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trying to learn about acoustic amps


planet shh

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Posted

what are good acoustic amps in all the different price ranges?

 

how can you tell if an acoustic amp sucks or not?

 

i u had an acoustic guitar amp head would it be a bad idea to use it with a regular cab? im assuming it would.

 

thanks so much.

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First thing to do is do a search on this forum under "acoustic amp"...this topic has ben covered many times and you will have a lot to consider.

 

Acoustic Amps are an interesting beast. They are designed to amplify higher frequencies produced by acoustic guitars vs. their mid-based electric brethren. For that reason and many others, many folks here would tell you that a P.A. is the best way to amplify an acoustic guitar (whether through a mic or a pick-up system)

 

However, P.A.'s are certainly not always available or practical, so an amp is a nice thing to have depending on what you intend to use it for. You will note when looking at acoustic amps that many of them have a vocal or mic channel, and are therefore much like a little P.A., as their speakers have the sonic range to handle vocals properly.

 

In different price ranges, you obviously have many choices, and the search you will do in this Forum and elsewhere will draw out many opinions in many price ranges.

 

Is this amp for just yourself to noodle on in a bedroom? Do you plan to sing along with your playing, and if so, do you want the ability to amplify your voice as well? Are you playing out at all? Solo or with a band? Answer these questions and you will begin to narrow the field quite a bit.

 

As for an Acoustic amp "head" I'm not sure if I know of such a beast, but I doubt it would work with w/ regular electric cab as the speakers in that cab are probably not tuned to proper frequencies to reproduce acoustic guitar well...they are geared toward the middle frequencies where an electric guitar resides, so i don't think that exists. The closest thing is probably a P.A. "head"/powered mixer into P.A. Speakers which would work very well.

 

That all being said, amps that get a lot of mention on this forum are:

 

UltraSound AG-30 - ~$189

No mic channel, only 30 watts, but has to be about as good as you can get for sound & reliability for under $200

 

UltraSound AG-50DS(2 or 3) - ~$500

I own this one. Awesome amp w/ mic channel, effects etc. in a very tidy package. Probably a little weak to play with a band though, but has direct out for P.A. Would work raised up for a coffeeshop gig

 

Carvin AG100 - ~ $450

Basically a mini-100W P.A. 3 channels, EQ, effects, 100W...I hear they sound GREAT. If I was buying an acoustic amp now (i.e. didnt already buy the UltraSound), this is one I'd strongly consider

 

Fishman LoudBox - ~$600-700

Cranking 250W amp I think...don't know that much about it but its getting some props here

 

AER Compact 60 - ~$950

Awsome little amp that cranks, but SPENDY

 

I am NOT a fan of Fender acoustic amps or SWRs...they color the sound too much for my liking and w/ every Fender I've owned or tried, the mic channel SUCKED! Traded in my Fender for a Yorkville P.A. head after owning it for a week...

 

 

One other option to consider is a powered P.A. speaker. I believe Samson sells a decent one for ~$450 or so, maybe less if you look. Other models like Yorkville and Mackie are pricier but nicer. Get a small 2-4 channel Behringer mixer for it and you have something you can use until it dies as a P.A. monitor , a speaker for CD music outside at parties, killer acoustic amp producing very natural tones, etc. This is a GREAT option.

 

Good luck!!

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If you run a search as suggested by Singin' Dave (good post by the way Dave), Little Brother's name would probably pop up quite a bit. I haven't been to his site in quite a while, but I think he (Little Brother) may have some good information on there. It's a start.

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Posted

I've had a Carvin AG100D for several years, and I like it very much. Good tone, easy to use. It was my first purchase for acoustic guitar amplification (and now gets used as a bass amp!)

 

That being said, I would recommend you strongly consider a powered speaker / small mixer combo, especially if you sing or have any vocal accompanyment. You'll get great sound for guitar, better sound for vocals, great overall value, and you'll never outgrow it. You can get a JBL Eon15P and a decent 4-channel mixer with effects for about $550, or for more $ you could consider an EV SXa100+ speaker (my personal choice) or a Mackie SRM450. They will all sound very good.

 

I just think you'll get better overall sound and more utility over the long haul with the powered speaker / mixer combo. I hate to have to buy things twice....

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you might try the Roland AC100, it is in the 700-800 dollar price range, I use mine for both vocal and guitar, very nice reproduction of original sound quality.

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Posted

Originally posted by ImpossiblesKid

what are good acoustic amps in all the different price ranges?


how can you tell if an acoustic amp sucks or not?


i u had an acoustic guitar amp head would it be a bad idea to use it with a regular cab?

 

I highly recomment the Crate CA-125. (see pic below)

Three channels, one with phantom power, EQ, Effects, Tri-Amped (that's right! three power amps. 2 fifty watt amps and one 25 watt amp) Direct outputs and just the cleanest sound.

 

I think they list for about in the $900.00 range. I got mine for $375.00 used on Ebay.

 

As far as cabinets go, the frequency of an acoustic guitar falls in the range of a 10" speaker cone and smaller. A powered speaker with a 12" or 15" and a tweeter is gonna be good for a PA speaker but most of your guitar sound will come out of the tweeter in that case. The Crate CA-125 with it's two 10" and a tweeter is just perfect for acoustic guitar. Read more about CRATE AMPS

grandsetup2.JPG

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Posted

For my personal use, I have the Carvin AG100D and love it. For my church band, we have 2 Kustom KAA-65's. I've never run a mic though them; I think it's only a phono plug for the mic channel anyway, but for $230 they're a decent sounding amp. Not overly powerful though. I use my Carvin amp for playing bass in that band and acoustic guitar and vox on my own. It's a HIGHLY versatile amp and I'd reccomend it to anyone.

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Posted

I will "amen" the things about the Carvin AG100. It's a great little amp, with lots of stuff, and a good sound.

 

I had a Fender acousticsonic, and sold it. It was too top heavy and crispy sounding. The Carvin has more bottom and depth, whether it's the 12 inch speaker instead of the dual 8's, or whether it's the fact that it's ported, I am not sure.

 

I played through a friends Marshal acoustic amp, and it was not very impressive. In fact, I preferred my old Fender to it.

 

All in all, go Carvin. It's small, portable, beefy, and sounds good.

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Posted

Find a music store that has a selection of acoustic amps. Take YOUR guitar in and play and listen. I did this and was suprised to hear that with MY guitar/pup, a relativiely inexpensive Kustom KAA-65 sounded much better than the 1K Genz-Benz (and all others). That being said, I have taken to using a JBL G3 10" powered PA speaker attached to the line out of the Kustom for house size partys/small gigs. I run vocals through a TCHelicon voiceworks, and the little system turns heads!

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Posted

I'm one of the guys who would strongly recommend a good PA. That said, however, I played a couple of acoustic amps this past week that were, admittedly, rather impressive. The first was a Crate CA125DG, the second was a Marshall AS100D. I played a Taylor 714 with the new Taylor Expression system, a Gibson J-175 with an after-market Fishman blender system, and a Martin D-28 with a Martin UST. While I didn't put either amp systematically through their paces, I did play around with the various doo-dads and came away with the following impressions:

 

Both amps captured the "acoustic" feeling of the guitars. I didn't feel like I was dealing with an electronic interface though I expected the Crate to sound sterile and cold and the Marshall to be snarly. Both were well-behaved with good, balanced tone and didn't seem to color the natural sound of the guitar.

 

What I did notice was that there were vast differences between the various guitars. One thing I did was to play each guitar unplugged, then plug it in to see how the tone changed. I found that the differences were more to be attributed to the PUPs than to the amp.

 

The Taylor sounded like a Taylor whether through the amp or unplugged. The tone was clean, bright, ringing, balanced. The Taylor also had relatively new Elixers on it which helped the tone.

 

Both the Gibby and the Martin had dead strings-- uncoated and well worn. The Martin sounded dead unplugged, the bass was muddy and the treble was flat. Only the mids seemed to have any bite. Through both the Crate and the Marshall, I could clean up the sound somewhat by dialing up the bass and treble, but the essential muddiness still came though. Both amps really seemed to catch the nature of the guitar's sound without coloring it.

 

The Gibby was one of the nicer ones I've played. I haven't been impressed by most Gibsons but this one was a player with a pleasing bottom end and good balance. Even with bad strings, you could feel the resonance through the body and the promise of some terrific sounds waiting inside. I didn't have time to A-B the Marshall against the Crate with this guitar, but through the Marshall it sounded awesome. Great thump at the low end; clean, clear mids and highs for definition (at least as far as the strings would allow) at the top. If I wasn't in the market for a new car and a college education for my daughter, I'd have bought it. The Marshall caught it all and reproduced it faithfully.

 

Both the amps had effects sections--which I didn't mess with. Mostly, they seemed set up for controlling delay and reverb to tailor the sound to the size of the room. The Marshall's seemed a little more comprehensive than the Crate's. There are some distinct technical differences, you'd have to match them up to see which one best meets your needs. Bottom line--if I were shopping for an acoustic amp, I'd seriously consider the Marshall.

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