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Joined:
July 2008
Posts: 40
Location: Madison, Wis | I am looking to purchase an acoustic amp. Any suggestions out there? Looking to spend around 250 to 400. Quit a few out there. Berhinger, Marshal, Fender....
I just want something that is going to give a good acoustic guitar sound, that I can also plug my mic into. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | Talk to Woody and see if he's still considering selling his Genz Benz Shen Jr. Great amp in your price range. |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Genz is a great amp. I think TR boy has one for sale too. That or a Roland AC60 or 90 is a good choice in that range, although the 90 will be higher. |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | Brian May has pretty good luck with this setup:
;) |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4820
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Acoustic amp?
Try one of these.
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6992
Location: Jet City | I did a video recently with me singing through the AC60 and using only it's onboard effects. It did a pretty decent job.
It might help us make a suggestion if you give some details on where you're going to use it. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| I stole a Genz-Benz Shen 100 from eBay and just got it today. I've heard great reviews of Genz-Benz & so far I think they're well deserved. Haven't had too much of a chance to play with all the effects yet, but so far I like the very clean tone. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | Wow. Nice grab, Serge. |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Serge, you must be livin right. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Originally posted by Trader Jim:
Serge, you must be livin right. Maybe so, Jim. I've certainly lucked into a couple of good deals lately.
BTW, if anyone else is interested in a used Shen 100 there's another one on the bay with a darn low current bid.
If you want a brand new GB, call Al! |
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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 3408
Location: GA USA | Good going. The seller took a bath on that one. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | I never tire of spreading the Bose gospel. Google it: Is the most satisfying at moderate volume levels. Our band invariably uses the "PAS L1 or L2" . |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4028
Location: Utah | Wis, the best thing is to try out a bunch if you can.
We auditioned about a dozen or so different amps from four or five manufacturers. The best sounding, meaning most naturally acoustic, to my ears (and my daughter's ears who's amp it is) was the Crate 60 W. The 30W Crate was ok but not as good. The 60W Gunnison has decent effects, two channels with one having a hybrid dual input jack for either 1/4" guitar or xlr mic, plus phantom power, two feedback notch filters that work well, a DI output on the back to run into a big board or PA sound system, and a cool little metal tilt stand built into the bottom if you want to tilt it up.
We did not try a Genz Benz.
The Roland AC60 also sounds good and has similar features. It does not sound as naturally acoustic to me, and it isn't as loud despite being the same wattage. You could play a small venue ok with it, but you probably can't rock the bar with it on a Saturday night. They do make a metal stand kind of like a beefy mic stand that you can mount to it, so it can be used as an elevated PA-like speaker. It also has the built in flip out metal tilt stand on the bottom. It is more expensive than the Crate. It is a nice small size and not so heavy, with a handy carry bag with shoulder strap.
Many of the lower wattage amps don't have two channels with separate controls, or they don't offer an XLR mic input. The Crate 60 Gunnison and the Roland AC60 amps work very well as personal PAs the way that you describe what you are looking for. My daughter has the Crate and her partner has the Roland which they use for various small venues, restaurants, and bars. Both amps to a fine job, with slightly different sounds.
If you plug into the lower wattage amps, crank them up. We found that many/most of the 15 or 30 watt units distorted before being very loud. The 60 watt amps did much better from that standpoint. |
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Acoustic Amp Help
