Loudbox Artists for Solo gig

RBK · #1 06-14-2021, 06:10 PM

Seriously thinking of buying a Fishman Artist Acoustic amp. I do have a Yamaha EMX512SC Powered Mixer and Twin Mackie C200 10" speakers that I've been using for DJ / Karaoke acts at VFW's and small Halls without any problems.
I'll be going to my summer fishing cabin and I just don't have the room to pack up my pa system, but I want to spend the next 4 months practicing and getting my act together so I can start playing out the end of Oct. My thoughts are running my Epiphone DR500 MCE into a TC-Helicon Harmony G XT pedal, then out to a Boss RV-6 Reverb Pedal into channel 1 then my Shure SM58 out of the XRL out from the Harmony to Channel 2. I figure I could work on getting a good balance between guitar and vocals and get use to the sound. Since the Artists has built in chorus I'll pick up the foot switch to add the chorus effects when needed. When playing out I'll run the DI Channel 1 & 2 out's into my Yamaha Mixer and adjust
volume as needed for the room size. Any thoughts or advice ???????
Thanks
Rick

leew3 · #2 06-15-2021, 06:26 AM

Sounds like a great choice for your situation. I have used my LB Artist frequently in the 7 years since I got it for exactly the type of situation you note. Though I'm half of a duo, we each have this amp and have yet to find a venue in which two of them together didn't shine. For our larger outdoor gigs we use the DI out to powered speakers just as you suggest. It works great. And as I've noted in another thread, I recently sent the head back to Fishman to have them look it over just for scheduled maintenance. They couldn't replicate the odd sound I was experiencing so sent me a brand new amp head for a $50 bench fee and shipping. Great amp with equally great support.

rmp · #3 06-15-2021, 06:29 AM

I have a few acoustic amps, IMHO, you can't go make a bad decision going with the loud box artist.

Goat Mick · #4 06-15-2021, 06:33 AM

The Artist is an excellent gigging amp. I've used mine in indoor situations up to 200 people in a fairly large room. It's not going to be very often that you'll need more than the Artist for a venue unless it's a large open outdoor setting. They really are a versatile piece of equipment and I don't think you'll regret buying it.

Jinder · #5 06-15-2021, 06:56 AM

A few years ago I borrowed an Artist for a month whilst one of my old Performers was in for warranty work. I found it sweeter sounding than the Performer and more than powerful enough to do the job for most small/medium gigs such as blues clubs, cafe/restaurant/pub/bar shows.

I had reliability issues with the Performer and went through three of them, but that may well have been a model specific problem. The Artist I borrowed performed flawlessly.

Lost Sheep · #6 06-15-2021, 01:04 PM

One nice thing about the Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge: It has battery power.

It does not have the separate outputs of the Performer, but you can take it out on your cabin's porch or wherever and still play.

So, "Go Big or Go Home" changes to "Go Small if Not Home"

RBK · #7 06-15-2021, 03:53 PM

Thanks for all the input !!! Will go with the LB Artist. Sweetwater has a package deal that can be customized. $649.00 for Amp, Mike , cable and boom stand. Since I have a few Shure SM58 mikes, I'll pass on their mike and and get the Louadbox foot switch instead. I'll upgrade the Boom stand and everything will be great. One thing I also like about the Artist is it has a separate Volume control for the Aux input. My wife has an excellent voice and I can incorporate Her into my act, singing to backing tracks.(Karaoke) Will do 30 minutes of guitar and vocals and have her come up for the last 15-20 minutes of the set. Then Break!!! Funny I checked out two solo acts this past week and both guitar players were playing and singing to backing tracks,(Canned Music ) I mean Drums. Bass, Strings, Harmony, ect,,,.Kick in the butt is that a lot of the songs they sang were way out of their range so I know they didn't program their own backing tracks. Then too, the only people who would notice are other musicians. Don't get me wrong I'm not picking, where I'm at in Florida there is a great demand for solo acts and as long as the customer likes what they hear everything is Golden. Most venues have live acts from 6pm -9pm three night a week and most clientele remember who Eddy Arnold & Jim Reeves were and can humm their songs. Think I'll have a Fun Winter.
Thanks
Rick

leew3 · #8 06-16-2021, 05:40 AM

Good luck with what sounds like an excellent plan. I run my mandolin in the Aux channel and it works great and this channel is also part of the DI out that you can send to an external speaker for larger gigs. You're going to love the Artist and you've made a good call on the foot switch too. If I don't feel like taking my 12 string, I'll preset some chorus for the 6 string and simply hit the switch. I still prefer the fuller sound of the 12 string but the chorus can be 'close enough' for some situations!