Acoustic Amp

[peterd79]

Ok... so i bought a new acoustic last week (taylor) and i'm looking for a solid amp to push this baby through... in the past i personally owned a Fender and Fishman but have had my hands full of acoustic amps (Fishman Loudbox, Fender Acoustisonic, Genz Benz Shendoah Jr, Roland AC-60) this week through buddies lending me their amps so i can test them out accordingly...
I'm now playing more acoustic these days at my church and figured it was time to step up my acoustic rig (as i didnt have one before- just borrowed as needed) I'm probably overthinking this whole process and should just go with what sounds best to my ears...
here's what i've found... I really like the Roland AC60 and have one on hold at a local shop and heading down to pick it up after work. The 60watt output seems like that should be plenty especially if i connect a powered sub to it (future planning) however; wasn't sure what your experiencs have been with the Roland Acoustic products for your piezo equipped mm guitars... any help or suggestions prior to the purchase (also i have access to a Genz Benz Shen 60LT that i can pick up today if i change my mind)

OK... SHOOT!!!

 

[meckintosh]

OK, over the last years I really had to try out some acoustic amps for my work (church & choir) and private life (clubgigs), heres my opinion on some.
My acoustic guitars? Taylor 810, Breedlove Pro, Martin Triple-0, Lakewood Nylonstring and some rather "stagedivas" like the Ibanez ones with built in XLR.

Marshall AS100D
Solid workhorse, does everything good, but nothing really great. Adds some unwanted colour, not bad but unwanted because i like the natural sound of my guitars, I mean ... thats why I bought them in the first place. The effects are ok, what i really like is that I can use multiple channels, so I have an amp for two guitars and one mic.


AER Domino
Very clear, very pristine sounding, sometimes a little too cold for me and from the hardware not that much to talk about, disappointing.


SR technology Jam 150
This amp was really great. Great in sound, good effects, multiple channels. A great amp for live and rehearsing. But ... after two years it broke down and the repair was very very expensive. Maybe it was bad luck .. Soundwise, this amp is excellent!


Genz Benz Shenandoah
Great sound, but the price didn`t meet up with the rest of the package (maybe they`re more expensive over here in Europe?) Some precious features were missing.

Ultrasound Pro-250
Sky is the limit and this amp does it all. If you`re really looking for an acoustic amp with great sound, great features, versatile as hell .. THIS is it.
I love this amp and it follows me to every gig. I even use it when playing the Pertrucci live.

I hope that helps somehow ...?

 

[Spudmurphy]

AER 60 - expensive but a lot of pros use them.
Great amp

 

[peterd79]

the funny thing about the UltraSound is i almost picked one up several years ago from one of the reps and passed it up because i didn't know the company all that well - mind you this was about 5-6 years ago... now the 250 is out of my price range at the moment...
as is the AER all great amps that i've looked at... but my price point right now is $500 or less... i think i'm going to stick with the Roland and then pick up the Avalon U5 down the road...

 

[meckintosh]

but my price point right now is $500 or less...

Give that Marshall AS a try, if compared to the Roland, it may suit you.

 

[DaPatrooch]

I actually just bought the Fishman Loudbox Performer, which I couldn't be happier with. It was the best and most organic sounding acoustic amp I tried, and I think it makes my JP's piezo sounds better than most real acoustics I've played. You can also plug a microphone into it, and I think one other instrument, so it's basically like a PA too.

 

[ScoobySteve]

Piezo or acoustic I always run mine through a nice set
Of PA monitors

 

[peterd79]

Piezo or acoustic I always run mine through a nice set
Of PA monitors

this would be ideal... as an AVALON U5 is my first choice... but since our soundboard crew changes so often i'm not sure i'd get a consistent output

 

[ScoobySteve]

this would be ideal... as an AVALON U5 is my first choice... but since our soundboard crew changes so often i'm not sure i'd get a consistent output

I tried a nice behringer acoustic amp for a while but the features and what not always just went over the top. For a straight up acoustic i just mic it up and hauling around a nice monitor is pretty much the same as lugging around another amp. I don't process my acoustic tone at all. When I had my JP I ran some reverb and delay with the piezo but honestly my acoustic tone is all about the clear tone now. So I try to keep it unadulterated by just running it into a monitor. You can always send the lie out in your monitor to the mix or even mic the monitor if the situation calls for it.

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

I was blown away by the Fishman Mini Loudbox. 60 Watts of great tone. The built-in chorus and reverb are nice touches. For under $300 it's almost a no-brainer for me.

The Traynor AM Studio also has a ton of nice features/effects packed into a 65 Watt wedge.

The Loudbox gets louder earlier on the dial than the Traynor and sounds a bit more natural/organic. The bass response from both of these amps is HUGE! If I were doing acoustic gigs /coffehouse style I wouldn't hesitate to use either one.