Boss AD-3

This is simple and elegant. The manual is pretty basic but tells you all you need to know. The anti-feedback feature is brilliantly designed and simple to use. The gain knob on the back is a bit of a pain, but is in a position where it's not easily knocked. i didn???t have to faff about at all to get a good sound: I just tried it in the store for two minutes and was sold on it.
An XLY out would be an improvement. The AD-5 has this I think, but I didn???t need any of the other features and it was a lot pricier.

I use it with vintage full-bodied acoustic archtop (1957 Maton premier 45A) that only has a passive electromagnetic pickup. Sometimes I use it between the guitar and an amp (Marshall AVT100 or Vox AC50CPH); sometimes between the guitar and a multi-effects unit (Boss ME-50) and then into an amp (for this you need to use the 'line out' rather than 'G. amp' output; this took me a little while to figure out); often just between the guitar and a DI into a PA system (foe solo gigs). In each situation it has vastly improved my sound. people always comment at solo gigs how good the guitar sounds. The feedback filter is perfect for that bass feedback you often get with acoustic guitars.

The Chorus is not the greatest I've heard but is OK for gigging (I wouldn???t use it recording). The Reverb is a little ordinary but once again is good for a bit of rounding out your sound in a live situation. The Low and High controls are enough to EQ the sound. I can get the guitar to sound good when playing straight through a PA as well as when sharing an amp with a solidbody that needs different EQing (I set the amp for the solidbody and use the EQ on the AD-3 to twist the acoustic's sound so it sounds good through with the EQ that is on the amp).

It would be improved by having a volume knob, cos when the gain is set right it's still a little quieter than a solidbody (with my guitar at least), and since I run both through one amp this is a bit of a hassle (which I solve through running the acoustic through duplicate banks on the effects unit (which nowadays is run in the effects loop of the amp) with a higher output level).

Never let me down over two years

never tried it

I play folky-rock stuff solo and indie rock stuff with a band. The guitar I use is perfect for this flexibility, cos it can rock out and be overdriven and play great leads as well as handle the sweet acoustic stuff. But the passive pickup was always an issue, despite having a good, distinctive sound, and it was always a bit crap through a DI. The AD-3 solves this problem, now I never need to lug an amp to a solo gig to get a good sound. If I lost it I would get another.

The unit is very easy to use. I am confused about how the auto filter actually works - the instructions show 3 notch filters, but I don't know if it automatically sets 3 filters, or I can hit the button 3 times and it will store 3 different filters. Either way, it is easy to use.

Great sound. I play jazz and have only gone through my amp (Carvin 1-12), haven't gone through a PA. The chorus adds a nice touch, and the reverb is ok - but I use the spring on my amp. There are tone controls on the AD-3 that work really well. I basically have my tone knobs on the amp set at the mid (5), and the EQ on the amp set low tone all the way down, work up to mid tone at the center of the EQ and work high tone all the way down. Then I use the tone controls on the AD-3 to add the right sound of low end and turn the high end all the way to the left - creates a real soft tone which I like a lot for Jazz. The filter feature will cut whatever frequency is causing problems, so the sound is somewhat deminished for those notes - but not bad.

Looks sturdy enough and I haven't dropped it yet, but it looks tough

not needed yet

It's a keeper. Glad I got it.

Easy to use - even without manual. But reading something can never be a fault...

o.k., now something completely different...
We are a folk band, with a fiddle and such stuff. For recording our fiddler always uses his good acoustic fiddle - it's nearly a concert violin. But ever tried to mic an acoustic fiddle on stage? Forget it.
So one day he bought a very cheap Fender FV-1 electric fiddle with built-in piezo. Sounds terrible. Believe me.
But this little device, with some trying and turning knobs, makes his awesome electric fiddle sounding... o.k., it's not a stradivari, but sounds A LOT better than before.

hey guys, it's a BOSS!

never had something to do with them

It really doesn't make your Strat sound like a hand-crafted concert guitar.
But it improves all sounds at least up to 3 or 4 levels! If you dont have the money for an insrument in that class - buy this!

Easy enough to use. Just read the manual, go for the sound you're looking for and presto.

I guess it's a matter of personal taste, but I just didn't like it. Playing direct through a PA and the sound guy did not like the noise level. This can be reduced some by keeping the level set really low, but you'll need to have a pre-amp in your guitar that can compensate. I tried an Ovation 1771-LX a Takamine, and an Alvarez Jumbo and didn't much like it with any of them. The chorus is nice enough. The feedback buster is EXCELLENT. The reverb sounds too cheesy and trebly. It just didn't sound credible to me. I did however find that it works very nicely when home recording as reverb for VOCALS! LOL. I run my microphone through it before going into the multi-track recorder and it almost makes it sound like I can sing!

It's a BOSS. You could probably hammer nails with it and not miss a beat.

No experience.

I play a mix of pop-rock and also do praise and worship in church. It's passable for the pop rock, but a little too processed for my taste in church. This is just my opinion though. Your results may vary!

SO EASY TO GET THE RIGHT SOUND FROM THE AD-3. JUST FOLLOW THE MANUAL INSTRUCTIONS IN STARTING UP THE UNIT.SIMPLE TWEAK KNOBS, NO COMPLICATIONS AT ALL. VERY USER FRIENDLY.

I AM USING A GODIN MULTIAC STEEL RUN THROUGH A ROLAND GR1 SYNTH THEN COURSED THROUGH THE BOSS AD-3 THEN FINALLY TO THE HOUSE PA SYSTEM. I USE FLAT EQ SETTINGS ON THE PA SYSTEM.NO NOISE AT ALL ONCE YOU HAVE SET OUTPUT VOLUME OF THE GR1 AND THE PA SYSTEM. YOU CAN GET VARIABLE SOUNDS FROM THE TOP AND BOTTOM CONTROLS. GREAT CHORUS AND REVERB EFFECTS.SUPERB ANTI-FEEDBACK FUNCTION. VERY, VERY FUNCTIONAL!

VERY DEPENDABLE SO FAR. HAVE USED IT ONCE IN A GIG THOUGH BUT IT WILL SURELY BE PART OF MY ACOUSTIC GUITAR SET UP.

HAVEN'T DEALT WITH THE COMPANY YET.

I PLAY COVER SONGS...POP, TOP 40s, BALLADS, AND ANYTHING UNDER THE SUN. HAVE BEEN PLAYING ACOUSTIC GUITAR PROFESSIONALLY FOR FOUR YEARS NOW. I ALSO USE A ZOOM RHYTHM TRAK123 FOR PERCUSSION REQUIREMENTS ACTIVATED BY A BOSS FOOTSWITCH.I ALSO BRING WITH ME A SANSAMP ACOUSTIC DI FOR CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS IF ANY. I WISH IT ALSO HAD AN XLR OUT.

It didn't come with a manual since I bought it used, but you don't need a manual to figure this unit out. It's very self-explanatory...high, low, reverb, chorus...duh...

At first, I was disappointed with the sound, but that's before I had played with the unit enough (snicker). I have a Yamaha FG410 guitar with a Fishman Matrix active pickup (installed by my local music store). There's the kicker - be careful if you have an active pickup, as plugging this thing direct into a PA with the volume up high will cause a lot of distortion and feedback. Lots of headroom, though, so you don't need the volume very high anyway. Never had to use the feedback function for actual feedback, but it does give your sound a bit of a 'mid sweeped' sound. Chorus and Reverb are good. Overall it's a nice pedal.

Built like a tank. Just don't test it, eh?

never needed any (thank the Lord)

Overall, for the price I paid, it's a kick ass unit. But I only have one complaint -- it needs a XLR input/output!

Super easy to use. Simple chorus and reverb to color the sound. The "top" knob is useful for getting a little more sharpness when playing fingerstyle. The only (small) problem is the input volume knob on the rear of the unit. It's too easy to accidently move it when picking up or moving the box around. Always have to check before each set to make sure it's in the right place.

I play contemporary worship music at a large church. My setup is an Ovation Elite to AD-3 to direct PA (Fender Acous.Jr. as monitor). Our sound tech is extremely picky, fanatical about noise. He was not pleased when I told him I'd be bringing a processor, as the last one I had (Zoom) was very noisy. But after one rehersal, he was a convert. This unit is extremely quiet, and colors the sound just right for PA applications.

Seems rugged enough. Never had a problem.

Not had to deal with Boss yet.

Near-perfect box for my application. Quiet, and colors the sound just right before going direct into a PA system. I have two, as we rotate between two different buildings on Sunday AM. Paid $170 online, I think, for the first one. Picked my second up off eBay for $85, brand new. If something happened to them, I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

I've used mine for several years now. There is nothing difficult about this product. I've heard some that didn't understand the feed back suppression pedal, but if you read the manual, it's a piece of cake. When your guitar starts to feed back, step on the pedal.

I have a 25 year old Yamaha that sounds great through this unit. I wouldn't dare plug it straight into a PA. I play in a Celtic Jazz band, and with this unit, I get clear rich sound with absolutely no noise.

Well, I've never had one problem. I've taken mine to gig after gig, and it's never failed me.

This thing sounds great for heavy strumming, or gentle picking. I've had people come up to me after a gig and comment on the sound. I've been playing for 30 years, and I'll keep this thing until it falls apart. I'd buy it again if I have the need. I do wish it had XLR outputs so I wouldn't have to use a direct box.

This little box is so easy to use a two year old could use it. The manual was ok but I did even need it.

My set up is a Taylor 814ce > boss AD-3 > Peavey Ecoustic 112. This thing made a big improvement with my rig. It just makes it sound fuller.The reverb & chorus are great to. There is zero noise. Finally the anti-feedback actually works.

Seems to be built very good. No problems yet.

Cant really say never dealt with Boss.

I mostly play praise & worship.Have played other styles.I have been playing for 33 years. If it were stolen I would for sure get another. I would give this one a 10 if it had XLR outs since it does not I am going with 9.

Easy to use for basic gain and tone settings. The anti-feedback feature is unique and potentially useful (although I've never really used it.)

OK here's the story: My acoustic band was going on a cross country tour and we needed a bunch of preamps for passive acoustic pickups in various instruments. I bought a wide range of small portable boxes: the ART Tube MP, LR Biggs Para Acoustic, Boss AD-3, SansAmp Acoustic DI and Fishman Platinum. The Boss AD-3 won for best sound on toy piano. That's right, I have a Jaymar toy piano with a small piezo pickup installed on the bridge. The tinny harsh sound of the metal tines sounded especially sweet through the reverb and chorus built into the AD-3. See my reviews of these other items for the winners (and losers) of the Lowbelly acoustic preamp shootout.

We gigged. It was reliable.

don't know.

I really wish this thing had XLR outputs. At this price I would expect as much. Also, there's no way to use phantom power. I'm convinced that this is a ploy by ROLAND to sell more AC adaptors. We used batteries on tour. By the way, I'd recommend the LR Biggs Para DI over all other contenders for general purpose acoustic preamp... see my review of that unit for more praise.

The unit is quite easy to use. Being a very subtle processor in the first place, it sounds good out of the box and with minimal tweaking can punch up and balance the sound of your acoustic. Its a "set it and forget it" sort of device. The manual is useful to a point. It was clearly written for the lowest common denominator. I would have preferred an actual technical description of the more esoteric controls.

I use the AD-3 with a James North custom dreadnaught equipped with a Fishman Natural Matrix II piezo. I run the guitar through the AD-3, then through a Morley volume pedal. The rig runs through the board (P.A) for performance. I also use it with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for practice and as a DI for hard disk recording. The AD-3 is dead quiet in all of these scenarios. Pushing it hard doesn't add any noise. It clips easily with my active pickup but handles clipping well right up to the edge. There is plenty of headroom on this thing. The overall EQ is subtle, but effective. It rounds out the tone nicely and lets your guitar's tone shine through. It punches up the sound, perhaps not as effectively as a Yamaha AG-Stomp or one of the high-end Fishman pre-amps, but well enough. The results are pleasing, versatile and certainly good for the low cost of the unit. The chorus and reverb are designed specifically for live acoustic performance and work well.
The anti-feedback controls are very effective. My sound guy is very happy with the headroom I can get with this thing.

Like most Boss hardware, this is a solidly built, sensibly designed unit. The chasis is steel, which is appreciated. My only complaint is that the battery compartment is plastic and uses six AA's, making battery replacement slow. I would have been happier if Boss would have designed the unit around a simply battery arrangement. I don't like using AC Adapters on stage. Battery life is not great, according to Boss. However, I've not had a problem yet. If I were to have a backup, it would just be another AD-3.

I've never had to call Boss.

I play bluegrass/roots, singer/songwriter, and country music. I've been playing for close to 30 years. I've owned lots of guitars. I compared this usnit to the Boss AD-5, the Yamaha AG-Stomp and various Fishman pre-amps. The AD-5 has a poor reliability record and more functionality than I need. The Yamaha is a beautiful do-all device with the best sound that I've heard for this application, but its way too expensive for my needs. The Fishman pre-amps are very good, but expensive and don't include the other processing features. The AD-3 seems to be the best bang for the buck in acoustic processors. The affect is subtle, but consistant, natural and well rounded. Its now part of my permanent rig.

This little box is good for what I use it for, which is playing acoustic guitar duet music at coffee houses and bookstores. It's versatile, and the manual is pretty thorough. You just have to tweak the knobs a little to get used to it.

I'm using a Taylor 515B (Lemon Grove) with a Martin Thinline 332 pickup in it. I also use a Morley PVO volume pedal, as my guitar doesn't have an adjustable volume. The pickup is a little weak, as it's 18 years old, and they've come a long way in pickup design since then. But, the adjustable gain on the AD-3 helps boost the signal up to where I need it for my amp. The AD-3 has just a faint amount of noise present while using it, but, that may be caused by my boosting the gain up to get a stronger pickup signal. The noise isn't enough to really be a bother though, and after a few seconds, I didn't notice it anymore. I'm running the guitar through one of my regular electric guitar amps, which is the Line6 Spider 112. The Spider has an awesome vintage Fender clean sound. The chorus in the AD-3 sounds better than the chorus in the amp, so I use the pedal's chorus. It's more tailored to the acoustic guitar than the Line6's. The 'bottom, and 'top' eq's on the box are like the Boss Acoustic Simulator foot pedal, only more usable and less noisy. They are great for adding depth and texture to the guitar. The best feature of the AD-3 is the 'feedback eliminator' switch. It took me a few minutes to figure it out though. You have to make your guitar feedback, THEN press the switch, and the unit will find the feedback and eliminate it. At first I pressed the switch, and then started playing guitar, and the feedback came, and I was wondering why it didn't kill it. Then I figured out that you push it while the feedback is happening, and it goes away. It's all there in the destructions..er,..instructions. All in all it was worth the money, even though I thought it was a little pricey to start with. But, hey, it's a Boss, and you'll never need another one, so spend a few extra bucks for the thing.

I think that I can depend on this unit. The chassis of the pedal isn't quite the quality that I'm used to from Boss, but this isn't an ordinary stomp box, either. I think that as long as you don't drag it behind the car on the way to the gig, it'll be just fine.

Never dealt with Boss, and probably won't have to.

I play rock covers in coffee houses and book store cafe's. This thing is great for what I'm doing now. I've played for years, and I'm happy with this unit. If it were stolen, I'd definitely buy another one. It's kind of useful for my particular situation, where my guitar is too valuable to cut a hole in the side and install an eq/volume thing. And the anti-feedback thing is worth the price of the unit alone. I did compare the unit to an Akai something or other that does essentially the same thing. The Akai was cheaper, but all my electric guitar pedals are Boss, so I thought I'd just stay with what I know works. The only thing that I wish that this unit had was a built in power cord. It uses the standard Boss PSA-120 adaptor, or batteries. The cord on the adaptor is kind of flimsy, but I've bought enough of them over the years that I've got back-up if I accidentally pinch a cord in two.

Very easy to use and adjust at a gig. No-brainer analog design and easy to read. Footswitches are large and easy to hit on the fly. Anti-feedback feature is a must for acoustic performances, especially with a band.

Sound is awesome. I have played it through a PA and a guitar amp. The Guitar amp setting is amazing. I play it through a Fender Blues Deluxe on the clean channel when I'm not in the PA. I have a Gibson J-185CE with a Transducer (factory) and a mic (mod) which I first run through a fishman blender and then to the AD-3. The anti-feedback feature allows me to get more mic which gives the guitar a more natural sound.
I also play my PRS Hollowbody II w/piezo through it. I have even played the electric side of that trick guitar through it befor going int my Tubescreamer and it sort of compresses the sound which helps the distortion stay smooth.

It's never given me a problem. Very sturdy. I don't have a backup and would not even think to get one.

N/A (see reliability)

I will never sell this pedal. It has so many uses if you like acoustic guitars and play in a band. Also a must for acoustic solo performances. It's very inexpensive for what it does. The only expensive part is that it forced me to keep guitars that I thought didn't sound so good before I plugged them into this unit. Oh well...

Mostly standard patchwork, however the connection for directing it to a PA is a 1/4" Pin and you must buy a Stereo 1/4 to XLR and guess which plug/switch combanation to use. Manuel could have been better at this point.

I play in two groups. A church service group & a contemp. christian concert group. At church I Direct it into the PA. system and the other I go through a Rolland JC-55 Amp. This unit pumps HARD and is very sensitive on it's volume control, but the Chorus is great (I play a Martin D-35/W Factory installed Martin Thinline P/U). The AD-3 really shines going through the Amp. with it switched over to the Guitar Sim. With a little tweaking, It sounded just like my Martin only real loud, throughout the music. The anti-feedback pedal works good and quick to stop the howling if you should need it. Spring reverbs are still the best though and the reverb in the AD-3 isn't needed for me.

It's a BOSS and built like a tank. nuff-said

Never had to deal with them

Play contem. christian music and It is great for any Acoustic stuff. They should put in an XLR connector for DI stuff. My favorite features are 1) The natural sound from a guitar amp. 2) Chorus pedal (pedals have a LED on active) 3) the manual anti-feedback and the pedal (allows you to correct just about any problem during songs) 4) the feedback pedal has a LED when active so you know when you have it turned off. Boss should dump the reverb and put something else there. It's cheaper than it's competition.