Why 'Acoustic Amps'?

[Wellington]

I don't actually own an acoustic amp but I use the church's when I need to, why don't standard electric guitar amps not work well for acoustics? Even if you're running your own pedals into it, will a regular amp work alright?

[rmp]

Sure, it will "work" but most "guitar amps" are not voiced to match the tone you'd be seeking for an amplifying an acoustic. The resulting sound just wont do a good acoustic with a decent pickup system justice..

A full range setup with some kind of moderately size speaker for low frequencies, high end driver for higher frequencies works better for amplifying acoustics.

Many acoustic amps also have notch filters which helps feedback control.

[Wellington]

Originally Posted by rmp

Sure, it will "work" but most "guitar amps" are not voiced to match the tone you'd be seeking for an amplifying an acoustic. The resulting sound just wont do a good acoustic with a decent pickup system justice..

A full range setup with some kind of moderately size speaker for low frequencies, high end driver for higher frequencies works better for amplifying acoustics.

Many acoustic amps also have notch filters which helps feedback control.

Awesome thanks

[Silly Moustache]

As Royal Military Police says, Amps for electric guitars are mostly about effects and distortion, and all about signals from magnetic pick-ups. whereas so called "acoustic" amps are (one hopes) cleaner, more "hifi" sound, however, I must admit that I prefer my acoustic sound to go through a mixer into good p.a. speakers with as little in between as possible.

[Mandobart]

A primary difference is acoustic amps are made for piezo pickups, which have an impedance about 1000 times higher than magnetic pickups. And there's the broader frequency range provided by the speaker arrangement, which also makes them suitable for vocals. I've never seen an electric guitar amp you could/should plug a mic into.

[Chipotle]

I don't have an acoustic amp, and will occasionally plug an acoustic into an electric amp for experimental purposes. It amplifies the acoustic, but aside from that the results are less than satisfactory. As others note, the frequency range of electric guitar amps is much narrower and mid-range focused--which is the frequency range you get from electric pickups.

Acoustic amps are closer to full frequency and flat response, so you get a sound that reproduces an acoustic better.

[birdmove]

I think it depends on the amp also. Seems like some of my regular amps sound okay when I plug in my acoustic. I've tried my little Pignose 7-100 battery powered amp, and it sound all right, and is super small and portable.

[perttime]

Everybody should try an acoustic guitar through the overdrive channel of an electric guitar amp. It will not be a smooth and sweet sound - but if you ever need something raw and rough, that is it. Watch out for feedback, though.

[barefooter]

For a while way back in 03, I was asked to play acoustic in a gospel group. At that time, I didn't have an amp, but the leader of the group did have an electric amp they had used in the past. I plugged into it and dialed in the best sound I could get, but I was never satisfied 100%. I just felt the overall sound was harsh to my ears, but that's me. After a period of time, the group members went their separate ways.

As time went on, I ended up purchasing a PA for a quartet we started with some of our church members. I plugged into the PA and really enjoyed the Taylor running into the PA. As stated by others here, the range of sound (frequency) was good with highs and lows making the 814 sound sweet to my ears.

I recently bought an acoustic amp last year and now carry it around to various places. My guitar sounds good through it and the added benefit is the ability to plug a mic into it. I can run the amp into the PA if I want, but have never had the need thus far.

[RockerDuck]

Acoustic amplifiers are like mini PA's. To play acoustic and sing thru mostly. Now, a nice electric amp, like a Fender Twin reverb, work well for acoustic. Fender even made a 4 channel PA head that was a Twin Reverb with two added channels. Back in the 60's we played and sang thru Twin reverbs and Vox ac30 amps and put electric guitar pickups in our acoustics.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by d.loseth

I don't actually own an acoustic amp but I use the church's when I need to, why don't standard electric guitar amps not work well for acoustics? Even if you're running your own pedals into it, will a regular amp work alright?

Hi d.l

Electric amps (particularly open back) are designed for mid range, not bass, and they are designed to overdrive easily.

Acoustic amps (and keyboard amps) are full spectrum, and designed to NOT overdrive easily. And they have a broader frequency spectrum designed for where acoustic guitars set in that realm.

My acoustic amps are all 2 way (bass and high frequency speakers/drivers) whereas my electric amps are all single speaker 'blasters'.

Many high end acoustic amps find the best tone blend with an 8" driver and high frequency driver. Some are as small as 4.5" and 6.5" but I find these are not powerful enough as stage amps when I'm going through a large system and am on a noisy stage. The 8" versions do keep up. I've heard a couple 12" two or three way cabinets which were ok with acoustic guitars too. Unfortunately, some like the SWR Blonde are no longer made, and weigh about 55 pounds.

Hope this adds to the discussion…

[lkingston]

There are a couple of amps that work really well for both acoustic and electric guitar. The only problem is that usually they don’t have a vocal channel. If you don’t sing though, and play both electric and acoustic guitar, there are some good options.

You can also use an electric guitar preamp with an acoustic amp to get good electric/acoustic/vocal sounds.

[lkingston]

I also have heard people use an acoustic guitar with a magnetic soundhole pickup and an electric amp or a tube preamp. I have a friend who does that. The sound is more electric than acoustic, but it can sound really good, especially for bluesy music.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by lkingston

There are a couple of amps that work really well for both acoustic and electric guitar. The only problem is that usually they don’t have a vocal channel. If you don’t sing though, and play both electric and acoustic guitar, there are some good options.

You can also use an electric guitar preamp with an acoustic amp to get good electric/acoustic/vocal sounds.

The Boss Katana I think is one such amp...

[Spenceroo]

My electric guitars sound great through my Genzler Line Array Pro.