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Posts: 120
Location: Miami | Can anyone give me a heads up on which amps are better for Ovations - electric ones or acoustic? Thanks! |
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Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | FENDER " Acoustasonic "...Big or small ... juzt my opinion ..
Vic |
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Posts: 1227
Location: Connersville, Indiana | Ditto........ In a pinch Cube amps with built in effects |
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August 2009
Posts: 602
Location: Hanau, Hessen, Germany | For acoustic guitars an acoustic amp is the right decision. That's what they are made for ;) |
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Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | I use a Roland AC 60 and the Roland Street Cube. |
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Location: Flahdaw | The Fishman Loudbox mini just got a good review. $299 REVIEW |
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Posts: 815
Location: Colorado | I've played through Fender Acoustasonic (the original non-DSP), Roland AC-60, and Genz Benz Shen Jr. All are good acoustic amps and do well in smaller settings. I'd love to run through a Trace TA100R just once to see how it does. I also read good things about Fishman stuff.
It really all boils down to personal preference anyway, but I think any of the amps mentioned are a good place to start. |
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Posts: 120
Location: Miami | Originally posted by kitmann:
Ditto........ In a pinch Cube amps with built in effects What do mean by 'in a pinch'? If we can't afford anything better? I was actually looking at the Cube 80 and wondering if it might be a good choice, considering that Ovations kind of cross the line between acoustic and electric guitars. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | Crate 60W acoustic amp. Sounds great. We played most everything that was in local stores and found that amp to sound the best.
Lower wattage acoustic amps didn't sound as good, due to smaller speakers and probably overall cheaper construction and design goals. Most notably, the speakers tended to distort well below full power, whereas the higher wattage amps had better speakers that could handle the rated power. So when you test drive amps be sure to put in the earplugs and crank them up to be sure it goes cleanly as loud as you need it.
Look for features such as a direct line out, which is very handy for plugging into the house PA and using your amp for a stage monitor or simply to control your own sound and effects. Look for a tilt stand built in (the Crate 60W and the Roland AC60 have it), a very hand feature on stage. Combined 1/4" and XLR jacks allow you to plug in a guitar or a mic, or use the XLR on your higher end Ovation. Two channels allow you to have one guitar and a mic, for example, making your amp a portable PA.
Amps made for electric guitars don't have the full frequency range that an acoustic guitar puts out. Some electric guitar amps have selectable voices, one being an acoustic simulator. In a pinch it will do, but it is not a very good sound at all. |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I have a Crate CA15 which I rarely use cuz it is quite Loud.
It has an 8" coaxial speaker (built-in tweeter like a car stereo).
And Crate has a whole family of CA amps that go from 10 to 120 watts.
Maybe larger.
Mine sounds quite nice.
But since I am only playing for myself the acoustic guitar itself is usually loud enough. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | Originally posted by Timolin:
Originally posted by kitmann:
Ditto........ In a pinch Cube amps with built in effects What do mean by 'in a pinch'? If we can't afford anything better? I was actually looking at the Cube 80 and wondering if it might be a good choice, considering that Ovations kind of cross the line between acoustic and electric guitars.
Electric guitars and amps are very mid-heavy, whereas acoustic guitars and amps have more bass and much more high frequencies. You can't put that back in later. So if you plug your acoustic guitar into an electric amp, your amp just can't reproduce the acoustic sound accurately.
The simulations on some amps use some kind of shimmery effect sort of like a chorus that emulates an acoustic sound. It approximates the impression of an acoustic guitar. It may be good enough for your needs, and in some applications it may be good enough. But compared to an acoustic amp you'll hear the difference like night and day.
The best thing to do is take your Ovation to a music store and plug into several amps and do the comparison. Also, plug an electric guitar into the acoustic amp. You'll hear that it sounds pretty OK, and with a little bit of eq tweaking you can get it really pretty nice.
If you need a double-duty rig, you could get an acoustic amp. Then get a cheap ($100 or less) effects box to plug your electric into and run that into the amp. I have a Korg Pandora, there are other excellent brands out there, which I have plugged direct into PA systems with outstanding results. The box has emulations of amps, plus effects like distortion, reverb, chorus, and delay. While it isn't perfect, it is darn good and a much better compromise than going in the other direction and trying to get the acoustic to sound really good through an electric amp.
If you are mostly plugging in an electric and only have a passing need to amplify the acoustic, then getting the electric amp may be more logical for you. The cube amps are good, I used to have a Cube30 and liked it. Also check out the Fender Super Champ XD, a really great little (but loud) amp. |
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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I use Acoustasonic Juniors w/DSP for practice, a Genz Acoustic Pro with the band, and if we're doing something with a lot of electric grit, I'll use a Vox AC15H1TVL. I've owned a Genz Shen Jr and Trace TA100R in the past, both very good amps. Al has a Genz Shen Jr. right now for $299, which is a terrific price on an excellent amp for most smaller apps, including anything at the house. I used one for several years as a stage monitor. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Genz bent.
as you can see from the wide range of responces there is no "one" answer. |
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August 2009
Posts: 120
Location: Miami | Some great answers here. Many thanks! |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | GenzBenz fan myself although the AAD CUB series is a great amp w/o any onboard effects. |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | Call me weird, but I set up TWO classics at every show:
Bose L1
Fishman Loudbox (non mini) 100
the tone ROCKS!!!! |
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April 2010
Posts: 1227
Location: Connersville, Indiana | I guess I meant to say was, if you can not afford a nice acoustic amp the roland cube amp does great. I have a cube and use it in senior citizen homes when I play or real small venues with out a PA. |
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November 2004
Posts: 382
Location: USA | Give the California Blonde a try.
Its really up to your ears... |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I tried the roland ac60 and it is nice. The fishman loadbox is good too. The Genz Benz is top notch, and the Fender AcoustiSonic is pretty good. I haven't tried the ADD but everyone likes it, and it's portable.
For me, the first thing I look at is the weight, then volume, then tone. If I can't carry it comforably, then I don't want it. Then I want to be heard, then I want it sounding good. |
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Best amps for Ovations?