Boss AD-10 Acoustic Preamp

BOSS announces the AD-10 Acoustic Preamp, a new professional preamp/DI pedal for acoustic-electric guitar. The dual-channel AD-10 features the latest generation of BOSS’s Acoustic Resonance technology, which restores natural acoustic tone in amplified acoustic stage instruments. The pedal also includes numerous tone-shaping tools, onboard effects, and a looper, plus newly developed functions to control feedback with minimal tonal coloration. Hugely powerful yet simple to use, the AD-10 gives serious acoustic players everything they need to achieve rich, organic tones in any performing environment.

An unplugged acoustic guitar produces a complex, full-bodied tone that can’t be reproduced by the standard pickup systems installed on most stage guitars. Using proprietary BOSS technology, the AD-10’s standout Acoustic Resonance feature solves this issue by analyzing the input signal in real time and employing advanced processing to recreate the guitar’s naturally resonant acoustic tone. Acoustic Resonance is also featured in other BOSS products, including the Acoustic Singer amplifiers, VE-8 Acoustic Singer, and AD-2 Acoustic Preamp. The AD-10’s Acoustic Resonance offers the deepest implementation to date, with more powerful processing, three resonance types, and the ability to balance the tonal character to suit the needs of different instruments.

Feedback is another common problem with amplifying acoustic guitars on stage, and the AD-10 includes multiple layers of feedback protection to address these issues. With a twist of the feedback reduction knob, the user can engage newly developed BOSS tech that seeks out and suppresses the offending frequency while continually maintaining balanced overall tone. For deeper feedback problems, the AD-10 includes sophisticated notch filters that can be tuned manually or set for automatic scanning to eliminate feedback in the background.

The AD-10 has two input channels with adjustable sensitivity, allowing the player to set up tones for two stage guitars, blend two pickup sources from a single instrument, or use two instruments at once. Each channel can be adjusted with a four-band EQ section and a widely variable low-cut filter. Unlike standard EQs found in other preamps, adjusting the AD-10’s EQ bands engages multiple interlocking parameters under the hood, allowing for precise tonal shaping with subtle tweaks.

In addition to its core tone-shaping abilities, the AD-10 offers a wide range of high-quality, easy-to-use effects. The Ambience effect offers three types of reverberation specially tuned for acoustic guitar. There’s also a delay with standard, mod, and reverse types, plus three variations of BOSS’s famous stereo chorus effect. And with the single knob compressor, users can transparently control dynamics with BOSS’s intelligent MDP technology.

The AD-10 also includes a customizable boost function, an 80-second looper, a built-in tuner, and 10 memories for storing user setups. Three integrated soft-touch footswitches can be configured to select memories, turn effects on/off, access the tuner.

The rear panel of the AD-10 offers stereo XLR jacks for a DI feed to a PA system, plus stereo ¼-inch jacks for connecting to a stage amp or headphones for monitoring. Signals can be sent to the outputs with or without effects. There’s also an effects loop for patching in external effects, and a jack for connecting up to two footswitches or an expression pedal to control various parameters. In addition, the AD-10 functions as a two-in/two-out USB audio interface for recording tracks to a DAW and playing computer music through the AD-10’s audio outputs.

Anyone who plays an amplified acoustic guitar on stage knows what a challenge it isto get a sound that’s as inspiring as playing the instrument acoustically. The AD-10 is your solution to this age-old problem, offering advanced sound tools that enable you to achieve rich, natural acoustic tones every time you perform. At its core, the AD-10 is a fully featured, dual-channel acoustic preamp/DI pedal with premium audio quality, deep sound-shaping options, and flexible connectivity. On top of that, ambience, chorus, and delay effects are built in, eliminating the need to carry external sound processing.

But the AD-10 takes acoustic preamp design to an all-new level with its standout feature—BOSS’s groundbreaking Acoustic Resonance processing. This advanced tech restores the complex body and string resonances that are lost with most pickup systems, bringing back the expressive, organic vibe that’s so vital to the acoustic experience. And the features keep on coming, with transparent anti-feedback controls, memories for sound setups, an 80-second looper, USB audio, and much more. Hugely powerful yet simple to use, the compact AD-10 is your all-in-one companion for realizing impressive acoustic tones in every performing environment.

All the Tools You Need in One Portable Package

With its advanced BOSS technologies and comprehensive design approach, the AD-10 is a dream come true for serious acoustic players who are constantly striving for the very best sound reproduction. Its vast tone-shaping features and intuitive, hands-on controls enable anyone to dial in exceptional sounds quickly and easily. Advanced feedback-fighting capabilities are also on board, making it simple to tackle the sound issues that inevitably come up in different performance venues. And with 10 onboard memories, it’s possible to save favorite setups for different instruments and songs. The AD-10 also supports power via an included AC adapter or batteries, offering great flexibility for any performing situation.

Restore True Acoustic Tone with BOSS’s Acoustic Resonance

By far, the most widely used pickups in acoustic stage guitars are saddle-based piezos. But despite some upsides like great feedback immunity, their noted drawback is a hard, sterile, and quacky sound. This is because they only pick up sound from the bridge area, leaving out the body and string resonances that complete the guitar’s rich, complex sound. Magnetic sound hole pickups and other types of systems also provide incomplete sound reproduction, resulting in their own tonal drawbacks. Of course, playing into a microphone can deliver natural results, but using one is impractical in all but the most controlled stage environments.

That’s where the AD-10’s innovative Acoustic Resonance feature comes in. Using sophisticated BOSS technology, Acoustic Resonance analyzes your pickup signal and recreates the missing body and string resonances, restoring the elements that are essential for natural acoustic sound. The AD-10’s Acoustic Resonance implementation has been greatly expanded from previous generations, offering more powerful processing, three different resonance types, and the ability to balance the tonal characteristics to perfectly match your performing needs.

Preserve Your Sound with Multi-Level Feedback Protection

Because of their highly resonant construction, acoustic guitars are prone to problems with low-frequency feedback in stage situations. There are many variables that factor into the severity of feedback issues, including the instrument type, the pickup system, the location of the instrument relative to the speakers, and more. The advanced processing engine in the AD-10 goes well beyond the capabilities other preamps, providing multiple levels of feedback protection that are engineered to produce maximum results with little-to-no tone coloration.

Your first line of defense is theAD-10’s feedback reduction function, which employs newly developed BOSS technology to seek out and gently suppress the offending feedback frequency. At the same time, your overall tone is subtly balanced as needed for transparent sonic results. For those real problem situations, the AD-10 also includes two separate notch filters that can be tuned manually or set for automatic scanning to instantly vanquish feedback in the background as you play. Each filter notches out both the fundamental and first overtone of the feedback frequency, and the depth of the filters can be adjusted as necessary for the smallest possible tonal impact.

Two-Channel Design with Wide-Range EQ and Exceptional Audio Quality

The AD-10 has two input channels, allowing you to set up tones for two different stage guitars, blend two pickup sources from a single instrument, or even use two instruments at once. The signal path is engineered for warm, accurate tone with ultra-low noise, and each input has adjustable sensitivity for fully optimized processing with different pickup types.

Each channel can be adjusted with an EQ section that offers four bands (including parametric midrange) and a widely variable low-cut filter. Unlike standard EQs found in other preamps, adjusting the AD-10’s EQ bands engages multiple interlocking parameters under the hood, allowing for precise tonal shaping with subtle tweaks. It’s also possible to defeat the EQ if desired, and to adjust the phase of each channel independently.

Onboard BOSS Effects, Optimized for Acoustic Guitar

Alongside its powerful abilities to shape and maintain your core acoustic tone, the AD-10 includes a wide-range of built-in effects that sound great and are easy to use. The single-knob compressor delivers much more than meets the eye, employing BOSS’s acclaimed MDP tech to transparently control your dynamics with intelligent processing. Acoustic guitars love reverb, and the AD-10’s Ambience effect offers three types of high-quality reverberation specially tuned for guitar. There’s also a delay with standard, mod, and reverse types, plus three different variations of BOSS’s famous sound-widening stereo chorus effect.

Useful Performance Functions for Acoustic Musicians

The AD-10 also includes many thoughtful elements to enhance your live performances. The soft-touch footswitches are designed for unobtrusive operation in quiet acoustic settings, and can be configured to select memories, turn effects on/off, access the onboard tuner, and more. With the AD-10’s looper, you have a convenient tool that’s always at the ready for practice, jamming, and stage creativity. The on-demand boost function is great for kicking up the volume for solos or reducing the volume for heavy strumming, and it even includes an adjustable tone control for changing the sound when engaged.

Audio Connections and External Control

On the rear panel of the AD-10, stereo XLR jacks provide a DI feed to the front of house, while stereo ¼-inch jacks allow you to connect to your stage amp setup or headphones for monitoring. From the AD-10’s panel, you can choose to send signals to the outputs with or without effects, or assign input channels one and two toindependent outputs. There’s also an effects loop for patching in external effects, and a jack for connecting up to two footswitches or an expression pedal for controlling looper functions, volume, tap tempo, anti-feedback scan, and more. In addition, the AD-10 functions as a two-in/two-out USB audio interface, enabling you to record tracks to a DAW and play computer music through the AD-10’s audio outputs.