Need recommendations for an acoustic guitar amp

[The Owl]

Long story shot, after my muse has been hibernating for some time, I've rediscovered the urge to write and play music again. This time, I'm venturing into the realm of acoustic steel sting guitar, sparked by a generous gift from a good friend of a Yamaha acoustic-electric axe (APX500II). Loving the guitar, but what I need is some recommendations for an acoustic guitar amp that could hold its own against say small drum kit, upright bass, fiddle, voice and baritone sax in a live setting (small room I would think).

Looking for something with clear uncolored reproduction, good reverb not too heavy and won't put me in debt for 2 generations.

Fire away-----------

[Gypsyblue]

The guys on the Acoustic Guitar Forum sure seem to like the Ultrasound. As always, I'd look for something used.

[Matt42]

I'd go with the Fishman Loudbox Pro.

[mwalluk]

I'd go with the Fishman Loudbox Pro.

agreed. end thread

[jeremy]

i have the loudbox mini and i love it for what it is. if the pro sounds as good then id go for it

[dudesta559]

hmmmmm... what do you think you should get?

[Aceman]

Crate maks a mean acoustic amp for cheap. They were Trace-Elliott designed at one time I do believe.

But...what I would REALLY look for is a used Marshall 50 watt acoustic! These things are bad@$$

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-AS5...#ht_1330wt_854

[Hoss]

Crate maks a mean acoustic amp for cheap. They were Trace-Elliott designed at one time I do believe.

But...what I would REALLY look for is a used Marshall 50 watt acoustic! These things are bad@$$

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marshall-AS5...#ht_1330wt_854

I have the R...it's pretty decent...i like being able to plug a mic into it as well. My wife also uses it as an amp for her keyboard.

[gibson175]

A PA system. They have more watts and bigger speakers so they sound more natural and just flat out better than any portable acoustic guitar amp. The little drivers most acoustic amps use juts do not and can not reproduce the bass frequencies satisfactorily to my ears. A small PA has onboard reverb usually, and most of them can power a single speaker bin in bridge mode so they are surprisingly portable. The other option is to use a single powered monitor like a JBL eon which has plenty of headroom and are still light weight, and juts plug your favourite fx processor/DI straight in.

[Red_Label]

A PA system. They have more watts and bigger speakers so they sound more natural and just flat out better than any portable acoustic guitar amp. The little drivers most acoustic amps use juts do not and can not reproduce the bass frequencies satisfactorily to my ears. A small PA has onboard reverb usually, and most of them can power a single speaker bin in bridge mode so they are surprisingly portable. The other option is to use a single powered monitor like a JBL eon which has plenty of headroom and are still light weight, and juts plug your favourite fx processor/DI straight in.

I used to think this way. However, I picked-up a Fishman Loudbox Mini months ago and have been gigging it ever since. VERY natural sounding and plenty of volume for small gigs. Before that, I used a Baggs Para Acoustic DI through the PA. But now I use the Loudbox into the PA when I need bigger.

The Loudbox Artist is the current big acoustic amp and it's also an awesome amp. I'll pick one up eventually and use the Mini as my backup. But I haven't been in a hurry because the Mini is just that good. In fact, I've hauled my PA to several gigs thinking I was gonna need it and the Mini did just fine.

I've also got a Crate Gunnison acoustic amp that's my backup at the present. It's louder and bigger sounding than the Loudbox, but there's NO comparison in terms of tone. So it just sits and makes a great stand to sit the Loubox on top of.

[Bludave]

I have a Genz Benz Shanendoah. Its a wonderful amp, but to be honest I have only used it out a few times. I don't really play acoustic plugged in. I own 11 acoustic guitars, but only 3 of them can be plugged in. All three have Fishman pickup systems. One is just a Piezo crystal under the saddle & the others are the Eclipse which has tone & volume controls. The Genz Benz is as natural sounding as I have heard. I keep in in my living room & this way if I want to plug in I can. Gibson 175 is on the right track though. Personally I like going straight in. You will need a DI & a notch filter of some type to adjust to the room. The notch filter will take out any unnecessary frequencies that are causing feedback.

In my case the few times that I have played out with acoustic I prefer to use a good mike. I own some very nice acoustic guitars. My better acoustics cannot be plugged in & a good mike into the PA is all you really need providing you are not playing excessively loud.

[jeremy]

most situations i play acoustic are not conducive to a mic but i agree that they absolutely sound the best.

i got tired of hauling pa for small strictly acoustic shows. each of us uses one of the loudbox mini's and it works out fine and is way less crap to haul.

the powered speaker is a good plan too if you have a nice DI

[guitfiddle]

An LR Baggs preamp, with a good powered speaker would be a good kit.

Even better would be one of the larger Trace-Elliot acoustic amps. I know one of the soundguys that works Telluride each year and he said they keep a few onstage in case anyone comes up with a cheap amp...the cheapy gets set to the side, and they get plugged into the TE.

[schecterplayer]

Vox makes an awesome little 70 watt acoustic amp with a tube preamp, two channels, Phantom power,it's tiny and barely weighs anything. Sounds pretty good.

[Aceman]

This FIshman Loudbox is intriguing. No end to the love I hear about these. Can I get a quick review?

[Red_Label]

This FIshman Loudbox is intriguing. No end to the love I hear about these. Can I get a quick review?

They're AWESOME! That a good enough review?

SO natural sounding. Before buying the Fishman, I brought home the big Roland AC90 to try and the Loudbox SPANKED it for natural tone. Plus, the Mini is so light and handy it's just awesome to be able to carry that and a guitar and have a whole setup.

My friend's guitar shop was the one who sent the Roland home with me and I raved about the Fishman so much after I bought it that they picked up the line. They've sold a bunch since and are very happy with them.

[The Owl]

Thanks for all your replies everyone!!

I had a chance to try out a few different ones, and I'm quite impressed with both the Fishman Loud Box amps. Amazing sound for their size and price.

[jeremy]

ive had mine for a while and done more than a dozen gigs and im still very happy with it

[crguti]

[Red_Label]

Not to beat a dead horse here... but for natural (ie... non-colored) acoustic tone... Fishman beats all of the amp manufacturers who also build amps for electric players. All Fishman does is build stuff for acoustics, that's why their stuff stands above. Baggs is the same way with their acoustic preamps (though I've heard good stuff about the new Radial acoustic preamp).