Best Acoustic Amp

[MIKE 450]

HELP! I was talking to a guy who works in a music shop,I was telling him when I return from Canada in a couple of weeks I'd like to buy a new AER AMP. He said he was not overly keen on the AER he thought they were over priced.

He's advice was to check out an Italian company SR Technology who make a better amp CHEAPER, "WOW that sounds good" but is it to good to be true.

So have any of you guys played an SR AMP can you advise me on what acoustic amp is best, I always thought the German Schner "I've spelt that wrong" was the best acoustic amp. I've never bought an acoustic amp,so I want to buy a good one.

[MIKE 450]

O come on! someone must know what AMP is Best

[Loki]

I have an AER Compact 60.

NOT cheap, but I never known them attract any criticism for their sound.

They don't come with all the bells and whistles of some, but I like the sound to be my guitar, but louder...

Good luck with making the best choice for you

[itsLars]

Hi there,

having played about any brand/modell on the market, I can highly recommend the AAD amps by Phil Jones. Unbelievably natural sound. Give them a try.

Bye,
Lars

[MIKE 450]

Thanks John,yes I am home I go to Canada at the end of April. The reason I asked about the amps is,that while I'm in North America I may buy an amp and bring it home.

At this point I must say thanks to itsLars for he's reply to the very serious question of WHICH AMP. He suggested the AAD by Phil Jones, WOW! check this amp out on youtube sounds great. Another amp is the VOW AGA acoustic "again check out youtube for demo"

There is no doubt the AER is a fantastic amp,BUT it's price has gone crazy. The AAD has speakers pointing upwards towards the player which I thought was a cool idea.

I'm very surprised at the lack of comments on this subject,and I thank you both again for you're input. I'm looking for a very good amp which allows you to sing and play for less than £600 $900 Thanks again John-itsLars

[boombox]

I guess amp buying is very subjective. I didn't have the budget to go looking for amps in the AER price range, hence my lack of comment. My advice would be to work out what you can afford, then sell a body part to raise a bit more cash. With acoustic amps you do really get what you pay for, far more so than with electric amps.

I ended up with a Behringer ACX1800, bought online. Never really had the chance to put it through it's paces for a few months, by which time it was too late to do anything about it. Had tried out it's baby brother in a shop and liked what I heard, so went for it online as the price seemed just TOO good. However, avoid these if you want a gigging amp. 180W? More like 30-40W. Chorus etc stinks at volume, though the reverb is pretty nice and the compresser OK. Wish I could have held out for an Ashdown Radiator for a little more, but no-one had any in stock and I thought I was going to be using an amp soon.

I did try one of those Vox AGAs too. Found it a bit boomy and difficult to control feedback.

[MIKE 450]

Thanks boombox, I suppose I'm trying to find out from everybody who spends good money on a good guitar,and who goes out and plays LIVE," what amp do you like best"

Times change, I'm wondering is there a MUST HAVE amp out there that every serious acoustic guitarist/singer/songwriter should have if they wish to perform live.

Sadly not many of the Avalon Artists have come onboard to give their advice, which I find sad

If you buy a electric acoustic, you may want to plug it into an amp that works well,my question is which one Most times when I play live "which is rare these days" I plug into the house PA : Which amp is BEST for acoustic!

[Rick Jones]

Sorry mate, I don't use an acoustic amp at all.
I currently have my live rig as;

Guitar with 2 outputs- headway EDB-1 preamp- Allen and Heath Zed 10 mixer- two JBL eon powered speakers and a powered monitor.

I had a Fishman loudbox, the first generation one, but it blew it's bass woofer twice, was repaired under warranty, but then did it a third time and they wouldn't fix it (it literally worked ok for a minute at living room volume then made a weird noise...turned it off and back on later and no bass...again), so it's sitting under my stairs doing nothing.

I'd like to try the Fishman soloamp or any of the Genz type amps, but my PA rig is such that for a small gig I could use just the one active PA speaker as an amp, or I can go up to the full set up and even add a sub, so the need for an amp has been redundant really.

[MIKE 450]

Cheers Rick thanks for the input, I know were you're coming from with the PA sound,you also get a good vocal. I was just wondering are there any small amps that would give me excellent guitar and vocal sound, for busking and small gigs.

However, I would like a very good sound. It looks like the AER is still out front ahead of most amps, but it's tricky to pick up a second hand one.

[singlereed]

I was very happy with an original Trace Acoustic TA100R that I got rid of a few years back due to lack of use; more recently, I got a mint, secondhand UK-built TA30R that has pretty much the same sound and quality build and I picked it up on eBay for under £100. There were quite a few different models in the range so you should be able to find something secondhand to meet your requirements. I think they are now owned by Peavey, and assume made in China but there are loads of the UK ones about. Incidentally, I tried an Ashdown Radiator and really didn't like it very much.

[lewddude]

it so depends on what venue you are playing, but for most intimate, pub/wedding gigs and alike I fell in love with the Fish Stick Fishman SA220 line array! Holy cow this thing sounds sooooooo natural anywhere in the room! Has a nice anti-feedback knob right on the front that you can sweep through and kill any feedback. Not to mention you can use it as your PA and the case lets you roll it behind you with out busting a nut! It's like the Bose L1 system but half the price. Even if you look at the L1 compact (same price point as Fish stick) it can not be expanded upon. With the SA220, you can add a second one, or use a monitor etc... I have an Avalon A12 with a Fishman Matrix Infinity, I was gonna upgrade the Infinity with the Blend, but after the purchase of the SA220, there is no need!

my .02 cents worth

Ron

[MIKE 450]

Thanks singlereed for your reply to my serious question of which amp, I do review all the gear suggested. I'm now wondering has lewddude hit the nail on the head with he's Fish Stick Fishman SA220, I say this because I'd like a amp or PA which allows good guitar sound with good vocal.

I'm off to check the Fish Stick, thanks guys for your help!

[Rick Jones]

I have to say, I have played through the fish stick a few times at a gig I sometimes share with a guy who has one, and it's very nice, surprisingly good in the bottom end too, and I'm fussy about that stuff.

I had such a bad run of misfortune with the 'fishcube' i.e. loudbox though, that I am reluctant to chance the ££ needed for a soloamp, as I know from experience that Fishman UK can be funny about repairing faulty amps.
The loudbox is still sitting in the corner of my front room, non functioning....I can't decide what to do with it.

[lewddude]

I have to say, I have played through the fish stick a few times at a gig I sometimes share with a guy who has one, and it's very nice, surprisingly good in the bottom end too, and I'm fussy about that stuff.

I am with ya on the fussy side Rick! My wife has another name for it though...lol I can offer up that I did a lot of digging before jumping on the fishman SA220. I only found one example of a repair needed, and they just replaced the unit with a new one. I can not speak for Fishman UK, but here in the USA they are top notch in the customer service dept! I had some issues with an incomplete Blender, and they fixed me up with parts and tech tips! I had a small problem with one clip on the Solo amp case, and they sent me a new case no questions, no cost!

I am all about the fishstick!