There’s something special about an acoustic guitar. It’s such an immediate instrument, designed to use natural acoustics to amplify its sound. You can simply pick it up, strum some chords and you’re away. No cables, no amps, just music. However, we all know that in some situations natural amplification isn't quite enough. When you're playing with a band or performing to a larger audience you tend to need a but more 'oomph'. Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a way to amplify your acoustic guitar that’s just as simple, immediate and transparent?
Enter the JBL EON ONE Compact.
JBL’s vast expertise in amplification combined with innovative new technologies has led to the most compact and versatile speaker they’ve ever produced. It’s simple to use with some clever tricks up its sleeve, and it’s 100% portable.
In this article, we take a look at what makes the JBL EON ONE Compact the perfect partner for your Acoustic Guitar.
Let’s begin with the obvious - the EON ONE Compact is small. Standing only 40cm tall and weighing 8kg, it’s pretty easy to carry alongside your acoustic guitar. But small only refers to its size, not its sound! EON ONE Compact has a high-powered 8 inch woofer that delivers crystal clear audio across a wide frequency spectrum. This means the tone of your guitar will sound full and rich, as well as any other audio you wish to play through it. It’s loud too – capable of outputting 112dB which is more than enough volume to fill a room.
Adding to its portability factor, the EON ONE Compact has a built-in battery, much like its other counterparts in the EON ONE Series. Whether you’re jamming in the park or busking on the street, the EON ONE Compact can deliver the same high performance without mains power for up to 12 hours straight - that's a lot of jamming!
We’ve already established that the JBL EON ONE Compact is capable of amplifying your acoustic guitar wherever you pitch up – but what are the ins and outs of it?
The JBL EON ONE Compact is more than just a portable speaker. The advanced 4 channel mixer makes it more of an all-in-one mini PA system. The first 2 channels on the mixer have XLR/TRS Combi Jack inputs with high quality preamps. These are handy if you’re using a DI box for your guitar, or you’re adding vocals to your performance. 48V Phantom Power is available on one of the inputs if your equipment needs it.
If you want to keep things really simple, the 3rd channel has a ¼" Hi-Z input designed specifically for guitar – so you can plug straight in! The 4th channel is for Aux / Bluetooth input, perfect for mixing in any backing tracks that you might want to use.
Each of the 4 channels has its own dedicated volume control, plus controls for Treble, Mid, Bass & built-in Lexicon Reverb, allowing you to quickly and easily shape your sound ready for performance.
As an added bonus, the JBL EON ONE Compact mixer has a dedicated headphone out, allowing you to practice & adjust your settings in silence – a really handy feature when you aren’t able to make a lot of noise.
Sounds straightforward enough, right? Then why did we refer to the mixer as ‘advanced’ earlier? Keep reading to find out more about what's going on under the surface...
Here’s where the JBL EON ONE Compact hits next level. The JBL Compact Connect App is a free application for iOS / Android that gives you deeper access to the mixer settings for complete wireless control of your sound.
As you can imagine, getting your sound right whilst standing behind the speaker and holding an acoustic guitar would be challenging at the best of times - assuming you don't have someone to do it for you! With the Compact Connect App, you can position yourself where the audience would stand, and wirelessly mix your sound without evening touching the speaker.
The JBL Compact Connect app gives you access to more advanced mixer features too. You can apply precise parametric EQ per channel for more advanced tonal control. You can add more Lexicon effects to your mix - including chorus & delay, as well as the reverb that we mentioned earlier. You can also apply an 8-band parametric EQ to optimise the output of the EON ONE Compact for the space you’re in. 4 presets are included here to help you get started.
Once you’re done tweaking settings to get the perfect mix, you can save a snapshot of all the parameters. So instead of trying to remember how you set it up last time, you can simply load up your mixer settings at the touch of a button.
Watch this video to see the JBL Compact Connect App in action:
The JBL EON ONE Compact is designed to fit in with any setup - large or small. We’ve already seen how it can make a great busking amp and mini PA for smaller gigs. But what about larger venues?
When one JBL EON ONE Compact isn’t enough, you could always take two. The Pass Thru port on the mixer section allows you daisy-chain one EON ONE Compact into another for a louder system. The universal fitting underneath the EON ONE Compact allows you to pop them up on speaker stands for greater elevation. You can adjust each speaker wirelessly one instance of JBL Compact Connect App for complete control of the system (and if that wasn’t enough, you can control up to 4 speakers on one device!)
In a lot of cases, you'll find that larger venues already have PA system, but that doesn't mean you should leave the JBL EON ONE Compact at home. It's angled side allows you to use it like a 'wedge monitor', so you can hear yourself properly on stage. It can also take the place of an acoustic amplifier with its own tonal controls and effects that can be sent to the Front of House mixer.
| Andertons | EON ONE Compact |
| Absolute Music | EON ONE Compact |
| GAK | EON ONE Compact |
| Gear4Music | EON ONE Compact |
| PMT | EON ONE Compact |
| Music Matter | EON ONE Compact |
The JBL EON ONE Compact is a very capable, very portable companion for an Acoustic Guitarist. It’s feature rich, making it useful tool to have with you in a variety of situations. A handful of high-quality inputs and a mixer allows you to turn up and jam solo or with friends with total ease. And to top it off, wireless control via the app gives you access to additional features & effects from your mobile device. Wherever and whenever you want to perform with your acoustic guitar, the JBL EON ONE Compact has got your back!
This new blog is presented by the team at Sound Technology Ltd, a leading distributor of musical instruments and pro audio equipment in the UK and ROI.
