Replicating acoustic sound

[huckster]

I know the response could be objective to the listener, but is there a preferred Acoustic amp for reproducing the acoustic sound? I think the Crate models were well thought of some time back, but they don't surface much in recent searches. Names like Marshall, Fishman, AER, Fender, and Trace Elliot seem to dominate the acoustic opinions now days. I have always in the past used a AKG C1000 mic for live sound. Now with the advances in onboard acoustic pickups it's easier to just plug in. I'm thinking the 100W range. Please let me hear your thoughts/preferences. thanks, huckster

[martingitdave]

Hi Huckster! Welcome to AGF.

Your question is a good one. One we debate here a lot. And, many of us have experimented with all kinds of different options. Tell us more about what you're doing, the venues, vocals, etc.

The usual suspects (discussed here) for a good value in acoustic amps are: Fishman, AER, Schertler, UltraSound, and some others I'm forgetting. A new model that folks are excited about is the Boss Acoustic Singer amp with built in effects for guitar and vocals.

Personally, I use a Line 6 L2t PA speaker as my amp because it has more features, power, full frequency response, and doesn't take up much more room. If you can find of these on sale, I can attest to its quality. You're usually going to be in the $450 - $1000 price range for some of the more full featured models.

A popular "knock off" budget priced 60 watt amp is the Bulgera AC60. Some members have reported good results for $250 or less.

If you're just getting back into playing through amplification, most pickup systems will work with any of these amps. And, if you get a basic pickup system, consider getting a body rez pedal for $99 to "clean up" your tone. For many members, including me, it's the flavor du jour. You'll see that products get popular here as people buy and test them, and report of their attributes. Sometimes it's hype. But, most of the time, it's grounded in reality.

[Racerbob]

Now if you want the top of the line, same as players like Al Petteway, check out the Humphrey amps.

http://www.humphreyamps.com/products.html

Very expensive, impressive in person and only for the guitar. Though they now offer a duel channel model.

[BOOSE]

Hi,

For me the AER compact 60 is only amp i'd ever need, small, light, feature loaded, and the most natural reproduction of acoustic tone you could ask for.

I have recently got hold of a Martin ooo18 re and when i plugged it into the AER i couldn't get the smile of my face for a week!

[6L6]

I really like my Fishman Performer and Mini Loudbox amps.

But if I was looking to buy today, I'd sure want to check out the new BOSS amp.

[huckster]

I found a decent deal on a Crate Telluride CA125. Excellent cond. Any thoughts? thanks, huckster

[YamahaGuy]

Biamped PA speakers, to my ears, have been the best thing for reproducing the acoustic sound of a guitar. I love the way my guitars sound through a pair of Yamaha MSR400S speakers. Very detailed sound.

[Vancebo]

I have a Schertler Unico. It's for sale because I am downsizing to a Schertler David or an AER Slope 60. I called a guy in Seattle that runs Django books. He sells Schertler and AER. He described the difference between brands as two flavors of excellent. They are voiced differently to him and they have different approaches to the preamp section. The Schertler is more full featured mixer than the AER. You ought to try and check those out.

[Johnny.guitar]

Those AER amps are very good. If I was going the "amp" route that's where I'd go. However for acoustic & voice gigs of small to medium size the Bose L1 compact is truly an amazing piece of gear.
Acts as a main & monitor you hear what the audience hears. The sound dispersion is better than any amp....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Puerto Player]

If you're using a mic with guitar there are lot's of good amps. If you're using the pickup inside the guitar, I think a decent pre-amp makes a bigger difference than what amp you use.

[ukejon]

I have an AER Compact 60/2 and it certainly is a fine piece of equipment. On the other hand, AER amps seem to color the sound a bit more than some others and that can be something you have to deal with.

[Vancebo]

Originally Posted by ukejon

I have an AER Compact 60/2 and it certainly is a fine piece of equipment. On the other hand, AER amps seem to color the sound a bit more than some others and that can be something you have to deal with.

You know, You mentioned it. The guy I talked to did say that the AER is designed to make piezos sound good. He thought the same as you. They color the sound to be "Warmer". That's not a knock BTW.

[Turp]

This debated a lot and my belief is once the sound is amplified, it's not acoustic rather acoustic sounding so I pursue either of 2 paths; as accurate as possible acoustic sound or create a sound/tone through the signal chain.

My 2cents experience is that really good arrays and speakers, with not larger than s 10" driver, seem to be more "accurate". Larger drivers can get woofy and loose some detail.

I have a Schertler David I play exclusively at home and used a Yamaha DBR10 powered PA on gigs. Earlier on, I would use the Shertler but found I needed a smidge more power. A powered PA, made more sense to me regarding tone and bang for the buck. I also play through a Fishman SA220 in an acoustic duo and it is very accurate and incredibly practical.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Turp

This debated a lot and my belief is once the sound is amplified, it's not acoustic rather acoustic sounding so I pursue either of 2 paths; as accurate as possible acoustic sound or create a sound/tone through the signal chain.



My 2cents experience is that really good arrays and speakers, with not larger than s 10" driver, seem to be more "accurate". Larger drivers can get woofy and loose some detail.



I have a Schertler David I play exclusively at home and used a Yamaha DBR10 powered PA on gigs. Earlier on, I would use the Shertler but found I needed a smidge more power. A powered PA, made more sense to me regarding tone and bang for the buck. I also play through a Fishman SA220 in an acoustic duo and it is very accurate and incredibly practical.

How would you describe your sound with the Fishman versus the Yamaha with regards to accuracy?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Turp]

The Fishman is my playing partner's and we've used it a lot. I wish I would have paid more attention when we used them together.

They are comparable tonally at modest to slightly elevated volumes and we often use both together. At the playing levels we use, you'd have to do some careful listening to say one was more accurate than the other; I've never really picked up a noticeable difference. That said, the Fishman is likely more accurate and would be my first choice if I had to only have one.

When I use my DBR as a soloist, I also carry a TC VoiceSolo FX150 because it's just easy to carry and use; it is an awesome personal monitor. If I owned a SA220 I wouldn't use the monitor because the array disperses so well, you can sit/stand just to the side of it and hear a nice accurate tone. This can be done with a small PA but just not quite as well. For this reason, I believe smaller PAs like 8-10" , as opposed to larger 12-15", do well at more intimate settings and arrays even better. Where the Fishman suffers is it starts falling off when pushed to higher volumes.

FWIW- Explanation on the combined use of the SA220 and DBR10:
We play instrumental so we can get away with a minimal set up without monitors. In addition, we're playing for ambience at modest listening levels. For outdoors and larger rooms, we use both together. We basically use them as mains. We mix both signals to each main so we could hear each other. The main on a player's side had more of their signal in the mix.