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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4026
Location: Utah | Ok, so I'm old and been out of the mainstream music scene for 20 years. Back in the old days, you just bought an amp for your electric guitar. If you were rich and had the urge, you'd buy a nice tube amp. If you weren't, you bought a bipolar transistor amp, and if you were tech savvy you'd build an FET pre-amp to get a warm tube sound.
Fast forward to today, and my teenage daughter is the proud owner of a new 1778T Elite T in Red Flame. Her teacher tells me that we should look at an amp made for acoustic guitars because it will sound so much better than an amp for an electic guitar. Her needs are just for goofing off at home or at a friends house, so she doesn't have to fill an auditorium with hundreds of watts of sound.
So what's the story on these newfangled acoustic amps? |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5327
Location: Cicero, NY | Welcome aboard, FlySig. The first thing you should do is go to the top of this page and do a search on 'acoustic amps'. The best, worst and everything in between have been discussed here many times and a search should give you a ton to think about. :) |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Welcome, Sig;
NICE guitar yer daughter's got!!
This topic's been discussed (AdNauseum) several times here.
Use the "SEARCH" function at the top of the page and type in "Acoustic Amps (or Amplifiers)" and you get a BUNCH of info.
The gist of it is that an acoustic is designed to give a better representation of the nuances of an acoustic/electric guitar. A small PA System'd work well also. An electric amp just sounds too harsh and "brittle".
Some good ones are TraceAcoustic, GenzBenz, AER, Crate, UltraSound, . . it goes on and on . . .
Stick around long enough, you'll get a shitload of opinions . . (some that might not even stink :-)
Welcome! |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 1026
Location: Back in the Valley of the Sun Mesa Az. | I own a CA60 and a CA250. Both are great acoustical amps. Sounds like a CA60 would be just the right size for your daughter. It's small and portable, but yet has enough punch if she ever wanted to play out with some friends somewhere. A CA60 can be had for a couple hundred dollars most anytime on ebay.
Norse(JMHO)man1 |
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Joined:
September 2004
Posts: 1180
Location: Vermont USA | Welcome
I have a Fender Acoustasonic 30 It does the job well mine does not have all of the built in effects and I like it that way.
Pauly |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 400
Location: North Texas | You can buy a mixer, like a MX602A from Berhinger, for 50 bucks, maybe less. Actually, any mixer will work. She can plug in to her boom box, or home stereo if it has an AUX input. A setup along those lines can sound pretty good. She could plug her mp3 player into the mixer and jam along with her gitfiddle. If she plans on playing Carngie Hall, however, she'll need a better amp. Welcome back Sig, to the mainstream. |
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Joined:
March 2004
Posts: 241
Location: Le Havre (France) | Welcome FlySig !
If you can afford, go for a AER Compact 60 or even better a Schertler David.
You won't be disappointed. |
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I'm a little less picky, or should I say a lot more frugle about amps. I looked around, and tried several different ones, and ended up choosing a Peavy Ecoustic 112. The thing can really take being thrown around and was a lot cheaper. I also picked up a Zoom acoustic guitar effects pedal, and with those two working together I can get quite a wide variety of tones and effects. I can also run a mic through the second on-board channel. |
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Joined:
September 2004
Posts: 777
Location: East Wenatchee, WA | I had multiple needs rather than just acoustic guitar amplification, yet I didn't want to truck around my full PA system either, so I bought a Barbetta 23C "active speaker". Basically this little light weight gem is a powerful bi-amped speaker with a 5 channel mixer built in. It has a mic input and 4 TRS channels with one overall eq and a direct out plus effects in and out. All that to say, if you daughter decides to start singing and gigging, she can now add a microphone and really get with the program, plus when she moves up to the big time, she can use it as a monitor while sending the mix to the Carnegie Hall big board.
Have fun!!!!! |
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Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 76
Location: Kent, England | I've had a Marshall AS100D for a number of years. I have gigged with it and it has never let me down. They also do a smaller one with similar spec.
Cheers
Terry |
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Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | As a starter/practice Amp, I've heard very good things about the Ibanez-TA20
Very easy to find under $175 |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | Even though we all tell you to do a search, we can't resist reoffering our opinions. I have a little 30 watt Epiphone that I got new for about $120. It works fine. I've found that I use it less than I used to, possibly since my 1537 sounds so good unplugged that it seems wasteful. They are fun to play with, though. In the few months since I bought it, Crate and Behringer have come out with some nice, cheap acoustic practice amps. Check those out.
I can't remember if her Elite has an XLR output, but if it does, get an amp with an XLR input jack. It makes a big difference in the clarity of the sound.
If she has some friends with A/E guitars, look for an amp with 2 input jacks, or make sure all her friends have their own amps.
On the other end of the spectrum, for real quality and high price, go with a GenzBenz, Trace Elliot or the Fender Acoustasonic. The last one is probably the cheapest pricewise. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4026
Location: Utah | Well, guys, thanks for the info despite my noob mistake of not searching! |
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Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 474
Location: Anchorage, Alaska | If you can go that route the GenzBenz is an absolutly fantastic amp. I was steered toward it a couple years ago by Country Artist on this forum and have been more than happy with it since. By the way I have that same Elite Red Flame Ovation and it sounds just wonderful through this amp. I have to admit that I don't plug it in too often because it also sounds fantastic unplugged as well. |
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Joined:
June 2005
Posts: 25
Location: Kirkland, WA | On a budget a used Ultrasound amp would be a good start. They are small, light weight and have great tone. Even their low wattage amps play loud enough if/when she wants to play outside the home. A little heavy and more expensive is the SWR Strawberry Blonde, which will fill the room but empty your bank account. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | If it's just for playing at home, it doesn't really matter, just try before you buy. It doesn't have to be any brand, and electric amps will work.
If money's no object, then get the line 6 pod and that new bose system with a speaker like a column.
In between the two, $150 --- $2000, there's an astounding selection and array of opinions. |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 59
Location: North Carolina | I still like my Yorkville AM100. 100watts and 25lbs, 2 channel, mic input, 32 effect combos, Good warranty, made in USA, good price. |
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Acoustic amps?
