Help in choosing acoustic amp for home use

[vastier]

I'm a newbie here at AGF. It’s the first time that I’m in the market for an acoustic amp. I’m not a performer. I’m a recreational player who mostly plays at home, and often along with mp3’s. I like the volume up there for a lot of songs, so I’ve been plugging my higher end Guild acoustic with DTAR sound into an old but somewhat powerful electric guitar amp. Of course I don’t hear great sound out of those two 12 inch speakers and I want to remedy that with an acoustic amp. I want to really hear the subtleties of rosewood and top end spruce.
I notice so many acoustic amps around the 50 watt range have one 6.5 or 8 inch speaker. I always thought that bigger speakers would give me better or fuller sound or maybe a better bass. That seemed to be true 5 decades ago when I picked up my first guitar. (I’m older than I look! ) I suspect advances in speaker technology have improved things a lot over those decades. Perhaps you can tell me.
So far I’ve considered a Marshall AS50DC with two 8 inch celestions. Guy at the local music store said these would be better for solo playing than the Ibanez 80 watt Troubadour that I was considering as the price was attractive, but he said that would be better suited for band work where you have to “cut through “ other louder instruments. I considered the Peavy Ecoustic 110 with 100 watts and one 10 inch speaker and high frequency horn but its price is a bit steep for me right now, although the 10 inch speaker was attractive. I also considered the Fender Acoustasonic 90 with one 8 inch speaker. Then there is a used Traynor 150 watt amp at half its new price locally but it has two 6.5 inch speakers, but should that stop me?
I’d really appreciate your thoughts, opinions and experiences on this.

[Hurricane Ramon]

¿ What's your budget ?

You are going to get a ton of recommendations . I just purchased a multipurpose
FRFR type portable P.A. w/8" single and two super tweeters .

It can function really great as

1. Portable Battery operated P.A.
2. Acoustic guitar amp
3. Synth amp ( Roland GR33 )
4. Vocal Amp
5. Harmonica amp
6. MP3 amp/Bluetooth
7. Smartphone controllable
8. Computer monitor powered speaker for my DAW

150 watts RMS with a THD of 0.05 X2 XLR/TRS channels and AUX in or Bluetooth and a
full on FX unit that is very cool . $300.00 w/o the lithium battery , angled floor stand pole
mount or speaker stand . Used they go from $200.00 if they are in good condition .

As an acoustic guitar amp it's killer . With a guitar/vocal FX unit it screams rock-n-roll
or what ever . I plug my T.C.Helicon Voice Live 3 X to it and it's a big time sounding little
P.A. , it's very nice with the synth sounds too .

EZ :

HR

[vastier]

Well, budget is probably $550 to 650 U.S.. I'm in Canada so that's 700 to 825 our currency.

I want the purest sound that is true to the unamplified sound of my 6 and 12 string guitars but also has enough punch to play along with amplified music of mp3's. Home use. But I want it to sound great in the large living room.

[Hurricane Ramon]

Originally Posted by vastier

Well, budget is probably $550 to 650 U.S.. I'm in Canada so that's 700 to 825 our currency.

I want the purest sound that is true to the unamplified sound of my 6 and 12 string guitars but also has enough punch to play along with amplified music of mp3's. Home use. But I want it to sound great in the large living room.

What ever you choice , a FRFR* amp with a THD of 0.05 or better ( yes there are ) is where
you want to go for the cleanest sound .

What I have would do super in a large living room and not break the bank .

The bigger the main driver ( spkr ) the more [ bottom / bass ] you get . An acoustic guitar's frequency
response will sound great with a 8" spkr in a large living room or coffee house gig . Acoustic guitars
are not in need of big time bass critical amps or big 10" or 12" spkrs if you get my meaning .

EZ :

HR

*FRFR = Flat Response Full Range

[takatsukimike]

Originally Posted by vastier

Well, budget is probably $550 to 650 U.S.. I'm in Canada so that's 700 to 825 our currency.

I want the purest sound that is true to the unamplified sound of my 6 and 12 string guitars but also has enough punch to play along with amplified music of mp3's. Home use. But I want it to sound great in the large living room.

I second Hurricane Ramon's suggestion of a FRFR (Full Range Flat Response) speaker, such as most typical PA speakers. This will colour your sound the least. Yamaha DBR12 may be within your budget, of course this will need some type of pre-amp depending on the type of pick-up system you have and whether you are OK with a standalone mixer (you can always clamp a tray for your mixer onto your speaker stand)


If you prefer the "all-in-one" solution of an acoustic amp, then stay well clear of the likes of Fender and Marshall. Their acoustic amps sound like a** because they are still applying design principles from electric amplification.

Instead, look at what the most highly respected manufacturers (AER, Schertler) are doing, and even though they aren't in your budget try and pick an amp with similar features. Schertler have dedicated woofers and tweeters where AER use a co-axial speaker. Both are closed-back cabinets. I was very impressed with the Ibanez Troubadour (the largest version, not the 80W) and it seems that Tanglewood have their own amp that is "Inspired by" the AER compact 60. These would be the "budget" amps to look at most seriously, followed by the Fishman loudbox series and lastly, Rolands new offering (unsure of price here)

[JakeStone]

Fishman.... great amps and very popular fine quality brand.
Mid price range..Perfect for Home use ..
Look at the Fishman Loudbox Mini for around $300 or the Artist which is under $600 Usd

[JKW-HTX]

I agree with Jack
I own a loudbox mini, great portable amp for home use.
Since you have a larger budget, the loudbox artist is a great option.

[NotValid]

I'm looking for something similar but along with playing mp3's I also want to plug in a drum machine, keyboards and two mics to help nuture the pure and raw unmatched talent of my 4 year old daughter.
I also want the truest sound without any coloring. HiFi audiophile quality. So far my search has led me to the Elite Acoustic Engineering A4-8. They are (apparently) so good that the drummer from Melissa Etheridge (spelling?) uses them for practice and as his studio monitors for recording. About 500 bucks. Not made in China, made in California.
What I like most is the quality build and sound. But I have not had chance to try it out yet, I may just order it anyways.

[windfall]

You will get a wide range of conflicting responses, I will predict.

I had the larger version of the Marshall (AS100D) and I loved the sound I got from it (Gibson Dove -> Baggs M1 passive ->Baggs Venue -> amp) but it was a beast and too cumbersome finally to carry around to gigs as I also have an electric rig to make room for when playing with a band.

I sold the Marshall and got a Fishman Loudbox Artist. At one point I was going to go for an AER and although I thought it sounded superior to the Fishman in terms of purity of tone, it did not sound 3x as good and I had to go for the more economically sensible option.

I still think the Marshall sounded better than the Fishman (I had spent a long time A/B-ing them in a shop a few years back when I first bought the Marshall) but the Fishman was the more sensible option (again!).

Ideally you need to try some out. Everyone's ears are different.

[chitz]

For home use my choice would be a Fishman Loudbox Mini.

[DoryDavis]

Another vote for the Fishman Mini. Also, the "songwriter" package is available, which includes a mic, stand and cord. That is usually 329 US. However, if you ask for it, Sweetwater will (or at least did) ship it to you for 299. Heck you can always sell the mic if you don't need it. Good luck.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Originally Posted by vastier

Well, budget is probably $550 to 650 U.S.. I'm in Canada so that's 700 to 825 our currency.

I want the purest sound that is true to the unamplified sound of my 6 and 12 string guitars but also has enough punch to play along with amplified music of mp3's. Home use. But I want it to sound great in the large living room.

• Schertler Jam 100
• Fishman Loudbox Artist

[vastier]

So far its been very helpful feedback and I thank you all. Many opinions but much to consider.

What about different speaker size? I notice the Schertler 100 has only one 6 inch speaker and a dome tweeter. I'm amazed that technology has advanced so much that wonderful sound can come out of such a small package. So, something with a 10 or 12 inch speaker is not necessarily going to sound better.

[Hurricane Ramon]

Originally Posted by vastier

So far its been very helpful feedback and I thank you all. Many opinions but much to consider.

What about different speaker size? I notice the Schertler 100 has only one 6 inch speaker and a dome tweeter. I'm amazed that technology has advanced so much that wonderful sound can come out of such a small package. So, something with a 10 or 12 inch speaker is not necessarily going to sound better.

With enough small drivers like X2 4"/5"/6" will sound
great as well as a super quality single driver . It depends
on how much sound you need to fill up the room you are
in with the sound you are after .

Every amp people recommended will work , but not for everyone .

I didn't mention what make mine is because my needs may not
be what your's are and not apply in your intended use .

What is of importance is for you to evaluate what you really need
to work for you and then from all this info evaluate and then go for it .
I took a year to finally decide after searching out stuff on the net .

EZ :

HR

[ChrisDowning]

Acoustic amps are basically PA's for guitar. (Electric guitar amps have loads of mids - just try plugging in a mic or your MP3's to any electric amp and you''ll see what I mean.) Acoustic amps are a close relative to a Hi-Fi amp - so PAs work for acoustic guitar as well - but you'll probably need a DI preamp. I'd say half my friends who gig with acoustic now say, had they a choice now they'd skip the expensive acoustic amp and get a very good acoustic pre-amp, a PA, and small mixer. Considering these guys spent £1k on a nice acoustic amp - there's a lot of meat in there for a nice pre-amp / mixer / PA set up.