What type of pickup do you have? Is it one designed to reproduce an acoustic(ish) sound or is it a magnetic pikcup, like the ones in elelctric guitars?
The answer makes a difference to the type of amp that will be best suited to your instrument.
For my amplified acousitcs, I have an Orchid Elelctronics preamp which sends a signal to the PA. It is an excellent bit of kit and I recommend it highly. I learned about these from Show of Hands.
For my properly electric mandolins, I run through amps designed to amplify electric guitars, though you could choose a bass amp if youlike. Specifically....
- Ampeg Jet II J12-T (main amp)
- Marshall MG30 CFX (back up/practice/very low volume)
- Line6 POD 2.0 (signal sent to the PA --for large gigs or long distance travel)
None of these are still being made, but you can find them on Reverb from time to time. The Marshall has a caveat: I hate all the tones except the clean. They lack subtlety and nuance. So I drive the clean channel hard (volume and gain to 10) and then add a little overdrive from a Boss SD-1 when needed.
I just bought a Boss Katana KTN-Mini to play through while I'm visiting the US. So we'll see of that's any better than the Marshall.
Good luck!
Daniel
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