New archtop day but need amp
 

Just acquired a new Peerless Monarch Archtop with floating humbucker pickup at the neck.. Which small amp works well for an archtop? I want that jazz tone but also want some good acoustic guitar tone plugged in too. I need two channels for dual source as I might go with an acoustic UST as well as the floating humbucker. I also need to keep this around $500 or so. I am looking at the Roland Acoustic Singer as it would work for my acoustics as well as the archtop. Also looking at the Roland Jazz Chorus 22, a small but awesome little amp for only the guitar and no vocals.

If you have any ideas for me that fit my requirements below, please let me know. Thanks

...Small and under 35 pounds
...Works for archtop with one humbucker
...Good acoustic tone available for my acoustics
...Good highs...very important
...Two channels if possible
...$500 or less

Fishman Loudbox Artist is a good one. Sweetwater will also work with you over the phone on the price.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LoudboxArt

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7bf5deefbf.jpg

I just ordered one of these after looking hard at everything I could find. Versatile and great tone expected!

Boss Acoustic Singer Live 60-watt Bi-amp Acoustic Combo with FX $499

Thats a great amp. I had a chance to play through one and loved it. I think its even better than the Fishman products for archtop. I have the Fishman Loudbox 100 and will give it a good try out first before going for something else. Your amp is awesome for vocals too. Enjoy.

Just got the BOSS and had a chance to try it out with the arch top tonight.. OH MY GOODNESS it sounds amazing! I was going to unload the arch top but with this amp I’m keeping it!

Great to hear this. I have the VE-8 already which is the tone/eq/gain/effects/chorus/harmony section of the Acoustic Singer from Boss. I have not had a chance to try that with my sound system that I use for gigging, the HK Lucas Nano 300. I also have a Fishman Loudbox 100 that I will try it with and maybe use it for a monitor. Not sure if I want to drop another $500 for another amp when it s doing double duty with some of my other stuff.
Do you think its the preamp section alone making you go crazy over it or is it also the speakers? I got the VE-8 to use with my HK system but it really doesn't play nicely with my Taylor 812 with the es2. Sounds outrageous though with my Lowden with an Element under saddle. Outstanding sound.

Highly recommend the new Boss Katana 50. See my review in the amplification section of this forum. Amazing sound with both my archtop and my acoustic/electrics. Light weight, and very inexpensive compared to others. 50 watts, plenty of power to fill small/medium rooms and multiple settings for tone variation.

New archtop day but need amp
 

Roland Jazz Chorus? Also the Roland AC 33, 60, 90.


https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JC-22

I endorse the BOSS recommendation but if you are a singer as well I’d recommended you step up to the Acoustic Singer or Pro. Outstanding capabilities for voice and guitar.

A very good option but the full-blown JC 120 is quite big and heavy, Capefisherman has suggested the Boss Katana 50 which is also a good choice (I'm biassed though as I have one myself) and the clean setting on that is based on the Roland amp. The Katana is small and light and has a vast amount of sounds available and I think it sounds good with an archtop. I'm using an Eastman AR371CE and get a good "traditional" electric jazz sound with the setup. :)

Thanks much for all the great input on this. I am still trying to decide but it looks like it's between the Roland Jazz Chorus 40, the 22, or the Roland Acoustic Singer Live. I like the distortion for acoustic guitar on the Jazz Chorus 40 but its heavy at 35 pounds but has the distortion and two 10" speakers for better lows which I really like for solo performance and to direct out into my HK Audio Lucas Nano 300 with its sub.
The Acoustic Singer Live is at 23 pounds and has a vocal channel with harmony which I do use gigging. Wish I could play all three but in Bend, Oregon there are no stores that have any of those in stock. Bummer.

Been playing archtops since 1962 (electric archtops since 1964), UST-equipped acoustics since the mid-70's - voice of experience here; in order:

• Small is nice - I'm not getting any younger, and I appreciate lightweight gear - but if you're looking to get the most out of your instrument the operative words here are power and headroom. Wattage in an amplifier doesn't necessarily need to equate with raw volume - what you want here is sufficient dynamic range to allow for the full expressive spectrum of which these instruments are capable, and enough reserve capacity to reproduce your tone clearly and accurately at any desired volume; I saw Les Paul play a small-club gig with a silverface Twin Reverb - most players would consider it gross overkill - and I'd be inclined to think he knew a little something about both tone and electronics...
• If you're using a UST and you want your instrument to sound "acoustic" - as opposed to the Tommy Emmanuel "scratch-&-quack" that passes for good acoustic-electric tone in the judgment of many (but not all) players - you need fewer "highs" than you think, especially given the natural response envelope (often referred to as "cutting power") of an archtop. When Charlie Kaman developed the first viable piezo-based acoustic-electric pickups in the mid-60's, they were designed around the typical pro/semi-pro equipment of their day - think mid-/high-power (tube) 1x12"/2x12"/4x10" combo amp - and IME you'll still get the most "acoustic" sound from a UST if you run into the low-gain input of an amp of this general type...
• If you need two channels for separate mag/piezo EQ capability, you might want to look into an old-style combo amp with two independent channels - Roland JC-120, Fender blackface/silverface, Ampeg Gemini I/II, or the like - that will also provide you with the period-correct jazz tone you're after when you kick in that humbucker; unfortunately, none of those come cheap. Speaking as a long-time owner, I'd recommend seeking out a pre-1985 Randall RG-120 (these came in two variations - "orange-stripe" and "gray-stripe"); designed by a former partner of Leo Fender and intended to compete with the silverface CBS/Fender combos (as well as Leo's own Music Man amps) - and priced comparably in their day - they were an extremely rugged, toneful, low-maintenance alternative for working musicians at all levels (small wonder the metal guys embraced them), and available in a variety of speaker configurations. Good news is that they're grossly underappreciated/undervalued in today's market - I've seen electronically-sound road warriors selling for as little as $100, with good-to-excellent examples in the $200-250 range (about one-third the price of a used JC-120 - with better tone IMO); they're not exactly lightweight - they were quality then and now, and approach their Fender counterparts in the pounds-per-watt department - but if your needs are simple, or you want a solid platform for outboard effects, I can't think of a better way to go in terms of price/performance...

Hope this helps...

Steve..
Wow. I sure appreciate your time, effort and knowledge here. Very valuable to me. I have played full time for about forty years but not electrics nor archtops. Its a whole new world and i have a lot to learn. You are helping so so much. I am going to start looking into those old gems you mentioned and see what I find. I used to have an Fender bass amp, a huge hunk of a thing, that I used for acoustic guitar. Besides the weight issue, the tone was great and warm but clear. Some keyboard amps are like that too. So my search continues but I am in no hurry for now.
Any more ideas you have are greatly appreciated. And needed. I have a steep learning curve going here to ramp up to using my archtop professionally in the style I have used my acoustics. I am very excited to see what I can do with a decent archtop.

Steve...
Are you saying that I ought to go for higher wattage/power than say a 50 watt amp? High wattage amp with a nice 12 inch speaker ought to work, right? Or not?

The Katana has distortion and many other Boss effects, all totally adjustable just like a stand-alone unit. :)