The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Acoustic Amplification

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #16  
Old 05-17-2017, 05:45 PM
Puerto Player Puerto Player is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 821
Default

I have an AC33 and it's a great amp, it gets very loud and it stays very clean. The anti-feedback actually works and the built in looper is a blast. You can fully crank the channel and master volumes and my acoustic guitars never get muddy, it's stays sparkling clean. It's light, small, powerful, battery operated and it sounds great. Oh, the reverb and chorus are both decent as well.
__________________
2001 Goodall RGCC
2004 Goodall RPC-14
2022 Emerald X20 Hyvibe
2021 Emerald X7 Select
2020 Emerald X10 Woody Select 3-way
2016 Emerald X20 Artisan
2002 Gibson J185EC JJ Cale
2009 Gibson EC-20
1974 Alvarez Dreadnought
2013 Woody Tahitian hybrid Uke
2008 Zager 3/4 Size
Some camp fire guitars, classical's,
& electric's
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 05-17-2017, 05:54 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Chicago
Posts: 11,291
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Puerto Player View Post
I have an AC33 and it's a great amp, it gets very loud and it stays very clean. The anti-feedback actually works and the built in looper is a blast. You can fully crank the channel and master volumes and my acoustic guitars never get muddy, it's stays sparkling clean. It's light, small, powerful, battery operated and it sounds great. Oh, the reverb and chorus are both decent as well.

That's the one I was thinking of! Couldn't remember the name but I recalled they had other models that use batteries.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 05-17-2017, 07:58 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: North burbs of Chicago
Posts: 929
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
Hi numb! Is he in Chicago like us? There are fewer options for buskers in our local stores. Plenty of high end stuff, but not much battery powered equipment. He'd probably have to order online and experiment. Sweetwater is good to order from. Most stuff comes overnight. What is his budget? How long a battery life does he need? For $200, CASD57's suggestion of the Kustom PA40 seems like an excellent solution. Otherwise the Roland street cubes seem to be the defacto choice.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
He is local in Chicago. I would like to keep the budget around $200 if possible. He use to busk a long time ago but it's been so long, he pretty much has to learn everything over again. I was also considering getting lucky on craigslist.
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 05-17-2017, 08:05 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: North burbs of Chicago
Posts: 929
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Puerto Player View Post
I have an AC33 and it's a great amp, it gets very loud and it stays very clean. The anti-feedback actually works and the built in looper is a blast. You can fully crank the channel and master volumes and my acoustic guitars never get muddy, it's stays sparkling clean. It's light, small, powerful, battery operated and it sounds great. Oh, the reverb and chorus are both decent as well.
Seems for a noob busker the ac33 and the street cube seems to get a lot of love. Going to have to research all the suggestions. Thanks for all the help everyone. If there are any more, please chime in.
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 05-17-2017, 08:10 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: North burbs of Chicago
Posts: 929
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by CASD57 View Post
Kustom has the PA40 battery powered with blue tooth , I've got the non battery PA50 and it's very good considering it's $99 the PA40 is $199 haven't tried it but if it sounds like the PA50 it's a winner. If you need more volume you could link two together
Harbinger and Alto has similar units

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk
The kustom pa40 looks pretty good and the price is right.
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old 05-17-2017, 08:17 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Chicago
Posts: 11,291
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by numb fingertips View Post
He is local in Chicago. I would like to keep the budget around $200 if possible. He use to busk a long time ago but it's been so long, he pretty much has to learn everything over again. I was also considering getting lucky on craigslist.


I would be careful buying equipment with internal/rechargeable batteries on Craigslist, unless you're pricing in the value of a new battery. There are some less than reputable people trying to unload broken junk.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 05-17-2017, 08:24 PM
Puerto Player Puerto Player is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 821
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by numb fingertips View Post
Seems for a noob busker the ac33 and the street cube seems to get a lot of love. Going to have to research all the suggestions. Thanks for all the help everyone. If there are any more, please chime in.

I had a Street Cube, well actually I bought one for my son, it seemed more designed for electric guitars than acoustic. Cool little amp, but if your friend is going all acoustic, the AC33 is better suited.
__________________
2001 Goodall RGCC
2004 Goodall RPC-14
2022 Emerald X20 Hyvibe
2021 Emerald X7 Select
2020 Emerald X10 Woody Select 3-way
2016 Emerald X20 Artisan
2002 Gibson J185EC JJ Cale
2009 Gibson EC-20
1974 Alvarez Dreadnought
2013 Woody Tahitian hybrid Uke
2008 Zager 3/4 Size
Some camp fire guitars, classical's,
& electric's
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 05-17-2017, 08:50 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,387
Default

Every time this subject comes up, the Roland (and other tiny amp options) come up as quality solutions. I think that we here on the AGF, ought to look a tad more closely at why that is. Fact is that, almost every one of you (especially the vocal posters) use two standards for performance, one for 'paid gigs' and another for busking. I can see it in what you require as minimum good equipment at a bar gig vs. The Roland micro cube and kustom PA50 that y'all recommend for the streets.

I'm never going back to playing with poor equipment because I have pride in what I do and I want all of the advantages good equipment brings. Now I personally have no love for the Roland AC33/kC110 or Street Cube Ex, or the Mackie Freeplay either. I can though, see why people might recommend them. They're not God-awful.

The micro cube and that Kustom PA50 are Kiddie City level Barbie & Ken toys and its just wrong to recommend them. Now CAD79 replied that you don't need to be loud and while that might be true sometimes, its pretty seldom true that you won't be overdriving a micro cube (maybe outside a hospital or something...). I'll tell you flat out that distortion is the number one cause of busker hating complaints, right beside ' he plays the same song over and over'.

If you go out there and sound like crap, you're making us all look bad and causing trouble far beyond just you. Use the same standard whenever and wherever you play. Aim to sound as good as you can and you might get famous one day.

I apologize for the slighted tone of this but I can't figure out how to sugar coat my point.
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 05-17-2017, 08:59 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: North burbs of Chicago
Posts: 929
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by dannyg1 View Post
Every time this subject comes up, the Roland (and other tiny amp options) come up as quality solutions. I think that we here on the AGF, ought to look a tad more closely at why that is. Fact is that, almost every one of you (especially the vocal posters) use two standards for performance, one for 'paid gigs' and another for busking. I can see it in what you require as minimum good equipment at a bar gig vs. The Roland micro cube and kustom PA50 that y'all recommend for the streets.

I'm never going back to playing with poor equipment because I have pride in what I do and I want all of the advantages good equipment brings. Now I personally have no love for the Roland AC33/kC110 or Street Cube Ex, or the Mackie Freeplay either. I can though, see why people might recommend them. They're not God-awful.

The micro cube and that Kustom PA50 are Kiddie City level Barbie & Ken toys and its just wrong to recommend them. Now CAD79 replied that you don't need to be loud and while that might be true sometimes, its pretty seldom true that you won't be overdriving a micro cube (maybe outside a hospital or something...). I'll tell you flat out that distortion is the number one cause of busker hating complaints, right beside ' he plays the same song over and over'.

If you go out there and sound like crap, you're making us all look bad and causing trouble far beyond just you. Use the same standard whenever and wherever you play. Aim to sound as good as you can and you might get famous one day.

I apologize for the slighted tone of this but I can't figure out how to sugar coat my point.
Then, I ask you what you would get if you had to start over again as a noob busker with a max $300 budget. Would prefer $200 to $250 ish. Going $500 to $600 is not an option.
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 05-17-2017, 09:11 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: North burbs of Chicago
Posts: 929
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Puerto Player View Post
I had a Street Cube, well actually I bought one for my son, it seemed more designed for electric guitars than acoustic. Cool little amp, but if your friend is going all acoustic, the AC33 is better suited.
Thanks for your input.
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 05-17-2017, 09:25 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: North burbs of Chicago
Posts: 929
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by dannyg1 View Post
Every time this subject comes up, the Roland (and other tiny amp options) come up as quality solutions. I think that we here on the AGF, ought to look a tad more closely at why that is. Fact is that, almost every one of you (especially the vocal posters) use two standards for performance, one for 'paid gigs' and another for busking. I can see it in what you require as minimum good equipment at a bar gig vs. The Roland micro cube and kustom PA50 that y'all recommend for the streets.

I'm never going back to playing with poor equipment because I have pride in what I do and I want all of the advantages good equipment brings. Now I personally have no love for the Roland AC33/kC110 or Street Cube Ex, or the Mackie Freeplay either. I can though, see why people might recommend them. They're not God-awful.

The micro cube and that Kustom PA50 are Kiddie City level Barbie & Ken toys and its just wrong to recommend them. Now CAD79 replied that you don't need to be loud and while that might be true sometimes, its pretty seldom true that you won't be overdriving a micro cube (maybe outside a hospital or something...). I'll tell you flat out that distortion is the number one cause of busker hating complaints, right beside ' he plays the same song over and over'.

If you go out there and sound like crap, you're making us all look bad and causing trouble far beyond just you. Use the same standard whenever and wherever you play. Aim to sound as good as you can and you might get famous one day.

I apologize for the slighted tone of this but I can't figure out how to sugar coat my point.
Also, how do you think the vox mini5 rhythm would compare to kustom pa40 and the roland ac33? Seems there is a new vox mini 5 rhythm available locally for $110.

Last edited by numb fingertips; 05-17-2017 at 09:37 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 05-17-2017, 09:46 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,387
Default

First I'd tell you that no one owes you an affordable answer. It costs to get in what it costs to get in.

Then I'd run you through some options that look good but are chances, not promised good.

Here's the first:

https://www.amazon.com/Sunburst-Gear...te+acoustics+a

It looks good, has 48v phantom and is built by a company that produces well reviewed, professional product. It has no reverb and I didn't look to see if it has an FX loop. Its the right price though.

Here's a second option:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alesis-Trans...oAAOSwI-BWPhyf

Again no reverb but its way better than a Micro cube. This I've heard and its reasonable. Closer to the AC33, with better bass than the AC33 and its $99.

Here's another option:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/K2-Energy-10...0AAOSwhQhY3iY7

With this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/automo...ter-66814.html


And something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine12V-1...kAAOSwSv1Xlh~e

For plugging in this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ibanez-Troub...YAAOSwX9FZGE~U

Or better, this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ibanez-Troub...QAAOSwdjNZBpVU

Fourth option:

Same battery system as above and buy a used Bugera AC60 for $169 or so. Would come in at $350 and run for around 2.5 hours on battery.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BUGERA-AC60-...IAAOSw32lYudGO

Remember that the AC33 is a $400 amp.

Last edited by dannyg1; 05-17-2017 at 09:53 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 05-17-2017, 09:56 PM
numb fingertips numb fingertips is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: North burbs of Chicago
Posts: 929
Default

Thank you for your input dannyg1. Not so much feeling anything is owed, just looking for the experience of members, so I avoid simple mistakes. I understand it costs more to sound good, but dealing with realities of a budget. I would like the best for what I can afford at the moment. Hopefully, my friend can upgrade to his preferences as he progresses.
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 05-17-2017, 09:58 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,387
Default

I own a mini5 rhythm and the next time I go to them local open mic, I'll have him plug it in instead of the Kustom PA50/and see. Its the best of the cheap, tiny AA powered amps I've tried, and I've owned a lot of them. Not the equal of the Roland AC33 or KC110 but very close (I've owned both of them) and with better reverbs. Less than half the price of either.



Quote:
Originally Posted by numb fingertips View Post
Also, how do you think the vox mini5 rhythm would compare to kustom pa40 and the roland ac33? Seems there is a new vox mini 5 rhythm available locally for $110.

Last edited by dannyg1; 05-17-2017 at 10:15 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old 05-17-2017, 10:05 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,387
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by numb fingertips View Post
Thank you for your input dannyg1. Not so much feeling anything is owed, just looking for the experience of members, so I avoid simple mistakes. I understand it costs more to sound good, but dealing with realities of a budget. I would like the best for what I can afford at the moment. Hopefully, my friend can upgrade to his preferences as he progresses.
I posted price points of $99 to $380 and did it at reasonable size and weights. They're all better options than the micro cube and street cube, most better than the AC33. Some far better.
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Acoustic Amplification

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:03 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=