Acoustic amp

[Jeffers]

Stopped into a new music shop today to have a look around. #Was greeted by the familiar sight of thousands of guitars and not a single mando ... oh well.

Anyway, happened to have my Godin (acoustic with built in piezo pickups) in the car and before I know it I was talking to one of the sales guys about getting an acoustic amp for it (which I've been meaning to get for a while but haven't really got the funds for). #Got hooked up to an AER alpha acoustic 40W amp. #To my inexperienced ear it sounded pretty darn sweet. #Price tag was 370 english pounds (about $550 bucks i think). #It seemed to have all I would need for a small gig and a line out for the PA in a bigger setup. #Also nicely portable.
I didn't try any others and I think this was the best one they had in the shop.

I don't know much of anything about amps, and didn't find much mention of them on a search through the message board here. #I don't play regularly in any sort of band. #I'd like to get an amp partly to aid in recording, partly for playing in pubs and partly because its fun to play it loud sometimes! #Somehow I thought finding a nice amp would be a lot harder than this. #Are there others things I need to know or should I start saving for the AER?

[smilnJackB]

Jeffers,I don't know a lot about amps either. And I asked some similar questions to yours a while back. I wanted an acoustic amp that would give good acoustic sound and simultaneously run a microphone. I tried a Dean amp and it had bad hum. I liked the Fender Acoustasonic Amps, but heard some say they were lacking in volume. I ended up with a Crate Acoustic amp and it works fine. I just need to move up to a better microphone. Good luck. Jack

[Jeffers]

Hi Jack,

Thanks for the reply. #I looked up your old threads and they were very handy in giving me the names of the other amps I might consider. #I had a look around the web and eventually found this review on the AER:

http://www.musicmart-mag.co.uk/content....&ID=147

It all sounds good, and reinforces what I thought in the shop today. #Maybe 40W would be only just cutting it in some situations, but the fact that this amp is a quarter the size of most of the others out there is a BIG plus for me. #The Crate setups do look real nice so I might give them a listen sometime but at the moment I'm saving for the AER.

If anyone else has one of these, feel free to tell me all about it. #Thanks!
Jeffers

[bjc]

Jeffers,

I have a Roland AC-60...and I love it. I bought it for both Mandolin and Dobro. I play mainly electric guitar in my primary band (though mando tunes are filling up about a set now) and I wanted something small and light since I already have a lot of guitar stuff to haul and the AC-60 is perfect. It's about the size of a boom box and comes with a carrying case. It has a line out for running into a PA system, but is plenty loud. It has a true stereo chorus (though I don't use it much) and onboard effects---I only use the reverb. It sells for around $500, but I got a good deal on it from Back Porch Music: http://www.bpmmusic.com/roland/html/roland_ac_60.html No financial interest here, I should add...You should at least take a look at it.
Good Luck

[Mike Bunting]

I use a Compact 60 by AER and it works great, has phantom power for the pick up that I use and has the cleanest, most natural sound that I've found so far.

[mandomood]

I would very much recommend Ultra Sound Acoustic Amps...their 50 watt is great and takes a direct line as well as a mic input, very acoustic sounding cabinet compared to many others.

[Jeroen]

If the question was about a good amplifier match for a Godin mandolin: I really would not know. I'd think a fat tube amp could be really fun, and I wonder if an "acoustic" amp will be necessary for an instrument that seems to be designed for heavy amplification.

For mandolins that sound best acoustically (...Do Godins?...): #

I would not buy an amp if you don't really need it to stay alive between electric guitars and drums. If you do need one I'd recommend the AER. I tried crates, traces and gallien-kruegers and to my ears the AER had least of that typical plastic snap and most of what I needed in dynamics to be able to play like I play acoustically.

I would not choose an expensive amp before you have an idea of what kind of pickup works best with your mandolin. Also be aware that playing amplified may involve reconsidering appropriate pick thickness and other adaptations to your technique.

My AER was a huge relief when I played with electric guitars and drums. Still, I always asked the sound people to set up a microphone too and blend it in as much as possible. Even if it turns out to be useless when it is showtime, it gives less experienced sound people an idea of how the mandolin is supposed to sound.

The biggest relief however, was my decision to buy a louder mandolin, avoid electric guitars and drums and make soundmen sweat a little extra to make me sound good through a microphone.

For bad circumstances I lately carry a little AKG stickup microphone with a little preamp/eq/DI and leave my good old AER Bingo home, but my current band is not as loud as some I played with.

[gremlin]

on the amp front, if what you are looking for is an accoustic amp that also can run a mic check out the carvin AG100D it is mainly a whole pa/accoustic amp in a box that weighs only 35 lbs and all for about 399.00 USD I was a metal guitarist for 20 years and have used almost every type of amp known to man from marshalls and peaveys to fenders, matchless and mesa boogie. I discovered carvin about 10 years ago and have never been dissapointed. I currently have 3 amps made by carvin and they are awesome. I will never play anything else. In fact i search ebay constantly looking for used ones to add to he collection and buy all I can get for a reasonable price. The sound of their tube amps can go from a jazzy clean to a hellish metal crunch. even their solid state amps sound better than a lot of tube amps out there none of that plastic solid state thin sound just wrm snd smooth tones. and their customer service is second to none. and the list of top name users for their equipment speaks for itself.

[johnsmusic]

Genz-Benz makes acoustic amps from about 50 watt up to a 200 watt stereo with optional remote speakers that can double as a decent PA. Great people to deal with. John

[mandroid]

I attended a solo guitar performance, and the amplifier was one of these:
# # #the AER Alpha http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/AER1A.htm
Note all the additional connectors on the back, Xlr out for direct to mix and EFX loop.
built in mount, sits on a short mic stand nicely, accurate sound, #quite sufficient for the room of 200...and he said it finds its space in the overhead compartment as a carry-on .

No doubt, better priced at GBP to euro cambio, than U$D to euro exchange.
#
less watts than 60, but should be a good combo with the A8.

[John Flynn]

I have a Crate AC-30, or is it CA-30? It it was a good buy for the price. I recommend it as a decent cost, entry-level "acoustic amp."

I don't use it much anymore though. For me, the whole idea of an "acoustic amp" is an oxymron. Once you plug in, you are not acoustic anymore, by definition. Pizeos, no matter how good, plugged into amps, no matter how good, do not sound acoustic. That is OK if you are playing with an electric band. Just know what you will get for your money and what you won't.

[Juice6120]

The SWR strawberry blonde is a great acoustic amp , I can play mando thru it ,epiphone Upright bass, Its very light Looks great, sounds great No matter what i am playing thru it ,And most gigs dont even need to mic it as well. You can get them 500 bucks or even less used on ebay etc and your ready to gig. The acoustic fender isnt bad but go with the SWR cause Ive worked with many bands and played with a few and most with swr havent needed service and are very reliable. www.americanmusic.com has them in stock for 499.00 US with free shipping .Im not trying to sell it , Just letting you know what keeps The bass out front even with Gut strings. thanks , mike

[Jeffers]

Hey, thanks for all the replies - lots of handy info there! #I'm definitely going to try out a few of those other names if I can find them anywhere. #As I said, going to be a good few months before I'm in a position to get anything so it can be time well spent in that respect.

Thought I'd just explain how I came to own the Godin just to address a couple points made. #I had a Tanglewood plywood setup for the first year of playing. #(Yes, I was ready to move on soon after paying the $140 odd for it, but I don't really see this as a bad investment - for what it is, it's a nice little instrument and now I've got something to play when camping and at rowdy parties etc where accidents can and do happen).

One night I was spectating at an open mike night and at the end they had a couple free slots. #They asked for anybody to come up and play anything, but it was so loud in the pub you would have needed to be plugged in to be heard. #Not long after I saw the Godin A8 for the first time and figured it could be a handy solution to a problem like this. #When I was on holiday in Canada and found it selling for $700 Canadian, instead of 700 pounds sterling I snapped it up.

It's a very fine little instrument and was the best I could afford at the time. #I thought a very good electro-acoustic mandolin would be something I would always want to keep and I could spend a couple thousand on a real good acoustic carved top in a year or two when my student days are over. #It is definitely acoustic, although it doesn't have any holes in it. #That said it still has a better chop completely unplugged than a number of pac rim carved tops I've seen, and can be played up against a mike alone to good effect.

So far I've just been playing it acousticly at home and it does a fine job in that respect. #I just wanted to get an amp now to exploit what it was really designed for. #I think a tube amp would be really fun to mess around with but I thought they were more intended for electro-magnetic pickups that electric guitars have, rather than piezos.

Long story, but hey - what are mandolin sites for! #Maybe time for a # now. #Thanks again all, your advice is very helpful.