warm and portable?
 

So I have played the Bose L1, Fishman Solo, Roland BA330 and to be honest none of them are for my ear. They all seem to lack the warmth and tone fatness and sustain that naturally exists in my Taylor 914ce, Baritone 8 and even in my 110e.

I played with these amps for at least 2-3 hours each, and the most on the BA330 which in fact I felt had the best tone, but still not enough for my style of playing.

Perhaps to give an idea .. In my studio is a Sedona 55 by Rivera which pretty near perfection in tonal versatility. The problem is that it weighs nearly 90LBS, and for what I do she well remain a hanger queen.

I am aware of AER and also CUB100/300 but is there a way to get that same wonderful tone that fills a room without blowing $1000+

I am willing to have multi units that dont weigh allot or take up a tone of space.. like if there was a small sub and 2 satelites etc.

Basically would like it so 2-3 people could play, although I am solo ..always nice when someone needs some gear and you can help out.

Look forward to your thoughts and responses.

Perhaps a tube preamp along with a nice acoustic amp ( I love ultrasound amps) will get you closer to the Rivera tube sound. Those amps you tried are nice but nothing can compare to tube tone.

So you are willing to spring for "multi units that don't weigh a lot but you don't want to spend $1000. Let me think about this a while and get back to you.

clarification on price, I am mearly pointing out that AER and CUBs are pretty high priced for single units and for my ears the 3 most notable portables dont have the sound quality I personally seek. So the $1000 was mearly a point which seem to fit most of those 3

Schertler Unico... Or the SR Jam 150. ....Next??

Hmmm...... going through somewhat similar things (but aiming at a different solution -- lightweight but not cheap) and am finding that really good EQ is the key for me..... L1 (compact I assume -- I own one and it is quite useful --- not outstanding but good for what it is) --- but the L1C as far as EQ goes got pretty much none and is very limited in voice without it...... Soloamp (owned one for a bit and think it is also pretty nice) has three band but nothing really wide in the piezo quack relief zone (and make sure you play with that tweeter knob!)..... Other I cant speak to......

I get pretty good EQ results with the Bose T1 and way better with the SPS-1 (but we are really blowing the budget there)..... I have heard much positive about the MXR 6 band (cheap too), Boss GE-7 and why not throw in the MXR 10 band too at ~$110. Maybe you should try one of these in combination to see if that changes your mind.....

-Lee

Use an acoustic amp, but get a GT-10 (or lesser) or a laptop and Amplitube 3 and tweak. Even a PodXT.....

Most of these have generic tube preamp emulators. Some of the HW units even have real tubes......

OR a Takamine with a Palatheric pickup and a CTP-2 preamp..

I have not tried the Ultrasounds, it was an option on my list when I got a great deal (here) on the Rivera and went with it since it was a no doubt solution to my studio needs.

The pro-250 triamp looks kinda interesting.. anyone have any experience with it?

The Schertler "Unico" really is a marvelous acoustic amp. It has a balanced instrument input as well as a mic input.

oh and any solution involving bose, fishman or roland at this point is out.. I really don't feel that for me these could ever create the sound I am aiming for. No slam to those who own em, I just am looking for something I do not think these 3 units could achieve without spending way more than required.

Opposite obviously being true with AER & CUBs.. high quality but way to much $ for what you are getting.

I think you are being unfair to the BA330. It's intended purpose is to have a good, fairly accurate portable, battery powered PA. From all that I have read there isn't anything in the same class. Without the battery feature it would not have the desirability factor that it has and would most likely sell for quite a bit less. I would not have high expectations for this as a stand alone plug-in unit and should have no place in a comparison with $1000 units.

I rate the BA330 higher than bose or fishman.. so I am not sure how unfair that is..but it really doesn't matter. I find all 3 to be lacking to my ear. These may work for some people, but they are just not the solutions which are right for me. At $600 for the BA330.. I find the argument that it was meant for lesser things moot when you consider it actually sounds better than its more expensive competition.

I will dig into the ultra sound and the unico a bit as well as the JAM150

Phil jones 100s and 300's can be had used for way under 1K.

I own a pair of 100's (one stays at my theater gig, the other is my TV show/small gig that provides pa).
My 300 is for gigs when I have to carry the room.

After owning nearly everthing I am constantly stunned out how natural PJ stuff sounds. Before these amps I was a never ending eq tweeker trying to get "there". These amps literally stay flat and sound amazing.

Just don't bid against me on 300's in the next couple weeks. I need a second one for STEREO!

Try to play through a Genz Benz Shen Pro. The new Compak might be pretty similar. Very warm if you want it to be, two tube preamp channels and a line level in. Super versatile piece. If that isn't enough channels, you'll need to get into a small PA in all likelihood.