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May 2013
Posts: 37
Location: Bury St Edmunds England | I own a W597 and a 1581. I also have a cheap practise amp but want something better.
I am not concerned with the price.
My criteria is:-
1. Compact
2. Well made
3. And most importantly it must be (as we say in the UK) "the dogs bollocks". Something that truly does the Adamas sound justice.
I was thinking of looking at Mesa Boogie amps as I have been impressed by them for rock guitar playing but unsure how their amps fair with carbon fibres topped guitars.
Thanks
Marc |
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October 2005
Posts: 4047
Location: Utah | You should get an acoustic amp not an electric guitar amp.
More watts is better, but the speaker and cabinet are at least as important. I found that many of the lower wattage amps (15 or so) had crummy speakers and the tone wasn't so good. Plus the speakers distorted well before reaching full power. So they weren't usable except at low bedroom volumes.
We have a Crate Gunnison 60W acoustic amp which sounds very very good. It is reasonably small and portable, has adequate on board effects, and a built in tilt-stand on the bottom. In this class of amp you have several good choices, this is the one which sounded best to us and which hit our price point.
The Roland AC60 is also a very good amp. Very similar in features to the Crate but in a smaller more portable size, with a carrying case and shoulder strap. IF you'll be carrying it to performances, this is a very good amp. It isn't quite as loud as the Crate but my daughter's bandmate used it for bar/restaurant acoustic shows without any problem at all. |
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Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | There have been several threads in the archives on the best choice for acoustic amps. You could start there. I have had a fair amount of experience with powered pa systems lately (mostly from the listening end), including the Fishman and Bose line array systems using Adamas guitars. Both sound great, but I would lean toward the Bose L1 Compact over the comparable Fishman. If you want to spend more than $1000, you could go with the Bose L1 and even add a base for more base. That might get beyond your compact requirements, but the Fishman or Bose L1 Compact are as portable and compact as most decents sized acoustic amps. I have a 125 watt Crate acoustic amp, but it has a fair amount of hiss through the tweeter. If I had an extra $1000, I'd get the Bose.
Edited by Mark in Boise 2014-09-26 4:33 PM
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Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Mark, disconnect the tweeter. They all do that and most people just disconnect it. You won't notice much difference in tone and what you do notice can be compensated for by adjusting the controls. The hiss will be gone and you'll love your amp again. |
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Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Yes, I know. It's more than adequate for what I need, as are the several other amps and guitars I own. With all of them added together, I probably don't have $1000 into amps, but I've only played out with an amp once and then I used my little 30 watt Epiphone.
Right now I have other issues--all the guitars and amps are packed away while we try to sell our house. No fun not being able to play with my toys, or at least not conveniently. |
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Posts: 6994
Location: Jet City | AC60 |
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Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Perhaps we should be asking the purpose of the amplification? Home use? Small/medium/large venue? Need a vocal channel as well? Just looking to piss off neighbors? |
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May 2013
Posts: 37
Location: Bury St Edmunds England | I been looking round the internet and from a size point of view a Trace Elliot TA30 is ideal. They seemed to be well rated but although I know the make, I don't know these amps at all. |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | the trace is great
genz benz shanenedoah is also good
but the ultimate is the AER
they are amazing I never thought an amp can sound THAT good |
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Posts: 44
Location: Mexico City | The AER is the pinnacle of amps I agree, but tooooo expensive 
Trace Elliot TA30 is old and outdated
marcwell, you should address moody´s cuestions, Why you need such a good amp? What use?
Anyway, I use the roland AC 33, small, fantastic sound, natural and acoustic. And you don´t need cable, you can use batteries. You can plug a microphone. An Adamas plus this amp, you don´t need anything else for small gatherings. You will look like a professional. take alook to the video of the amp, you may like it http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DDgJjlkB-YJk&sa=U&ei=JmQqVMC4Aqr3... |
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Posts: 37
Location: Bury St Edmunds England | Moody-mainly for use at home with occasional small gig. |
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Posts: 37
Location: Bury St Edmunds England | Leo-I appreciate the trace TA30 is old but not sure why that marks it down. I realise that it only has an EQ for hi and lo but not expect to have to fiddle with that too much. I won't be using a mic through it either just the guitar. |
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Location: NJ | ta 30 is old and outdated?
tell that to major acts like heart that still tour with them
excellent amp well built sounds fantastic better than any swr any day of the week |
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May 2013
Posts: 37
Location: Bury St Edmunds England | Leo-just been taking a look at the Roland AC33 and I like it. The size is right, it has twin speakers which you don't seem to get for amps of this physical size and people are saying it sounds great. Just need to hear one in the flesh! |
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Posts: 44
Location: Mexico City | alpep, you´re the master, so if you say ta 30 is good, for sure. But it has it´s years, isn'it?
marcwel, when I plug either my Ovation, or my Adamas in the AC33, I don´t feel the need to buy anything else. The sound is fantastic, plus the convenience of having batteries, so you may take it to a meeting with friends, without the need to use a cable. Plus the amp has 2 reverb modes, so you can test them until you find the effect you enjoy the best. At the time I bought it, was the first amp designed for acoustic guitar with batteries. So the sound is very natural. I use it at home also, you can module the sound. I´m always amazed how good I sound with the guitar and the shure microphone, like a professional.
So, you have compact size, great effects, natural high quality sound, plus you can add the microphone later if you feel like singing, or a friend sing while you play. |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | don't go by me just look at what people are using on stages |
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Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | AER is silly good |
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Posts: 37
Location: Bury St Edmunds England | Well I've spent some time trying some amps out including Fishman Mini, Cort, Kustom, Laney and have found that the Roland AC40 had the sound which is closest to the sound of the guitar although I am looking to go with the AC60. |
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Joined:
May 2013
Posts: 37
Location: Bury St Edmunds England | Well I've spent some time trying some amps out including Fishman Mini, Cort, Kustom, Laney and have found that the Roland AC40 had the sound which is closest to the sound of the guitar although I am looking to go with the AC60. |
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Location: Colorado | I am thinking you should try an AER before you purchase...as I said before - silly good. |
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Posts: 251
Location: Seattle | So given the thread here, the ol accoustic Jr. needs to be retired? |
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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Phil Jones makes some pretty good small amps, too. |
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Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | boltonb - 2014-10-21 1:33 PM
Phil Jones makes some pretty good small amps, too.
Didn't you bring one to my house when you brought out your custom ssb Adamas? Sounded great..... |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Yes, Moody, that was the Phil Jones Cub. 100 watts, 11 pounds, XLR out, no FX, about the size of a shoe box. Excellent for living rooms, or a small personal monitor on stage. |
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Posts: 37
Location: Bury St Edmunds England | I've now owned the Roland AC60 Rosewood for 4 weeks now and what a gem it is. Maybe the AER would have sounded better but the general consensus says that you pay a hell of a lot more but it's not a hell of a lot better so the Roland steals it as the best sound for the money. Plus it comes with a fabulous carry case, a three year warranty here in the UK and is as cute as a button!
When played with the chorus on wide setting and the delay up full it just sounds wonderful, almost unrecognisable as a guitar which is a good thing as it makes my sound stand out from everyone else. I'm told that the Roland is just about the best sound when using a mic for vocals but as I'm an instrumentalist and not a singer this doesn't matter so much buy hey, who knows when some lucky lady might be invited to join me for some vocals?
Another interesting point is that when unplugged the 1581 is better than the W597, but when plugged into the AC60 I would say the W597 shines. I guess that's due to the pre-amp being a much newer design.
I absolutely love this amp but there is a downside. Whenever I play it I simply can't stop resulting in some pretty late nights and tired days but who cares, it's worth getting knackered for.
All the other amps I tried would have been good enough but this one has that something extra. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting a decent portable amp.
Thanks for everyone's replies |
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The right amplifier for my Adamas guitars
