An acoustic through an electric amp?

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zrockisaddictin

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Is it any different than an electric amp? is it dangerous for the amp, or will it be just as good as those "acoustic" amps

I'm planning to get an A/E Carlo Robelli W-4102EQ from my friend for fifty bucks and its in great condition, it sounds amazing for the price ( i couldn't hold myself back) but how will it sound through my Crate XT120? or will it damage the amp?

Is it just really neccasary to have an "acoustic" amp?
 
There's no reason why it should damage your amp. Just make sure to start off at a very ow volume when you plug it in.


As for the sound... not my cup of tea. It may sound bareable but it won't sound as sweet at through an acoustic amp. It depends what sound you want.
 
zrockisaddictin said:
Is it any different than an electric amp? is it dangerous for the amp, or will it be just as good as those "acoustic" amps

I'm planning to get an A/E Carlo Robelli W-4102EQ from my friend for fifty bucks and its in great condition, it sounds amazing for the price ( i couldn't hold myself back) but how will it sound through my Crate XT120? or will it damage the amp?

Is it just really neccasary to have an "acoustic" amp?
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It won't hurt anything but it will probably sound terrible. It will most likely just sound like a crummy electric guitar.
 
I used to play an acoustic 12 string with a soundhole pickup through a Roland JC-120 with the vibrato on. It is one of the greatest guitar-amp combinations I've ever heard. Not quite electric, not quite acoustic. If you have the chance to use that combo try it, you will drool.
 
Electric guitar amps have very limited frequency response (something around 75hz to 8khz) while acoustic guitars have frequencies far above that. Also, the mid characteristics of electric guitar amps are not good for acoustical guitar (alot of color comes from the mids, while acoustic amplification generally uses no to not much coloration).
 
The best results I've had have been running an acoustic/electric through a keyboard amp. Regular guitar amps tend to sound somewhat thin and bass amps get boomy, guess it depends on the sound you are hoping to get.
 
wat acoustic amp wud u guys recommend? im on a very low budget haha

id say around 200-300$
 
I actually use an A/E through my Crate xt-120. It works. I can't say much more than that, I've enever used an acoustic amp (I would expect it to sound better though). I think if you are playing with a band and just playing rhythm or something you'll be fine. But if you are solo or anything like that, an acoustic amp would be more desireable. You're gonna try it out anyway,, see what you think. Make sure to buy a "feedback buster" ($10) for the sound-hole, they work very good.
 
zrockisaddictin said:
wat acoustic amp wud u guys recommend? im on a very low budget haha

id say around 200-300$
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I have the big brother to this and think it sounds pretty darn good.
 
I know a guy who uses a SWR California Blonde (I think that's the name), and his acoustic sounds AWESOME through it. His electric sounds really good through it too. If I remember right, that amp is out of your price range, but maybe it has a little brother or something. :D
 
The best acoustic guitar amp I've heard (bar none) is the SWR Srawberry Blonde. The California Blonde is a slightly larger amp with an XLR mic input usable as a micro PA, which sounds very similar. The Strawberry Blonde, however, is a $500 amp, a little out of your price range.The requirements for an acoustic guitat amp require high-z/ line level inputs, low distortion (unlike most electric guitar amps), and broad spectrum frequency response (also unlike most guitar amps). Often, I find, the best cheap acoustic guitar amp is a small PA, which often meets the above requirements. Mostly, I use a Fender PD250 Passport portable PA. When viewed as a 250 watt PA, it may be a little weak on bass, and definitely weak on power. When viewed as a 250 watt acoustic guitar amp, it kicks ass! Also out of your price range. Check this out-

www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=9917&Category=Package_Systems

As a PA, this thing is a pussy. As an acoustic guitar amp, it works just fine. The other thing- if you use an acoustic plugged into a guitar amp, use a very clean amp, and consider a soundhole magnetic pickup like a DiMarzio, a Fishman Rare Earth, or a Dean Markley. Electric amps were designed for magnetic pickups, not piezos or mics. It won't sound like an acoustic guitar, but that doesn't mean it won't necessarily sound good. Leo Kottke's been using that magnetic pickup sound for years. If you can't afford a Strawberry Blonde, jack the acoustic into a line in on whatever PA you have. And whatever you do, don't buy a Crate acoustic amp. If you do, you'll remember I told you so.-Richie
 
zrockisaddictin said:
Is it any different than an electric amp? is it dangerous for the amp, or will it be just as good as those "acoustic" amps

I'm planning to get an A/E Carlo Robelli W-4102EQ from my friend for fifty bucks and its in great condition, it sounds amazing for the price ( i couldn't hold myself back) but how will it sound through my Crate XT120? or will it damage the amp?

Is it just really neccasary to have an "acoustic" amp?
Click to expand...

Well, why do you need to amplify it? Acoustics are loud enough for personal practice, and just about anywhere you play out will have a PA to amplify it- which will sound much better than an electric amp.
Are you jamming with a band (drummer, electric bass) that doesn't have a PA or something? Even one of those entry level PA system for 150 bucks will sound better than an electric amp.
 
i have found that when you use the houses monitor system for acoustic guitar you tend to have a lot of feedback issues. our singer/acoustic guitarist uses an adamas1597 and had a lot of feedback problems, even with the notch filter it was not possible to eliminate the problem. he is now using my fender m-80 and on the clean channel it sounds pretty descent. no more feedback problems . it seemed like every time he walked up to the mic there was a wierd looping kind of feedback that is hard to explain.
 
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