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Posts: 400
Location: Northwest Arkansas | I have a 30 watt crate I use around the house and an old British Trace Elliot TA 200S to use live. Amps have changed a lot in the last few years and I've been thinking about selling what I have and buying something new. Mainly cause it's gonna cost over 300 to put new speakers in the TE. Tell me what you think. Please. |
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April 2011
Posts: 44
Location: Canada | I just recently played an acoustic amp by Carvin and it's now on my list of things I need. Great tonal characteristics and flexability. And the price.....$399. I could spend more than twice that on any number of amps, but I honestly don't think they would do much better. The only other one I considered was made by AER, but after playing a gig with the AG100D by Carvin my mind is made up. It's really like a small P.A., 3 channels with active EQ on each, and a 5 band master graphic EQ.
I played it with a guitar and bass plugged in at the same time with no loss of clarity-good separation between the bass player and I. Good for keyboards and vocals too! So there ya' go, thems my thoughts  |
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December 2001
Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Bose L1. Size, sound, portability... I've heard several and while many others are great amps including crate, genz, trace, rockman, and roland.... they all come in 2nd place behind the L1 in my opinion. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Like most everything else, it depends upon your budget and intended use. The Bose tower is terrific, but it is expensive and overkill if you have access to a pro level house sound reinforcement system. I use Fender, Genz Benz, and Phil Jones acoustic amps. I've also owned Trace Eliott which are very nice as well, at least, the older units from the 90's (haven't tried anything recent). I prefer the tone of the Genz amps (I currently use a Shenendoah Acoustic Pro) slightly more than the Fender acoustic amps (I use a pair of Acoustasonic Jrs w/DSP). Although I prefer to use outboard effects, I have found the DSP effects on the Fenders to be better (richer, options, variation, depth) than those on the Genz. Most reasonable quality acoustic amps will provide what you'd need to play a solo gig at, say, a small club or coffee house, i.e., multiple channels for mic and guitar, independent reverb and chorus on each channel, decent wattage, and an XLR output for the house PA. |
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Posts: 823
Location: sitting at my computer | GM Thompson - 2012-04-27 1:08 AM I just recently played an acoustic amp by Carvin and it's now on my list of things I need. A fine choice IMO. Bought my AG100D with the 112AG extension speaker over 8 years ago. Have been very happy with it. Channels for guitar, mic and effects. There had been some complaints of intermittent signal losses, (on older models I believe) but I never experienced any of that with mine. Carvin apparently fixed that problem. Perhaps not as compact / portable as some newer setups, but for way less expense it's a great acoustic amp setup with ample power. IMO YMMV
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December 2006
Posts: 6994
Location: Jet City | I use a Roland AC60. It's small, versatile, and works/sounds phenomenally well. Most times I use it for tweeking my sound prior to going into a PA.
It's rare that I use an acoustic amp stand-alone, so anything bigger is really overkill. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12755
Location: Boise, Idaho | I have a friend who gigs regularly with an Adamas. He used a Carvin AG100D for years and swore by it. Recently he had it up for sale because he bought the Fishman SL1. I think he was mostly impressed with the small size and the price he got. I thought about picking up his Carvin, but it would just be another piece of gear that sat around the house. He did have the signal loss problem once when I was in the audience. He had to take a break and get a second Carvin he had as a backup. If the test of a good acoustic amp is how much it sounds just like the guitar, but louder, I like the Genz-Benz, but I haven't had much opportunity to really do a good comparison. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | I like my Fishman Loudbox Mini, but they just came out with a newer one, a little bigger, with more settings. |
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January 2009
Posts: 1249
Location: Texas | Like the Prof, I really enjoyed the quality of sound the Shen produces...but it was a beast in size...a tremendous acoustic amp...a violinist purchased it from me. I decided to go with an UltraSound. I am very pleased with it and would go back with one, if my son borrowed it permanently.
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February 2012
Posts: 73
Location: New Jersey | I have a 30 watt Ultrasound-an inexpensive amp, but I like the sound. I also have the Bose L1 Classic, and that rocks. It is expensive though- I bought mine used- with the base module it still came to $1500. They have the L1 compact, which is under 1k new- |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Genz Benz Compak 300. Small in size but big and full in sound.
Plus you can add an extension cab which doubles the power and gives and even fuller sound. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Jay makes a good point about size. Every amp I haul over 30 pounds these days sits on a custom rolling platform (with the big blue wheels) or is in a rolling ATA case. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6994
Location: Jet City | stephent28 - 2012-04-27 10:14 AM Genz Benz Compak 300. THat's one I've seriously been looking at, the head only model. My wallet's a bit too thin right now though. If you have the $, buy this one for sure. |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | I love the Bose L1. I also get a great sound from my Fishman (mini) Loudbox. In tandem (Fishman as monitor) they are stellar!
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May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | AER Alpha. It's the baby of the AER range but it is the best sounding amp I've tried with Ovation guitars. Just wonderful (and light and portable) |
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January 2006
Posts: 1478
Location: Michigan | the best is a marshal with a 5 foot stack. play loud ........... GWB |
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October 2009
Posts: 133
Location: Ohio | I have a Roland AC60. I bought it because my Grandpa swore by them and I was able to find one at a very good price when I was in the market for one. TBH I've never even plugged in to anything else (with my acoustics) so I can't really compare it to anything. I think it sound great though for what it's worth. |
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March 2006
Posts: 269
Location: Nîmes, south of France | AER Alpha with an Aphex acoustic Xciter box.
Small size, light weight, great sound. |
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May 2006
Posts: 4226
Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | Slightly off topic I know, but every time I see Arnaud's signature line, I want to fly to France, get him drunk, wait for him to pass out, and run away with his Book Viper.  |
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October 2005
Posts: 4044
Location: Utah | We have a Crate 60W Gunnison. I think it is the best sounding of the acoustic amps we tested before buying. Plenty of power for gigs, decent enough effects, a line out to the house system, tilt stand built into the bottom (a very nice feature), and quite portable. The Roland AC60 is a very similar unit but a bit smaller and lighter. It has a nice carrying case with shoulder strap. So the Roland is a close second for me. It isn't as loud as the Crate, the only negative thing I can say about it. |
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January 2007
Posts: 137
Location: Massachusetts |
If the weight isn't the problem (78lbs.) you should look into a Roland JC 120. It's the most sterile sound in amps that I've had the pleasure of playing through, and the chorus effect is world class. It uses two 60 watt amplifiers with two 12" speakers, two channels with hi and lo inputs and ample volume for any gig. |
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November 2008
Posts: 400
Location: Northwest Arkansas | I've decided to put casters on my Trace Elliot(on one end)and one of those pull out luggage bars on the other end. Replace the speakers and live with what I have. I kinda like the little 30 watt Crate and a DI to the board or xlr out of my Adamas and use the monitor for my amp. |
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January 2007
Posts: 137
Location: Massachusetts | I picked up a collapsable hand cart at Big Lots for $20.00 for my JC120 and it saves modifying your amp. |
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April 2012
Posts: 25
Location: SoCal | I have gone to the small mixer/powered monitor route vs the amp. This way I either go through my own rig or through the PA via a Spectrum DI box.
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November 2008
Posts: 400
Location: Northwest Arkansas | I like the tip Javaman! |
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Has anybody here tried out the Fishman SoloAmp? I have always liked the portability idea behind it (the price is horrendous) and wanted to try one out. I am currently using an older Peavey Ecoustic, which I have replaced the main speaker with a real acoustic speaker and added a tweeter. It sounds very nice, but is rather heavy. |
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Posts: 140
| I have an Ultrasound AG15 that I use for small venues. Sounds like a much bigger amp.
Edited by matrix 2012-04-30 10:59 PM
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Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | bvince - 2012-04-30 12:14 PM
Has anybody here tried out the Fishman SoloAmp? I have always liked the portability idea behind it (the price is horrendous) and wanted to try one out. I am currently using an older Peavey Ecoustic, which I have replaced the main speaker with a real acoustic speaker and added a tweeter. It sounds very nice, but is rather heavy.
I have tried it out in the store and it sounds okay....I think there are better options for the money |
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February 2012
Posts: 73
Location: New Jersey | vince, I was thinking of getting the Fishman - I AB'd it with the Bose L1 and there was no comparison IMO. So I bought the L1 Classic (or Model 1).The one thing I should have tried was the L1 compact- same price as the SoloAmp and if it sounds close to the L1 "big boys"- that would be what I would tell you to look at. Do a side by side if possible. |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Roland CubeStreet... It is loud enough, very versatile, only weighs 12 pounds and runs on batteries.
and if you stand it on end you can sit on it. 
Really, it has many COSM amp simulations... But for an Ovation I just run it through the PA channel.
(Now back to the more "normal" suggestions) |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Cube street is great...for...the street, which is what it's for. Don't try to do any coffee shop gig or anything with it tho... |
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Thanx for the advice Scanman, I'll check it out. |
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October 2009
Posts: 133
Location: Ohio | I hired Bruce Egnator to personally hand wire 4 50 watt heads so that I could create panning effects. Jim Marshall collaborated with him on the effort. Jim had to fly back and forth several times (at my expense of course). The whole thing was quite costly but totally worth it. I won’t plug in to anything else. At this point anything less sounds shrill to uninspired at best. It’s all 24 K gold wiring etc so it matches the gold trim on my Porsche. |
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What's your favorite acoustic amp and why?