Red-Eye Instrument Preamplifier

Not only is the Red-Eye a great sounding hand made preamp, but no way customer service could be any be better. Daren is great. I will buy lower priced equipment if I think I can get away with it, but your fundamental sound is something that you shouldn't compromise and I don't see how you can beat a Red-Eye combined with a K&K pickup. I play professionally and usually drag along 5-6 acoustics (K&K equipt**) to a gig. I have an awesome sound, in fact, the best I've ever heard in terms of a natural vibe. **The K&Ks are wired with under saddle piezos (Artec PP-607 or gfs), and embellished by a microphone clamped on my boom stand. Under saddle transducers are harsh, nasty and honky by themselves, but for some reason when wired with K&K it all goes away, and takes boominess out of the K&K low end. I also noticed increased clarity to the K&Ks which dominate the sound when wired together with the under saddle pickup. In addition, the configuration helps reduce feedback, which K&Ks alone are prone to, and increases your headroom so you can play at higher levels with clarity. the K&K jack lets you wire them stereo, which gives you additional control if you wish to run two channels. I did that for a while but found the balance very good wired mono in parallel so I skipped the hassle and run them mono now.

Let me first preface this review by saying that I have been a full time touring professional, specializing in Merchandise Management for the past 5 years working for A-Z list artists/bands. I have heard countless acoustic guitar players in every sort of venue imaginable, using numerous different pieces of gear. I just recently ended a tour with Broadway Actress/Singer Idina Menzel. Show number one, her acoustic guitarist's sound immediately caught my attention. It was the clearest, fullest tone I had ever heard come through a PA. Mind you, Idina was performing in large theaters, outdoor amphitheaters, and mid-sized arenas around the country. As a guitar player myself, I had to find out what gear this player was using. I thought for sure his acoustic was being mic'd with a high end condenser or something similar. When I approached the guitar tech for the tour to investigate the acoustic set up, I was SHOCKED to hear that he was using only 3 pieces in his setup. A DI box, a polytune digital tuner, and this little black box called a RED-EYE. I couldn't believe the set up was so incredibly simple. That night, I purchased the RED-EYE and waited with school girl anticipation to get home and try it out at my church where I've been playing occasionally on Sunday mornings. Before I purchased the RED-EYE preamp, I was extremely disappointed with the sound I was getting out of my Taylor 214. It was thin and tinny, and honestly I was somewhat embarrassed to play it live. I've been using my RED EYE now for the last few weeks and I can tell you, I AM BLOWN AWAY by the tonal quality I am hearing out of my guitar all thanks to this preamp. The first time I played it live, our sounds guys instantly heard a difference and even spotted the RED EYE, raving about its reputation. If you haven't been getting the tone you've been needing out of your guitar, or are just looking to boost your guitar's sound, or any instrument for that matter, I STRONGLY URGE YOU to try this product out. I PROMISE you will not be disappointed.

Tone is a very personal thing but after all the reviews I hoped this would be warmer with my Martin DM dreadnought and K&K pickups. A bit too bright so I replaced it with a Fishman platinum stage for a full sound.

I currently own a number of active and passive direct boxes and acoustic guitar pre-amp devices, Including (in price order) the Behringer DI-100; Boss DI-1, AD-8, VE-8; BBE DI-1000; Radial JDI, PZ-DI, & Stage Direct; Rupert Neve Active DI; and Demeter Tube Direct. Initially, I thought this DI was harsh and shrill, but I have since learned that it works exceptionally well with under saddle piezo pickups in acoustic guitars without built-in pre-amps (passive). In which case, I turn the treble all the way down. I bought a Dee-Eye to see if if would do the same thing with less knobs but to me it sounds like a Fire-Eye with the treble knob turned all the way up. The Fire-Eye sounds much better than the PZ-DI which is why I sold the latter. It doesn’t replace the JDI, Demeter, or Neve. I feel like I can sell the Boss stuff. With a tuner and effects pedal in the effects loop, I can get a cleaner signal and fuller acoustic guitar tone than almost all of the other boxes except for the Demeter, which uses tubes, plugs into the wall, and is 3 times the price. A tuner in the effects loop mutes the output perfectly.

I added this to my latest guitar build with a K & K mini. I am very happy with the transparent and balanced tone, and I love the gain switch for when I solo or move into finger-picking.

This is what I've been looking for in a fiddle pre-amp. I play with a loud country band in some loud venues and was having a hard time getting my fiddle heard in the front of the house with just a mic. I tried a the Baggs Para Acoustic and the Gig-Pro and liked the sound of them fine, but I wanted something more simple; preferably durable and with a boost button. This is it. This thing sounds great with pushing a fiddle. The treble pot allows you to roll it down if you feel like your sound is too shrill (I keep it in the middle). The boost is a nice and clear 3-7dbs (depending on where you set the knob), just enough to push your sound up a notch or two for a break. I use this with a Fishman v-200, no effects, running straight to the PA. I've also used it with an acoustic group live when I couldn't squeeze in around their condenser mic, it sounded nice and clear that way as well.