My understanding is that the acoustic amps (e.g. Feder's Acoustasonic line) has circuitry that defeats feedback from the instrument's natural resonance (I might be a little off here, but close on the essential point). #I have plugged by Rigel A Natural into different amps (straight, and with a preamp) and have heard a cleaner sound out of the higher-end acoustic amps than from, say a Crate or Line 6 rig designed for electric guitars. #I have NOT have a chance to plug in through a high-end tube amp, or one of Mr Carr's fabulous boxes (see the winter(?) Fretboard Journal for more of this!).
I will say that the simple Fishman G-II acoustic guitar preamp has been a HUGE asset when plugging in. #Rigel did a great job re-wiring the piezo's they bought, but the sound can still be a little thin through some amps. #The G-II absolutely takes care of any "thin sound" issues. #I don't know if a Godin's setup (or for that matter any mandolin with an on-board eq) would benefit from the extra oomph, but IMHO anyone playing out through a passive pickup would hear a significant improvement with a preamp.
Bookmarks