and, rightly, they should be. I have never been completely
happy with any of my previous preamp purchases. UNTIL NOW.
I spent about 15 minutes with the Equinox, my guitar and a 10”
JBL® EON speaker. I read the section [in the manual] about “Setting
Your Tone with the Parametric EQ.” I LOVE the parametric EQ
on the Equinox. It has an extra knob over the already confusing
Raven Labs USIP, yet it is very simple. I love the Bandwidth knob.
I found a pretty great introductory tone.
As soon as I plugged into our system, unmuted (via my tuner pedal)
and strummed a chord, I sensed the mood in the room change. The
sound guys were smiling. I was smiling. My friend, who was holding
his Martin® CEO-4 and his [competing brand parametric EQ] was
NOT smiling!!! For the first time, I heard an amplified sound from
my guitar that I loved. I’m not going to be like those guys
who say, “It sounded like my guitar, only louder.” That
just doesn’t happen with amplification. I WOULD almost say
that it sounds BETTER than my guitar, because I can turn it up and
hear all of the subtle intricacies. My [competing brand parametric
EQ] has been sold already!
For me, the D-TAR Equinox works PERFECTLY. There are a few things
that I would change, simply because not every one runs the same
setup as me. Here are those things:
• There is no Power Switch. This is a bit of a negative, even
for me. Not sure why.
• There is no mute switch. Typically this point is moot for
me, because I usually go through a tuner (Boss® TU-2, or my
new Korg® DT-10) pedal, which I use to mute the signal. Most
people don’t use their tuner this way and would prefer to have
a mute switch. A footswitchable mute would rock, but again, it is
not necessary for my setup.
• There is no ground lift switch. This could be helpful.
• There is no XLR out. I have spent a lot of money on preamps,
so your price is incredible in my mind, however, most people who
spend over 200 bucks on a preamp/EQ would probably not want to have
to go through a DI Box, as well. Again, for my set up this is not
a problem, because I go through a BBE DI 100x before the board or
snake. The BBE doesn’t jack with my tone, but it certainly
helps it cut through the mix.
• An effects loop might be handy for those who don’t need
the blending of the Solstice and want the EQ on the Equinox. My
chain is this: Budda Bud® Wah+ Volume/Wah Pedal (true bypass)
‡ Korg DT-10 Tuner ‡ D-TAR Eqinox ‡ Fulltone®
Choralflange (true bypass chorus/flange pedal) ‡ BBE DI 100x
‡ snake. This works perfectly. Effects loop is definitely not
necessary, but could be helpful for those guys who insist on using
a loop.
• The outputs are not clearly marked or explained in the manual.
Are they parallel, etc.?
Things that put the D-TAR Equinox at the head of the class:
• Tone. What else could actually make the top of the list?
• The bypassable EQ and Notch Filters.
• TWO notchfilters
• TRUE Parametric EQ with Bandwidth knob
• 20dB pad
• THE PRICE! I have spent some serious money (that I didn’t
have) on acoustic amplification. It is very refreshing to have a
product THIS GOOD to be affordable. Thank you!
• GREAT explanation of EQ, Notch Filters and Tone in the manual
• Years of experience and commitment to acoustic tone behind
the product
Because of the D-TAR Equinox, I’m actually going to get about
[the business of] playing music. My search is over…for now!
I’m very pleased. I’m excited to see what’s next
for D-TAR.
Everywhere I go, people know I’m pretty well read on acoustic
tone, and have tried most things out there. I have been a poster
boy for [competing brand parametric EQ], but that just changed.
They have good products, for sure, but they never were able to completely
nail every situation I played in. I think the D-TAR Equinox’s
versatile approach to tone and EQ is just what I’ve been looking
for.
Rock on!
Chad N. (chad@houstonvineyard.org)
Thanks for the review, Chad. Thanks to players' comments like yours,
we're now shipping Equinox with an XLR out. Enjoy!
Fishman, Blender, Matrix, LR Baggs, Double Barrel, iBeam, Paracoustic
DI, Pickup the World #27, BBE 386, Crate, Trace Elliot, Raven Labs,
K&K, Pendulum, Highlander, Martin, Taylor, Boss, Korg, Budda,
Fulltone are all trademarks of their respective companies or owners,
with which D-TAR is in no way affiliated. The views expressed are
the author’s own.
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