NAMM 2023: Tired of electric guitarists having all the fun, Fishman has launched a range of four mini pedals designed specifically for acoustic guitar players.
According to the company, the AcoustiVerb, Broken Record Looper/Sampler, Pro EQ Mini and Pocket Blender are voiced to deal with the resonances of amplified acoustic guitars at loud volumes, while the effects themselves are blended in parallel with the direct sound to avoid messing with your core acoustic tone.
Build-wise, the designs boast a smart aluminum chassis, measuring 1.9” W x 3.8” D x 1.92” H (49mm W x 97mm D x 49mm H).
All four feature true bypass switching, while the AFX AcoustiVerb, Broken Record Looper/Sampler and Pro EQ Mini also have the option of buffered bypass. You’ll only need 53mA from a standard 9V pedalboard power supply to run any of the AFX range.
Cunningly, Fishman has also kitted the pedals out with a “dual channel audio path”, which allows players to create two independent effect chains by utilizing TRS cables and setting the pedals’ Audio Path switch to Tip or Ring. Nifty, that.
Here’s a brief lowdown on each pedal…
Fishman AFX Pro EQ Mini ($119)
This compact preamp is based on the lauded Fishman Platinum design, and offers a high-impedance preamp to “optimally condition” your acoustic pickup signal, plus four bands of control to adjust bass, mid, treble, and brilliance – especially handy if you don’t have EQ sliders on your acoustic.
Finally, there’s a Low Cut slider – indispensable for taming boomier dreadnoughts.
Fishman AFX Broken Record ($119)
Now, a dedicated looper for acoustic guitarists is probably not something we were craving, but the Broken Record does at least prize simplicity above overcomplicated bells and whistles.
Featuring a Ditto-style single Level control, the pedal offers endless overdubs with 24-bit, 44.1kHz audio recording of up to six minutes. Flick the switch over to Sampler, and it can play back a backing track loaded onto the pedal via Fishman’s PhraseTransfer app.
Fishman AFX AcoustiVerb ($119)
The ability to blend reverb in parallel is Fishman’s USP for this compact reverb, which features spring, plate and hall settings.
Otherwise, it’s all pretty straightforward, with Level, Tone and Decay Time controls to tweak the sound.
Fishman AFX Pocket Blender ($89)
A downsized version of Fishman’s Pocket Blender, this Swiss Army switcher is, in essence, an A/B pedal and DI with ground lift. You can use it to blend two audio sources together – useful if you’ve got a dual-source pickup system.
A and B channels have adjustable levels, while the pedal can also function as a Y splitter, amp switcher or pedal chain router.
All four pedals are available now. Head to Fishman for more info.
