I need an acoustic guitar amp

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60's guy

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I’m on the verge of buying an acoustic guitar amp because the bass player from my old band and I are considering doing a two man band thing at small venues. We have a PA system that can be fed via feeds.

I’ve been exploring a couple of options as to amp choice.

http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productCode=AS100D

and the

http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2267&sid=420&cid=94

I like the features of both of these amps but I’m open to any further recommendations based upon whatever amp is it that members here are using for acoustic guitar amplification.
 
60's guy said:
I’m on the verge of buying an acoustic guitar amp because the bass player from my old band and I are considering doing a two man band thing at small venues. We have a PA system that can be fed via feeds.

I’ve been exploring a couple of options as to amp choice.

http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productCode=AS100D

and the

http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2267&sid=420&cid=94

I like the features of both of these amps but I’m open to any further recommendations based upon whatever amp is it that members here are using for acoustic guitar amplification.
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Why not get a pedal board or just a simple DI and go straight into the pa?







:cool:
 
60's guy said:
I understand what you're saying, but isn't also true that the tweeters used in acoustic guitar amps can best deliver some of the higher freqs associated with acoustic guitars?
Click to expand...

This is true but if your playing gigs big enough that you'll be going into the PA you'll be the only one to benefit from it on stage.
But in small coffee house gigs where only vocals will be in the pa your guitar will be heard from your amp.
6 of one half a dozen of the other.








:cool:
 
Well that Marshall looks pretty good.
What you should do is PM Lt. Bob and get the best answer to be had. ;)







:cool:
 
If it's just small gigs and duo stuff then mic up. If you really want a good acoustic sound but can't or won't mic up you have to compromise. First you'll need a decent pickup, then you'll need a decent amp. I'd mic up though. If that is'nt possible then go through the PA. As far as amps them selves go none of them will; give you a true acoustic sound.

I still use a Trace Elliot TA30R when I want need a half decent sounding acoustic at volume coupled with any of the fishman soundhole pickups. I'm not sure if you can get them over there and they don't make them any more as a far as I know, but nothing I've heard or played since has even come close to them.
 
Get an AER Alpha amp, its a bit costly. But it sounds fantastic both on Guitars and vocals, + its very small.
It has sounded good on just about any guitar I've hooked up to it.
Its my top selling accoustic amp.
 
Do you really need one?

I go through a Boss GT10 direct into the PA. You need to work out specific patches on the GT10 but it sounds pretty good when you do... mind you, I'm not using a classic acoustic sound, but incorporate various effects...

I've also used my Laney 30W valve electric guitar amp successfully at gigs for acoustic guitar - guitar into effects pedal (using mono effects only), one line out to amp, other line out to PA.

Depending upon what you're doing, my criticism of acoustic pickup through PA set ups is usually that it's too clean, too mid scooped and very quickly disappears when you have other things around it...

My cousin has an AER acoustic guitar amp and I can't stand it... just doesn't work for me.

And I only play acoustics live. No electrics... I pretty much only play acoustics period, apart from the odd electic when recording.

I've thought about an acoustic amp, but never really felt I needed one. :drunk:
 
Yo 60's guy! Acoustic amps react very differently to different pickup systems. I use 2 different setups. One is a Taylor 710CE with a Fishman stereo blender. That one uses both an undersaddle piezo and an onboard condenser mic, which you can blend to taste. The other is an old Japanese Epiphone with a Lace soundhole magnetic pickup. I've tried a lot of acoustic amps, but by far, I've gotten the best sound out of this:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=43298&Category=Bass_Amplifiers

SWR Strawberry Blonde. I've also used the California Blonde, which is larger, and also has an XLR mic input, but overall, the Strawberry Blonde works like a charm. It's the only acoustic amp I've used that makes that Fishman sound like an acoustic. My second best option is a Fishman Loudbox 100. I hate the Fender Acoustasonic. (all models) The Genz-Benz SHEN-CPK-10T is also pretty good, and just barely within your price range, but it has a bunch of hokey effects I have no use for with an acoustic. I am unimpressed by the Vox AGA150 and the Roland AC-90. I've never used the Hartke acoustic amps, but I do have a friend I trust who swears by them. I'd say- just plug into a Strawberry Blonde or California Blonde, and never look back. I'm not really sure why I prefer the smaller Strawberry Blonde, but I do. I've had my best luck with acoustic amps that aren't trying to be a PA also.
With the magnetic pickup, I actually prefer a small PA. For that, I use a Fender Passport PD250. 250 watts may be a wussy little PA, but it's got plenty of balls when viewed as an acoustic amp. For that, I run the guitar through a Yamaha acoustic stomp box first, as the EQ on the Passport is pretty weak.

Best of luck-Richie
 
Yo 60s Guy!

I was Treeline in a prior life; forgot my password and can't get in to my old email address anyway. But anyway...

One BIG issue to consider if you're going to be gigging is how much gear you are willing to schlep around. That means what are you willing to haul home after the gig. I'm an incurable gearhead and I pay for it after every gig. My latest acoustic amp is an older Fishman Loudbox - about 200 watts and it sounds really good. It also weighs about 60 pounds.

I have a secondary PA system besides the Mackie setup; its a fender Passport PD250 Plus. I guess that means its a 250 with a CD player. For a small venue it does a great job. For larger venues and the full band I use it as a secondary monitor system and it makes a fantastic side fill monitor set.

My band (Rusty Romance) has 9 members; the full band is limited to larger venues and my hands are full just engineering the live sound. Our gear easily fills up a truck. But when we play in a small venue we use part of the band - like two to four musicians ("The Rustbucket Brothers;" "Rachael Rice and the Cosmic Americans"). In those venues I frequently perform instead of being the band's sound engineer.

When we do that, I set up the Passport system as the main PA and simply turn one speaker back at us while the other is headed out to the crowd. If the space doesn't allow us to have one headed back at us, I'll fire it directly into an adjoining wall from about five inches away and it diffuses like crazy. Both methods create a decent monitor for us. Because I can hear well, I'll plug my guitar right into the PA and that's my whole guitar setup. It works quite well with the Taylor (B-band onboard preamp, mic and undersaddle signals.) Otherwise plug into a preamp or direct box and let fly. I also mic the other guitar amps if they're not going direct, and we have vox mics as needed. The whole PA system weighs 53 pounds.

So the message is - When you're playing as a solo or duo, don't overgear yourself as you will be the one who will have to lug the whole thing home.

p.s. I also agree with Richie about the Passport eq. It is serviceable but not great. To make the whole thing easy I use my smaller old Mackie mixer and dump it's mixed signal into a channel on the Passport. Its a CFX12, but any small mixer can give you usable eq control at your fingertips.
 
Yo artist formerly known as Treeline!

Here's a tip for small gigs- The Passport has a "monitor" setting, which is bogus, because it uses half of the power amp and one of the speaker arrays to do it, so here's what I do-

I take the stereo RCA tape outs on the Passport, and run them to an EBTech line level shifter (which supports balanced or unbalanced connections) to turn it into +4. The now +4 outs go to a Carver PM125 power amp which feeds a 10" Fender wedge monitor. I can control the gain at the power amp, and-voila- monitor without using half the PA, and all you have to haul is a one space rack amp and a little wedge.-Richie

PS- I think it's interesting that we have come to very similar solutions to the acoustic amp problem. Trust me- plug into a Strawberry Blonde just once, and you'll need a smoke afterwards.
 
CaffeinatedOne said:
Yo 60s Guy!

I was Treeline in a prior life; forgot my password and can't get in to my old email address anyway. But anyway...

One BIG issue to consider if you're going to be gigging is how much gear you are willing to schlep around. That means what are you willing to haul home after the gig. I'm an incurable gearhead and I pay for it after every gig. My latest acoustic amp is an older Fishman Loudbox - about 200 watts and it sounds really good. It also weighs about 60 pounds.

I have a secondary PA system besides the Mackie setup; its a fender Passport PD250 Plus. I guess that means its a 250 with a CD player. For a small venue it does a great job. For larger venues and the full band I use it as a secondary monitor system and it makes a fantastic side fill monitor set.

My band (Rusty Romance) has 9 members; the full band is limited to larger venues and my hands are full just engineering the live sound. Our gear easily fills up a truck. But when we play in a small venue we use part of the band - like two to four musicians ("The Rustbucket Brothers;" "Rachael Rice and the Cosmic Americans"). In those venues I frequently perform instead of being the band's sound engineer.

When we do that, I set up the Passport system as the main PA and simply turn one speaker back at us while the other is headed out to the crowd. If the space doesn't allow us to have one headed back at us, I'll fire it directly into an adjoining wall from about five inches away and it diffuses like crazy. Both methods create a decent monitor for us. Because I can hear well, I'll plug my guitar right into the PA and that's my whole guitar setup. It works quite well with the Taylor (B-band onboard preamp, mic and undersaddle signals.) Otherwise plug into a preamp or direct box and let fly. I also mic the other guitar amps if they're not going direct, and we have vox mics as needed. The whole PA system weighs 53 pounds.

So the message is - When you're playing as a solo or duo, don't overgear yourself as you will be the one who will have to lug the whole thing home.

p.s. I also agree with Richie about the Passport eq. It is serviceable but not great. To make the whole thing easy I use my smaller old Mackie mixer and dump it's mixed signal into a channel on the Passport. Its a CFX12, but any small mixer can give you usable eq control at your fingertips.
Click to expand...

Yo Coffee Addict ;)

I've listened to and saved a couple of audio clips that your former self (Treeline) sent me to listen to (dare I say) post Jamfest 6 when you were recording in a live setting. Damn good recordings!

I appreciate everyones input here and and I fully understand that perhaps the PA system is the besy way to go, but there will be times when a PA isn't at all neccessary.

I also want an an acoustic guitar amp for home practice and recording purposes.

P.S. Did Treeline lose his password? ;);)
 
And thanks to everyone else also for their input.
It's much appreciated!
 
Richie -

I experiment with the Passport quite a bit. The last time I used it was to create side monitors supplementing the main monitor mix, but I had one mix to work with because I was out of compressor space and wanted the monitor signal on a limiter setting. I simply ran the monitor signal through the Passport - channel 1, and then ran an aux signal out of the Passport into my regular monitor rig, which is a Crown Microtech 600 and a pair of 15" Peavey wedges. It can be a bit dicey setting the Passport gain appropriately, but the Crown signal went through with out any fuss as usual.

I never use the "monitor" setting on the Passport - I think the way they set it up is kind of a defective concept. So the unit is set on full stereo, but the channels I use are panned dead center. That way I can have left cab hot and right cab down low if needed - right in our face, using the same signal.

I love the Strawberry Blonde amp, but when the opportunity came I was looking at a hot used Fishman at a buck a watt. Sounds good but weighs a ton. I also have a Trace Elliott 30 watt amp that sounds very nice until I hammer the low end; with an 8" speaker it tends to break up. I might have a problem with the speaker itself, although it looks OK and sounds beautiful at low to medium volumes. Great little practice amp, but cost me more than the Fishman.

Randy - yes, I lost the password. Had it on auto start and my laptop burned up. I still have to get those files off the hard disk...
 
CaffeinatedOne said:
Richie -

I also have a Trace Elliott 30 watt amp that sounds very nice until I hammer the low end; with an 8" speaker it tends to break up.
Click to expand...
According to everything I read and reviewed single 8" speakers come up on the short side.
 
I have used an AER with my archtops on jazz gigs in the past. A lot of those types of players are going for them now. They are good amps but not really "acoustic" sounding. I wouldn't use one for small acoustic gigs over the Trace Elliot.
 
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