Acoustic amp?

B

Bima

New member
I'm completely new to playing guitar... about a month or so in. I have electric acoustic Luna and a fender. I pretty much play in my man cave at home for few hours each day.

I have OCD from my military days and my frustration starts with, I can not mimic the exact tone in the videos. I know its not that big of deal but I can not stop looking at AMPS online now. And I have no clue what I'm looking at or for.

My only hold over the past couple of days is my fear of walking into Guitar Center and walking out with Eric Clapton Style Amp https://waveadvice.com/beginner-guitar-amplifiers/ that I'll never get full use out of or my investment back. I've already been to Guitar Center once to get new strings on the beat up six string I picked up. End up leaving there with a second guitar that was screaming my name as soon as walk through the door and saw the room full of acoustics.

What's a descent begginner amp, with good quality sound that I can grow with over the next year, playing in my house, that's not going to break bank? As well as, it can be pass down to my little who's about 3 months in on violin but wants to play the guitar when she is big enough. (We got few years, she's only 5.)

Thanks in advance.
 
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Re: Acoustic amp?

Are you gigging? That’s about the only reason to buy an acoustic amp, unless you really dig that nasty piezo tone.
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

If you must amplify an acoustic
A powered PA speaker would work
This would also let you sing as well
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

Welcome to the forum!

What's your budget? You don't have to spend a lot of money here. Are you looking for an amp for both of your electric and acoustic?
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

I have a Laney GC80A
It has an acoustic amp and an electric amp built in the same chassis
With a 12 inch speaker
You can use either one or both
They are super cheap used
But a little hard to find
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

Boss Katana 50 has an acoustic setting that does a good job...if your put a Fishman Aura in front you can really get some cool acoustic guitar sounds...it is an amp and pedal combo that has enough variety to keep fueling your/her interest with a variety of tone options to explore...
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

Even the $100 new Peavey VIP 1 has an electric and acoustic settings. It isn't an investment amp, but it does sound really good, and the best of the approx $100 amps.
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

Katana 100 will do acoustic. It'll also do anything else you need it to, from 50s pop to new metal.
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

I use this mini powered monitor onstage with my Ovation:

TC FX150

It sounds awesome for what it is. The only downside is the fragile looking toy-like laptop power supply but I'd also add that it hasn't failed yet, not even after all the road abuse I gave to it.
 
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Re: Acoustic amp?

My stock answer for any beginner who wants an AMP -is Roland Cube/Boss Kantana.

Price versus Performance -they really can't be beat and they are so useful, you probably would never get rid of them no matter what expensive amp you may graduate to.
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

ehdwuld said:
If you must amplify an acoustic
A powered PA speaker would work
This would also let you sing as well
Click to expand...

I would agree. If it is just for an acoustic guitar, you can get a powered speaker fairly cheap. You can use it for keys down the line or crank MP3s at your summer BBQs. They are multipurpose creatures.
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

Doesn't the Katana 50 have a "Acoustic" mode? It is the best beginner amp imho but I really haven't tried it with an acoustic guitar.
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

Bima - welcome to the world of guitar!

You have a couple of issues to deal with:

The first applies to BOTH the electric and acoustic - you are hearing recording with a bunch of effects in addition to the basic guitar sound. There is likely some degree of chorus, delay, reverb and who knows what else on the recordings you are listening to. Ss that is going to be a challenge period.

Second, for the electric and the acoustic, you'll need TWO different amps. Ignore these two-in-one yahoo's. Most of those things are acoustic simulations for electric guitars. [I could be wrong about the more recent Boss amps mentioned]. Anyway - they will be hard to find, old and crappy, expensive, or some combination of the those problems.

So here is what I suggest:

#1 For the electric get a small Boss Katana. You'l never get rid of this. You don't need more than 20-30 watts for a small indoor practice amp. It will get you the "sounds" you want.

As for the acoustic...a couple of approaches.

#2. As mentioned - don't amplify it. Just strum and sing and be happy. I do it all the time. I suggest go with this for a while. It's what makes acoustic awesome. The pure sound and simplicity of it.

#3 Get a small Crate/Fender acoustic amp. I have one and use it a lot. Why? They generally have TWO inputs - one for a vocal mic and for an acoustic guitar. Acoustics sound crappy through an electric amp. They also usually have some built in effects. They make it easy to plug in a guitar, a mic, and add a little echo and sound awesome doing the singer/guitar thing. This is a nice fast/easy compromise. More/better than no amp, but not as flexible as some other things.

#4 A more complex alternative would be to get a powered speaker. This is going to be more expensive, but again, many will let you plug a 1/4 guitar cord straight in. Now - if you do this you can immediately amplify the acoustic. Many have multiple inputs so you can also hook up the mic as well (if you want to do that).

The bonus here is you can buy an acoustic pedal from Boss, Zoom, Fishman, or whoever that will have a TON of cool presets and effects. For example, I play a fairly cheap Ovation through one set to simulate a Martin D28 and a 12 string simulator with some delay and chorus and BAM - Boston More Than A feeling intro...And I'm just a step away from Poison Every Rose with a Gibson J45 setting and some reverb and a touch of chorus.
 
Re: Acoustic amp?

My Peavey VIP has an acoustic mode and a bass mode as well as two electric guitar modes

It would serve well for whatever one wants to plug in

But I still think a powered PA would be just as versatile
 
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