acoustic through electric amp?

[ddlingling]

would it be really nasty if i played my acoustic through my old vox pathfinder? it wont sound as good as an acoustic amp of course....but would it be bearable?

 

whats the difference between an acoustic amp and an electric amp? both tonally and technically.

 

(i would post this in amp. but...they seem really OT all the time)

[guit30]

Actually, not all that much difference, circuitry is eq'ed differently, you can play an acoustic thru a regular amp, I have done it many times

Jim

[daklander]

You may or may not get good acoustic tone from an electric guitar amp. You'll have to really have patience and play around with the various settings.

I've played acoustic through a Fender Hot Rod de Ville X with good success.

[dmkkeng]

The frequency response of the amplifier circuit and speaker is different for acoustic amplifiers. If you play an acoustic electric through a regular guitar amp it will likely sound muddy.

[mchristi]

I agree - I tried out my acoustic on a Traynor 30W tube amp and it sounded muddy - not much brightness at all. I doubt you'd be able to get a solid full tone from it. If you have to go with an electric amp, definitely go tube - solid state would sound even worse imo.

[daklander]

This thing forum is so slow even the spam control doesn't work right.

[daklander]

 

Originally posted by dmkkeng The frequency response of the amplifier circuit and speaker is different for acoustic amplifiers. If you play an acoustic electric through a regular guitar amp it will likely sound muddy.

 

 

That's why you have to spend lots of time playing with settings. Even at that it won't be as sweet as a well dialed in acoustic amp though it will be better than an acoustic amp that's not dialed in.

 

Just because you are using an acoustic amp doesn't mean the tone is going to be good. That comes with the guitar, the pickup, the player and the ability to do a proper setup.

[dangerine49]

Of course you can. Some amps will sound better than others, just as with electric guitars, but that's why they put tone and volume controls on them. Start with a neutral setting and adjust accordingly. When I started playing back in the 60's, I don't recall acoustic amps being around. All we had were AMPS.

[GCDEF]

Acoustic guitars really need the high frequencies to sound their best. Since electric amps and their speakers roll off everything above around 5K, and have a fairly pronounced mid hump, you'll end up with a very flat, mid-rangey sound that isn't particularly pleasant.

[ddlingling]

i tried it yesterday, but the feedback was annoying the crap out of me. the only way i could play it was if i sat in the opposite corner of the room facing the opposite way. any suggestions?

 

i have an ibeam active pickup running straight into the amp. would a soundhole cover help the feedback? and if so, would it hinder the tone? also, my guitar has a large soundhole...i wonder if normal covers would fit?

[mchristi]

I have a "feedback buster" that I put on my soundhole sometimes - and yes my tone changes. I find I lose a noticeable amount of low end and high mids seem more pronounced. It could be just me, but it seems thinner and tinnier as well. It's worth trying though - they're 5 bucks and takes 5 seconds to put in.

[ddlingling]

ah bummer....the loss of tone and volume would be disappointing. i have yet to try it out on a big system though...maybe its just my amp. ::crosses fingers::

 

we'll see what happens. finding a soundhole cover to fit my 4 3/8" soundhole would be quite bothersome too

[rockfan]

I use a Laney acoustic amp for my Takamine.

However, if you use a guitar amp make sure you plug through an EQ.