Please explain the differences between a PA system and acoustic Amp

[Peridon]

New electric/acoustic guitarist here. Sorry for my ignorance but I have no idea what makes one different than the other. Can you play a PA system in your bedroom with just your guitar plugged into it? Do you need something else besides just the guitar and PA system? Other than size what are the differences between a PA system and an acoustic amp? The benefits and disadvantages of owning one over the other? Any help will be appreciated.

I just bought an electric/acoustic with an L.R. Baggs pickup.

[liko]

The short answer is that as long you can plug your guitar directly into a PA system, it will work fine. Most acoustic/electrics use a 1/4" headphone jack-style plug, which some PAs, but not all, will acccept. The longer answer is that really an instrument amp and a PA have two different purposes; an amp amplifies one instrument and provides "stage volume" for both the band and crowd, while a PA usually amplifies the band as a whole (including vocals) and gets the noise out to the audience.

 

Quick vocab:

 

This is an electric guitar amp head and speaker cabinet. It's designed to be used by one instrument, in this case one electric guitar, and is designed with that instrument in mind.

 

This is a "combo"; it combines the amp head and cabinet into one unit. There are many models, again usually designed with one instrument in mind (guitar, bass, or vocal/acoustic/keyboard). This one in particular is for bass guitar, but your garden-variety vocal/acoustic/keyboard combo will look similar.

 

This is a professional PA system, consisting of a multi-channel mixer, power amp and speakers. You can plug in multiple instruments or vocal microphones. In this case the mixer and amp are in the same unit, but larger systems have seperate boards and power amps because both units become very large very quickly.

 

And this is a portable PA, designed for one or two microphones for a presentation or trade show booth, but perfectly fine for vocals or an acoustic guitar in a small/quiet location.

 

For the purposes of practicing in your bedroom, a combo amp designed for acoustic or electric guitar will be plenty. A one-piece PA would also be fine volume and tone-wise, but the controls and inputs would probably be more suited for a vocal microphone than an acoustic guitar. A professional PA system, or really even a head/cab rig is WAY overkill for one acoustic/electric guitar, HOWEVER if you're singing and playing at a gig, or doing an acoustic set with another guitarist/singer, a PA system similar to the one pictured would probably be easier to haul around and set up than two guitar amps and a vocal amp.

[Peridon]

Liko......thanks for answering my question so fully. Helped me a lot.

[RainsongDR1000]

Many acoustic amps ARE mini PA's. They have inputs for a guitar, and an XLR for vocals and have a tweeter and woofer to reproduce the frequencies for vocal and acoustic guitar. The main difference with a PA is that the mixer and amp are usually seperate from the speakers (except for powered speakers, and they are almost like acoustic amps). For public playing a PA is much better since it is easy to raise the speakers up on stands over the audiences heads for better dispersion. It is also more versatile since you can usually add more players, speakers etc. I would opt for a small, quality PA over an acoustic amp any day unless you plan to just play in your room or use it as a monitor when you are in a band.

[ESL94]

The short answer is that as long you can plug your guitar directly into a PA system, it will work fine. Most acoustic/electrics use a 1/4" headphone jack-style plug, which some PAs, but not all, will acccept. The longer answer is that really an instrument amp and a PA have two different purposes; an amp amplifies one instrument and provides "stage volume" for both the band and crowd, while a PA usually amplifies the band as a whole (including vocals) and gets the noise out to the audience. Quick vocab: This is an electric guitar amp head and speaker cabinet. It's designed to be used by one instrument, in this case one electric guitar, and is designed with that instrument in mind. This is a "combo"; it combines the amp head and cabinet into one unit. There are many models, again usually designed with one instrument in mind (guitar, bass, or vocal/acoustic/keyboard). This one in particular is for bass guitar, but your garden-variety vocal/acoustic/keyboard combo will look similar. This is a professional PA system, consisting of a multi-channel mixer, power amp and speakers. You can plug in multiple instruments or vocal microphones. In this case the mixer and amp are in the same unit, but larger systems have seperate boards and power amps because both units become very large very quickly. And this is a portable PA, designed for one or two microphones for a presentation or trade show booth, but perfectly fine for vocals or an acoustic guitar in a small/quiet location. For the purposes of practicing in your bedroom, a combo amp designed for acoustic or electric guitar will be plenty. A one-piece PA would also be fine volume and tone-wise, but the controls and inputs would probably be more suited for a vocal microphone than an acoustic guitar. A professional PA system, or really even a head/cab rig is WAY overkill for one acoustic/electric guitar, HOWEVER if you're singing and playing at a gig, or doing an acoustic set with another guitarist/singer, a PA system similar to the one pictured would probably be easier to haul around and set up than two guitar amps and a vocal amp.

 

LIKO - WELL SAID

 

Peridon welcome to the forum...

 

Liko give you a good idea in the differences. I have used both, & just like everything there are "+" & "-". I love my Acoustic Rivera Amp, but hate to lug it around, & its LOUD![B] Most places that I have played in have a house P.A., & all you have to do is just plug in & play. (You may play with enough people, one of them is bound to have a P.A. that you may asked to use). I have serveral friends that perfer a P.A. over an acoustic amp.

 

At home I have not been even pluged into my Rivera - just been micing up, or just playing and not worrying about pluging or micing to anything. I've been thinking about selling my Rivera & using that money to get another acoustic. I could always use another acoustic!