What are your reasons for using a "Stick" style amp (Bose, Fishman, HK, JBL) .

[Puerto Player]

I've also canned my PA for LD Systems Maui's; a 5 and a 28. For me, they sound absolutely fantastic, have Blue Tooth built in, and don't feedback. The feedback was the main reason I canned my PA. I can play and record, and have mic's all over the place and I don't get any feedback.

The Maui 28 has 5 separate discreet amps that power each set of different frequencies and speakers in the bass and array. It does it sound right.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

I got tired of schlepping a PA to hotel and bar gigs. I used a Fishman Solo amp for a while and found it to be OK sound wise and a pleasure in terms of weight and fast set up.

Sometimes I found the Fishstick was to big. In an intimate cafe it's overkill. Other times in rowdy bars I wished for more throw and dispersion but it did the job for me. I never really got used to hearing the sound behind me. In a rowdy bar I prefer a spot monitor to my left or in front of me. (Sometimes you need to turn your monitor up without raising the volume in the room––an expample would playing a gig while suffering a bad cold and congestion.)

At this point in time I've gone with a small 2 channel acoustic amp AND a compact PA that works both as a tower system and as a 2.1 stereo system (HK Audio). It weighs 36 pounds and is easy to cary. When I use the PA then the small amp becomes my personal monitor. The rig is scalable depending on the size and shape of the room.

If you play a variety of gigs then IMHO your system's scalability and dispersion is something to consider. Tower PAs are a generally a one size fits all solution. They work everywhere but there are compromises made to achieve that. Their convenience and portability are the main selling points.

Excellent post! Very informative. It also happens to validate my reasons for making the post above.

[Stratcat77]

Originally Posted by Puerto Player

I've also canned my PA for LD Systems Maui's; a 5 and a 28. For me, they sound absolutely fantastic, have Blue Tooth built in, and don't feedback. The feedback was the main reason I canned my PA. I can play and record, and have mic's all over the place and I don't get any feedback.

The Maui 28 has 5 separate discreet amps that power each set of different frequencies and speakers in the bass and array. It does it sound right.

Ditto for me. I got the LD Maui 11 G2 which is in-between your 5 and 28. For me as a solo acoustic guy, it's been great so far. I've only done a few gigs with it and just plugged straight in.

http://www.ld-systems.com/en/series/...h8ahb1m0st5ab6

[dnf777]

I got the Bose L1 compact for home use. Couldn't be happier. Sound and volume amazing. Cant imagine what larger units are capable of.

[Nama Ensou]

Last few weeks I've been using my JBL Eon One in:

-A small, quiet restaurant courtyard
-An alternately quiet and loud small hotel lounge
-A medium sized brewery/restaurant which is both quiet and loud, usually a combination of the two;
-And a very large terraced courtyard restaurant/lounge with both loud and quiet

The last one is the one that I was most concerned about but with lots of room to spare on the volume the Eon One has handled it with ease, and with it about 10 feet behind and 2 or 3 feet off to the side, the sound is loud, clear and easily heard throughout the entire area.

Even though I bring lights and a banner along with the rest of what you'd expect out of an acoustic soloist, I've been able to take everything in one trip to the car.
While I still wish they'd included an effects loop, I am very pleasantly satisfied so far with my JBL Eon One, not to mention how much I enjoy using my Heil PR35 through it.

[leew3]

In an acoustic duo I use a Fishman Loudbox Artist and run the post EQ DI out to Alto Troupers on poles for larger or outdoor gigs. In that application the amp functions as a monitor and I know what the FOH mix is as it's what's coming out of the amp. My playing partner does the same with a smaller acoustic amp. The advantage is that we can tweak the Altos a bit as needed in terms of gain and EQ. For the outdoor gigs we add a Behringer 12" sub which gives the Altos a break on the lower frequencies and fills in nicely on the low end. Nothing in this set up is too heavy, but we do end up with a lot of cables to manage! Happy Shopping, and thanks Dave as always for your insightful and well researched info on amplification. Once again you've taken one for the team!