Fishman Loudbox Artist

[escampbell026]

I'd really like to spend less than 500. I am finding out that realistically I will have to cough up at least 900 for anything compact, reliable, and loud enough for the outdoor gigs I'm playing this year. Been renting an eon one. Sounds wonderful, almost loud enough, and fits perfectly into the back of my focus.

[lweb10]

Originally Posted by MrErikJ

This is a question I was going to bring up, actually. With an electric guitar amp, using the line-out tends to be less than optimal and it tends to sound harsh. I've used my Loudbox-Mini as a stage monitor that I line-out to the board but I wasn't able to truly tell how it sounded out in the house. Do acoustic amps work better as preamp/DIs than electric amps or is still better to run it into a outboard/preamp DI to feed the house?

I usually use my Loudbox mini as a monitor and run the direct out to the larger system - that way I am assured that I'll be able to hear myself playing, regardless of what the sound tech or other musicians are up to. I've had compliments on the guitar sound from knowledgeable people so it seems to be working well. All I can tell is that it usually sounds good through the house system monitors.

Since electric guitar amps are made to pair with electric guitar pickups and the amp can often be considered part of the effects applied to the signal, the direct out misses a good bit of what you chose the system to do - better to place a mic in front of the cabinet. On the other hand, good acoustic amps are like a small PA so I would expect their direct out to give an acceptably accurate version of the signal coming in, something many acoustic players strive to attain when amplified.

[SteveA]

Originally Posted by escampbell026

I'd really like to spend less than 500. I am finding out that realistically I will have to cough up at least 900 for anything compact, reliable, and loud enough for the outdoor gigs I'm playing this year. Been renting an eon one. Sounds wonderful, almost loud enough, and fits perfectly into the back of my focus.

$500 will get you plenty of amp