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-   -   AER vs Schertler vs Fishman (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103122)

Dilbert 06-19-2007 05:58 AM

AER vs Schertler vs Fishman
 
I have pretty much narrowed down my choice of acoustic amp to either the AER Compact 60, the Schertler David or the Fishman Loudbox.

They all come in at about the right money and they all have the 2 channels I want. I want to use it for the piezos on my Parker Fly on function band gigs and for guitar and sax on duo gigs. They all have the DI outs so I can add a SRM 450 for the duo if required to give a bit of headroom.

Has anyone tried any of these or even better had the chance to A/B any of them? I don't have a dealer close to me that carries all 3 of them or 2 of the 3 to be able to try them. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

rmyAddison 06-19-2007 06:06 PM

Three very fine amps, I have compared AER and Fishman but have never heard Schertler, reports are they are excellent.

That being said I am going to throw a monkey wrench into the mix as you obviously are only looking at high end amps, which should also include Rivera and Genz Benz.

I am a lifetime musician, got my union card in the early 70's and am totally blown away by the Genz Benz Shenandoan Pro. It is an amazing acoustic amp; 200 watts, 12" neodymium speaker, very smooth compression bullet tweeter, isolated/suspended electronics in the cabinet configuration, fan with on/off switch, blendable tube-FET preamp sections both channels, Alesis effects split between vocal and acoustic effects and independent for each channel, parrametric mid EQ, channel phase, pre-post gain, ported cabinet, separate tweeter volume control, XLR phantom power both channels, non cancelling XLR-1/4" inputs both channels, rocker switch to add external cabinets at speaker level volume, and the input/output options looks like a mixer on the back.

AER and Fishman are excellent, but my money went to the Genz Benz for the larger 12" driver, which voices so well with guitar, and there is no comparison in features. Plus it just sounded a little bit if not more "better". If you can audition one and let your ears decide....that's what I did.

Good Luck in you search...............

chrono 06-19-2007 06:34 PM

The Schertler is very tranparent. I really like it for its compact size but powerful speakers. It doesn't have many additional features going for it, but it's VERY transparent and I like that it faithfully reproduces the acoustic tone of my guitar. Haven't tried the AER nor Fishman so no comments about it...

:D

biggs2 06-19-2007 08:38 PM

Although I chose a SWR California Blonde II over the Fishman Loudbox, the Loudbox was a really nice amp. I've not tried the Schertler David but, I hear its a nice amp as well. Of all the amps I've tried, my favorite is the AER Compact 60 but, I just couldn't justify the additional cost.

Although he could make any amp sound great, I saw Tommy Emmanuel last night in Norman, OK and he still uses a Compact 60.

Dilbert 06-20-2007 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmyAddison (Post 1206389)
Three very fine amps, I have compared AER and Fishman but have never heard Schertler, reports are they are excellent.

That being said I am going to throw a monkey wrench into the mix as you obviously are only looking at high end amps, which should also include Rivera and Genz Benz.

I am a lifetime musician, got my union card in the early 70's and am totally blown away by the Genz Benz Shenandoan Pro. It is an amazing acoustic amp; 200 watts, 12" neodymium speaker, very smooth compression bullet tweeter, isolated/suspended electronics in the cabinet configuration, fan with on/off switch, blendable tube-FET preamp sections both channels, Alesis effects split between vocal and acoustic effects and independent for each channel, parrametric mid EQ, channel phase, pre-post gain, ported cabinet, separate tweeter volume control, XLR phantom power both channels, non cancelling XLR-1/4" inputs both channels, rocker switch to add external cabinets at speaker level volume, and the input/output options looks like a mixer on the back.

AER and Fishman are excellent, but my money went to the Genz Benz for the larger 12" driver, which voices so well with guitar, and there is no comparison in features. Plus it just sounded a little bit if not more "better". If you can audition one and let your ears decide....that's what I did.

Good Luck in you search...............

Rich. Thanks for that. I have to look at amps that are easily available in the UK, which these are. To look at the others means either importing them and paying import duties or finding one already here. I liked the idea of these as they are small, compact units and space on the stage and more so in my car is a major factor. I must admit I am leaning towards the AER. I like the idea that it can be mounted on a microphone stand and it has built in effects etc.

Sage97 06-20-2007 06:19 AM

Another AER Compact 60 fan here. Good luck on this great amp!

ocarolan 06-20-2007 06:51 AM

If you can manage with the partially shared eq on the two channels, save yourself £125 or so and get the AER Alpha - slightly smaller and lighter, 40w instead of 60w, same great sound on acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki, vocal or w.h.y. I just love mine.
Bye now
Keith

citycountryguy 06-20-2007 07:17 AM

I've A/B'd the Schertler and the AER. You can't go wrong with either...several of my friends own the AER Compact 60. I own a Schertler David. It does what I need. I use it mainly for a stage monitor and then a DI to the sound board/PA. I also use it to practice, because so many times I can hear things when I'm playing amplified (habits I get into that create noise on the guitar, like fingernails moving across the pick guard not on purpose) that if I'm just playing acoustic aren't really noticeable--but are on stage.

I have used it for a small PA in a room, with one channel for vocals and one for the guitar. It's fine for that, very clean.

I wanted the smallest footprint, most transparent sound for my purposes...and the Schertler was about $100 less here in the US than the AER. I just didn't think there was $100 difference for my uses. And the reverb is nice, too.

min7b5 06-20-2007 10:04 AM

I think it’s more about what pickup and/or mic you're using, and your likely application, than amp A is better than B.

I’ve had two AER Compact 60’s and two Loudboxes (as well as Ultrasound and SWR ) all great amps, but each one excelled at different things. I just picked up a Loudbox 100 yesterday, because I needed a smaller amp (first gig will be this afternoon).

I’ve personally found with the K&K Mini the Loudbox is the only one that I don't need extra EQ to get a great tone. I think this is because the mid range is at 1.2Khz. On the other hand, with a soundhole mag I would need an outboard eq, because I need that mid pot at about 500hz to kill the soundhole pickup strat tone thing. With the compact 60 I absolulty needed outboard eq for the K&K, however with the a soundhole mag I could plug straight in and get far and alway the best mag tone I’ve ever heard.

To me the fishman Performer was the best with mic only. It’s also nice that it has 48V. I was a little bummed the Loudbox 100 only has 24V. I don’t remember how the mics worked with the AER as I was in more of a pckup faze then. I’ve never tried a Schertler David.

grpowers 06-21-2007 02:43 PM

Fishman Loudbox
 
After demoing the SFX II and Roland many times, I was recently impressed with the Fishman Loudbox, and would strongly recommend you give it a try. It has pure and easy EQ and reverb controls, and does not 'color' the sound. So it's all about tone with this one. Mine is the original model 250, with separate amps and speakers for bass, mid, and highs. Most noticeable about that configuration is the glassy midrange that you just don't find in a woofer / tweeter configuration. I use it with my Adamas 6 and 12, Country Artist (Nylon), and EA68 Viper acoustic-electric, and the sound is clear, clean, full, rich, wow! No limit to the volume with the 250 rms tri-amped watts, no breakups or distortion either. Further, and this may surprise you, I use the Loudbox with my Fender American Deluxe Tele. The frequency range of the amp gives life to the Tele that I cannot find on my Fender Cyber Deluxe (single 12). Pure tone machine.

Dilbert 06-26-2007 05:51 AM

Thanks for all the input. I have gone for The AER as I found a 2 month old one on flea bay that had never been out of the house with gig bag etc for £400. The best price I could find brand new was £499 (but they wouldn't mail order). All in all, I am happy with that.

I can't wait for it to turn up so I can set up the whole rig.:D

Jerrysimon 06-26-2007 06:39 AM

Dilbert,

Well done. I picked one up from Digital Village a few months ago. It replaced my 10 year old Trace Elliot TA50R which I got nearly £300 on ebay for :)

The AER 60 is a stonking amp and very portable. The mic channel is also quite remarkable.

Regards

Jerry

apf120 04-20-2016 06:42 PM

Martinom28e
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dilbert (Post 1205877)
I have pretty much narrowed down my choice of acoustic amp to either the AER Compact 60, the Schertler David or the Fishman Loudbox.

They all come in at about the right money and they all have the 2 channels I want. I want to use it for the piezos on my Parker Fly on function band gigs and for guitar and sax on duo gigs. They all have the DI outs so I can add a SRM 450 for the duo if required to give a bit of headroom.

Has anyone tried any of these or even better had the chance to A/B any of them? I don't have a dealer close to me that carries all 3 of them or 2 of the 3 to be able to try them. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The Martin om28e in one word "FSNTASTIC"

jseth 04-20-2016 09:51 PM

Brilliant!
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dilbert (Post 1210600)
Thanks for all the input. I have gone for The AER as I found a 2 month old one on flea bay that had never been out of the house with gig bag etc for £400. The best price I could find brand new was £499 (but they wouldn't mail order). All in all, I am happy with that.

I can't wait for it to turn up so I can set up the whole rig.:D

Sounds like a great price, as the Compact goes for ~$1050 here in the States; I got mine (gently used) for $600 and felt it was close to a steal of a deal...

I LOVE my AER Compact 60/2! It is truly an amazing little piece of kit; I still have to laugh each time I use it for a gig, as it is SO light and small, has only ONE 8" speaker (?!?) and just 60 solid state watts of power...

Yet, it handles my acoustic guitar and vocals easily in a fairly large room (40'x40'x30') without even being turned up to halfway on the Master volume!
AND, it sounds stellar!

The Compact has the remarkable ability to s p r e a d sound around a room, once it's turned up to performing levels in a decent-sized venue... quite similar to my Bose rig actually; once I have the volume up a bit, it ceases to be sound coming from a little box and becomes one of those "where's that coming from?" type of things...

Enjoy your new amp! Congratulations...

Mr Blues 04-21-2016 06:21 AM

The Fishman loudbox sounds beautiful on guitar but not too great on vocals.I have never tried the Schertler or Genz benz but I love my AER Compact 60/3.
Supurb for acoustic singer/songwriters


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