Members thebostondunc Posted March 13, 2007 Members Share Posted March 13, 2007 Hey all, Just curious if anyone has any recommendations for Acoustic Guitar Amps. I am looking at either the Roland AC 60 or the Fender Acoustasonic JR. Also, a friend has suggested a Centaur brand but i had never heard of it until now. Any thoughts? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 13, 2007 Members Share Posted March 13, 2007 You might also consider the following: http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=category&cid=94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thebostondunc Posted March 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 13, 2007 hey thanks! that looks like a good choice. i'm gonna try it out and see how it sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J. Posted March 13, 2007 Members Share Posted March 13, 2007 I have the Genz Benz Shenandoah JR. It's the best acoustic amp in its price range, period. It kicks out a lot more sound than the specs would have to you believe, and the features like the Alesis effects are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rick6 Posted March 14, 2007 Members Share Posted March 14, 2007 I tried playing a Godin Nylon Multiac through the AC60. The application was Brazilian jazz. I hated it. I simply could not get enough treble out of the sound (that is, it was too trebly for me). The Godin's pickup system may well have been a big part of this problem, since I usually have to turn the treble all the way down (with other amps). However, even when I played the AC60 with other guitars, it had an attacky, chimy quality. If that's what you're looking for (to really hear the pick attack), it could be perfect. But, to get my idea of a natural nylon sound, well, I couldn't do it. I found the amp useless for my application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted March 14, 2007 Members Share Posted March 14, 2007 I highly recommend a tube preamp in the amp. I have a Tubeworks rackmount Bluetube - designed for bass guitar. I plugged an acoustic electric in the thing and wow did it warm up the sound and even out the dynamics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 14, 2007 Members Share Posted March 14, 2007 For a blendable tube preamp, look at this model: http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=1833&sid=420&cid=94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members laidback Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 For a blendable tube preamp, look at this model:http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=1833&sid=420&cid=94 I had a piezo-equipped guitar that sounded like, well, a piezo-equipped guitar:all quacky and harsh. A tube preamp in front of it really tamed the quack and improved the tone greatly. BTW, as far as acoustic amps go I hate the way the Fender Acoustasonics sound-very unnatural to my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 Piezo pickups - you really have to pay attention when picking an amp. Piezos are extremely high output impedance - easily 100 times higher than normal passive guitar pickups. Unless the input stage is designed to handle a high output impedance source, the tone and dynamics will suffer greatly. This is due to the voltage divider law. Ideally your output (guitar) to input (amp) impedance ratio should be 1/10 or less, meaning the input impedance of the amp should be at least 10x higher than the output impedance of the pickup. By voltage division 1/10 of the signal appears across the pickup and 9/10 of the signal appears at the amp, IE good hot signal into your amp. If you plug a piezo pickup into a preamp that is not designed to handle high output impedance sources, the impedance ratio can be 10/1 or higher. By voltage division 9/10 of the signal is across the pickup and 1/10 of the signal is to your amp - you get a much weaker signal to the amp. Because of high impedance of the piezo it doesn't take very long a cable before you lose high end due to the RC component of the capacitance of the cable coupled with the impedance of the preamp input stage. So your tone suffers too. The ideal acoustic/electric piezo system uses a preamp on the guitar to convert the high impedance to a low impedance, allowing you to use long cables and standard amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 Piezo pickups don't really fall into the 1:10 ratio for loading because their resopnse can be taylored by altering the loading which can work to your advantage. I have found that matching the output impedance to an input impedance that's roughly 2x -5x higher seems to provide a pretty good compromise in the resulting response curve. When you go below 1:1, the output of the crystal appears like a first order high pass filter because the piezo-ceramic device is in actually like a capacitor in it's output impedance curve... in fact it appears just like a capacitor. The same applies to a piezo-ceramic tweeter. The fact that the "tube" preamp tamed the "quack" has more to do wth it being an impedance matching device rather than a magical tube. The tube is merely in there to make the user think the device sounds better than the solid state components that are present doing the much of the actual work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rbomb Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 I am also interested in an acoustic amp. How about a power PA speaker/monitor. Would you get a traditional acousitic sound of of a PA speaker or would it just just sound like single coil gutiar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members laidback Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 The fact that the "tube" preamp tamed the "quack" has more to do wth it being an impedance matching device rather than a magical tube. The tube is merely in there to make the user think the device sounds better than the solid state components that are present doing the much of the actual work. I understand, but the tube preamp (ART Tbe MP) sounded a lot better than just using a DI box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rbts Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 You can use a full range powered cabinet for an acoustic amp, and it gives you a nice useful for other things too powered speaker. You don't get the benefits of a lot of tayloring for guitar that the manufacturers of acoustic amps may have been able to include, but it would not be a bad idea... just different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 16, 2007 Members Share Posted March 16, 2007 I understand, but the tube preamp (ART Tbe MP) sounded a lot better than just using a DI box. What kind of direct box? They vary in input impedance all over the map. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Singin' Dave Posted March 17, 2007 Members Share Posted March 17, 2007 I am also interested in an acoustic amp. How about a power PA speaker/monitor. Would you get a traditional acousitic sound of of a PA speaker or would it just just sound like single coil gutiar? That's the direction I went - basically a L.R. Baggs PADI and a powered PA speaker (Yorkville nx55p). LOVE em!! And now the nx55p serves as a PA main for me when I gig with my band or solo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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