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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | I'm now the proud owner of an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe CS 257 and would like some advice as to a suitable amplifier to get the best out of my new baby.Power is not an issue as it's purely for home use (for now anyway). What I want is a warm, clean "valve" tone, don't need bells and whistles.
Any suggestions? Oh, and it needs to be available in the UK,and not stupidly expensive.
Cheers,
Bradley |
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Posts: 1116
Location: Keller, TX | Do a search. There are tons of previous posts on this subject. I have the Genz Benz Shen Jr that is plenty for me at home; clean full sound.
Basically, go to the store with your guitar. Try them all. Buy the one that sounds best to you. |
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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | Cheers, I'm new to the site and not up to speed yet, will figure out how to search and do just that. |
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Location: NJ | I'm not positive, but I seem t'remember here that GenzBenz are a bit diff t'get in the UK . . .
I've always been partial to TraceAcoustic . . .
(wish I still had my old one) |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Just go to the top of the page and click "search". Remember to search "the Vault" as well as the
"forum", as threads from 2003 and before are locked away there and not included in the forum search. |
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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | Most " boutique" type amps are quite hard to find here, which makes auditioning them a real pain,and usually involves a long drive to a shop that has one in stock. Mainstream stuff, Marshall etc , is easy to find, but not everyone wants a Marshall!
Bradley |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Aren't Trace's made in England? |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Bradley,
I'm guessing from your choice of guitars you aren't willing to jump right in at the high end on amps. I consider Trace and GenzBenz to be in the great, but more expensive than I need category. Behringer and Crate are making some nice small acoustic amps at lower prices. I use a 30 watt Epiphone that suits my needs, although I hardly plug in anymore. I don't know if it's still available, but I got it new for a little over $100 locally about 6 months ago. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | The little Fender Acoustasonic Jr is not a bad amp for the price and I assume it would be readily available in England. |
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Posts: 354
Location: Flushing, MI | I'll vote for the Acoustasonic too, but I've never owned one. Just tried them out in the shop.
However I will warn you about one to stay away from, and that is the Peavey Ecoustic amp. I've read about their speaker problems, and shortly after that - KABOOM - my speaker fried. I traded it away for something (can't remember what) and never looked back. At shows, I always just plug into the PA anyway. From my experience, no acoustic amp will ever sound as good as a decent PA.
And did you say something about wanting a "valve tone"? Not for an acoustic guitar you don't. This is where solid state reigns supreme. The last thing you'd ever want in an acoustic guitar amp is tubes.
I hate to say it, but I've played through a couple of Crate acoustic amps that I thought sounded pretty good. I can't vouch for their reliability though. |
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Location: the Netherlands | I use a multi-effectprocessor (at this moment the BOSS VF1, next week I try the BOSS GT PRO) as a pre-amp.That goes straigt to the PA / active monitor. |
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Location: Port Charlotte, FL | Roland AC-60 is small, nice sounding and has a few nice effects to round out the acoustic sound. I have used Ovations through valve units and it kills the brightness of the instrument. |
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Location: Hicksville, NY | I'd shoot for the Fender Acoustasonic, if you can afford it. If money is an issue, try looking into the Ibanez Troubadour (TA) series. I have the TA35, and I'm quite happy with it. Very reasonably priced too.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_id/11... |
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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | Well, you guys have certainly given me plenty to think about.
I've tracked down a selection at shops I know and trust, so this weekend will be trying Fender,Roland,Behringer,Crate and Ibanez,(plus an AER and a little 16w Kustom with a celestion speaker that seems , on paper anyway, pretty good),can't wait!
The Genz Benzs and Trace Elliotts do seem to be too high end for my needs, and anyway wouldn't get approved by the "pleasure police", (my missus). Even if I pay part in cash and hide the receipt so I can tell her they were cheaper than they were "50% off in the sale darling, an amazing bargain", used that too many times before.
Interesting that valve amps kill the tone, why is that? |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Bradley:
Valve amps don't kill tone. They just have the kind of tone most acoustic guitarists don't want. Vacuum tube amps are great for electric guitars because you can dial up some nice warm crunch/distortion. Your guitar has piezo pick-ups, not magnetic ones like an electric guitar. Piezo and distortion is not a good combination.
Solid state amps are the way to go for acoustic sound. For the money, I think the Crate CA line of amps is great. |
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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | So Takamine guitars fitted with cool- tube pre-amps don't use piezo pick-ups then? I assumed they did because there's no visable pickup, even when you squint through the sound hole.Or am I missing something.I nearly bought a Takamine, but the Ovation,(despite it not being a U.S made one,sorry all you purists out there) felt really nice to play, much more like my beloved( U.S ) telecaster than any acoustic/electro-acoustic I'd ever come across.I'd love to get a U.S made Ovation, maybe the 1778T that everyone raves about,but over here in Blighty, they ain't cheap at around $1300! (And we now pay £1 a litre for gas = $1.85 !!
Back to amps :
I've also been recommended the Marshall AS50 R and the Ashdown Acoustic Radiator 1, the Marshall looks really good on paper, and there are some good deals around, because it's a British product and mainstream.........
Have a good weekend guys....... |
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| A tube in the preamp is not the same as tube power in the power amp. Many preamps for acoustics and microphones have a tube to add warmth. Only Takamine have put the tube onboard. It's a really cool system. And the pickup is a piezo.
The Marshalls are great amps, a lot of bang for the buck as well. Half the price of a similarly powered Roland.
The Ashdowns are terrific - but they are a lot more money.
There are ways around paying UK prices available to you at the click of an email - ask al for a price on the guitar you want and then email me and I'll tell you about the duty/tax/exchange costs. It's still way cheaper than Uk prices. |
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Location: closely held secret | Schroeder!!!! Welcome back!
Bradley, I have an AS50R, I'm very happy with it. For small venues and such it's very nice. Good chorus on it, too. When I use effects I use outboard pedals, so I wasn't looking for anything high-techy - just good dependable acoustic sound. |
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Location: RI. That small State out East | My small PA makes me smile.
If you ever need to sing along it kills two birds...
A small "Profile System One" by Kustom is what I have... I don't know if it's available.
Woz |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by Woz:
If you ever need to sing along it kills two birds... Woz, I assume this amp is not PETA approved? |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | maybe some voice lessons are in order... |
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Location: Massachusetts | love my crate ca. Only 15 watts but plenty of punch and the tone is terrific. |
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Location: Denver, PA | OK. I must ask. If you are just playing at home, why would you need a amp with a acoustic? My family complains enough with just my acoutsic. If I amped it they would really yell.
Bill |
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Location: closely held secret | Because some things just sound cooler when they're louder. :cool:
And sometimes I'm experimenting with reverb, delay, chorus, etc. Headphones just don't cut it. |
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Location: NW NJ | What John (Waskel) said. My wife is just glad that my mid-life crisis only involved a yellow bug and guitar stuff!! :D |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | and sometimes I WANT TO ANNOY the family :cool: |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by stephent28:
and sometimes I WANT TO ANNOY the family :cool: Amen, brother. |
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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | Bill,
I often work from home and when the family are out I like to make some noise!
Also I've been playing some Paul Weller (don't know if you've heard of him?) "unplugged", ie non-electric, stuff and ironically can't get his sound with an acoustic alone. Sound like he uses some reverb and chorus.
Finally, I need an amp to drown out the noise of a pig being f****d by an elephant, which passes for my singing. Or as my 5 year old son so nicely puts it "Daddy, why are you pretending to sing?" Maybe I should take up heavy metal, seems to me my voice is perfect for that!
Squeeeeeel like a pig.......... |
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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | Well, after much auditioning, I finally went for the Marshall AS50R.
It brought out some real warmth from the guitar whilst preserving the bright crystalline character which seems to be a defining sound for this guitar at least.
The onboard reverb and chorus work really well and give me a lot of scope to play with.
There are some great amps out there the AER acouticube 3, and the Ashdown acoustic radiator 1 being outstanding, but for the money the Marshall was unbeatable, and is an amp I'll grow into, rather than out of.
Thanks to everyone who offered advice.
Mr B from Chipping Sodbury |
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Location: Parrish, FL | we now pay £1 a litre for gas = $1.85 !! Let me see....
Hmmmmmm
1 Pound/ltr for petrol, about 4 ltr/gal= 4 Pounds /1gal
A gallon weighs about 8 pounds.
That's what I thought, you're getting it for 1/2 price. Quit whining. :D
Blues |
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Location: closely held secret | Bradley, I don't know if you noticed, but the AS50R also has send/return and a nice little XLR on the back which is a DI out. |
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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | Waskel,
Oh yeah, it has, thanks! Something else to play with.........nice.
BluesSailor,
Not sure about your maths there me old mate, if you divide $1.85 by George W's IQ, multiply that by the the average miles per gallon of a typical SUV, add the exchange rate, divide my the difference between a US and a UK gallon, allow for the fact that the gravitational constant is lower here cos we're further East, and add Jerry Springers salary, I reckon we pay 20,000,000 times more for our petrol than you do.
Everything's more expensive, the medicine to control my multiple personality disorder costs $2500 each per year, and there's 5 of me!
Bradley, Alphonso, Mary, Kurt, and George W |
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Location: Parrish, FL | :D :D :D :D :D
....and there is 5 of me.... :eek:
Blues |
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Location: Chipping Sodbury, England | So which one of you is the ovation fan shipmate? |
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Location: East Wenatchee, WA | I purchased a Barbetta 23C about six months ago mostly to use as a portable PA system. It has 5 line and one mic input. This thing is lightweight, yet has a 15 inch speaker/horn and packs a pretty good punch for small venues. I play my 1537 through it for leading worship and the thing sounds pretty remarkable. A bit pricey in the $400 range, but it compares favorably to my Mackie/EV PA system. I have also ran my wifes XP60 Roland and a bass and it makes a great combo. Even use a converter to plug in a second microphone, although tough to get a lot of volume out of the second mic. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Welcome back, Jeff. Where you been? I finally added a 1537 to the arsenal. I've been working on that (mostly whining about missed opportunities) since you last posted. Now if I could just play worth ____, I'd host a NW OFC gathering. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Trust me, it is not a prerequisite! |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | When I bought my Classic, I was in a little music store in Moscow, Idaho for my daughter's graduation. A guy I work with who has an office 2 doors down walks by and stops and plays Classical Gas. Wow! I just had to have that guitar, but it has never sounded as good as when he played it. I bought my 1537 and showed it to him. He fiddled around with it and said it was the best acoustic he ever played and the action was almost as good as an electric. Of course, it hasn't sounded as good when I play it. I've figured out that if I played better, the guitars would sound better. |
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What amplifier?