Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator DI Box and Preamp with Effects

Like its little brother, the AC-3 Acoustic Creator is an enhanced direct box with essential DI features that help you achieve great tone no matter where you play. The AC-3 is equipped with an effects generator, stereo outputs, and a compressor. With these features plus the same high-quality preamp and 3-band EQ as the AC-2, the AC-3 is an all-in-one acoustic toolkit that’s perfect for live performance and studio.

The AC-3 puts essential DI features right at your fingertips. Its high-quality preamp boosts your signal and helps restore your true acoustic sound. Plus, its 3-band EQ lets you quickly make the perfect adjustments to refine your tone.

To add depth and color to your tone, AC-3 also features the best effects we’ve ever designed for acoustics. Choose from 9 different effects such as delay, chorus, and reverb, each of which has with adjustable parameters for fine-tuning your sound.

With 16 source guitar presets, the AC-3 recovers the sonic characteristics of a variety of guitar types and body shapes. You can choose from dreadnought, upright bass, nylon strings, 12 string, and more.

Simply select your guitar of choice, then choose piezo or magnetic pickup. From there, the AC-3 is ready to reproduce and amplify your guitar’s tone with complete accuracy.

Key Features

• 16 source guitar type/body presets for accurate tone re-creation
• 15 target guitar type/body presets for tonal refinement
• 1/4” input
• Two XLR balanced outs
• Two 1/4” outputs for mono or stereo connection to guitar amps, headphones, and audio interfaces
• High-quality, low noise preamp
• 9 effects with adjustable parameters
• Piezo/magnetic input pickup select
• Built-in compressor
• 3-band equalizer
• Input and output gain/sensitivity adjustable via single volume knob (patent pending)
• Clipping indicator
• Anti-feedback control
• Boost switch for up to 9 dB of additional gain
• Built-in chromatic visual-LED tuner
• USB connection for firmware updates
• Dual output jacks for connection to guitar amps and mono or stereo PA systems
• Three power options: 2 x AA batteries, the included Zoom AD-16 power adapter (9V DC in), or bus power via micro-USB port

Technical Specifications

Source Guitars
16 Types
Target Guitars
15 Types
Effect Types
9 Types
Sampling Frequency
44.1 kHz
A/D Conversion
24-bit with 128x oversampling
D/A Conversion
24-bit with 128x oversampling
Signal Processing
32-bit
Frequency Characteristics
20 Hz - 20 kHz (+1 dB/-3 dB) (10 k ohm load)
Input
Standard mono phone jack
Rated input level: -20 dBu
Input impedance: 10 M ohm
L/MONO/PHONES
Standard stereo phone jack
(combined line/headphones)
Maximum output level:
Line +7 dBu
(10 k ohm or more output impedance)
Headphones 8 mW + 8 mW (32 ohm load)
R
Standard mono phone jack
Maximum output level: Line +7 dBu
(10 k ohm or more output impedance)
BALANCED OUT-L
XLR jack
Output impedance:
100 ohm (HOT-GND, COLD-GND), 200 ohm (HOT-COLD)
PRE/POST (switchable)
GND LIFT (switchable)
BALANCED OUT-R
XLR jack
Output impedance:
100 ohm (HOT-GND, COLD-GND), 200 ohm (HOT-COLD)
GND LIFT (switchable)
Equivalent Input Noise
120 dBu
Noise Floor (Residual Noise)
-100 dBu
Control Input
FS01 Input
Power
AC adapter: 9 V DC 500 mA center negative (ZOOM AD-16)
Batteries: 2 AA (about 3 hrs continuous operation time using alkaline batteries)
USB
USB MIDI USB Micro-B
Dimensions
6.22 in (D) X 4.21 in (W) X 2.04 in (H)
Weight
2.5 lbs (Not including batteries)
Options
FS01 footswitch
Note: 0 dBu = 0.775 V