No. While you may get acceptable results intermixing a variety of different Images with your guitar, Aura Acoustic Imaging technology will not make your guitar sound like another make and model.

For the best results, use an Image that exactly matches your specific guitar model or find one with a similar combination of body size and wood types. For example, playing through a Martin D-28 Image, your Martin D-28 will sound like it’s mic’d up in a pro studio with high end microphones.

No. Modeling is all about taking the sound of one instrument and making it sound like another – take your dreadnought and make it sound like a tri-cone resonator. Instead, Aura Acoustic Imaging Technology seeks to optimize the sound of the instrument you’re playing – to make your instrument sound like it is being mic’d with a high-end microphone in a professional recording studio.

When you transfer new Sound Images to the Aura pedal, they will appear in all same Program locations as their predecessors. All the parameters (ex: EQ, Blend, Compression) in each Program will not change.

You must re-load them into your Aura pedal via the Aura Gallery.

They will reside in your Aura pedal until you choose to replace them with different sound Images.

1. Your computer may not have a device that communicates MIDI commands to the Aura pedal. See the Gallery Setup Instructions on the website or the Help File in the Aura Gallery for MIDI requirements.

2. If the cable has two MIDI plugs, try swapping the connectors at the Aura pedal. You want to connect the plug that says “MIDI out” or “To MIDI in” to the Aura Pedal.

No, the only way to track new Sound Images in your Aura pedal is to go to the Load List in the Aura Gallery and click on “Last Loaded”.

We do not include a power supply with the Aura if it is sold outside North America. It is impossible for us to anticipate the AC power requirements and conventions for all the countries where the Aura is distributed.

To find a suitable 9V power supply, contact the store where you purchased the Aura and ask for a regulated 9V DC power supply with a 200 mA (minimum) current rating. The coaxial plug must be “center negative” with a 2.1mm i.d. and 5.5mm o.d. We recommend the Boss PSA series power supply. A PSA series power supply will be compatible with the Aura and it will match the AC requirements in the country where it is purchased.

The Aura is compatible with the Boss PSA and Dunlop ECB series power supplies (such as BOSS PSA 220-T, PSA 230-T OR PSA 240-T; DUNLOP ECB -03 OR ECB-003).
The key specifications are:

• Regulated 9Volts DC, 200mA
• Center Pin Negative
• Plug: 5.5mm outer diameter, 2.1mm inner diameter

If we do not have your specific guitar in the library yet, you can always experiment with Images of instruments that have the same body size and wood types. You’re likely to get some excellent results from some of these. We offer a new instrument every month, so be sure to check back to see if yours is listed.

Also, for those of you who seek the ultimate in pro-studio sound, check out the Custom Shop online. For a small fee, you can now have custom Images created here at our studios of your exact instrument.

The original guitars used to create the factory loaded Aura Acoustic Images are as follows:

• P1 - Martin HD-28
• P2 - Martin D-16
• P3 - Martin 00-18
• P4 - Ramirez 2CWE Classical
• 01 - Gibson J-200
• 02 - Collings D2H
• 03 - Martin D-28
• 04 - Larrivee D-09
• 05 - Taylor 414
• 06 - Martin OM-21
• 07 - Guild F412 12 string
• 08 - Gibson J200
• 09 - Martin D-16
• 10 - Taylor 414
• 11 - Martin OM-21
• 12 - Martin 00-18

You can absolutely use our Rare Earth pickups to play through Aura. You will, however, get the most accurate sound when using our piezo undersaddle pickups such as our line of Acoustic Matrix products.

Check out this link to hear Doug Young’s test results of using the Rare Earth pickup with an Aura. It sounds amazing:


http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest.htm

Aura Acoustic Imaging Technology relies on string-sensitive pickups to produce the most clear, accurate reproduction. Because soundboard transducers include resonant information from guitar’s wood surfaces, they do not make a good source for use with Aura.

At this time, we require you to send us your guitar because we actually mic the instrument and create recordings for processing Images. As this can be too costly or risky for some owners, we are developing a do-it-yourself method, but will only offer it when we feel it produces great results for even the beginner recordist.

Each Program is made up of a single Image plus settings for “parameters” such as volume, compressor, phase, EQ, and blend. Each of these are listed around the Parameter knob on the front panel. Aura allows you to save 50 of these for instant-recall when you press the Program Change Up and Down foot switches.

An Image is the essential “fingerprint” that is used to transform a piezo pickup signal into the sound of a pro-studio recording of your instrument. The Aura holds 12 user Images plus four factory (fixed) Images. When you transfer Images with the Aura Gallery software, you are changing the user locations, identified as 01 thru 12 in the Aura. They are transferred to the Aura in the order you create in a Load List via the Aura Gallery. The fixed Images are identified as P1 thru P4 and cannot be altered using the Aura Gallery software.

While the Aura gives you the option of using all 16 Images, many users will find one or two for each guitar that is the most usable for them. It would not be unreasonable, then, for someone to set up the Aura with all 50 Programs associated with the same 1 or 2 Images. On my Aura, for example, the first 10 Programs all have been set (by me) to use the same Image, which I like the sound of best with my main guitar. The different Programs all use the same Image, but I have saved differences in gain and EQ settings so that I can flip through my Programs during performance in order to have different settings for different styles of playing. One Program has a volume and EQ structure I like for strumming, one for fingerpicking, one for playing leads, etc. My next ten Programs all use the Image I prefer with my back-up guitar. My next ten are my favorite for when I play mandolin. This would be the obvious way to set up the device for stage use.

You should note, that each Program only points to an Image location. If all 50 of your Programs have selected to use the Image stored at location 01, and you overwrite Image 01, then all of your Programs will be using the new Image overwritten in that location.

So, in short, Image selection is just one of several parameters available for each Program. Each Program allows you to choose one of 16 Images stored on the Aura. There are 50 possible preset Program locations where combinations of these parameters can be saved.

The Aura will respond to MIDI Program Change messages to load Programs 01 through 50 remotely. The unit’s basic MIDI Channel can not be changed and operates in “OMNI” mode, which means it will respond to messages on all 16 MIDI Channels. Therefore, it doesn’t matter what MIDI Channel is used on the transmitting device, it will still work. There’s also no setup required, it just works.

Our implementation of MIDI Program Change is common to many manufacturers where MIDI Program Change 000 will load Preset 01. This follows on up to preset 50 (i.e. MIDI Program Change 001 will load Preset 02; MIDI Program Change 049 will load Preset 50.) After 50, messages are ignored.

In most cases, the issue is caused by out of date or corrupted MDAC drivers (Microsoft Data Access Components). We recommend downloading the latest MDAC drivers (currently MDAC 2.8) from Microsoft’s website. You can find more information about the problem from the link below:

http://www.macropool.com/en/support/contentsaver/errors/error429.html