Members Freeman Keller Posted May 24, 2017 Members Share Posted May 24, 2017 I'm putting a K&K in a guitar for a friend's daughter and he asked me for suggestions for an acoustic amp. I told him I'm the last person to ask that but I would consider one of the made for acoustic amps - Fishman Loudbox or Fender Acoustasonic (just because I read about the them....). Once in a while I plug an acoustic into my home made 12 watt tube amp and it sounds pretty good played clean at moderate volume. He asked about the Vox AC10 which has similar tubes to mine. His budget is about $500, it will be mostly used at home and for recitals. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 25, 2017 Members Share Posted May 25, 2017 An AC10 isn't for acoustic guitar. If he wants to make her acoustic sound more like an electric then that's a possibility but otherwise not. Tube amps designed for acoustic aren't common and tend to be expensive, 'way more than $500. If she doesn't need effects a used bass amp will do nicely and save some money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted May 25, 2017 Members Share Posted May 25, 2017 I have and older Fishman Loud Performer. It's very nice. The new Fender Acoustasonic are nice from what I have seen on youtube. Very purdy too in a living room or parlor. They are also close to a grand. I had and Acoustasonic Jr back in the 90's and it was terrible. At 500 dollar, your almost there, with the Fishman Artist, but hang on. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LoudboxArt I always ask the kind folks at MF what they can do for a discount. You are in Roland AC 60 territory too. I had one and it's one of maybe tow amps I have ever returned, only to buy the Fishman. Some guys dig the Roland a lot, but me it sounded thin, and processed. A little bit of that chorus thing on the Roland goes a long way. I play both electric and acoustic guitar. Just to let you know the acoustic amp game is a whole new ball of wax. The K&K is a very nice pick up. I'm not sure which one you installed. Pre amps and active acoustic picks help drive the signal to the level you will want. I have the Fishman Spectra DI and a Baggs Venue. I drive even acoustic guitars with pick ups like the Martin Gold Plus, or Fishman Matrix ( same picks with different saddle slots). One thing nice about the Roland AC 60 and the FishmanArtist, is just about every Guitar Center will have both. Being Memorial Day I would expect nothing less than a nice discount of 10-20 % off, as well as enough off to off set the sales tax. Tell the sales guy you want to speak to the manager. If you do go to the GC and like something, let the sales guy tell you about the amazing deals. When you speak to the manager, tell him you drove across town, wasted time and gas and have cash in had, when you could have sat at home and made a phone call to Sweetwater. Matching prices will not cut it, but I have 500 bucks cash in hand, lets start crunching numbers. Now if I was a beating man I would say, you might have enough money left of for some burgers and a shake, for the ride home. You don't want to ride home on an empty stomach, do ya? You might have anew acoustic am to test drive. GC ad for Memorial Day MF memorial day ad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted May 25, 2017 Members Share Posted May 25, 2017 [video=youtube;iH-q9CW9NOU] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 25, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 25, 2017 Tjhanks guys. Will pass all of this along to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted May 25, 2017 Members Share Posted May 25, 2017 Tjhanks guys. Will pass all of this along to him. Yeah, give the Roland AC 60 and Fishman Artist a whirl. I'm partial to the Fishman, but compare them both. The Roland has a pole mount and a case, but imo the tones are better on the Fishman Artist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 25, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 25, 2017 I passed all the information to my friend and he e-mailed back that he had just ordered this http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/fender-acoustic-100-100w-1x8-acoustic-guitar-combo-amplifier I'll be interested in seeing it when it arrives - might give a brief report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 26, 2017 Members Share Posted May 26, 2017 I passed all the information to my friend and he e-mailed back that he had just ordered this http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/fender-acoustic-100-100w-1x8-acoustic-guitar-combo-amplifier I'll be interested in seeing it when it arrives - might give a brief report. Cool looking amp. Not what I would have chosen but that's why Baskin Robbins has more than one flavor. Looking forward to your report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted May 26, 2017 Members Share Posted May 26, 2017 I passed all the information to my friend and he e-mailed back that he had just ordered this http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/fender-acoustic-100-100w-1x8-acoustic-guitar-combo-amplifier I'll be interested in seeing it when it arrives - might give a brief report. That Fender is nice looking. Phil reviewed the bigger Fender acoustic amp a while back. I have yet to hear the Fender in action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted June 2, 2017 Members Share Posted June 2, 2017 Only flaw I find with the Fishman amps is the brown covering on them. It's very soft and after a short while it tears, peels and flakes off just by touching it. Not near as durable as tolex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted June 8, 2017 Members Share Posted June 8, 2017 Only flaw I find with the Fishman amps is the brown covering on them. It's very soft and after a short while it tears' date=' peels and flakes off just by touching it. Not near as durable as tolex.[/quote'] Not to mention that is ugly too. I have no idea who picked out the brown covering, but Fisherman is long over due for a redue on the look of that amp. I have the older black covered one. The mahogany limited editions look much nicer. Here's a real winner for Fishman. almost 2 grand too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rickkkk Posted June 15, 2017 Members Share Posted June 15, 2017 Hey Freeman ... a bit late to the party (... and my first time back to HCAG after several years absence ..) with this comment, but I prefer a standard PA / powered speaker for all my acoustic amplification needs. I appreciate the versatility it offers and the clean, unprocessed sound. Easy to use with or without preamps, depending on the instrument. My 2 cents ... Cheers :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted June 15, 2017 Members Share Posted June 15, 2017 Good to have you back and you certainly have good advice but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) Freeman's friend bought an amp three weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted June 16, 2017 Author Members Share Posted June 16, 2017 Welcome back Rick and thanks for the thoughts. Yes my friend did buy an amp (the Fender) and is very happy with it. I haven't seen it yet but I'm looking forward to it. The way he and his daughter play I think a PA wouldn't work very well but again, I don't know much about this stuff which is why I asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cactus Music Posted June 18, 2017 Members Share Posted June 18, 2017 I was going to say the same. I've tried just about all of them and one thing they all share- Overpriced for what your getting. $$600-$1000 for a 40 Watt or 60Watt Amp with a 10" speaker??You can buy an Alto or Behringer powered speaker, 350 Watts, on sale for a little over $300 US. I've had a pair of the Alto's for 2 years now. OK you don't get reverb or any fancy effects, but that's easily fixed with stomp boxes. There's that little Fender PA that I think sells for $500 that has good reverb.I like 12" speakers for Acoustic guitar, and the more power the cleaner the sound.I'm not sure why Acoustic guitar amps , which are really mini PA boxes, are so overpriced. Marketing??.I did , however score a new Stagg 60 watt amp for $125. It has XLR, 1/4" and Mini jack input so a 3 channel portable PA. I use it to give myself a boost when I do sing a longs in the Care facility where I work. At only 60 watts it certainly loud enough, but the sound quality is less than half of what I get with my PA system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted June 18, 2017 Members Share Posted June 18, 2017 That's why I normally recommend a used bass amp. Does a good job with acoustic guitar as long as you don't need effects and if you need a PA you might as well get one and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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