Marshall or Fishman amp?
 

I can't decide between the Fishman Loudbox Mini and the Marshall AS50D. Love the sound and features of both. Any good or bad experiences you have had with either?

I've got the Fishman Loudbox Mini which use when playing instrumental music in small rooms. It brings out the true sound of my higher end acoustics quite well... and I'm pretty fussy about that.

Larry-

I will mainly use it for now to amplify my practice, learning, and just overall enjoyment. I just purchased a 314ce and want to experience it's full sound. I'm sure at some point I will perform for my family, friends, and hope someday to perform on a small scale but I am not close to that level yet.

Thanks Toby- I'm leaning to the Fishman but guess I wanted a Marshall just to have a Marshall. Not a very good reason.
jlee

Fishman for sure.

I for one love the Marshall.

Bob

The Marshall AS50D is not a heavey beast weighing about 35lbs. That's not much to me to carry. It has better low end than the Loudbox mini. You can sing through it with no problem, playing along with an Ipod at the same time through the 1/8" connector. The built in reverb and chorus makes it a no brainer choice.

I have a Fishman Loudbox Artist LBX600. It's a compact amp, it weighs in at about 25 lbs and delivers about 120 watts biamped. It's LOUD. The effects sound great, it gives my acoustic guitars a very natural sound. I haven't had any experience at all with the little Marshall, but I can't imagine it would be bad....after all, it's a Marshall.

Yeah, one of the things I really like about the Fishman Artist is that it has an 8" woofer as well as a 1" tweeter. The 1" tweeter can be controlled separately, which gives you the capability of completely rescaping the sound. IIRC the power distribution is 100w to the woofer and 20w to the tweeter.

I own one of each and love them both. For portability I really like the Loudbox Mini and for its size has a big sound. The Marshall although not that heavy is bulkier. It is my favorite overall and works well with vocals.

That said, given your criteria, the Fishman would be my choice (and its a bit cheaper).

Don't get the Fishman Loudbox Mini confused with the Fishman Loudbox Artist....two different amps.

jleeasc

I know how you feel I can't decide between as well but the more I look into it, it looks like the Marshall is winning out. But I'll be watching what people have to say here before I make my decision.

Both good amps! I played the Marshall live and it was good. I played the Fishman mini in a shop and was shocked how natural a sound it had while being small.
The Ultrasound DS4 is another one that many including myself love. Very natural and full sounding.

I agree. In fact, I now have a DS4 after not one, but TWO Fishman loudbox minis were returned for being defective.

I have the Marshall. As others have said, it is great, with nice effects. Nothing like having 2 8" speakers....this thing has volume. I have used it at outoor weddings and it carried to the back row and beyond. It is great for vocals too.

Marshall
 

I had a Marshall amp in 1964 and didn't have another one till quite recently. I suppose I though of Marshall as loud big rock amps. And of course they are - as that's what Marshall markets to us all. However.

The AS50D is a whole different beast and with its dual 8" speakers and 1.5" tweeter it certainly packs a low punch. Not super loud as you might need for a 200 person audience but plenty for a group of say 100 who don't want to be blasted. So for the average acoustic wedding gig where you find yourself playing what is essentially background mood music and singing, or a coffee shop gig - just fine. (More than that and there's a Marshall 100).

The AS50D isn't really a 50 watt amp as its rated at 50 into 4 ohm - which is a bit of a cheat because most of us rate amp's power as into 8 ohm - so it roughly halves the loudness. But its plenty loud enough for my work and singing, and you could always DI out to a PA if needed.

Chorus and Reverb are on hand and whoever worked out those channel controls knew what a gigging musician would want - they are both channel assignable - chorus with a switch button and reverb with a balance knob. And these's also a notch filter to keep feedback under control.

The AS50D is well though through and for the price a good starter pack for anyone going live for the first time. I know there are better amps out there for a lot more money - but hey - if you are a working musician you need to be making money not spending it all. After all, very few members of an audience can tell you are playing a $1500 amp anyway - so why buy one?

I went through the whole acoustic amp choice thing not that long ago, considered the Marshall, ended up with a Loudbox Artist.

It seems to me that the Loudboxes have really nailed the combination of price, portability, and good-enough tone. I'm sure if I was spending a ton of money on a higher-end pickup and signal chain that I'd be running into the limits of the Fishman, but with an UST it's clearly not the limitation I'm dealing with.

(I picked the Artist over the Mini mostly because I wanted the bigger speaker for vocals.)

This doesn't exactly solve your problem, but between the Marshall and the Mini, my sense is that the Marshall sounds a (very) little bit better, is more expensive (especially when you consider that you can usually get a mic/stand/cable deal with the mini. Somebody's always offering that deal for no extra money), and is a lot less portable.

If you already have a mic/cable/stand, and don't plan on taking the amp anywhere, I'd probably grab the Marshall. But I also really value low weight in amps, so if I was expecting to take it places, I'd get the Fiashman.

That being said, I don't think the sound improvement is particularly meaningful with a typical mag or UST pickup. If you've got a dual source, or a Tonedexter, or any of that stuff, maybe it is.

I had the Marshall 100 for a few years. I auditioned Fishman Loudbox Mini and Artist at the same time alongside it. Last year, I sold my Marshall and bought a Loudbox Artist. The Marshall definitely has a slightly more natural tone than the Fishman (to my ears) but the size and weight of the Marshall had become a real problem.

I miss its warmth, but not its weight or general inconvenience!

+1

I recently purchased a Mesa Boogie Rosette amp, but I really struggled with myself to do so. I like my Marshall AS50 so much, I thought, why not save $750 and just get another Marshall? Part of my plan is going thru two amps through a Radial ABY box. I play guitar, I don't sing, so I can't say about vocals thru any amp. But for guitar playing the AS50 is IMO wonderful. I can only hope that when it arrives the Rosette is at least somewhat better sounding (to my ear), even if not $750 better. If not I may just return it and get a second AS50.