Fishman Aura Jerry Douglas pedal vs. Aura 16

[Dave Begalka]

Has anyone out there compared the Fishman Aura Jerry Douglas pedal to the Fishman Aura 16? The Aura 16 doesn't come from the factory with any resonator presets but they can be downloaded via USB to the pedal. The resonator presets available for the Aura 16 are not the same ones loaded in the Jerry Douglas signature pedal.
I've had the Fishman Nashville spider pickup in my Wechter squareneck resonator for a couple years but never picked up the pedal to finish the rig. Considering my options...
Thanks!
Dave

[Michael Brebes]

There are not 16 dobro presets. If you want to use it for dobro and some other instrument, then I would say go ahead and get the Aura 16. If you are just going to use it for dobro, I would get the Jerry Doughlas pedal. It is worth it.

[Bruce Hilton]

Dave,

I've been asking the same question. I LOVE the sound of the JD, and I'd like to know if I would be sacrificing anything by going to an Aura 16. I've never used a 16, but here is a sample of what my cheapo Oscar Schmidt reso sounds like with the new Fishman Nashville pickup and the JD Aura. My playing stinks, but the I think the tone is great.

http://alltogethernow.us/JDAura.mp3

[Mark Eaton]

Bruce, you're too modest - some pretty nice playing there, and that Oscar Schmidt sounds pretty decent!

As alluded to by Michael, It's my understanding that the downloadable dobro presets from Fishman are not of the same quality as what comes with the JD pedal.

I have spent a lot of hours learning what the Aura system is and what it isn't. One of the best explanations of the concept is a long essay written by the superb New England guitarist Harvey Reid. I had seen him play several years ago in San Francisco and was checking his touring schedule a couple years back to see when he might be out west again, and I came across his Aura essay on his website. Here is the link:

http://www.woodpecker.com/writing/essay ... _aura.html

Not an apples-to-apples comparison for dobro vs. flattop, but here is an excerpt where talks about using an Aura banjo image for an acoustic guitar. Nobody has specifically mentioned it in this thread yet, but I Include this because I have run across many folks that don't get the concept, and the mistake the Aura for what would be considered a modeling device, which it isn't.

The Aura does not contain the sound of your guitar-- it contains information that represents the difference between what your guitar pickup and what a mike in front of that guitar sound like. If you make an Aura image from your guitar, it can possibly sound great with another guitar if that guitar has a similar difference between what its mike and pickup signals sound like. This is a little confusing at first to understand. I have made an Aura image for my banjo pickup, and it makes it sound a lot like my banjo. If I plug my guitar into that, it does not make the guitar sound like a banjo. It just applies the same information that works for the banjo pickup- banjo mike transformation, and the end result when you play a guitar through is pretty awful and un-banjo-like. For people who have seen synthesizers turn an electric guitar into a pipe organ or a flute sound, one would think the Aura could make your acoustic guitar sound like something quite different. Because the body of the guitar and the top are alive and vibrating, their resonances clash with the electronically altered signals and with the sound coming from the speaker, and wolf tones and a lot of feedback usually result when you play through the wrong Aura patch.