Acoustic amps

menamestom · February 2014

Long story short, I need an acoustic amp. Not a small PA, something easy to carry with enough throw for small venues for 1 acoustic and the occasional vocal.

I've tried The AER Compact 60, nice but pricey. Sounded very HiFi. SR Jam 150, a bit bigger sounding than the AER, more bass and more flattering, still a bit pricey.

I've not had chance to try the Fishman Loudbox range, the Artist looks great for the price, good spec but none local to try. There's also the Vox range. Anybody tried either of these these?

Budget wise I'll just need to spend what I need to spend. Play mainly fingerstyle solo, steel and nylon.

ICBM · February 2014

The Fishman does sound very good, although I haven't tried the latest versions I can't imagine they'll be worse than the older ones!

I haven't tried the Vox either, but I haven't been very impressed with the reliability and backup on a lot of modern Vox amps.

The Ashdown Radiator is also worth a look if you can find one - not as hi-fi as the AER or Fishman, but sounds very good. Similarly the Trace Acoustic TA100 and TA50, but avoid the TA30 and 35.

Also avoid the Marshall AS50 or the original AS80 if you come across one too, they have reliability issues as well - although the AS100 is a much better thing.

Monkeybone · February 2014

Marshall AS100D user here, very well stocked with features, effects including chorus, delay, flange and modulation, multiple reverb options, effects and reverbs are footswitchable. One guitar channel, one mic channel, one channel with jack and XLR input. Also has a stereo aux input. One downside to it is it is a tad weighty...

menamestom · February 2014

Yes I think the Marshall is too big for what I'm after, although most people say it sounds very good.

I think the Fishman might be the way to go, just wish I could try one. Size wise the AER would be great, it's loud too but can't justify an extra £300 over the Fishman!

Richardj · February 2014

+1 for the Trace Acoustics. I had a TA50R to use with my Parker and it sounded really sweet, lots of quality tone in a small package.

Peavey now own and make the TA's but new ones are big money.

The Fishman's seem to be the current standard for compact, gig friendly amps.

Fretwired · February 2014

I have a Trace Elliott TA40 I might sell. Only had home use.

menamestom · February 2014

Fretwired said:

I have a Trace Elliott TA40 I might sell. Only had home use.

Probably not enough watts for me but thanks anyway

Wolfetone · February 2014

Try the Tanglewood T6

DiscoStu · February 2014

My mate had a Laney acoustic amp and really liked it.

bandmaster188 · February 2014

I had a fishman loudbox 100 and its a great and very portable little amp. The on board effects were quite basic but very usable. Never got to use it in a live situation so can't comment on that. Our singer has got the 50 watt Marshall acoustic amp not sure of the model, but that sounded pretty good too. It coloured the tone slightly compared to the fishman but not in a bad way.

ICBM · February 2014

bandmaster188 said:

Our singer has got the 50 watt Marshall acoustic amp not sure of the model, but that sounded pretty good too. It coloured the tone slightly compared to the fishman but not in a bad way.

They don't sound bad, but they have a known problem with cutting out if played at high volume for a long time - the power chip will overheat and shut down to protect itself. (It comes back on again after it's cooled down, but that can take quite a while...) It's not a big problem for light guitar and vocal use usually, but something to be aware of if you are intending to use it essentially as a portable PA where it's going to be as loud as it can be.

The 100W one doesn't seem to have this problem and is just a much more professional piece of kit all round - better features, better speakers, better cabinet design etc. It is a bit on the large/heavy side though.

thomasw88 · February 2014

Been using an ashdown radiator 1 for 4 or 5 years. Brilliant, and have no desire to change it (I'm a gas addict)..

DulcetJones · February 2014

I used a 100 watt bass amp for several gigs a few years ago for my Takemine classical, it was the only thing available at the moment but I was surprised at how good it sounded. I've also used several Fender guitar amps and found that if you keep the tone controls way down it sounds great.

mellowsun · February 2014

The AERs are pricey but the do hold their value if/when you sell. I sold my Alpha last year for what I paid for it new (£400) 5 years ago. If I was buying now I'd get the compact 60.

musicegbdf · February 2014

OK I bought a Fishman Loudbox artist for my daughter . I am blown away by it. It is 120w and fairly small ( I brought it home on the bus).
It is 100w on the main amp and 20w on a tweeter with independant control.

I was concerned if it would be loud enough for a gig at a medium size venue , but no problem. It was crystal clear and the vocals were brilliant. The anti feedback features are also very useful. What I really like is the independant controls for the effects and the amount of ability to line out into a PA for bigger venues.

The only downside is she also uses now to plug her iphone in and have music REALLY LOUD in her bedroom.

The price was good (think I paid £440) , I A B it with a number of acoustic amps , and the it was much better than most i listened to. Even my strat (which she steals) don't sound bad. here is a link to her playing in her bedroom

you can hear it with her playing and singing into it

woody · February 2014

I use a roland ac90,which is very good...I recently heard an aer and a schertler,both very impressive,particularly the schertler.. I would say both would be an upgrade on my still impressive roland...

johnnyurq · February 2014

musicegbdf said:

OK I bought a Fishman Loudbox artist for my daughter . I am blown away by it. It is 120w and fairly small ( I brought it home on the bus).
It is 100w on the main amp and 20w on a tweeter with independant control.

I was concerned if it would be loud enough for a gig at a medium size venue , but no problem. It was crystal clear and the vocals were brilliant. The anti feedback features are also very useful. What I really like is the independant controls for the effects and the amount of ability to line out into a PA for bigger venues.

The only downside is she also uses now to plug her iphone in and have music REALLY LOUD in her bedroom.

The price was good (think I paid £440) , I A B it with a number of acoustic amps , and the it was much better than most i listened to. Even my strat (which she steals) don't sound bad. here is a link to her playing in her bedroom you can hear it with her playing and singing into it

Cracking voice on your lass mate. Does she do her own material too?

The loudbox and AER are excellent if not too cheap, the Roland AC amps are great too for the price.

musicegbdf · February 2014

Yes she mainly writes her own stuff and has written over 100 songs ! As she is "signed" we are not allowed to play them until the release dates.

johnnyurq · February 2014

Nice one and post them when you can as I would be interested to hear her material.

daveww · February 2014

@musicegbdf loved the video. She's got a great voice! I've been thinking of getting a loudbox too.

musicegbdf · February 2014

You won't regret it . It is a fine amp, and much louder than I expected .

Jalapeno · February 2014

Loudbox Pro is damn fine, little more toppy than AER60, but excellent sounding. I have a Loudbox in the loft in case I get another AER fail.

Lukeage · February 2014

Come on people, what happened to playing acoustics through Marshall TSL60 heads?! That's how you make a Tubescreamer

OR playing an acoustic in a Roland Cube with the acoustic emulator :P It's like... double acoustic! Or fake sounding acoustic behind real acoustic amplified and just... NO.

But in all seriousness I think the Tanglewoods are quite nice, but the Fishman really takes the cake. I don't have one but I've given a few a work out in my local and liked them. I did like the AER. The Marshall seemed a bit lifeless to me and very very big.

But I pick Fishman.

yournextguitar · March 2014

We use a Vox AGA150 - has two channels each with guitar or mic input. One channel has a Tube pre amp so is really warm and at 150 watts you will be heard! Also has a DI output and aux input. Cost c£400 which is a bargain

See our demo on our YouTube channel yournextguitar.com

Jalapeno · March 2014

She has a superb voice - needs to curb the Mariah Carey/Beyonce warbly meanderings a tad as they are so cliched these days. Not to take anything from a really good, and toneful voice.

ICBM · March 2014

Lukeage said:

Come on people, what happened to playing acoustics through Marshall TSL60 heads?! That's how you make a Tubescreamer OR playing an acoustic in a Roland Cube with the acoustic emulator :P It's like... double acoustic! Or fake sounding acoustic behind real acoustic amplified and just... NO.

The bizarre thing is that acoustic simulator pedals (at least the Boss ones) sound dreadful for what they're supposed to be for, which is making an electric guitar sound like an acoustic guitar - either through an electric guitar amp or even a PA… but for some reason they do actually sound quite good for putting an electro-acoustic through an electric guitar amp - it's almost as if they're unintentionally more of an acoustic *amp* simulator than an acoustic *guitar* simulator.

NB, 'simulator' is being used in the broad sense of something that gives you a loose representation of the real thing, not an accurate emulation

. It's never going to sound like a real acoustic through a real acoustic amp either way, but it does work as a solution if you want to play acoustic guitar on stage with a loud electric band without carrying an extra amp, and don't want to put it through the PA.

menamestom · March 2014

musicegbdf said:

OK I bought a Fishman Loudbox artist for my daughter . I am blown away by it. It is 120w and fairly small ( I brought it home on the bus).
It is 100w on the main amp and 20w on a tweeter with independant control.

I was concerned if it would be loud enough for a gig at a medium size venue , but no problem. It was crystal clear and the vocals were brilliant. The anti feedback features are also very useful. What I really like is the independant controls for the effects and the amount of ability to line out into a PA for bigger venues.

The only downside is she also uses now to plug her iphone in and have music REALLY LOUD in her bedroom.

The price was good (think I paid £440) , I A B it with a number of acoustic amps , and the it was much better than most i listened to. Even my strat (which she steals) don't sound bad. here is a link to her playing in her bedroom you can hear it with her playing and singing into it

Nice clip, she has a brilliant voice.

I've ended up getting the artist and it came this morning. First impressions are very good, but oddly I can't seem to unplug my Peerless Songbird out of it to give my acoustic much of a go. I thought for electric it would have that terrible PA tone but it's really warm and articulate, I can see me plugging in my semi a lot. I can see how BB King got such a good tone from solid state amps now.

I tried the AER a while ago, but definitely prefer the Artist, it has more warmth and flattery whereas the AER is very accurate but felt a little cold, probably just what you want if have an expensive and accurate pickup system.

Also, tried the Jam 150, that was great as well but the Artist was cheap enough for me to order a THR5A as well.

So very happy, I think this is just the amp I needed.....

musicegbdf · March 2014

Nice one Tom , glad to hear it. Yes I was surprised too , When she has gigged using my strat is sounded much better than expected.
Glad you all like the clip , she is is LA right now in the studio for about three weeks. Recorded 4 songs in the first week, and had her first earthquake experience !
Yep Jalapeno , I hate the warbling as well. She also insists on too much reverb ... but her producer sorts those things out on the recordings and really gets the best from her. He did the same for a lady in her early days who has since had some big hit albums named after her age !!!

again Tom am glad you like the recomendation , I also have used my Godin with it with the Peizo via the Loudbox and the Magnetic via a Tube amp ... was ace. :-)

ICBM · March 2014

I just got a little Vox AGA4-AT on trial.

To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect from a 4W single-ended valve amp (not exactly renowned for their clarity and headroom normally) with a 6.5" 'Vox Custom' speaker, only a volume and tone control, and no other features at all apart from reverb…

It's really very nice! It's not loud - really not that much louder than an unamplified acoustic, to be honest - although just usefully so, and it fills a room a lot better - but it sounds wonderfully natural and warm in a way I've never heard from an acoustic amp before. It doesn't distort, as I was expecting such an amp might (only a tiny bit, at full tilt) - or at least it doesn't *clip*. It certainly distorts harmonically, and isn't at all like a normal clean acoustic amp… but I think that's why I like it. It even sounds good with an unpreamped piezo undersaddle pickup straight into it, which is the first time I think I've ever heard that. The reverb is the excellent Belton digital 'Brick', although there's probably too much of it available really.

Faults… just one, really. It has no form of external output at all, so it's useless in any louder situation than it will cope with by itself. I suppose you could always mic it… although this particular one has been modified, with a line output jack. (Actually by me, a few months ago

- not a huge job, there's a convenient space in the middle of the back panel. I never really listened to it then, other than to test that it worked.)

I think I might buy it

. Quite funny really, when I had said I probably couldn't see myself buying another valve amp...

ICBM · March 2014

Ah... now I didn't expect this: it sounds terrible with my LR Baggs M1A. Hollow and nasal, and surprisingly prone to feedback. Far worse than with the normally totally inferior UST.

I wonder why?!!

rockmonster · March 2014

I'm thinking about getting a fishman loudbox artist now too! Good intel guys!

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