Acoustic Amps

[Garyinboston]

Hi All,

At GC this weekend I was truing out various acoustic amps looking for the best bang for the buck. The smaller, typically 30 watters offered from Fender, Acoustic, Marshall etc sounded pretty nice but I am not sure they will be ultimately play well with others, I am testing this out currently with a Fender Acoustasonic 30 However, in the corner @ GC there was an Acoustic, AB 50 ( Acoustic Bass) amp I got to try. Its the same price as their AG 30, $ 199.00 but with 50 watts & and no special effects on board.

It has a 10" woofer and 2" tweeter. I got to try it with a bunch of Gibsons, Martins, Taylors etc. The main difference, I felt was the AB 50 was way more in your face sounding, perhaps less "complex" It was however, much louder and firmer due I'm sure to the 10" woofer.

Because I would also be using this for mandolin ( 50/50) and never got to try that aspect out on this amp but I thought I put this out there to see if anybody else had: A) Purchased one of these amps tried it out. B) Had some acoustic sound knowledge and could offer an opinion.

The benifits of this amp, to me were; Watts to price ratio ( $199 ~ 50 watts) = lots of clean head room. The general, on guitar at least, clean, fim, punchy sound. Simple controls and appeared to be well built.

Any help, as always greatly appreceiated

Gary

[Murphy Slaw]

I'm a huge fan of the Carvin AG100D in my avatar. It's 100 watts with a 12" speaker (and a tweeter) so it doesn't sound "tinny" like smaller speakers with less watts. It has 3 channels, bass, guitar (mandolin), and vocals. A graphic, digital effects, U.S.A. made and bulletproof reliable. A stand hole, you can unplug the amp and use it as a main, a monitor, a powered monitor, a mini p.a., they make an extension speaker, use the line out for your own monitor, ect. A VERY good rig for about $399.99.

Best of luck.

[Rob Gerety]

I like using a good powered PA.

[foldedpath]

Hi Gary... it's a good idea to try amps in person, but if the only place you have to try things is the local Guitar Center, then you may be limiting your options.

I'd recommend taking a look at Ultrasound amps (Elderly link). If the budget is unlimited then I like amps by AER (or better, a dedicated PA system), but if you're on a budget then I think Ultrasound is a good bang-for-buck option in a standalone acoustic amp. The 50 watt amp might give you some peace-of-mind in available headroom against electric guitar and keyboards. If the band is playing at "reasonable" stage levels, then the 30 watt version would probably be fine.

[Richard Moore]

I generally use an Ashdown Engineering 100W Acoustic Radiator 1 (good sound and somewhat less expensive than the excellent AERs). Occasionally, if more volume is needed, a Yamaha StagePas 300 mini-PA.

[jim_n_virginia]

Bass amps are made for the low frequency of a bass. Regular amps are made for electric guitars and acoustic amps are made for acoustic instruments to bring out the natural acoustic sound.

The object of an acoustic amp is to amplify the sound and make it sound natural. I wouldn't buy a bass amp for a mandolin and only test out guitars on it. Guitar has a lower register than a mandolin. I'd get a mandolin in there and not only test it out but get someone else to play a mandolin through it and stand back and listen. Don't just judge on "in your face" loudness because of course 50 watts will be a lot louder than 30 watts.

I myself use the Marshall ASR50
http://www.themusicoasis.com/items/a...50r-detail.htm List is $599 but I got them for $350.

I liked it so much I bought two of them. I use them on tilt back stands and they work great. 50 watts and two channels so I can use a mic and/or a jack. Lot's of good sounding acoustic amps out there.

Don't let price be the only determining factor in what you decide to get because as the old saying goes you get what you pay for.

Also you can bargain down in GC because they sell at inflated price and on most items in there you can offer less and the salesman will go down on it after checking with the manager. If the amp you want is $199.00 if you offer $180 and make them believe that is all you have they will go for it.

good luck! Buying gear is almost (not quite but almost LOL!) as much fun as buying a new mandolin!