— Aphex® Xciter Pedal takes the legendary processing power of Aphex’s Aural Exciter® and Big Bottom® technologies and uses them to bring out natural tones and define the sound so it never gets lost in the live mix —
BURBANK, CA, July 24, 2012 — With the use of full rock-band instrumentation in contemporary worship becoming the norm, so has the seemingly never-ending struggle for acoustic instruments to keep up with the rest of the band when it comes to volume. Andrew Groover, lead singer and acoustic guitarist for the McKendree United Methodist Church’s Praise Team in Lawrenceville, Georgia, knows that feeling: “It was always hard to get the acoustic guitar to sit right in the mix, either because it wasn’t loud enough or because you begin to lose some of its tone as you push it up in the mix, and the volunteers who run the mix often don’t know how best to present an acoustic guitar in the PA system,” he explains. Those days are over since eight months ago, when Groover began using the Aphex® Xciter Pedal, which brings the power of Aphex’s legendary Aural Exciter® and Big Bottom® technologies to the stage.
Noting that the McKendree Church’s PA system and FOH console are adequate but older and not state-of-the-art, the Acoustic Guitar Xciter setting on the Aphex Xciter Pedal essentially lets him easily enhance the system for his instrument without adding noise or additional gain to the PA: “The Xciter Pedal lets me dial in what I need to pull the natural tone of my guitars out and get them into the PA,” he says, referring to the two Taylor acoustics – 414 and T5 – that he plays at Sunday services. “It brings out the color and the richness of the guitars’ own sound and lets me get it intact through the PA. It allows it to stand out in the overall mix.”
Groover says a friend turned him onto the Aphex Xciter Pedal, and ever since it’s been an integral part of his guitar setup on stage. “I’m pretty neurotic about how my guitar sounds – I used to spend half of the rehearsal time trying to get it just right,” he says. “The Acoustic Xciter setting gives me the ability to find the sound I want quickly. It’s a great plug-and-play box. I’m not competing with the rest of the band anymore. I’m right where I need to be.”
About the Aphex Xciter
Aphex Xciter pedals are designed to deliver the sonic enhancement the Aural Exciter has been justifiably famous for, taking it out of the studio and onto the stage.
• The Acoustic Guitar Xciter setting is designed for any acoustic instrument with active or passive pickups. Voicing is clean and open, articulation is clear and crisp, and musicality is dramatically improved.
• The Bass Guitar Xciter setting is ideal for any electric or acoustic/electric bass with piezo or magnetic pickups, whether active or passive. Deep tones ring truer, tone is more sustained, slaps and pops cut through without overpowering.
•The Electric Guitar Xciter setting is designed with electric guitar in mind, and works with any axe outfitted with magnetic coil pickups. It increases tonal range and expression, whether running clean or overdriven, adding power and attack without increasing output level.
Legendary musicians such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Led Zeppelin have relied on the Aphex technology behind the Xciter pedal for years and used to rent Aphex products for thousands of dollars for audio mastering.
For more information, please visit www.aphex.com.
