Your advice: JAM vs Bud vs AER Compact 60/3

[Carmel Cedar]

Looking for a Fathers Day upgrade to my Loudbox Mini rig for home and possible very occasional out of home playing, mainly fingerstyle acoustic. My perusing of AGF suggests four options really stand out - not cheap, but excellent acoustic sound and a real upgrade to the Loudbox mini:

* Schertler JAM (newly upgraded version of the Jam 150)
* Henrikson BUD (new to me, sounds like it has fans!)
* AER Compact 60/3 (great portable solution)
* Mesa/Boogie Rosette (newly released acoustic amp)

Ease of carrying is not as important as pure, clear acoustic tone, so those benefits of the Bud or AER are secondary. I'd love any comparative comments or advice on the best choice for acoustic tone. Grateful for any thoughts or advice y'all might have!

Thanks in advance.

[Methos1979]

I auditioned a Bud and it did not meet my expectations or needs for an acoustic guitar/vocal amp. I just could not get the tone out of it that I needed. The small size and light weight were indeed really cool but that small size came with a lot of limitations and I felt it did not live up to it's hype, let alone the high cost. That said, it does have a lot of fans.

For me that would leave the other two as considerations. If I was weighting those more for playing out and portability then I'd go with the AER. If it was more for playing at home and only occasionally playing out I'd go with the JAM.

[lkingston]

On the other hand, I love my Bud. One thing about the Bud is that it has a downward facing port which is designed to work with the floor to produce bass frequencies. If you put it up on a table or a chair you lose the beautiful low end that you get on the floor. I use a little collapsible AER wedge to angle it up a bit and that seems to work fine, though I'm not at all sure it's necessary.


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[AeroUSA]

I would stick with the mini or get the Loudbox artist. I completely agree about the Bud. It worked better for electric guitar but I didn't like it for acoustic and vocals at all and I sold mine off. The Compact 60 is the best solution for portability and power but the EQ section can be a little limiting.

I would go for the Jam150 if I was you. The extra power is nice and what I have heard sounds great.

[hotroad]

Shertler Unico. Mine is for sale here for a steal. Even has the nice cover and is in wood for your living room. If you research these combo amps, you will find its the top of the line for Shertler who is the same as Acus who is the same as Jam 100 company. I had the Jam 400 and the Unico is miles above that. Check out the Shertler Unico since its the top of the pile for acoustic guitar. Vocals sound great as well. This amp has a ton of bass if you need it but also great tone shaping in the highs and mids with adjustable mids and a lot of other features. Mine is in excellent shape and works like new.

[akafloyd]

I've never seen a shop that has all three to a/b/c them but they all are very likable amps. I have The Bud in part because of some holiday deals and I like it very much. The bass port on the bottom is interesting but I find that if I elevate the amp I can boost the bass eq to regain what I might lose from the floor.

[Vancebo]

I have owned a Schertler Unico and I have auditioned the Henricksen Bud.

I don't know what people are saying about a downward facing port on the Bud. I suggest checking on that. The bass sounds better when it is sitting on the floor but that's it. I will agree with other posters that I couldn't dial in an acceptable acoustic sound with it. Maybe if I were looking for more of a jazz guitar sound but for a natural acoustic sound, it just wasn't there. I really wanted to love it.

The Jam is going to be much like the Unico. It will probably have a lot of bass response. It will have a great mixer section and have a wonderful natural sound.

The AER is a good one too but it won't have the same capabilities in the mixer portion of the amp as compared to the Schertler. It is designed to make piezo pickups sound warm. And it does that well.

I do not know which I would choose between the Schertler and the AER.

[Beagle1]

The Schertler Unico mentioned above is a really nice, hi-fi sounding amp!

Carmel Cedar -- You said ease of carrying is not a high priority, and I think those are 2 of the bigger selling points of the AER and The Bud. So I would maybe cross them off the list and look at something a little bigger with more features. That new Rosette acoustic amp from Mesa/Boogie looks like it might hit the sweet spot if you don't mind waiting a bit longer!

[Carmel Cedar]

Originally Posted by Beagle1

That new Rosette acoustic amp from Mesa/Boogie looks like it might hit the sweet spot if you don't mind waiting a bit longer!

Wow - did not know about the Rosette! This thread filled me in a bit: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=471360

Thank you all for great advice and insights. Too bad I don't live in Colorado, Shoreline has all three of my original amp contenders (the ultimate A/B/C test). Sounds like good love but mixed experiences with the Bud, and good experiences but more about portability with AER. With the Mesa/Boogie entry, for my needs this might be coming down to a two horse race - the broadly-loved Schertler, and the new Rosette (dark horse entry).

Decisions....decisions....

[Guitars44me]

Hey Andy check this poop:

Another thread going right now...

Copied my post:

I just read this entire! Thread...

My two cents. I am a retro one man band. Guitar, slide, harps in the rack, vocals, and foot percussion.

I am a couple days shy of 66 and HATE lugging and setting up gear after a lifetime of full time music!

My solution to most if not all of the above concerns is small, light, versatile and amazingly fat sounding.

I use an Acoustic Image Coda R series III amp. Two combo XlR/1/4" channels and two 1/4" line returns that can be used as inputs but lack tone controls. The newer series IIII has a removable amp/controls!

Weighs 20 lbs. 400W class D amp. Will power an extension speaker. Secret weapon is a 10" downfiring woofer, which was originally designed for upright bass! Makes my kick box sound a lot like a bass drum when I use one channel's Tone controls and roll off highs and most mids.

Has a built in tilt, but not enough to get it past Matt's waist... but I play seated to free up my feet, as I was a drummer for many lifetimes!

I put this amazing little box of tone on a small roller cart to my left, where I can reach the tone controls fairly easily. The cart uncouples it from the floor/stage and the kick box and eliminates feedback pretty well. If it starts to feed I just roll it away a foot or two... and aim it away a bit if necessary.


I can use any decent medium speaker on a stand for larger rooms, and the internal amp will power that. It also has a line out so I can add any powered speakers necessary to fill even larger rooms, which I try to avoid! Haha

The AI will also function well as a monitor/mixer if placed in front of the performer but needs to be decoupled from the stage. I have used a small sub lift with foam feet for this. Unfortunately the kick box will need to be turned down or off...

Another nice secret weapon is the TC Helicon Harmony G XT. Which I place on the kick box. Allows a great sounding sub mix of vocals and guitar which frees up one channel on the AI. It also allows a separate guitar 1/4" line out if wanted. I think it makes everything I have ever plugged into it sound a bit better. Voodoo in a box. I keep the efx and harmonies turned way down most of the time. And I use the harmony feature sparingly, but it works great for sing alongs. I find the mic input needs to be under 10 o'clock to avoid spikes from my EV N/D 767a mic, which runs HOT.

Obviously this would not work for a band, but I have used it for a duo with my Pal Tim Luranc Of R.Taylor fame. He has pretty good ears (!) and liked it a lot. I just skipped the kick box.

I have had 3 AI combos and find they do the job for me. I like FAT, warm tone and these can deliver that in spades. The ability to get more speakers up and away is a BIG help in big or oddly shaped venues. I would love one more combo input, but what the heck...

Play on AGF and have fun making music!!!

Cheers

[Andy Howell]

For me the raw quality and portability of the AER win out.


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[billyg]

I own a Henriksen Bud and a Schertler JAM (the newer one). I bought the Schertler first and about 8 months later managed to test drive a Bud and couldn't leave without it. They are both exceptional amps.

The Schertler has many features, sounds crisp and alive, and with the guitar I have that has an Anthem pickup delvers an amazingly realistic sound. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the amp and the guitar. With other pickups, the amp remains excellent, but the Anthem and the Schertler are as transparent as I have ever heard. (kudos to the Anthem as it is the best acoustic pickup I own)

I started buying these higher end amps because I splurged and bought a TAG Crowdster Plus 2. My old Roland AC60 was not giving me the warmth I needed with that guitar.

Both the Schertler and the Bud were huge steps up. But I have to say that with the Crowdster, the BUD makes life easy. I agree with those who praised its jazz tones and it works exceptionally well with the electric pickups in the Crowdster. However, I can't understand anyone having a difficult time getting good acoustic sounds out of the BUD -- it works great there as well. The BUD is the simpler of the two amps to operate and just doesn't ever give me a bad sound. Its electric sounds are better than the Schertler.

As far as PA goes, I have used the BUD in a presentation format and it has covered a shallow, wide room with about 100 people without flaw. Not too loud in front of it and great dispersion across the room. (there was plenty of room left on the volume knob) I have not used the Schertler in a purely presentation format.

I love both of these amps, but the BUD is so simple and easy in all respects, responds instantly to both acoustic, arch top, and jazz electric, that it is the simple amp to quickly plug into. I play it the most since I purchased it.

When I was researching these amps I demo'd an AER and it was not giving me the sound I was looking for. But no question it is an excellent amp.

[Carmel Cedar]

Thank you everyone who so kindly commented and shared your knowledge. I am truly grateful.

Came down to a gut call, with a surprisingly strong consideration for the Bud and AER (and a big, curious unknown on the new Mesa/Boogie Rosette!). I ordered a Schertler JAM, should have it by Father's Day and will post my impressions. Regret I can't afford more than one - the others seem awesome, and I have a new respect for them (and the AGF'ers that shared their experiences with them ).

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by Carmel Cedar

Thank you everyone who so kindly commented and shared your knowledge. I am truly grateful.

Came down to a gut call, with a surprisingly strong consideration for the Bud and AER (and a big, curious unknown on the new Mesa/Boogie Rosette!). I ordered a Schertler JAM, should have it by Father's Day and will post my impressions. Regret I can't afford more than one - the others seem awesome, and I have a new respect for them (and the AGF'ers that shared their experiences with them ).

I think you made the right decision, I bought both the AER and the JAM. I kept the JAM and sold the AER. (Now I have 2 JAMs)

Cuki

[kramster]

Jam is a great choice.