The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Acoustic Amplification

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #16  
Old 11-21-2017, 04:30 PM
MiG50 MiG50 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 347
Default

A lot of modern bass amps, and almost any keyboard amp, is built for full-range reproduction. If your bass amp has some sort of tweeter, it would probably work for an acoustic in a pinch. Keyboard amps and acoustic amps are almost interchangeable, considering their build and frequency response. You could easily use either one for either instrument.

I forgot to put in my earlier post, tubes are probably a bad idea for any sort of modern acoustic guitar pickup. They are designed to saturate and break up, whereas you want acoustic tones to stay clean. It's a little different if you use some form of magnetic pickup, like the J-160E has. Remember that Kurt Cobain recorded his "MTV Unplugged" with a Martin D-18E guitar featuring magnetic pickups, played thru a Fender Twin Reverb. But a piezo or soundboard transducer will probably not give you the best results thru a tube amp.
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 11-22-2017, 06:22 AM
canerod canerod is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Wilmington, NC
Posts: 219
Default

Tube amps can saturate and break up, but they can also run very clean. Much depends on the gain stage, tubes, transformers,........ An amp like a Fender Twin is very powerful and clean and hard to make break up or sound dirty.

Much of the music we've heard all our lives has been recorded through tube mics, tube preamps, tube compressors, tube eq,....... and yes, acoustic guitars through tube amps.

High end audiophile stereo gear is mostly tube based. Vintage tube gear has become highly sought after in the stereo world.

Many contend that vacuum tube gear simply sounds more natural than the sterile and harsh tonality of solid state gear. Blanket statements stating acoustic guitars should not be plugged into tube amps is simply misguided information.

Last edited by canerod; 11-22-2017 at 06:36 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 11-22-2017, 08:06 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: The heart of Saturday night..
Posts: 3,645
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by canerod View Post
Vintage tube gear has become highly sought after in the stereo world.
Have to agree. I had a fender bassman head (66) I bought in the 80s for 75 bucks. I sold it on ebay last year for 750.00
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 11-22-2017, 09:40 AM
canerod canerod is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Wilmington, NC
Posts: 219
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by varmonter View Post
Have to agree. I had a fender bassman head (66) I bought in the 80s for 75 bucks. I sold it on ebay last year for 750.00
I was actually referring to home stereo components in that line, but yes, vintage tube guitar and bass amps have long been coveted. The Bassmans were far better guitar amps than bass amps. I had a '60 6G6 blonde/oxblood Bassman w/ tube rectifier and 1x12 Tone Ring cab. Best sounding guitar amp I've ever owned!
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 11-22-2017, 11:32 AM
MiG50 MiG50 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 347
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by canerod View Post
Blanket statements stating acoustic guitars should not be plugged into tube amps is simply misguided information.
If you want to plug a K&K into a Marshall Plexi, I'm not here to stop you. But most tube guitar amps (not hi-fi gear) are beloved for their saturation/compression and overdrive/distortion characteristics. Couple that with a midrange-focused frequency response. I stand by my general statement that a modern acoustic transducer will not sound ideal thru a traditional electric guitar amp. There are some exceptionally clean tube amps out there (Fender Twin Reverb, Super 6, higher-wattage Bassman and Showman amps, Musicmaster hybrid amps, etc) that will work better than others. My final point is that speaker type will play a huge part; try playing an acoustic through a tube amp with Celestion Greenbacks.

I'll concede the point that tube mics, tube preamps, tube compressors, and tube EQ (among other tube equipment that could be inserted in the signal chain) are totally viable options for acoustic guitar. However, those components have nothing to do with the original post, which was about running an acoustic guitar pickup into an electric guitar amp.
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old 11-22-2017, 03:09 PM
vindibona1 vindibona1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Chicago- North Burbs, via Mexico City
Posts: 5,219
Default

I have a Blues Jr and while I love it for my electrics I would never consider using it for acoustic amplification. The one guitar amp I do have that I think is a great alternative for an acoustic amp is a Roland Cube 40XL. While it has an acoustic modeling channel I use the plain JC Clean channel and just tweak the tone knobs a bit. I can still add in effects such as delay, reverb, chorus, tremelo... plus mine also has a built in looper (which they eliminated on later models). It seems that Roland ditched the Cube 40's and 80's, focused on their Blues Cubes (starting at $500) and moved the lower end models into the Boss Katana line.
__________________
Assuming is not knowing. Knowing is NOT the same as understanding. There is a difference between compassion and wisdom, however compassion cannot supplant wisdom, and wisdom can not occur without understanding. facts don't care about your feelings and FEELINGS ALONE MAKE FOR TERRIBLE, often irreversible DECISIONS
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 11-22-2017, 03:45 PM
jricc jricc is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Jersey Shore
Posts: 4,985
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by vindibona1 View Post
I have a Blues Jr and while I love it for my electrics I would never consider using it for acoustic amplification. The one guitar amp I do have that I think is a great alternative for an acoustic amp is a Roland Cube 40XL. While it has an acoustic modeling channel I use the plain JC Clean channel and just tweak the tone knobs a bit. I can still add in effects such as delay, reverb, chorus, tremelo... plus mine also has a built in looper (which they eliminated on later models). It seems that Roland ditched the Cube 40's and 80's, focused on their Blues Cubes (starting at $500) and moved the lower end models into the Boss Katana line.
I have an older Roland Cube 30, and same thing, I could use it in a pinch (if my Fishman artist were to break down) on the JC plain channel and get a decent acoustic tone with a mag pickup. These Roland Cubes are pretty versatile amps.
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 11-23-2017, 12:21 PM
Al Acuff's Avatar
Al Acuff Al Acuff is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Posts: 759
Default

I saw Emmy Lou Harris and the Hot Band during the Sally Rose tour. The acoustic guitars had Sunrise pickups and were played through blackface era Fender Twin Reverb amps. The amps were miked. Simple and easy. It was a great sound!
__________________
Al Acuff
Al's Folk Music Blog
Alan Acuff Music
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 11-24-2017, 09:44 AM
TwinandTwang TwinandTwang is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 282
Default

Personally I have never heard an acoustic guitar sound good through an electric guitar amp. Electric guitar amps don't reproduce the full the range of frequencies. I cannot figure out why John Leventhal does this. I love his playing but the tone is not that of an acoustic guitar. Maybe he doesn't want it to sound like an acoustic guitar.
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 11-24-2017, 11:57 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: The heart of Saturday night..
Posts: 3,645
Default

Interesting I just saw leventhal two weeks ago
And thought the opposite. Although I wouldn't
Call his tone as acoustic sounding as if he were
Just mic'd with a nice high end condensor.
I thought his tone and use of effects were
Nothing short of stellar. I think he was playing
Through a hot rod Deville. He also had a pedalboard.
Someone above suggested his amps are local rentals.
Maybe the show you saw he had a less than optimum
Amp??
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 11-24-2017, 02:26 PM
Tico Tico is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 4,571
Default

Amps for electric guitars usually have only 12" or 10" speakers, but no tweeters.
Without high frequency drivers how can they be expected to get acoustic guitars to sound natural?
Of course this isn't an issue with electric guitars since they have no natural (unamplified) sound, other than a wimpy whisper.
The sound of electric guitars has always been dependent on the combination of amp, guitar, and effects.
However, acoustic guitar sound is about the only sound they create unamplified.

I have nice amps for my Les Paul and 335, a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI 65 (black face), and a Tone King Imperial Mk II, one of the holy-grail boutique amps.
Both have a single 12" speaker.
I've plugged my acoustics into both amps, using a Baggs Lyric PU and my DPA clip-on condenser mic VO-4099G.
It sounds terrible.

Well ... rather I should say it sounds far from natural - and my goal when amplifying an acoustic is the guitar's natural sound, only louder.
If I wanted electric guitar tone I'd play one of my electrics, so my acoustics always go through my Bose L1 M2.

All that said, if it's not important to someone that their acoustic sounds natural, or just they just dig the sound they get through their amp, then go for it!
Variety is the spice of life.

Last edited by Tico; 11-25-2017 at 12:06 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 11-24-2017, 02:43 PM
Tony Done Tony Done is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Toowoomba, Australia
Posts: 2,014
Default

I always gigged with an electric guitar amp, a Peavey Classic 30, then a Fender Blues Deluxe. No problem, I didn't want piezo jangle, or need a mic input. I mostly use combined magnetic and piezo, through an external mixer/preamp.
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Acoustic Amplification

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=