Acoustic amplifiers

[Perry Babasin]

I am looking to enhance the amplified sound of my mandolin and am curious if any of you stage pickers use acoustic (full range) amplifiers, or sound imaging devices? I currently play weekly for a fairly large Church and they put me through the P.A. system and it actually sounds pretty good out in the room but I can't get enough in the monitors without driving every one else crazy. Many of the other musicians on the team play through amps that are then miked through the system, therefore giving them a kind of personal monitor and stage presence. I have tried playing through an amp but the mando seems to loose even more of it's mandolin-woody-acoustic sound quality that I definitely want to maintain. Any Suggestions? Oh yeah, I should probably add that we rock. There is a kid who positively shreds on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, me and three other singers so I need to hear myself, and not only in the "tender more worshipful moments"

Thanks........... Perry

[mandroid]

I have a Roland AC60 its a nice sound. [closed cell foam padded bag & shoulder strap , and instrument case with a strap means both can be carried , and still have your hands free.]
now there is an AC90, so there is 15w more per channel..
, and there are a lot of connections on the back of them for like 2 XLR pre out, stereo DI, >> mains feed to use it as a monitor.

adding..., another option, perhaps , if you want to hear yourself and still use the Mic, [without feedback from the monitor] from "Rolls" there a small monitor/headphone amplifier, PM50, so the Mic passes thru it and there is a headphone level control,[and a way to use a send from the mix] would also lower the level of stage volume a bit by not adding to it.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[Ted Eschliman]

I have yet to find a set-up (pickup, amp, etc) that will make any of my mandolins sound better than they do acoustically. That said, I much prefer the ergonomics of a pickup (over a mic), and gladly accept the plug-in compromise.

I will put in a good word for Ultrasound (http://ultrasoundamps.com/) amps. Though they don't "add" to the sound, for me they do the best job of representing the instrument's natural acoustic qualities, no coloration and little to no need for dialing in with multiple EQ bands and knobs. They also feature an XLR out.

[jaco]

I'm using a Schertler pickup with an AER compact 60. Expensive setup but you get what you pay for as they say.

[mjpetrie]

Check out LR Baggs acoustic amp. I currently use the Radius mandolin pickup and the Para DI and have been pleased with that running through the PA, but this amp has my attention. Check it out.

[Chief]

I will second Ted's praise of Ultra Sound amps. On his reccommendation, I bought a 100 wt. one- which is incredibly small, and ways only 30 lbs. I play a Breedlove acoustic mando with a Schertler pick-up through it and the sound is unbelievable. I use it as a monitor- only facing the crowd-and mike it through the PA. It also has a direct out if you want to do it that way. I also play an acoustic and electric fiddle through it, as well as an electric mandolin, and they all sound terrific. It has like 16 or so effects that you can use to color the sound if you wish, and you can plug a mike into it to use it as a mini-PA. It's the best amp I've ever owned.

[Roger Kunkel]

I just put together a simple setup that I think sounds good:

A L.R. Baggs Radius plugged directly into a Mackie SRM 350.

Very natural. The Mackie has a mic level input and provides a big clear natural sound and at 32lbs, it's pretty easy to deal with. I also have the Baggs PADI, but I'm hoping I won't need it. It has a balance thru that would run to the house sound.

[Stephen Lind]

for an extremely small, portable, and great sounding rig
check out T C Electronics' Voice Solo XT

[Brian Court]

I've tried many different set-ups and I finally broke down and bought an amp that I think was made with acoustic amplification in mind - the Schertler David. It's small, powerful and very clean. A Schertler pickup, a K&K pickup and a Fishman pickup all work well with a natural, acoustic delivery. I'm currently using the K&K pickup. I've found it to be a great preamp to the mixer (cut the trim as the XLR out is at -15db) - 3 EQ - and the perfect personal monitor. It also serves well on it's own in smaller venues.

[Rick Cadger]

My set-up is cheap and cheerful. Works well enough and the sound is miles better than any pickup I've tried.

I run a Shure PG81 into a Marshall 50w acoustic combo. DI the combo into the PA for larger gigs.

[mando andy]

I also play in a large church venue (50 plus) and you can't be miked and compete well with other instruments that are plugged in and also use a monitor without feedback issues. I first used a fishman piezo pickup that attaches with putty to the instrument routed through an ART tube channel preamp....and then to the mains. The preamp really helped "fatten" the sound a bit.

I later switched to a AT 835 lavelier condenser mic (still going through the preamp--not really necessary--but I like to tweak my EQ). I play a Gibson a-2 and didn't like using putty on top with the fragile finish -- the condenser mic has a clip that will attach to the instrument oval hole very easily.

A piezo pickup with a preamp or a condenser lavelier mic both work pretty well. The Audio Pro 70 (not quite as nice as the AT 835 with more narrow frequency range--but still good) can be had for around 100 bucks.

Andy

[bjc]

Here's a vote for the Roland AC-60...I've used it with a full blown rock band and it worked like a champ...since then I've gone to an emando for this band...but for bigger gigs I still haul out the AC-60.