Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator DI Preamp Pedal with Stereo XLR Outputs and Tuner

Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator: The Fuller-Featured Acoustic DI for the Stage

The Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator is an acoustic-guitar DI preamp pedal that pairs tone-restoring body modeling with nine effects, a compressor, and stereo XLR outputs. Where the AC-2 covers the essentials, the AC-3 is built for the player who wants processing and a stereo feed to the front of house in a single stomp. Its modeling rebuilds the soundboard resonance a piezo pickup flattens, so a direct signal arrives at the desk sounding like a miked guitar rather than a quacky pickup. For a working acoustic act, that means a repeatable, professional tone from room to room.

Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator: Nine Effects and a Compressor Onboard

Nine effects, including reverb, chorus, and delay, let you add space and movement without a separate effects loop, while a built-in compressor smooths the level jump between quiet fingerpicking and hard strumming. A 3-band EQ tailors the response to the room, and an anti-feedback function tames the resonance a hollow-body acoustic produces at volume. A chromatic tuner and a footswitchable boost of up to 9 dB round out the set. Everything a solo or duo acoustic player needs to shape and deliver a tone lives on this one pedal.

Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator: Stereo XLR with Pre/Post Routing

Two balanced XLR outputs send a mono or stereo signal straight to a PA console or stagebox, and a pre/post switch decides whether the desk receives the processed sound or a clean pre-effects feed for the engineer to handle. Two additional 1/4-inch outputs drive an amp or a stage monitor at the same time. That dual-path flexibility is the AC-3's headline advantage over the single-XLR AC-2. In the studio the same outputs feed an interface for a finished acoustic track with no extra DI.

Zoom AC-3 Acoustic Creator: Power and Who It Is For

Two AA batteries run the AC-3 for roughly three hours, or the Zoom AD-16 9V adapter powers it through a long set. Steel-string, nylon-string, and other acoustic-electric players who want built-in effects, a compressor, and a stereo direct feed are the target. Choose the AC-3 when you need dual XLR outputs and onboard processing; choose the simpler AC-2 when a single tone-restoring DI is enough. As a stage-and-studio front end for an amplified acoustic, the AC-3 is the more complete of the two.