Difference between acoustic amp electric guitar amp

[1stGuitar]

Hi - I am fairly new to whole guitar journey. While no youngster by any stretch - still really enjoying it. I started out learning on one of guitars that all beginners are told to stay away from ... you know, the 40 dollar eBay specials that h e enough action between the strings and the body that you could slide a 2x4 between them . After some time and realizing this thing was really tough to play, I went out and got a nice use electric guitar and used amp.

I still wanted a nicer a a acoustic, so recently went out and bought myself one that happened to have electronics. So my question is - can I play it though my electric guitar amp? What really is the difference between an electric guitar amp and an acoustic one? I am thinking perhaps where an electric amp and crunch, reverb, and other sound options in acoustic one does not. An acoustic amp just amplifies in the pure sense of the word the sound that comes from acoustic guitar without anything added. Now this just an educated guess on my part, so I am all ears if someone out can educate me on this.
Thanks in advance.

[Shredmaster007]

Acoustic amps generally have flatter frequency response, clean / low gain and low distortion. Most will have a tweeter or cone the can produce higher frequencies more accurately where electrics amps do not. A lot of acoustic amps will have good EQ controls and things like phase switches and phantom power, and often times multiple channels and features like xlr line out. Acoustic can sound fine through an electric amp but much better through a acoustic amp or PA speaker.

[archerscreek]

As far as quality of sound, in my experience, it all depends on factors such as the quality of the amps being compared and the volume they're played at. I've never tried a $1000 acoustic amp, but I've played acoustic guitars through quality $500-$1000+ Fender and Marshall amps sold for electric guitars and they sounded better to me than sub $400 acoustic amps including those by Fishman, Fender, Behringer, and some others.

Every sub $400 acoustic amp I ever played distorted when turned up. And they seem to distort at lower volumes comparitively speaking than my electric amps on their clean channels. For me the biggest benefits acoustic amps have are 1) having an xlr input for a mic and 2) having built in feedback fighting controls. But since those features come in powered speakers that give better sound quality at higher volumes, I use a powered speaker for my acoustic.

[perttime]

Originally Posted by Shredmaster007

Acoustic amps generally have flatter frequency response.
...
Acoustic can sound fine through an electric amp but much better through a acoustic amp or PA speaker.

In my opinion, the different frequency response is the main difference, soundwise.

Roughly: an "electric guitar amp" is expected to add its own flavor to sound. An "acoustic guitar amp" is expected to reproduce sound faithfully.

You certainly CAN use an acoustic guitar through an electric amp. Just don't expect it to sound like your unplugged acoustic. I believe some actually like sounds created that way.

[cdkrugjr]

It's a difference in role.

For Acoustic amps, the role is "I want it to sound like my guitar, only louder." There are MANY good answers to how to do that,discussed endlessly here, but in general it's something close to a full-range system.

Interestingly, on Hillsong United's new album, they intentionally use the '70s piezo quack sound you get when your input impedance is too low on a couple of songs.

For Electric amps, the amp itself is part of the sound, whether that be a "Vox Sound", a "Blues Junior Sound," a "Marshall [Plexi|Bluesbreaker|JCM] Sound" or what have you.

Electric amps color the sound in (Hopefully!) beautiful ways as well as make it louder. In this case we almost always want a midrange focused sound with MUCH less treble, and sometimes with a pronounced scooped response.

Whether this or that guitar/amp combination has "The Magic Tone" is the subject of much debate, which is every bit as informed, intelligent, and congenial as the endless "Should I buy an X or a Y?" discussions we have here.

[perttime]

I should really try plugging my piezo equipped acoustic into my tiny Marshall - with some overdrive I've done it with one or two amps before. The difficulty is that I will hear both the acoustic sound and the ragged distortion, so it is hard to hear what exactly comes out of the amp.

[raysachs]

Depends on how (and how much) you'll be using it plugged in. I have an electrified acoustic and a whole electric setup and I very rarely play acoustic plugged in. When I mess around with recording, I just use a mic. I don't gig and don't expect to, and the only gigging I've ever done was on electric. So, really the only time I plug my guitar in is to get an acoustic track down on my looper and usually play electric over it, so the amp is an afterthought.

So for my limited purposes, playing through my electric amps is more than good enough. If you're gigging and just playing acoustic, you need to find a good way to amplify your acoustic and your voice, which may or may not even involve an amplifier - maybe just a PA with a direct line via some sort of EQ.

So, think about what you want to do with an amplified acoustic and how much you'll be using it. For sure, I'd just play through your electric amp for now and see how you get on with it and then assess your real needs going forward.

-Ray

[1stGuitar]

All - thanks for the replies and education. Much appreciated. There is a lot going on in the acoustic world. So ha having a good place to come to for Solid Information is awesome.

[Aura]

The responses so far have covered most of the key areas.

For what it's worth i'm holding out for an AER Compact 60 MK4 - haven't tried one myself yet, but i've heard and read only good things about these amps!!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by 1stGuitar

Hi - I am fairly new to whole guitar journey. While no youngster by any stretch - still really enjoying it. I started out learning on one of guitars that all beginners are told to stay away from ... you know, the 40 dollar eBay specials that h e enough action between the strings and the body that you could slide a 2x4 between them . After some time and realizing this thing was really tough to play, I went out and got a nice use electric guitar and used amp.

I still wanted a nicer a a acoustic, so recently went out and bought myself one that happened to have electronics. So my question is - can I play it though my electric guitar amp? What really is the difference between an electric guitar amp and an acoustic one? I am thinking perhaps where an electric amp and crunch, reverb, and other sound options in acoustic one does not. An acoustic amp just amplifies in the pure sense of the word the sound that comes from acoustic guitar without anything added. Now this just an educated guess on my part, so I am all ears if someone out can educate me on this.
Thanks in advance.

Hi 1stG

You can play either type of guitar through either type of amp.

But the primary difference (besides many electric amps being open back or no high freq driver) is that electric amps are built to distort easily and acoustic amps are built to not distort at all.

As someone mentioned already, cheaply built acoustic amps will distort if you turn them up too high, but they can still be managed.

I have used a particular brand of acoustic amp for about a dozen years, but several years ago the company was bought, and basically ruined.

If I were buying a decent acoustic amp these days, it would be the AER Alpha 40 or Compact 60 (depending on the amount of stage volume or room volume I need).

Pricey but great. If money is no object, the Rivera Sedona Lite is a beautiful small acoustic amp. Humphrey - another high dollar boutique amp.

For me the Roland series just don't cut through stage volumes on a live stage where it's more high volume. I had a friend who brought his Roland AC-60 and the smaller speakers (6.5") just could not penetrate the noise of a loud stage, whereas my UltraSound AG-50 (8" woofer with high frequency drivers) was easily audible without pushing it hard at all.

I really like the AER these days for compact size/weight, and great sound without having to carry a full PA.

[1stGuitar]

Thanks guys. I could see I will be coming to this site really often. If for nothing else the education. I will be making notes of some Suggested amps. To date, All my equipment has been bought used with the exception of the acoustic guitar I just bought two weeks ago. So I will keep my eyes and ears open

[stevo58]

Actually, if you keep the gain down, many electric guitar amps do a good job amplifying acoustic guitars if you use a different speaker. Speakers in electric amps have (by design) a limited frequency response, and significant non-linearities in what they do reproduce. The speakers in acoustic amps will have a wider and flatter response, as they, like a stereo or a PA system, are intended to reproduce rather than form sound.

The amp itself - meaning the electronic part - is probably perfectly capable of doing a good job, as long as you don’t crank the ‘distortion’ knob.

You do have to pay attention to the output impedance of your pickup and the input impedance of the amp. Piezos often have very high output impedance compared to the typical 1M input impedance of guitar amps. You will need a buffer or preamp between then or it will sound horrible.

Steven

[jdinco]

I've found that electric guitars sound better thru an acoustic amp than an acoustic guitar sounds thru an electric amp. I have a Vox AC15 and a Fishman Loudbox Mini....my acoustics and nylon sound much better thru the little Loudbox than they do in the AC15.

[J Patrick]

...just an anecdote....I once knew a fellow about 20 years ago...a great player that gigged solo around town with a Marshall half stack...decent tone....but man did it look strange seeing a guy crammed into the corner of a coffee shop with a Guild jumbo and a huge amp behind him....

Originally Posted by Aura

The responses so far have covered most of the key areas.

For what it's worth i'm holding out for an AER Compact 60 MK4 - haven't tried one myself yet, but i've heard and read only good things about these amps!!

I snagged a Compact 60 MK3 from PMT in Manchester at a great deal. I realise the MK4 has a few more features but for me it wasn’t worth the extra.