Acoustic Amps

[JammerMatt]

Got a question for the collective. An acquaintance is considering playing some coffee shop gigs with his acoustic guitar. Do any of y'alls have any amplifier recommendations?

I know nothing about his gear, except that I assume his acoustic has a pre-routed pickup of some kind. Coffee shop gigs are typically in a 50x50 foot space, with an audience of probably 20 max.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[tone4days]

Re: Acoustic Amps

if he is going to have a tiny PA to ampify his voice, i would recommed a yamaha ag stomp preamp into one of the PA channels .. simple to use and incredible tone .. eq to warm up the acoustic pickup as needed ... effects to sweeten it a touch ... foot switch instant feedback destroyer just in case ...

if he really wants an actual amp, the SWRs (strawberry blond, california blonde, etc) are really at or near the top of the class if he has the $$$ ...

the carvin AG100D that i use is a nice choice for cost and simplicity and light weight ... built in effects and pretty decent EQ ... certainly good enough for coffee house, but probably not recording ... another nice thing about the AG100D is that it has a mic input on ch3 (if he'll be singing) ... so he could show up with this amp, a guitar, a mic to sing into, and some cables and be set

and i gotta say, i played a godin through a little crate acoustic amp with digital effects and it did not sound bad at all ... if he's not picky and not looking to blow alot of $$, it will get the job done

hope this helps
cheers
t4d

 

[Rstlessone]

Re: Acoustic Amps

+1 on the Carvin AG100D great package. If he is picky and depending on the budget or need for a mic input, there are some awesome units around. Try these links:

http://www.genzbenz.com/
http://www.kustom.com/products/acoustic_amps/kaa35thdfx.asp
http://www.ultrasoundamps.com/main.html
http://www.yorkville.com/default.asp?p1=0&p2=0&p_id=4

Besides these there many more, I like the Yorkville and the Genz Benz units myself. Hope this helps.

 

[MikeRocker]

Re: Acoustic Amps

I actually get a good sound out of my little Fender Acoustasonic Jr. It sounds natural and has a few nice controls like a feedback notch and a String Dynamics control to roll out some of that harsh piezo-ness.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Acoustic Amps

I dunno why, but I love the look of the Marshall acoustic amps. There's just something cool about having a Marshall behind you, while playing acoustic. LOL

Or than that, I'd probably opt for SWR or Trace Elliot.

 

[LesStrat]

Re: Acoustic Amps

Bang for the buck: Peavey Ecoustic. 100W, mic channel, feedback eliminator, reverb, etc.

Roland makes some cool amps as well.

 

[Hellion]

Re: Acoustic Amps

For my coffee house duo, I just plug straight into my sound system. For the really small places I use a Fender Passport 150. I can add a little reverb if I want, but it sounds just fine dry.

 

[RockNRoling]

Re: Acoustic Amps

forget acoustic amps... they don't sound natural and they are pretty worthless. Just pick up a PA head (Mackie PPM if you can), some 12 or 15" speaker cabinets and you are good to go. Just run your acoustic (with either a piezo or a fishman Rare Earth) right into the board, or through a DI box. Your acoustic will sound much more natural strait through the PA. You are going to need the PA for your vocals anyways...

 

[Sabe]

Re: Acoustic Amps

I get great results with an Yorkville Acoustic Master AM150. You can check out the specs here to see if has the features you'd want. In a nutshell, if you want to be able to walk in the place with just a guitar in one hand, and this amp/pa in the other, then you'll love the no muss-no fuss of this type of rig.

I've also heard the step-down model, the AM100 and it would work in the setting decribed, but I preferred the 150 because of the added wattage and larger speakers.

http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?type=32&cat=17&id=206

Plugging into a house PA (or bringing your own head and monitors) is always a choice too, and I guess it all depends on the size of the room and the crowd, but for a smallish room and a crowd of 20, I'd go with the Acoustic Master, (or any other style of combo acoustic amp). In theory, you could probably pump the AM150 into a house PA, although I've never tried/needed to myself.

also, fwiw, Yorkville is the parent company of Traynor... in fact, the foot pedal that came with my AM150 has the traynor logo on it.

hope this helps,
sabe

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Acoustic Amps

I dunno why, but I love the look of the Marshall acoustic amps. There's just something cool about having a Marshall behind you, while playing acoustic. LOL

Or than that, I'd probably opt for SWR or Trace Elliot.

I A/B'd the Marshall 100 watt rig with my SWR Strawberry Blonde (80 watts). I liked my SWR better.

The Marshall is cool, but the bass is a bit overpowering and it doesn't have a lot of shimmer in the highs. Cool for playing rock with an acoustic, but it's not as transparent as the blonde.

The SWR is much more natural sounding, is an easier carry, seems to be built better, and at 80 watts, it's louder than the Marshall. :naughty:

The only fault I have found with the SWR is that it doesn't have a seperate mic channel and input. Not a big deal if you just play and don't sing or if you sing through the PA, but if you want a rig that will handle voice AND acoustic, the Strawberry won't do it.


The California Blonde has multiple channels, though. :burnout:

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Acoustic Amps

forget acoustic amps... they don't sound natural and they are pretty worthless. Just pick up a PA head (Mackie PPM if you can), some 12 or 15" speaker cabinets and you are good to go. Just run your acoustic (with either a piezo or a fishman Rare Earth) right into the board, or through a DI box. Your acoustic will sound much more natural strait through the PA. You are going to need the PA for your vocals anyways...

Umm, no.

 

[Artie]

Re: Acoustic Amps

Can we make suggestions of stuff we've never seen, heard, touched, or played? :laugh2:

Only because I have a little GAS for this . . .

The Fishman Loudbox

Also, available from ShoreLine Music

Looks like a nice amp.

 

[RockNRoling]

Re: Acoustic Amps

Umm, no.

ummm ya. :smack: What is the point of buying an acoustic guitar amp that has little control over your vocals, sits on the ground and can't understand anything from the back of the room. What if this guy gets good, and is asked to play at a bigger place? He will have spent his money on the wrong piece of gear. You want speakers on poles so they can travel over peoples heads. That way people can understand you in the middle or the back of the room. I have owned the fender Acoustisonics, I owned a yorkville (if you are dead set on an acoustic amp, I recomend the yorkville stuff), I have played through the Trace Elliot amps too, and I prefer a good PA system over all of them. All the acoustic amps you guys are recomending are $350-$600. You would be much better off getting a small PA head, and a couple 12" mains. That way if you decide to add another guitar player or have some one else sing with you, you can.

Bengi, if you are going to disagree with me, chime in with your own opinion. Don't just be rude and say, "Umm, no "