Boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator

It's pretty easy to dial in the correct settings if you have the manual or get it off the internet. I have some problems because I like to use m y neck pickup mostly which is a humbucker (1972 tele custom original) but the AC-2 works much better with my bridge single coil. If I want to switch between sounds in one song I need to make sure to flip my pickup switch too, unless that is. . . I'll get to that next.

Here's my setup:

72 Tele Custom -> tuner ->Volume pedal -> AC-2 -> BBE Sonic Stomp


I split my signal at the AC-2 and only ever send it directly into a sound board. I would put it into my amp but I don't have to regular inputs on my Bassman head.

When I first got the pedal I considered it okay, I paid about 30 dollars for it used. It was okay but not something I would make a habit of using. Then I tried throwing in a Sonic Stomp after it going into a sound board. It was incredible! No longer did it matter what pickup I used, the AC-2 was almost indistinguishable from a run of the mill acoustic going into a system. I didn't really use the Sonic Stomp anyways (got it for 10 bucks broken and fixed it) so no loss on the rest of my chain.

I love sending this to a separate output because a soundboard is much better for adjusting the acoustic sounds than my Bassman.

its boss

never dealt with them. Its pretty beat up so I don't know if they'd take it or not

I give it a six because I have to rate the pedal on its own. With the BBE sonic stomp after it I'd give it straight tens, but that isn't fair.

If you get this put some sort of tone shaping pedal after it. Otherwise it'll end up in the closet. I imagine even a cheap eq would do the trick.

pretty easy to use. i didn't have a manual but i've never really needed a manual for boss's compact pedal line. there are 4 knobs and all the controls are right there for you to tweak - no hidden programing or anything like that.

i guess this is the part of the review people's eyes go to first. i have to say that i'm very satisfied with the sounds coming out of this pedal. i wasn't really expecting too much at first because of the mixed reviews here. some people hate it - but i really like it.

let me first say that i think the sound you get out of this pedal has a lot to do with your set up.

i'm using a reverend flatroc...going through about a dozen pedals and into a peavey classic 30. the AC-2 is connected through an A/B/Y switch from my guitar and straight into an SWR strawberry blonde (excellent acoustic amp!). the sound i got out of this set up was a very convincing acoustic sound. as i was rehearsing with it today (first time w/AC-2) i kept thinking to myself "wow, this pedal is actually doing a pretty good job at sounding like an acoustic!" my bandmates thought so too, and we've all got pretty critical ears. i have the level turned up pretty much all the way. the "body" knob turned down almost all the way. the "top" knob is set at a little past the 1/2 way mark. and i have the mode knob set to "enhanced." this seems to work pretty well for me. there's still more experimentation to do, as i have one more other guitar to test it out with. it's a les paul and i've heard that this pedal doesn't really mix too well with the humbuckers that are on it. but i'm hopeful, so i guess i'll see very soon how it all works out.

i wasn't sure what to expect...but i guess what i was going for was something that would give me the flexibility of switching from an acoustic to an electric in live situations. this pedal could never totally replace my acoustic - it doesn't sound THAT good. but for what it claims to do, it does well, and the sound is very usable. so this pedal was a pleasant surprise and i'm satisfied.

great. what you'd expect from boss.

a little story. i had a candle lit and placed up on a shelf in my room. it started to melt and created a pretty steady stream of wax, dripping off my shelf. luck would have it that my AC-2 was DIRECTLY under that steady stream of wax. so i came back into my room a little while later and saw it. at first i was like "WTF?!" but the next second, i wasn't really worried at all that it wouldn't work...i was just sorta annoyed that i was going to have to clean off the huge cake of wax that was clumped up on top of my pedal.

have never dealt with them.

i like it a lot. i don't wanna type anymore.

Simple. Tweak knobs to suit your prefered sound. YOu can download the manual at Roland/Boss's website if you really need it.

I bought this pedal ahead of time knowing full well that it wouldn't make my Hamer Studio sound like a pre-war Martin. I was interested in the AC-2 becouse I didn't want to lug a seperate acoustic to a gig. It passes for an acoustic sound when you're playing at a club. It sounds alright through my Marshall VS-65R combo, but sound quality improves dramatically when you send it out through the p.a. (or my bass amp, which I used.)

As long as your battery is good, you are good to go.

Never had to deal with Boss. Bought it off ebay for about $40.

It does the job I bought it for. It's not perfect by any means, but it's more compact than my Takamine, it was cheaper than adding a piezo pickup to my Hamer (and I don't like putting 9v's in my guitar anyway.)

No problem to figure out how to operate it...

I use it with my 1W practice tube-amp, a Strat copy with EMGs: SA, SA, 81, and before BOSS CE-3 chorus. You know... active pickups give quite high output so while picking harder it may distort and then sounds badly... But if you can use your pick or fingers with feel or turn your volume a little down it is going to produce beautiful sounds. However, there is one problem... I mean noise... (Some people may say it is guitar's or amp's fault, but the noise disapears when I turn AC-2 off.) What is more, make no mistake - you are not going to sound as if you were playing acoustic guitar with AC-2. I knew it before I bought it. It is just a tool for making your sound more interesting and if you have a good noise gate it really does.

I think it is a solid device like other BOSS pedals ...but nothing is perfect so I give 9.

N/A

It is an interesting device and it can improve your sound but is not going to change your electric guitar into acoustic. Moreover I strongly recommend to use it with a good noise gate....

This is quite easy to use: a volume, two tone (body and top) controls and a mode switch which has subtle but useful differences.

I agree with a lot that's been written here: the mode controls are less critical than the kinds of pickups used. Humbuckers sound a little too muddy thru the AC-2 but P90s and Fender single coils, though sounding quite different from one another, can get good tones out of this pedal. The best tone, however is more of a archtop sound than a flat-top acoustic sound. I can get a real jazz-box sound out of a Tele: so that's pretty amazing in and of itself. The switch function can route the "acoustic" sound to a different amp or channel (say, a clean channel) of your amp if you want to route your "electric" sound to the lead or distortion channel. Kind of neat, I think. Am really enjoying this pedal.

Build quality good: typical Boss

Never dealt with them.

I play a lot of different kinds of music and find this a very useful tool. Would buy another one, sure...

Very easy to use

Sound is O.K. it does make my custom strat copy sound a bit like an acoustic but use an acoustic guitar instead if you can.

Yes Very Reliable. I play without a backup all the time

dunno - never needed it

Overall it is alright but it IS EXCELLENT FOR MAKING A LOWER QUALITY ACOUSTIC SOUND LIKE A HIGHER QUALITY ACOUSTIC!!!

I found the levels a bit touchy and the settings to be very much similar in nature.

It's like micro-managing your sound. Funny enough I use this pedal to take an already nice sounding acoustic/electric guitar and make it sound more live for recording.

As with all Boss pedals they are built like a tank.

Never dealt with them

Decent pedal if you would like to play around with a more acoustic sound...try hooking it up to an actual acoustic, you'll be surprised at what kind of sounds you can make it produce.

This pedal is like every other pedal. Stomp on it and adjust the settings to your liking. It's not rocket science!

I'm playing on an Epiphone Les Paul Custom with Gibson '57 pickups through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Pedal chain is as follows: LP->Crybaby w/ feasel->AC-2->DOD Chorus->DOD Phaser->Digitech Synth Wha->Digitech Grunge->Dyna Comp.
This pedal does have a hiss when on and not touching the strings, but the volume level is light. If you're a tone freak, you may not like it, but if your playing, you will not hear it. Some of the settings are not as different from the next(I.E. Jumbo to Standard), but there are little differences.
Keep in mind this pedal will not make your electric guitar sound like a Taylor, Martin or Gibson acoustic, but it will give your tone that acoustic quality. I give it an 8 because there's really not that much difference in tone for the different settings.

Built like a tank

Haven't had to deal with them, but from what I've heard, it shouldn't be a big deal.

I've been a guitar player for 20 years. I play everything from Blues, Rock, Funk to Acoustic Folk. I like that I can get an acoustic sound from my electric without having to pack my acoustic guitar and amp around along with all my electric setup. I have a couple Alverez Yari acoustic guitars, one 6 string and one 12 string. This pedal helps simplify my setup. I like the acoustic tone this pedal gives my tone. Whereas it's not a dead-on acoustic Taylor, it does give you an acoustic quality to your tone. There is a volume difference when this pedal is on, but the level knob setting takes care of that problem. For the price, I think this is one of my better pedals. If I were to lose this pedal, or it got stolen, I would replace it in a heartbeat.

Very easy to use. No problems here, just see what happens and a few good things start falling out of it

I use an Sheraton with SD signature pickups or a custom start bodied piece with alnico iis in it. They go through a VOX AC30, with BOSS compressor, Enhancer and chorus on a Boss pedal board. Sounds are there to be found on this pedal but you need to be gentle with the settings, keep the top down sometimes to get rid of the noise, but you can compensate with the compressor and amp settings. When I had a less than perfect cable in first off I was going to bin this pedal, clean up your sound first
Not going to sound like an acoustic, not mine anyhow, but it is a good sound

I assume it will survive like the other BOSS pedals I have (outlive me that's for sure!)

N/A

Good pedal but subtle, I like general sound of guitars and it is the tiny changes that do it for me.

It is very easy to use and can get a variety of acoustic sounds

I found that that the acousric sound quality to vary greatly by gear and set up - from reall bad to incredibly good. Try this - use an A/B box with twa amps. Put the acoustic simulator on one side clean or with chorus. Use your regular set up with overdrive/ distortion on the other side. You can go back and forth in the same song or use both at the same time. A huge and authentic sound.

I have many boss pedal and never had a problem.

never needed support.

I don't know of another product like this but ot probably exists. I don't think it would be esay to use in line with other pedals unless you were going from acoustic to clean electric. Don't use humbickers and try the A/B two amp route.