Acoustic Amp/ Pa System

[Celtic Johnny]

Originally Posted by Arlo37

I'm in a similar situation about evaluating amplification. I can imagine that a pa system would sound great, however there are times when I sit in with other players or groups and it doesn't seem practical to be setting up a small pa system. I would feel more comforable setting up an amp along with other players amps.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I don't intend to hijack this thread, but it is a question of versatility I think.

If you're sitting in with them an amp might make sense if that is what they use. But if you are going to have others sit in with you, it'd be nice to be able to control your / their sound. A mixer allows you to balance the sound of all the instruments, especially if you add some intruments other than guitars. You can run the mixer to a PA or a powered speaker (actually a powered speaker is a PA stripped down to it's most basic elelments) . I guess it's just a versatility issue. A Powered Speaker (with or without a mixer) is going to do everything an amp can do. An amp, probably, won't be able to do everything a powered speaker can do. So consider all your needs and all your money and see if there is a round hole, round peg sort of fit in either case.

[razzmatazz]

If you are like me you will soon outgrow your Amp. I would suggest (I will propably be purchasing one soon) This Bose L1 system (copy/paste link) http://www.bose.com/controller?event...index.jsp&ck=0
You can get started for close to $1500 bucks and expand when you need too. And for a PA system in medium venues- It just can't get too much better....

[Harvdog]

I have recently joined a band in which I sing and play my Takamine 12 string electric/acoustic guitar. We will primarily be playing churches, nursing homes, prisons, and possibly a couple bigger venues (amusement parks). I currently have a Fender Champion 300 that was given to me and I use for rehearsing. I don't know much about amps so I have a few questions:

Should I go with an acoustic amp?
If so, what size, model, features should I consider?

I'm hoping to keep this in the $500 range.

Any other tips and information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Harvdog]

I just visited the Guitar Center today and played a Takamine 12 string using a Fender Acoustasonic 30 DSP Combo Amp, as well as, a Roland AC-60 Acoustic Chorus Combo Amp. Both sounded great but the Roland was probably a bit cleaner and was definitely smaller with double the watts.

Any thoughts?

[HHP]

Take a look at a pair of Roland Cube Monitor 30's. They are small, mount on mic stands, have self contained XLR and 1/4 inputs, EQ, can be operated as mono or stereo, sound great with most acoustic guitars, and are cheap. I use a pair as a mini PA or for recordings and use them singly as an acoustic amp.

[Harvdog]

Sorry about hi-jacking this post. I meant to post something separate. Correcting now...

[texas twelve]

I have owned, and used, the Fender Acoustasonic, the Carvin Ag100-acoustic amp, and the Ultrasound-50 watter.

Each one has its pros and cons.

The Acoustasonic has a great vocal sound and is easily "tweekable." However, the acoustic guitar sound is a bit brittle and bright to me.

The Carvin has probably the best sound overall, with plenty of headroom for clean sound. But I have had two of them because of major problems with the amp. Do a search of reviews and you will see what I mean.

The Ultrasound has probably the best guitar sound I have heard. It sounds like I am playing my guitar, just louder. The vocals are good but a bit bright and brittle. And because of the low wattage, it distorts at low volumes.

Of the three, at least to me, the Carvin has the overall best sound. I have even used is successfully as a bass amp. But, it is a coin-toss as to reliability.

[foutzdj]

I was just looking at the Ultrasound website. It looks like their selling the extension cabinet again, but as a combo called the DSX power stack. It is 100 watts, so that might help those who like Ultrasound but are looking for more power.

[stringbound]

The smallest package that delivers a great sound is the AER Alpha. When I play small gigs with a singer, we both use the amp simultaneous. The Alpha isn´t cheap, but it is worth every cent.

Here I wrote a bit more detailed about the amp: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=119279

If you want "more" you could look up the AER compact 60. For bigger audiences you can combine the Compact 60 with the AER AG8 activebox, giving you an incredibly good sounding, compact and lightweight PA system.

[franchelB]

I own a Peavey KB 300 (yes, it's a keyboard amp), and a Fender Passport P250 PA. And to be quite honest, I'd rather use the Fender Passport with my guitar AND vocals! I think acoustic guitar amps are tailored for acoustic guitar, (obviously). Their XLR channels just doesn't sound THAT good, at least to my ears. While a P.A. will make your voice sound good, you can always add effects on the guitar channel to make your guitar sound good too....

[stringbound]

The Yamaha Stagepas 300 is also a system worth considering, because the price is within the range you mentioned. Add a reverb and your fine.

The Stagepas 300 on the Yamaha website:
http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/produc...300/index.html

A PDF for download from Yamaha:
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/Docu...tagepas300.pdf

A review:
http://www.proaudioreview.com/august05/yamaha.shtml

[htlau]

Our lead vocal sounds amazing good with AER Compact classic pro acoustic amp through AKG D3800 mic. It has a serious feedback in high frequency when just use, but disappear after re-adjust the "presence" which is located at the back of amp.

[Michael Watts]

well, I'd go for the Bose if it was in budget but you know, a small PA would make up for inconveinience with great sound. I use a Yamaha mixer and a pair of Mackie srm350's and it's all I need. Stereo spread, stand-mounted speakers, reliable eq and fx.

I also use an AER compact 60 as a DI/monitor for bigger gigs with the band.