Yamaha AG Stomp

It is worth taking some time to work with the manual of the AG STOMP. With a little orientation to the device I found myself free to program many parameters of the sound - the mic modelling feature is very cool, 4 band sweepable EQ, it is easy to save any patch you create.

This unit sounds great - I use it primarily for performing with my 12 string acoustic - the chorus and delay both sound great, but only one at a time(frown). The notch filter is CLUTCH for the live setting - during sound check in a new performance space I will intentionally allow feedback, then stomp on a button and the notch filter identifies that frequency and removes it! does a great job boosting signal with good sound quality.

I've gigged with it many a time, no real problems.

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I have used this with a Fishman Rare Earth Pickup on my Thompson 12 string, through one or both of a SWR Strawberry Blond and a Roland AC - 60. I have also played through the ag stomp straight into a board - it has been very dependable to me to have a few programmed sounds at gigs, and a consistent high quality of sound. the onboard effects don't have tremendous flexibility as I would expect from a separate unit(for chorus or delay), but they sound good. Nice verb. plenty of room for presents, tuner on board - NICEST PREAMP/EFFECTS UNIT FOR ACOUSTIC GUITAR I'VE USED!!

I have used a variety of mfx units and this one is a little awkward, but having said that read the manual and you're fine. Use the software it comes with and you're even better.

For deep editing you the software is the best place. For making quick changes the unit is fine.

I wish the manual were a little deeper, but its fine (let's be honest - reading manuals is boring. We really just want to play with it right away)

I believe it's the most current firmware.

I use an Alvarez Yari with a piezo and sunrise magnetic pickup and it sounds like a mic'd guitar with the unit on. Very impressive. Switching from bypass to effect my guitar still sounds very good without the unit but very dry sounding. The unit gives the dimension that I wanted without effect trickery (chorus to compensate for bad playing etc.) I used it with an SWR Acoustic amp and will be using it to a PA shortly.

You buy this Unit for:

microphone simulations
EQ
Delay
limiter

You don't by this unit for:

The chorus ( The chorus could probably be a bit more transparent but this can be managed with the blend knob).
The additonal UD and DG Stomp Box features they throw in (althought the some of the delays, phasers and flangers on the UD Stomp aren't bad. Distortions are totally and utterly pointless). My rating is on the acoustic features and not the "freebie" electric effects thrown in.

No noise.

Built like a tank.

Yamaha has a website specifically for the MagicStomp series and there are downloads (manuals, quickstarts, etc.) but clearly the whole concept of offerin 'artist patches') must have gotten lost in the shuffle because there is only like 5 there...

It's an acoustic unit I purchased for playing at church,coffee houses and light home recordings to give me 3 basic sounds - rhythm, lead and recital (fingerpick). This unit delivers nicely especially for the price. There are other acoustic units out there in the same range that have a reputation for a lot of noise...pointless in the acoustic realm.

Wish it had a flanger on the acoustic side but only one the non-acoustic side.

Well first off, I'm a solo-musician and have a fairly complex set-up that I utilize for my gigs. I am both a guitar and keyboard player and consequently have much to familiarize myself with.

On a typical solo excursion I utilize a Roland Fantom X7 Keyboard/Workstation (with a Yamaha PSR 740 as a midi back-up to the Roland and twin Roland KC-350 amps) an Adamas SMT acoustic/electric guitar (with an Ovation Legend as a back-up for those times when the electronics of the Adamas "act-up," causing no low-end in sound) with a Genz-Benz Shenandoah 200 acoustic guitar amp, and a Les Pauls copy to cover "few" electric licks that I have to get out of my system, before the gig is through (I utilize a Digitech GNX4 Guitar Workstation - a definate overkill here! - to handle the miscellanous "stuff" associated with electric guitars; effects, amp sounds, etc.) plus, add to this mess a DMX controller and multiple American DJ Xp3 "intelligent" lights, you can imagine how quickly things can get out of hand and confusing. (Yes yours-trully has to transport and set-up everything all by his lone self....)

So, from this perspective, I find it difficult to become too "familiar" with this processor. Is it difficult? Well, not really. As would be the case with most "specialized" boxes of any sort, with so many "goodies" squeezed in (the microphone emulators, digital processing, tuner, chorus, etc.) the end result is always the same; one has to keep a manual handy (I utilize a thick cover folder and keep it in the same container with my midi-files, song lists, etc.) and refer to it when needed.

I'm not sure what the answer would be, to make things much easier. Less buttons, etc., means more functions squeezed into given buttons. More buttons, etc., often can mean poor placement and monstrously sized boxes (my Digitech GNX4 comes to mind...) Perhaps, increased "computerization" would be the answer but, then you end up with something like my Roland Fantom X7 where the user could actually find a degree in advanced physics to be quiet useful when trying to "understand" the full capabilities offered within. Yet, my somewhat aged Yamaha PSR 740 is fairly simple to figure out and just maybe, Yamaha is ahead of everybody else in the set-up of computerized controls/displays. To be fair to the Roland though, these two keyboards are light years apart in both sound as well as complexity.

Again, not a very complex unit, but keep the manual handy just the same.

I'm very impressed with what this unit can do. Then again, I'm not surprised. Yamaha has always been the leader with advanced home entertainment technology and some of it has bled-off into this area as well.

The unit is extremely quiet when proper care is given to its placement, as well as in selecting gear with better-than-average build quality.

Of course, I can't stress enough the importance of "spreading-out" of the total electrical load (of all your gear/toys, etc.) to lessen and better yet, to eliminate electrical line related "noises..." In my case, I try to find multiple power outlets (each on a different fuse and with no "noisy" load already attached; i.e., kitchen related appliances, lighting, etc.) and I "listen" and switch if necessary, until the sound is exceptable.

Most users should be very pleased with the overall sound quality.

A word of caution (I'm joining in with the chorus here) try not to utilize the onboard chorus sound and show caution when utilizing the built in feedback reduction. The chorus is "the" weakness here and in a lesser form, utilizing the onboard feedback reduction can cause the sound to lose some of its "life..." (in other words, you suffer tonal consequences for the convenience of automatic feedback reduction.)

Yamaha is a quality company known for being both innovative and a builder of well-made products and well, most of their "goodies" as a consequence tend to be very durable and reliable.

Knock on wood (I'm knocking on my head as I write this...) no problems yet, however I have had service related dealings with Yamaha in the past (witha home DSP unit) and they were exceptionally helpful and friendly. Though the unit was a year out of warranty, without prompting, they offered warranty covered servicing, replacing a major defective component with no payment what so ever on my part.

Ok, here's the final "report card;" the AG Stomp is well made and has much to offer. Then again, it has to; it is a fairly competitive market out there and well, they have to try and stay well ahead of the herd...

Don't be afraid to take this thing out on the road as long as you have the manual handy and have access to "clean" sources of electricity!

I have an eclectic style and due to my venues, have to switch like crazy between multiple genre's of music. Bach, Pink Floyd, Evanescence, Pat Metheny, Eminem, etc., and as can be imagined, I have to vary both my overall tone as well as playing style to accomadate such a variance. Though I do not always utilize the little Yamaha, often it can prove to be priceless.

Would I replace it if it were stolen? Yes but am not sure what I would replace it with. Naturally, I would first "see" what is out-there and if Yamaha has a better unit out; why not? I would also see what "others" such as Boss/Roland has to offer and weigh my options.

I like the AG Stomps ability to make itself invisible by being ultra-quiet. I like having the "factory" patch options and also the ability to tailor my own patches/settings if and when I have the time to tinker with it. Again, I'm also very pleased that it is not "imposing" in size (which is a critical issue for someone like me, with a heavy load.) and also that it is "pleasing" to look at. Don't get me wrong; I'm not going to run off and marry the thing but, it does have a nice styling and does add to the "visuals" of over-all gear/instrument set-up. An organized, well set-up, visually pleasing, logical, overall presentation certainly will factor in with the crowd at a subliminal level and well, if I'm looking at two "things" that are equally capable, I'm always going to choose the gear that is visually more attractive. I believe that in a "live" setting (99% of my musical functions) a musican also has to pay much attention to factors other than "purely-musical/audio" if they want to succeed. (lighting! creative placement of gear, other visual que's, etc., etc.) This little Yamaha is very presentable and factors in both audio as well as the visual aspects of live performance.

I do not like the following:

a. The "exclusive" power adapter thing is a nuissance; Yamaha engineers/designers should have utilized a "special" input type to eliminate the possibility of damage relating from using incorrect type power adapters. Slightest mistake in this department will mean probably the full scrapping of your processor! (New price is simply too cheap to consider the possibly very expensive repair route and I'm fairly sure Yamaha will not repair, at their cost, a unit damaged by neglect and carelesness.)
b. Chorus is "weak" at best and "leave it alone" bad, in worse case scenario. There're some nice Boss units out-there which I would recommend instead.
c. Automatic feedback reduction is both "good" and "bad" at the same time! It is convenient (though takes practice getting used to activating it; specially in my case where I have to operate "other" equally or more complex devices within same time frame) and very helpful in larger venues. There is a price to pay though; and in this case, I think you can lose a bit much in tonal quality unless you're willing to "fiddle" with the manual feedback reduction. If time is of the essence (live performance) then you're stuck using this option. I would however recommend the manual route if you're using this in other than live settings.

As for "comparing;" not really... this was fairly "impulsive" on my part and its purchase was based mostly on the recommendation of a fairly able musican as well as a studio owner/operator friend.

Do I wish for anything more? Sure! USB co

Pretty simple. If you've used programmable pedals, this isn't much different. Feedback killer works well, but it is also a tone killer, so be warned.

Sound is good, until you use the feedback reduction.

The "mic" selector gives you the choice of condenser, dynamic, tube emulation. I use condenser 1 or tube 1. The others don't add anything. There is a "nylon str" setting that I haven't used much.

Digital effects are okay for live. I use it in small bar/coffee house. EQ is effective. The blend between direct and "mic" is another way to tune the tone, and helps the guitar "cut" where needed.

So far no problem. I bought it used so I had to find a power supply. WARNING!! This uses an AC power supply, and like the previous guy found out, this device doesn't like DC. Unfortunately, there is no convention to prevent an incompatable power supply from being plugged in accidently. If I recall, the manual adds a note of caution, but it's easy to screw up at a gig, especially if you have "help" from somebody who doesn't know any better. My advice, use tape and label clearly if there's any chance of that. Better yet, always hook it up yourself. I did find that Line 6 controller pedal power supplies are also AC and make an almost perfect substitute for the Yamaha. The plug is a bit loose, but solid enough to keep the connection. Much much cheaper than Yamaha's rape-ya accessory prices.

I haven't had any trouble with the unit, but I haven't really put it to the test. I bought a Line 6 Pod XT Live not long ago, and the acoustic patches are better sounding than the AG Stomp. I get to A/B an electric & acoustic guitar into the board and the XT Live handles both well. I still bring the AG Stomp as a backup.

Yamaha support guys are eager to help, always call back, and are quick to answer. Never had any problem with them on several products.

What I hate about Yamaha's overall "support" is the way they make an excellent guitar product, like their well-reviewed DG amps, and then don't promote it. They also semi-promised better website support than they really offer.

Eventually, they will almost have to come up with something better, but it seems like the suits don't give a damn about their guitar products division. (The guys on the phone are just the opposite - top notch.) Keyboards, pro sound, recording and drums get much more attention and support from above. It's a real pity. They make good stuff.

I bought this because I do a lot of acoustic gigs and wanted some more control over the sound in a band situation. Then I bought my own powered board (also Yamaha) so the pedal isn't as necessary now. If the AG Stomp were lost or stolen, I would not replace it. The XT Live does the trick, even though it's much bigger and space is usually an issue.

I wish the tuner didn't SUCK. Did I mention, the tuner SUCKS? It really sucks. Really. Sucks. It SUCKS, Yamaha!! It's useless - slow and inaccurate anyway. Can't Yamaha include a decent tuner for a $400 unit like this? See, it's an overall apathy toward guitar stuff that the big Yam lets out, almost always with certain corners cut. I could go on.

It's easy to get a good sound when you use the factory settings, but it will take some time to learn how to edit your patches to get exactly what your looking for. The manual was almost useless, especially for troubleshooting.

The sound is great! I'm using it with a Tak. EAN 40C through community and I like it alot. It does seem a bit excessive for anything but studio work though.

Here is my problem. Besides the tuner, which is a peice of Junk, I had a "stage" accident where my tech wired up the wrong adapter (a 9 volt instead of the stomps 12) and now the box wont work! I havent found anyone else who has had that problem except for the one person who posted on this site but I'm pretty ticked. I would be upset if somthing little like that fried a $400 box. Which brings me to another point, did I get ripped off when I bought this, or did I buy it before it was released to the public for less money?

I don't know yet, I'm still working with them trying to figure out what happened to my box.

It's a great box, totally worth the investment if your using it in the studio. For Live road applications it is a little over the top, especially if your not doing total acoustic sets. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who woudn't really use EVERYTHING on it (amp mods, mic setups, etc.)

It took some work. This is not like a pedal that you can plug into and get great sounds right away. I read through the manual and I still didn't get it. My friend read through it and figured it out in about 10 minutes. Once you figure it out, you can edit patches pretty quickly. It's not easy to edit patches in a live settings, thus the rating of 5. It has a lot of potential, but it's not easy to make quick transitions in a live setting.

I play in church and I wanted a clean and quiet guitar signal. I had been playing through a Crate acoustic amp and it has a lot of digital hiss. The AG is silent on all the settings that I have tried. I plug direct into our sound system from the AG Stomp. I like the reverb and the delay. I've not been very impressed with the chorus. I mainly use one patch when playing live. You can turn the limiter, chorus or delay and reverb on or off. That's all the editing I do when playing live.

This thing is built like a rock and seems very dependable. I would absolutely gig without a backup.

As I stated earlier, I use the AG Stomp in church leading worship. I play with a bass and a drummer but we're playing pretty soft. I haven't used it with a full band really cranked, so I don't know how it would fare in that situation. I think it would shine. I love the feedback eliminator. That is the coolest thing and it works great! It's almost worth the money just for that single feature. I did not compare it with other products. I don't like that you can't use the chorus and the delay at the same time, but I don't like the chorus anyway. I've had Yamaha products before and they've always been top notch. This unit has been discontinued and I got it for $250.00 at Guitar Center. It helps you get a great sound so you can concentrate on the music rather than be distracted with technical issues.

Editing: Playing around with settings is pretty easy and straighforward. I was able to get the sound I want easily with minimal reference to the manual. Knobs are easy to use and visualize. The controls are simple and straighforward.

Performance: This unit is not ideal if you need to switch between many patches alot. Within each bank, you can switch between the 3 patches easily. It gets tricky, however, if you want to switch banks. You have to medium hold bank (which is medium hold. tap is feedback eliminator, and hold long is tuner), then hit bank up or down, hit bank again to exit bank select mode, then hit the patch you want. Very very troublesome if you want to switch to patches in other banks using the foot switches. If you have to, get a MIDI footboard.

Auto Feedback eliminator: This is real easy to use. Just hit the button once and it locates the feedback frequency and nip it in less than 2 seconds. I love this. No only does it nip one frequency, you can hit it again and again to isolate other feedbacking frequencies so they are ALL taken care of (and these are stored and can be saved and recalled). I usually only use 2-3 patches for my acoustic sound so I am fine with it.

Phantom guitar pre-amp power: This is a nifty feature. With a dummy 9v battery and a TRS cable (both supplied) I can power the preamp of my acoustic electric. However, there is a power limitation on this feature. On my Ovation's OP-30, the power is barely enough and I noticed a significant volume drop. I concluded that this feature works well for bare bones pre-amps but not more advanced and power hungry ones like those on the ovations.

I rate Ease of Use a 8 due to the lack of good bank controls for live usage. Everything else is good and would have scored a 9-10 if not for that one little minor flaw.

I play a 2003 USA made Ovation Balladeer 1861 with OP-30 preamp. I plug the guitar direct into the AG Stomp and direct from that to my PA (Fender PD-250). Ovations are famous of that infamous piezo squak tone and that disappeared as soon the AG Stomp got involved. The sound started sounding like a real guitar. I was so impressed with the sound that I ended up playing 3 hours when I only intended to test the unit for 15 minutes. The unit is amazingly silent and the sound is clear and defined.

Stumming: I used the factory default "Big strum" and found the sound too bassy and had to lower the bass a notch. The resulting sound is rich, full and warm, almost sounding like a dreadnought. Awesome.

Fingerstyle: My favorite style on the ovation. The guitar came alive with the tube mic simulator. I was so moved by the tone I almost teared. Tone is clear and beautiful. Like a high end acoustic guitar mic'ed in the studio. This mic modelling is simply AMAZING.

Effects: The reverb and delay is pretty decent. Chorus is not as powerful as other choruses out there. But then again, this is fine tuned for the acoustic sound, and not meant to overpower the acoustic tone. The unit also do not allow for chorus and delay to be simultaneously on. You can only choose one or the other. This is not necessary since the acoustic tone is so good that I do not want too much effects anyway.

Yamaha scored big time on the needs of an acoustic guitar player. AGStomp gets a big 10 here. I am a believer.

The unit is constructed of metal and looks tough. the mini lighted buttons look a little more fragile but I do not see myself pressing them too much. The knobs seems to be pretty tough. This unit should last a while.

I usually play rock and blues. As I get older, I am starting to appreciate music from Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel, Larry Carlton (acoustic). I find the acoustic sound very appealling and have started to play more fingerstyle than anything else.

I have always been bothered by the unnatural tone of the piezo pickups in modern acoustic-electric guitars. I can only get around it in the past, playing around with EQ and adding effects. This unit has solved this problem and made my piezo sound like a real acoustic. This is an amazing unit and with the price drop to $300, it is an awesome buy.

I have owned my AG Stomp for three years and here is my take. The AG Stomp is pretty straight forward to use. The manual is good and provides some good information. I definitely recommend reading the manual to get the most out of this box. I also recommend an external MIDI foot controller if you need to switch between a lot of effects quickly while playing live. If you have some time between songs, you can store custom settings close together and then reach down and press the "tiny" channel changer buttons. It is possible to change the effect with the metal stomp switches, but it requires a combination of three clicks with some time delay on one of them. It's much easier to reach down quickly and change it with the press of one button. I definitely like having the expression pedal on my MIDI controller to adjust the volume too.

I primarily play an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe and Martin D-18 plugged directly into the AG Stomp out to a direct box to a Mackie mixing board which is hooked up to a 3000 watt amp to a host of speakers. The mic modeling is very accurate. This is one of my favorite features. I also think the reverb offered in this setup is pretty decent for this price range. Most of the factory presets are pretty lame, but this is typical with a lot effect pedals. With some minor tweaking, you should be able to dial in the sound that you are looking for with your setup. The feedback reduction control has come in handy several times on stage. I have only needed this feature a few times, but it came in handy. I recommend an external MIDI foot controller if you need to switch between a lot of effects quickly while playing live. If you have some time between songs, you can reach down and press the "tiny" channel changer buttons. If you need to change during a song you need the foot controller. I definitely like using the expression pedal on my MIDI controller to adjust the volume. The delay can sound pretty digital, but I rarely need to play my accoustics with a delay.

I gig once a week and so far it has never failed me. I did buy a heavily padded bag to protect it when it's not being used. I do gig without a backup for my accoustics. The only major complaint that I have is with the tuner. It pretty much sucks unless you are in a very quiet room. I play with a band so it pretty much renders this tuner worthless in live situations. It's not a big deal since I didn't buy this unit for it's tuner. I have also noticed that if the unit gets cold (sits in 50 degree temps for an hour), the tuner will occasionally tune 1/4 step flat. This has happend only twice while playing live. I tuned with the AG Stomp and then plugged into my friends Korg DTR-2000 (killer tuner) and checked it with a Boss-TU-15 then back to the AG Stomp. The Korg and Boss were right on, but the AG Stomp was always showing the guitar as slightly flat. So I am certain that there is a problem with this tuner.

I've never had a problem with any of my Yamaha equipment. They charge a little more, but it's worth it. I've never had to deal with the customer support so after three years of playing it a few times a week, I can't complain.

I'll say this, I never play an accoustic plugged in without it. If it were stolen, I might look around to see what else is out there, but it would definitely be at the top of my list.

The manual was clear. There are a lot of functions for the number of knobs and buttons available. As a result there's some doubling up of function. It's simple enough with the manual -- but you wouldn't want to lose the manual.

The tuner is a little jumpy, but it worked. My old Boss tuner is easier to use.

The phantom power did work on the Yamaha Silent Guitar -- but only if the reverb is off. That's not a drawback really, since the YSG reverb is noisy and the AG Stomp has its own.

I've only tried it with the Yamaha Silent Guitar. My idea was to give the bodyless guitar the sound of a body.

I don't think it really accomplished that any better than my 12watt Crate amp with reverb and chorus.

I didn't find the mic modeling particularly useful in my application. Perhaps as I play with it more ... Anyway, I found the classical settings to be the most useful. I also liked the condenser setting. Still, I found that tweaking the EQ made more of a difference.

I found it hard to get a chorus sound I loved, but it does have some good sounds. The reverb was good. EQ was very good.

Keep in mind though, I didn't get this for recording.

Looks tank like.

they answer their email.

For my application, so far I'm not certain it's worth the money. I'm thinking about getting something else. The major things I like about it are the EQ, the phantom power (which, in my case, allows me not to have a second wire going to the guitar) and the reverb.

I was also considering the Boss ME-50. I have a return privilege so I may return the AG Stomp and try out the Boss. I went with the AG Stomp first because I wanted the tuner and the phantom power in my stomp box.

One other thing: my guitar teacher liked the YSG and never complained about the sound -- until I was using the AG Stomp. He thought something sounded muddy (A7+9 at the 4th fret on the 4 lowest strings, notes: A C# G C). Well, it is a muddy sounding chord, but I suspect that the AG Stomp may not have helped.

I play direct into the mixing board, with is far away. I needed something that would give me more control close. This unit was quite easy to figure out, but then I read the whole manual. The display is bright and clear. Can be a little confusing because the knobs do not always indicate the current settings. But Yamaha came up with a cool solution to have one set of knobs control 100 different patches.

Tacoma DF-21 maple/LR Baggs I-beam and Tacoma DM8-C/Fishman piezo. For some reason the maple guitar/I-beam gives a bunch of feedback. This Yamaha had an Auto-Feedback eliminator. One foot click, and it finds the offensive frequency and notches it out. Really great feature. The mic simulator sounds wonderful. It makes the piezo warm up and fill out, add a little EQ and you can't tell the guitar is not miked with and expensive external condeser. I like the chorus, it is just enough to fill out a one guitar sound. Really I want my guitar to sound like my guitar. I don't want too much coloring. This unit is perfect, it can give just the right amount for my taste.

Very sturdy box. Made like a stomp box, so I imagine it can handle life on the floor. High quality knobs and switches.

Not had to deal with any problems, this is really the best support they could give right. The documentation was very good though

I think it is a very good device for acoustic players. It really allows you to even out all different PA systems. Compensates for the shortcomings of existing equipment (like piezo pickups). It lets the guitar shine through, some other devices I tried just tried to overpower the guitar. But an acoustic guitar should sound like an acoustic guitar. This Yamaha very good, at supporting the guitar.