TC Electronics "Body Rez" pedal

Col Mustard

Col Mustard

Ambassador of Perseverance
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Anybody got one? Who's got some experience with this?

TC Electronic BodyRez Acoustic Pickup Enhancer Pedal

I'm tempted to get one of these. I've been pretty happy with my tone,
using two acoustic guitars, one with a Baggs Lyric microphone inside the box
beneath the bridge, and one with a Fishman Elipse Blend (which couples an
under saddle piezo pickup with a small microphone on a gooseneck inside
the box.

But you know... the quest for tone has no finish line, so it's
technically a death march. I normally run both guitars through this rig:
Amber pedalboard 04-01-16.jpg
But I'm curious about the Body Rez pedal, and if it can make a cheap guitar sound like a good one,
or if it can only make a good guitar sound like a cheap one.

Neither of my work horse beauties is a Martin D-28, or a Gibson J-45, so I'm
always looking for some help to get an extra edge. Here you see my 2006 Martin XC1T
next to my 1975 Mossman Flint Hills dred. They both sound very well through the above
rig, and sometimes people come up and ask me about them. (Likely because neither one
is immediately recognizable like a D-28 or a Taylor would be). But if my instruments didn't sound
so good, people wouldn't bother. And they wouldn't stay for the second set.
Acorn Theatre Stage@100.jpg
...but you all know about that G.A.S. thing. What I want, and what I mostly get with this equipment,
is to plug my guitar in, give the sound man an XLR cable to plug into his snake, and get a tone I
recognize very quickly, and a tone the sound man can mix without fuss. Of course I want that tone
to be effective... which means I want it to enhance my music and not detract or distract.

A good stomp tuner, a little reverb, some chorus judiciously applied, and a graphic eq on my D.I. box
... hard to beat. How about a little Body Rez... I wonder if it would give the OOO size Martin a little
extra oomph. I might shut if off when I play the Mossman dred. That's my first thoughts anyway.

Soooooo.... who's tried one of these. And just what did it do?
Does the blurb make you want one?
 
I'm very tempted... not because I'm dissatisfied with what I have now, but because
I believe that research is ongoing... on the subject of making acoustic guitars louder
and better sounding with more presence and less quack.

Sweet water wants $100... If I saw a used one for less than that I'd grab it.
So I'm doing my second pass around the hook.
smallmouth.jpg
 
CAUGHT! I bought the pedal, and Sweetwater sent it to me free.
I've made a new pedal board for my acoustics. I've also played one of them
through the new board just to see what the effect might be. This board looks a bit crowded,
but the BodyRez pedal might be one that I turn on and leave on. I like it already.
Acoustic Pedalboard 2018@100.jpg
I play two acoustic guitars through the same pedal board, either using an A-B switch
or simply using the same 1/4" cable, and plugging each in as I get ready to play it.

One is a 1975 Mossman dred, and the other is my Martin XC1T. These instruments are about
as different as could be imagined, which is why I own and use them both. The Martin has a fine
even tone, excellent highs, mids and lows.... it sends a tone out that's easy to mix and easy to record.
The Martin was made in 2006, and she's got an ebony bridge and fretboard, a fine Spruce top,
and her back and sides are made of "High Pressure Laminate..." which is probably some kind of
ticky tacky. But the instrument sounds excellent. it's a 21st century guitar.

The Mossman has soul... that legend about old guitars has some merit. The Mossman's paid her dues.
She's been from Rockland Maine to Santa Cruz, and from Tallahassee to Talkeetna, and even toured in
Europe a little. She's played on big stages and at house concerts... she's played in sleazy bars and
elegant venues. She's been boshed and and repaired, and carried on like a trooper. She sounds great
with no amplification, or plugged in.

Anyway, the Martin might benefit the most from the Body Rez pedal, so I like being able to turn it
off when I play the Mossman. I tried out the Martin this evening, and decided that the pedal adds just
enough depth to the tone that it makes me happy. The Martin has a OOO size body, smaller and lighter
and easier to wrap my hairy arms around. It was built at the Martin factory as an acoustic-electric, and
it has its pickup system stock from Martin, state of the art 2006. I've never been unhappy with the tone
from the Martin, so this pedal might be 'gilding the lily..." But that's what it's all about, in the music
biz, neh?

The Mossman is a 20th century guitar, built before the amplification of acoustic guitars really got going.
There were primitive acoustic "pickups" in 1975, but they were not very good, and I didn't take any
interest in them until later. I used a microphone for years, and dealt with it. The Mossman's tone is
complex and large. Dreadnought guitars were designed to give a powerful sound, and this one does.
It's not a Martin D-28, but it has its own unique signature, which is why I bought it way back when.
I recently installed a Baggs Lyric microphone inside the Mossman, and this is the best thing I've tried.

So the Mossman might not need the pedal, she sounds great through this board and the Fishman EQ.
I'll decide that at the next sound check. But if she gets a little more depth to her sound, that might
not be a bad thing. My mind is open. And my new board is ready for the next gig.
 
Excellent recon work, Colonel!

Now, doesn't it feel good to have taken that risk and seen it pay off?

But, seriously, I have yet to try a TC Electronic anything and be dissatisfied. With the exception of my Tubescreamer (my first pedal that was not a volume pedal!), I may gradually replace most things on my board with TC Electronic versions.

But, your review of the Body Rez has me interested. I wonder if I should try this for my Taylor?

Hmmmm.......
 
I let my girlfriend listen as I tested the pedal on/off, more/less and she thought it
was very interesting. She knows the sound of my acoustics, because she hears me
practice with no amplification, and she comes to shows. So she listened cafefully,
like she does when we're asking her opinion of some sound check.

I wanted her opinion too, because of these facts. Her opinion was that the guitar tone
sounded more round and full when the pedal was on. And that's what I read about somewhere
on another performer's twit face page, and that's what made my antennae raise up.

She said, "I like the sound of your guitar without the pedal, it's familiar to me, and it
sounds like you. But the pedal gives it a little something more. It doesn't sound like
a different guitar, but it sounds more full or something..."

And that's exactly what I was hoping to get. So I can't wait to play this through a real
P.A. and kick some butt with it.
 
I've heard of those, but most of what I read about them could not articulate what the effect was
very well, so I steered clear. I didn't really pursue the issue.

But for some reason, this one seemed less vague, so I decided to try it. I'll update this
thread when I've taken the rig on the road. The last gig we did, we had really good monitors
and I was actually able to hear the difference between my two acoustics when played through
the same board. We don't always get good sound. That's why I like to run a signal that I've
already shaped. Give the sound guys something they'd have to work hard to screw up.
 
Col Mustard said:
I let my girlfriend listen as I tested the pedal on/off, more/less and she thought it
was very interesting. She knows the sound of my acoustics, because she hears me
practice with no amplification, and she comes to shows. So she listened cafefully,
like she does when we're asking her opinion of some sound check.

I wanted her opinion too, because of these facts. Her opinion was that the guitar tone
sounded more round and full when the pedal was on. And that's what I read about somewhere
on another performer's twit face page, and that's what made my antennae raise up.

She said, "I like the sound of your guitar without the pedal, it's familiar to me, and it
sounds like you. But the pedal gives it a little something more. It doesn't sound like
a different guitar, but it sounds more full or something..."

And that's exactly what I was hoping to get. So I can't wait to play this through a real
P.A. and kick some butt with it.
Click to expand...

That's such a great statement, Col. I love the observations the ladies bring. I value my wife's opinion of my sound. She has such a good sense of tone. When she's on stage with me and she turns to look at me and says, "That really sounded good," well...it makes my week!

I think your lady friend's opinion is all you need.

Proceed, good sir!
 
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New Update... first practice, I played my Martin for one band mate and her B/F, who we also depend
on to give us opinions of sound checks. They both agreed that the pedal makes my small body
Martin's tone more full, and richer somehow. Okay...

I'm still using it in the 'subtle" mode, which means I'm only turning the effect up about
halfway or less. A hundred bucks for a subtle effect might seem extravagant to some players,
but we're talkin' acoustic guitar here, played in listening rooms. If I get some applause with it
next weekend, I'll consider that it's paid for itself. We have an important gig coming up, at the
Ark in Ann Arbor... a legendary venue where we're proud to be on the list.

So in reality, any racer's edge I can get will be just barely enough. The others who play there are
sooooo good, we have to be at our best when we hit the stage there. Harmonies clear, blend as
perfect as we can get it, instrumentation done as well as we are capable, arrangements tight,
we actually can't get perfect enough, because perfect is really not our long suit.

So maybe that explains why I'm willing to bite this lure, and try and pull that bastid outa the boat.
If someone comes up after our next show and says, "What kind of guitar is that you were playing,
it sounds
really great!" I'll figure that I got my hundred back.
 
After the important gig...
Amber Pedalboard 18@100.jpg
I have made a new pedal board for my acoustic. Remember that I make mine out of
a real board, so what I had to do was to cut one that was about 45mm wider than my
old one, and then plot the placement of each pedal, and then install velcro.

I'm using recycled plywood, and not a fine walnut board, or even humble birch or pine.
I probably have made a dozen of these, as my preferences change. The biggest expense
(other than the durn pedals) has been the durn velcro. So I finally wised up and went to
a fabric store, where I found I could buy the hook part of the Velcro Experience in a roll
that saved me so much...

Anyway, after playing this rig through an excellent sound system with decent monitors...
I made this new board which is just enough wider to allow placement of the TC Electronics
"Body Rez" pedal. Mikey likes it!
 
I usually don't use the chorus and the reverb at the same time.

If there are guys on this thread who do, I'd be interested in opinions about
which ought to go first in the signal chain.

I still probably wouldn't use them at the same time, but am interested in the
knowledge and the tone-lore. Usually I'll use the chorus for certain songs,
and the reverb most other times. The body rez pedal is one I'll just turn on
and leave it on... that's my opinion for now.
 
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Good Grief, a Newer Update:
amber pedalboard 18@100.jpg
Acoustic guitar signal chain from right to left:
Tuner, Aura 16 modeling pedal, Body Rez pedal (a mystery, but fun),
Hall of Fame Reverb, Fishman Pro-EQ and then to the mix,
and then to the big P.A. speakers.

I've been having fun with this...
and does anybody think it's still "acoustic?"
(yes) ...as a matter of fact, it is.
The "signal" is vibrations in the wood of the guitar
and in the air inside the guitar. You can play
your "acoustic" instrument into a microphone and
then into the 'black box' of the sound man's
mixing board and get the same things, except
you don't see them, but everyone hears them...
AND you don't get to control it with the toe of your
Western boot, like I do.
>Also, the tuner mutes the signal while I'm tuning
my guitar, which gives everyone a break.
And that's a good thing. Can't stop the signal, Mal...
 
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all the "tone wood" discussions in the world begin here:

with the vibrations of a guitar string made by a pick or a set of bare fingers
transmitted through a tusq or bone saddle to a walnut or ebony bridge,
amplified by a spruce top and shaped by a guitar box made of walnut or rosewood, or mahogany, or some
kind of space age ticky tackie, and picked up by a microphone or some kinda electronic sensor.

acoustic guitars are totally analog, and tone wood is crucial to their tone. *grins
...not like electric guitars, which function on animal magnetism.
 
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Ive been watching some TC Electronics stuff as well.
TC Electronic BH250 250W Bass Amplifier Head with TonePrint | Full Compass

139908.jpg
 
naw, I wish! That's a list of the 16 "guitar models" that I downloaded
into the Fishman Aura 16 pedal. You'll note that each model is a very cool guitar
played into a very cool microphone. The Aura library is packed with them.

I like the Aura pedal because it enables me to sample those tones and blend them
into the sound of my plugged in guitar, and it allows me to blend in as much or as
little of the model as I wish.

I haven't decided if I'm going to keep that pedal or not. I've got one favorite
marked, #11... That's a Gibson J-45 played through a Shure SM 58 Beta mic.
All the other models are excellent. They are fun to have instantly handy.

My problem with the modeling pedal is simple: My three acoustic guitars sound so good
through my pedal board without the Aura, that I'm hard pressed to decide if I'm "improving"
their tone or garbaging it up. Lucky me, eh?

The modeling pedal would be perfect for a guy who plays a cheaper guitar than the ones
I have... Then you'd know you were onto something. Add the sound of the Robert Johnson model
to yer hundred dollar beach guitar... priceless

I had me a guitar day last weekend, where I set up my group's new Soundcraft mixing board along
all four of our powered speakers, and I was actually reading the manual for the mixer and trying
out the controls. I had it out on my front porch, and I'm sure everyone in the village knew I was
playing. The village is about a quarter mile away. I was trying out various models too. The
Robert Johnson model sounds pretty good with the tone of my Martin XC1T, but the Martin sounds
really good without it.
 
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