ES2 through LR Baggs Venue DI and K&K DI

[guitarsrsoawesome]

Hi guys, over at a friends house I did a test with a couple of DI's with my new 514ce Hog/Cedar. 

I played it through the LR Baggs Venue and it sounded so-so.  Didn't spend a lot of time EQ'ing, so I'm guessing I could have dialed it in better, but then I tried the K&K DI, the one people use with the pure mini, and I was blown away.  I loved the tone it got out of the ES2.  It sounded very natural and "Taylorish" with the great lows, but lots of sparkle. I was very impressed and am seriously thinking about acquiring one.

Anyone else have DI experiences with the new ES2 they'd like to share?  I'd like to hear some testimonials and try some others out before I get the K&K.

[groberts]

Hi guys, over at a friends house I did a test with a couple of DI's with my new 514ce Hog/Cedar. 

I played it through the LR Baggs Venue and it sounded so-so.  Didn't spend a lot of time EQ'ing, so I'm guessing I could have dialed it in better, but then I tried the K&K DI, the one people use with the pure mini, and I was blown away.  I loved the tone it got out of the ES2.  It sounded very natural and "Taylorish" with the great lows, but lots of sparkle. I was very impressed and am seriously thinking about acquiring one.

Anyone else have DI experiences with the new ES2 they'd like to share?  I'd like to hear some testimonials and try some others out before I get the K&K.

Which K&K DI was it? a small guitar strap mount adapter or was it a floor box?
I haven't tried any Pre's with my ES2 either and I am also very curious if any external DI's are best. Anti feedback controls would be most helpful in some circumstances. But otherwise, I have found the ES2 to sound great straight into my Allen & Heath Zed10FX PA.

[TaylorMate]

All my Taylors were up to now equiped with K&K pure mini's. I have always used them with the K&K Pure XLR Preamp (floor box) in combination with my AER Compact 60. An excellent duo! Recently I bought a 2014 512e TF equiped with the new ES2 system. I hesitated whether or not I should I give up my resistence to ES, but I found the technology/philosophy behind the ES2 convincing (somehow comparable with my K&K's), and the reviews were very positive. My impression so far is highly positive too. It really amplifies my acoustic sound in a very convincing way. I started off plugging my 512 into the K&K Pure XLR Preamp. It went well but I soon found out that I did not need the preamp and was even better off with my 512 plugged directly into my AER. Only logical after all, the K&K Pure Mini transducers are passive, while the ES2 is an active system and has its own preamp and EQ. So my conclusion is that your ES2 does not really need the K&K Preamp. But if you are happy with it use it because it's a great little DI.

[guitarsrsoawesome]

Hi guys, sorry so late in responding to your awesome responses to my query.  Yes, it was the XLR floor box k&k preamp I tried.  I also have a Fishman SA220 soloamp.  It has it's three band eq.  I find with my 514ce (hog/cedar) that it's very warm sounding, but through the solo, lacks the high end sparkle unless I really dial up the High EQ knob, almost all the way in fact.  Which is surprising because I feel like the solo is already voiced with some sparkle, but it could be my cedar top combined with the new ES.  But when I went through my friends K&K xlr preamp/DI, it gave it the sparkle without having to add so much high at the EQ level, it basically made the guitar sound more like what I hear when I'm playing unplugged.  Anyway, I can get a similar effect by jacking the highs on the soloamp, but I think I like the voicing if the K&K xlr preamp/di so I may go with that.  Thanks for your responses!