Loudbox mini or Roland AC 33

[Seanr]

Hi all.
Have done the research and seen previous threads that cover this but they are quite old.
I tried Roland ac 33 a few months ago and it played well with my Eastman E10OM and K&K mini. the other amp in this range is the Loudbox mini - more volume and unfortunately no notch filter. Roland also has a looper (that need an extra footswitch).
Today I found another store that has both, unfortunately all the amps were in a small room so I played them but ended up standing outside the room to hear them. Roland was very feedback resistant - even with the feedback eliminating switch off. Loudbox, well, it was feeding back with gain up to 10.00 and master at 10.00. Could not go any higher even outside the room.
I thought the Roland was a bit limiting in having a Chorus that is only a switch with off wide and stereo. Not an effect I think I would use that often but it sounded ok. Fishman Chorus sounded good, but I can't say I really heard it all that well having to be out of the room.
Just me playing guitar at home with partner singing, thinking about going out and playing in public at some time, but probably not too soon. I think the volume of Roland would be enough for small gigs (small coffee shop, jamming with friends with electric guitar). If we go well, would invest in DI if going in to PA.
Any thoughts or comments on these? Both priced the same, but Roland has extra expense of footswitch and stereo cable. Options such as Ultrasound / Dean Markley are not available here. I also like the small footprint and light weight of these two and Lunchbox Acoustic not available to try locally.
Cheers in advance.

[RockerDuck]

The Fishman mini is popular for a reason. Its loud enough for small places and some outdoor events and has the DI to go larger to a powered speaker or PA.

[ljguitar]

Hi Sean…
Loudbox is a louder amp than the Roland amps - particularly the AC-33. I like the tone of the Rolands, but they don't project into a room as well as the Loudbox series of Fishman amps.

But the Fishman amps sound like a guitar playing through an amp. More volume should not to be confused with better tone.

I would take an AER (high end amp) or UltraSound DS-4 AG-50 over either a Fishman or Roland. They both project better, and sound more natural to my ear, and both has an 8" woofer and high frequency driver versus 6" or 6.5" woofer of the Roland or Fishman mini. If you are going to sing through the amp, the 8" woofer is highly preferable.

[ricdoug]

You can use the line out of the Roland, depending on how far away the mixer is from the AC-33. Just being able to run the AC-33 on batteries is another great feature that opens up other opportunities to perform. The two 5" coaxial speakers in the Roland AC-33 are mounted to disperse the sound at a wide angle for a true stereo acoustic chorus. I rarely plug mine into AC, as it makes for quicker setup and teardown. Ric

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I have a quick question about the AC-33. Does the looper work on the mic channel, or only the instrument channel?

[penny]

The looper works with both channels.

[ricdoug]

It works wirh all 3 channels (there's RCA/MP3 inputs on the back with their own level control). Ric

[penny]

I haven't used the Fishman, but I've gigged extensively with an AC33 for several years and am very happy with it. I use it in battery mode for guitar and vocals and it works and sounds great and has been completely reliable. I find in to be plenty loud for small venues and even outdoors in relatively quiet settings. I rarely use the chorus effects, but the reverb, looper, and anti feedback switch are super. I love how light it is and running on batteries makes for a simple quick setup.

[Seanr]

Thanks for the replies.
I decided on the Roland in the end, don't have the option to try Ultrasound and AER are way out of my budget. Only had about 10 minutes with it so far but am pretty happy with the sound from this little box. Like the fact it has a looper - hopefully handy going along with Toby's lessons. Also like the weight. In a house with partner and two 7 year olds meant the old amp hardly got dragged out as it was bulky and heavier and I often could just not be bothered - oh and it does not sound this good either. I like playing through an amp sometimes - have to clean up my playing as its not as forgiving as being fully acoustic. Being lighter, I expect to use it a bit more and yes if we get gigging the battery power should be good for street performances or farmers markets (I get the impression Farmer's markets over here are a bit smaller than those in the States). This should do nicely to enhance our acoustic volume.
Cheers everyone.

Originally Posted by penny

The looper works with both channels.

Thank you and ricdoug for your help!