Acoustic Guitar Amps

chromatuna · June 2022

Just starting a new project where I’ll be playing acoustic guitar and of course that means I need to buy some other gear

AER amps are obviously really nice and I have heard one in person a fair bit. Question is are there any less expensive options that people would recommend or should I aim for one of those?

musicman100 · June 2022

IMO you get what you pay for, if you can afford it I would go for a AER compact 60

Jalapeno · June 2022

musicman100 said:

IMO you get what you pay for, if you can afford it I would go for a AER compact 60

This.

ICBM · June 2022

The Fishman Loudbox Mini is good, and is a third of the price... the AER *is* really good, but it's hard to justify the price difference. There are a couple of Acus One models which sit somewhere between the two for both price and quality as well. (I have the 6T, I actually slightly preferred it to the AER for the mic channel especially.)

BenSirAmos · June 2022

I couldn't find anything that I thought matched the AER compact 60. It might seem lot of dosh but it's not much compared to the price of the guitars and mics I'm putting through it

JCA2550 · June 2022

Blackstar Sonnet

chromatuna · June 2022

Thanks folks, I’ll take a look at those suggestions

Wazmeister · June 2022

Fishman Loudbox - cracking.

Snags · June 2022

I've got a Loudbox Mini that I've used as sole amplification in small, fairly quiet settings (single open room that probably seats maybe 150+ people), and for personal monitoring in louder ones. If it was for vocal and guitar for "proper" performance in a medium-sized or noisier setting I'd want to scale up to the full banana or something a bit bigger/with more oomph.

Dunno what you have near you by way of shops for trying out, but if you fancy a trip over to Herts you'd be welcome to test out mine for as long as you like. It's not for sale, as it's useful to have knocking about, but you could get a feel for it without pressure.

chromatuna · June 2022

Thank you @Snags for that generous offer. Good to see the Loudbox getting some favourable mentions. I don’t envisage doing a lot of gigs with an acoustic amp so something rather less than and AER is attractive

Nikc · June 2022

I use a Fishman Loudbox Mini - it really is good news I'd put it up against an AER no question.

AlexHunter · June 2022

I prefer the Acus models to the AER stuff. Well thought out, nicely engineered and great sounds in a compact size.

guitarjack66 · June 2022

How do these differ from say a K and K pick up?

danishbacon · June 2022

I’ve played and owned all manner of acoustic amps including some high end schertlers and AER. The Laney A1+ is the one I’ve kept and can be had for under £200

Snags · June 2022

guitarjack66 said:

How do these differ from say a K and K pick up?

They're actual amps. Usually combo amps, often with two or more inputs, one that can take a vocal or other mic, and one with an instrument level input. They're designed to amplify an acoustic guitar sound rather than electric, and whilst in my experience they each have their own sound that's very different from the actual acoustic sound of a guitar, they (should) produce a more natural and pleasing outcome.

So the K&K pickup would get the signal out, then (if it's a mini) via a pre-amp and into the amp. The amp replaces (or augments) just going direct to desk.

thomasw88 · June 2022

I've been using an Ashdown acoustic radiator for about 12-14 years I think. Combined with LR Baggs M1A or M80 pickup on my acoustic, I've had no complaints ever and have been really happy with the sound

Appreciate they're not expensive compared to others, but despite having gas about pretty much everything to do with guitars/amps, I've never even bothered to look at other acoustic amps.

guitarjack66 · June 2022

Snags said:

guitarjack66 said:

How do these differ from say a K and K pick up?

They're actual amps. Usually combo amps, often with two or more inputs, one that can take a vocal or other mic, and one with an instrument level input. They're designed to amplify an acoustic guitar sound rather than electric, and whilst in my experience they each have their own sound that's very different from the actual acoustic sound of a guitar, they (should) produce a more natural and pleasing outcome.

So the K&K pickup would get the signal out, then (if it's a mini) via a pre-amp and into the amp. The amp replaces (or augments) just going direct to desk.

This is all new to me,but a pre amp and an amp?

Snags · June 2022

@guitarjack66 Most acoustic guitar pickup systems have an on-board pre-amp that gets the signal strength up to instrument level, and sometimes allows for some local EQ etc. (e.g. Fishman, LR Baggs and all of the brand-fitted ones). It also usually allows you to vary the output volume a little, like you would with an electric guitar volume control.

K&K do some like that, I believe, but when I see K&K I tend to think of the "pure mini" which is just a set of transducers with no battery or other gubbins. So that normally would be paired with an off-board pre-amp, either in a pedal format, or a belt/strap pack or similar. Because the output signal on its own is a bit low and probably too raw to just go straight to your main amplification.

Once you've got your signal coming out of the guitar it would then conventionally go either direct to the PA, via a DI box to sort out the levels and convert it to a balanced connection, or to an acoustic amplifier which will, er, amplify it

Adamski · June 2022

Another +1 for the Loudbox Mini - I love mine for guitar and vocals. It also doubles up as a really nice clean electric guitar amp!

Jalapeno · June 2022

Nikc said:

I use a Fishman Loudbox Mini - it really is good news I'd put it up against an AER no question.

I've had both and I'd question it. Loud box mini is pretty gutless (bigger one is much better), and there's no comparison with the quality of sound.

TheBigDipper · June 2022

Snags said:

@guitarjack66 Most acoustic guitar pickup systems have an on-board pre-amp that gets the signal strength up to instrument level, and sometimes allows for some local EQ etc. (e.g. Fishman, LR Baggs and all of the brand-fitted ones). It also usually allows you to vary the output volume a little, like you would with an electric guitar volume control.

K&K do some like that, I believe, but when I see K&K I tend to think of the "pure mini" which is just a set of transducers with no battery or other gubbins. So that normally would be paired with an off-board pre-amp, either in a pedal format, or a belt/strap pack or similar. Because the output signal on its own is a bit low and probably too raw to just go straight to your main amplification.

Once you've got your signal coming out of the guitar it would then conventionally go either direct to the PA, via a DI box to sort out the levels and convert it to a balanced connection, or to an acoustic amplifier which will, er, amplify it

I only use K&K Pure Minis. They sound fine straight into the guitar input of a dedicated acoustic amp (Fishman Loudbox in my case). For feeding a PA I use the K&K preamp or a FlyRig Acoustic, otherwise it sounds pants. The biggest difference is in making sure the pickup sees a 1MOhm impedance on the input jack.

Snags · June 2022

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I've not used the Pure Mini (and don't often use the Loudbox Mini these days), so was extrapolating badly, obviously

TheBigDipper · June 2022

Snags said:

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I've not used the Pure Mini (and don't often use the Loudbox Mini these days), so was extrapolating badly, obviously

Memories can play tricks, too. K&K is good stuff. At the open mic I play at, there have been lots of guitars coming and going with undersaddle piezo pickups and factory-fitted built-in preamps. Generally (to be fair) guitars that were built to a price point and not using the best electronics, I'd guess. Quacky and/or lifeless. My K&K-equipped guitar into a FlyRig Acoustic has the most natural "made of wood" sound of all of them, only matched by the open mic hosts, who play into a Boss guitar/vocal pedal that has some sort of digital IR/body simulation - in effect, modelling the sound as much as amplifying it, but also good to listen to

malcolmkindness · June 2022

I've owned an AER compact 60, a Fishman Loudbox and now use an Acus. Taking everything into account I prefer the Acus.

chromatuna · June 2022

Thanks for all the responses to my question. I ended up going for a used AER Compact 60/2 in excellent condition. With my Furch and a Baggs M1 passive it sounds bloody lovely with everything flat and the contour engaged, the reverbs are really nice too. My first acoustic amp although I heard a lot of a bandmate’s AER quite a while back. I think this will do me and I love the small size.

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