Blackstar Acoustic Core 30 amp anyone?

[Rudy4]

So here's a unique question, outside of the usual "What pickup should I get?" type of inquiry.

I'm curious if anyone reading here has one of these:

Blackstar Acoustic Core 30 amplifier with guitar and microphone channels

Seeing the recent new "livingroom ready" wood cabinet amp from Taylor got me curious what it might be like to re-house a stereo combo amp with the right features (and low price) in a custom wood cabinet. The Taylor offering is a mono single speaker amp, so that kills any interest for me. The only way an acoustic guitar sounds good to me through an amp is if it has true stereo reverb and possibly true stereo chorus applied. This is really about "home use", so all those mono amps just don't sound good to me.

The Blackstar in the link above is NOT attractive, but re-housing it in a nice custom hardwood cabinet might truly turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. The stereo 30 watt amp and 5" speakers would really only be for "home use" although there are a few who busk this amp.

One of the common complaints I see is combos, especially modeling amps, are just way more complex than what someone would want in a living room amp. This amp has pretty much the ideal feature set and might be a good candidate for a makeover. Compact, enough power, simple controls with built in reverb and chorus, true stereo effects, etc.

Using the basic amp in a custom wood cabinet with a pair of 8" drivers might also be considered.

Since I do a lot of custom woodwork the cabinet part would be easy, its just a matter of if this particular amp would be suitable for the conversion.

I already have a Cube EX that I LOVE for both my home amp and gigging needs, so this would really be a "just for fun" project if I decide to do it. A spare Cube EX would work, but $500 is a bit much to spend on an amp to gut for its chassis.

[shufflebeat]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Seeing the recent new "livingroom ready" wood cabinet amp from Taylor got me curious what it might be like to re-house a stereo combo amp with the right features (and not so low price) in a custom wood cabinet.

Following on from that previous thread:



This should help you sort out friends from mere neighbours.

Apologies for the early hijack.



P.S.

On a more relevant note - if you’re up for some DIY then myself and a buddy made our own busking amps many years ago with motorcycle batteries and off-the-shelf amp modules. They ended up looking not unlike the amps we’re seeing now and we chose the specific ply panels for their grain quality and how it would look when stained and varnished.

No EQ controls but any reasonable guitar preamp will have EQ and FX options above and beyond anything on these amps so why duplicate?

A couple of HiFi speakers and a mains powered 2x50w amp would easily cover home-playing duties.

[GoPappy]

Originally Posted by shufflebeat

Following on from that previous thread:

I like that. It's got a sort of steampunk look to it.

[Rudy4]

Nobody's picked one of these up for a home use amp?