Members gr8fuldodd Posted December 29, 2003 Members Share Posted December 29, 2003 I played through a Trace Elliot that I thought sounded nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members min7b5 Posted December 29, 2003 Members Share Posted December 29, 2003 What's the best acoustic amp out there? A good PA! Ok, ok, I used to have a couple SWR California Blondes that I like a lot. I had an Ultrasound for a little while that also sounded very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bbarkow Posted December 29, 2003 Members Share Posted December 29, 2003 I'm seriously considering getting one of the Peavey Escort self-contained PA systems. I've used one a couple of different times for solo stuff and they sound great. Plenty of power at 150w. About $550 street. Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members likkafella Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 AER amps from Germany are supposedly amongst the best out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarplayer Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 I love the beautiful tones of the SWR Strawberry Blonde. That aurel enhancer makes it sound fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LittleBrother Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 They are all different and price doesn't always mean best. I would simply look at as many as you can. I love my cheap Carvin AG100D overall better than any amp out there for pure functionality but I also like the Ultrasounds quite a bit and the Schertler Unico is really impressive on the high end compact. I was not blown away by the SWRs, Trace, Peavey, Fender, Benz, and a few others. They just didn't make it to the final decision stage. Of course people have different needs and tastes in features and tone. I think they all can be improved but if you could give me the features of the Carvin with the quality of the Schertler and packaging of the Ultrasound I'd have a perfect amp for ME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dave251 Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 You may want to take a look at a "mini" pa rig....The JBL Eon15 is pretty much a standard. You can get the powered speaker, a tube mic preamp, and a midget digital reverb for less than $460 from one of the online suppliers....most even have free shipping these days and no sales tax if you're out of state. If your guitar doesn't have onboard eq, consider one of the dedicated preamp/direct boxes instead of the tube mic pre...will add $50 or so. They're usually hot enough on the output to drive a line level. For my money, the "dedicated" acoustic amps are ALWAYS lacking in one way or another, usually in speaker system efficiency and thru the use of really cheap pots mounted directly to a circuit board...in otherwords, reliability issues. AND, one of the major plusses of using something like the JBL system is that most sound rental companies use these things...so if you have a problem, a temporary emergency system THAT YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH is readily available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beagle1 Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Thanks all, for some good advice on acoustic amps vs. mini-PA! I didn't actually start this thread, but I am in the same boat...weighing the pros and cons of a high-end acoustic amp (AER, Schertler) vs a mini-PA system like the JBL that Dave251 just mentioned. min7b5 - didn't you mention once that your main system is based around the JBL EON? If so, I would love to hear more about that. I play mainly solo fingerstyle, so I don't need a ton of volume. I'm starting to think that the best system would be a decent acoustic amp (Carvin, Ultrasound) for stage monitoring, used in combination with a mini PA. Any other advice would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members min7b5 Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by Beagle1 .....min7b5 - didn't you mention once that your main system is based around the JBL EON?..... Yup. As I said, I used two SWR Cal. Blondes for a long time. I used an Ultrasound for about a month. I also used a Carvin way back when they first came out. Now I'm using two, but often just one, JBL EON15 G2 powered PA speakers. The other amps were great amps, but for me personally, I'm sorry I ever wasted so much time with acoustic guitar amps. This is so much better in tone, bigger sounding, and easier. When I first got them I plugged straight in, no EQ, no mixer,no preamp... it was amazing. I do now go through a Nanoverb for reverb, and to split the signal in two, but I still don't EQ or anything. To me, an acoustic amp sounds like the sound is coming from one place in the room, where a full range PA, even just with one speaker, fills a room with sound. With two 15 inch PA speakers you get a huge stereo/3D spread that is pretty additive, even at low volumes. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LittleBrother Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by min7b5 Yup. As I said, I used two SWR Cal. Blondes for a long time. I used an Ultrasound for about a month. I also used a Carvin way back when they first came out. Now I'm using two, but often just one, JBL EON15 G2 powered PA speakers. The other amps were great amps, but for me personally, I'm sorry I ever wasted so much time with acoustic guitar amps. This is so much better in tone, bigger sounding, and easier. When I first got them I plugged straight in, no EQ, no mixer,no preamp... it was amazing. I do now go through a Nanoverb for reverb, and to split the signal in two, but I still don't EQ or anything. To me, an acoustic amp sounds like the sound is coming from one place in the room, where a full range PA, even just with one speaker, fills a room with sound. With two 15 inch PA speakers you get a huge stereo/3D spread that is pretty additive, even at low volumes. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TaylorFishin' Posted December 31, 2003 Members Share Posted December 31, 2003 Originally posted by min7b5 I'm sorry I ever wasted so much time with acoustic guitar amps. This is so much better in tone, bigger sounding, and easier. When I first got them I plugged straight in, no EQ, no mixer,no preamp... it was amazing. I do now go through a Nanoverb for reverb, and to split the signal in two, but I still don't EQ or anything. To me, an acoustic amp sounds like the sound is coming from one place in the room, where a full range PA, even just with one speaker, fills a room with sound. I completely agree Eric. I Use Mackie SRM 450's with a Picoverb for effects. By far the best acoustic tone I have ever been able to achieve. Like you, I went through many acoustic amps and will never go back!!! The powered speaker is the way to go for me.Another thing to consider - If you need vocals, just add a small mixer. I use a small 8 channel when I need extra channels for my buddies vocals and/or instruments. There is simply No comparing an acoustic amp and powered speakers for vocals.NO MORE ACOUSTIC AMPS FOR ME!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members min7b5 Posted December 31, 2003 Members Share Posted December 31, 2003 Originally posted by LittleBrother .....Do you get away with a great sound only going thru a nanoverb and thats it ? I think so. I guess it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dave251 Posted December 31, 2003 Members Share Posted December 31, 2003 So what's the street price for one of those high end "acoustic" amps? Quote me a price, and the basic features, and I'll spec out a self contained pa based rig that will really surprise you regarding tonal response.... Look at it this way, while all of the smaller amp builders and pickup manufacturers want to do it best, the PA/speaker manufacturers can beat them simply because of the sheer number of units they make that reduces the engineering cost on a per unit basis. Drastically reduces. If you consider how many Mackie mixers are built versus how many acoustic guitar amps....I'll bet that Mackie builds more small mixers than ALL of the acoustic amps COMBINED. So you simply get a lot more bang for your buck by going the pa route. If the point of your pickup system is to be faithful to the acoustic guitar, then whatever is coming out the butt of that thing should be compatible with any high quality pa rig....so why short yourself. Of course, the big exception is this: If you are playing the amp much as you play the guitar, then individual tonal nuances from that particular amp become important...where a quality PA sounds like a quality PA, no matter what signal is being applied. So if you're thinking like a (electric) guitar player, then the amp is a big part of your sound, and by all means consider the acoustic amp into the tonal equation....but if you want the sound of the guitar....and nothing else to color the sound....the pa is not only the way to go, but a much more versatile way to go. My current "acoustic" rig is a 200 watt six channel self contained mixer in a 3 space road rack; a JBL Eon 1500 passive speaker, a bag with a tube mic preamp, nanoverb and cable, plus a speaker stand to get it into the air for better efficiency and clarity. I can put the pole, guitar gig bag, and cable sack over my shoulders, then pick up the mixer in one hand and the speaker in the other....into the gig in ONE trip...although it does take an extra minute or two to set up. For the solo gig, or more often for me, the sit-in with a country roadhouse band, it works great. BTW- I wholeheartedly agree with Eric about running flat....all too often EQ is used as a band-aid for poor engineering or design. If it's right....don't screw with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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