"Acoustic" amp

hb · #1 May 27th, 2008

I've heard talk of "acoustic" amps. I don't know anything about them and don't even know if I've seen one. I have a couple little practice amps, a Roloand 20x and a Fender G-dec, but can't seem to find what I'm looking for in tone. There always to bright and brittlely sounding, even with the tone on 1. Does anyone know anything about the acoustic amps and are they any good? What about prices....are they very expensive?
Thanks for the help,
hb

Maddog54 · #2 May 27th, 2008

acoustic amps are for acoustic-electric guitars. The ranges run anywhere from $60 - $2,000+

Do you play an electric? I have a 20W Drive amp w/ 8" speaker that just sucks, but I've played through a Peavy 110 with a 10 inch speaker (and I think 40 watts), and it sounded great.

The more experienced folks here can help more than me, but I think its just a matter of finding an amp you like more than anything. Not sure if an acoustic amp can be "safely" used with an electric guitar???

hb · #3 May 27th, 2008

Yes, I do have an electric and use it with these two amps. Even with my acoustic set on the "acoustic" settings, I don't care for it much. I just can't seem to get a "mellow sound" with it and believe me, I've tried! I was hoping that maybe an acoustic amp with some fx options would help.
hb

Stratrat · #4 May 28th, 2008

I've used my Micro Cube with my acoustic - works well as long as you don't need extremely high volume. It has an "acoustic" setting, and I use that with the tone rolled back a bit and a touch of the onboard reverb and chorus for a nice clean, sweet acoustic sound.

The only other acoustic amp I've played through is a friend's Roland AC-60 (Acoustic Chorus)....plenty loud, very clean, the chorus sounds real nice and it has a built-in feedback rejection feature. I think the AC-60 is around $450.

billywhitebread · #5 May 28th, 2008

look for products made by Crate. I own a little Crate 30 model and it is phenominal. effects and tone and power. i paid around 250 for it and love it. also look at any keyboard amp as well, its basically the same as an acoustic amp (but they will never tell you that) however you don't get the effects with it and it is a little less expensive, so buy and effects pedal for 100 bucks and plug and go.

krissovo · #6 May 28th, 2008

Your Roland should make a great acoustic amp, select the clean channel and you should be in acoustic bliss! Many bands I see playing use a Roland cube mic'ed up at gigs and I use mine through my older Cube 30.

If the tone is not to your liking then a cheaper option to try is a graphic equaliser (Boss GE7 or similar) to shape the tone better. A lot of electro acoustics will have one built in so you can also shape the tone.

Seriously though the Rolands Cubes should work well for acoustics.

GotDeeBlues · #7 May 28th, 2008

I use a Roland Cube 20 on "acoustic" for my cedar top dread A/E and with a little chorus dialed in it sounds real nice. A pure acoustic amp usually has the main speaker and a separate horn tweeter, as well as different "voicing" through the electronics the mfgr. goes with. Some less expensive ones use a dual coane speaker instead. Other options would be to uses a small portable PA or even a keyboard amp.

hb · #8 May 28th, 2008

Thanks to all....Perhaps it's just me if I have my Roland 20x on acoustic and playing with just a little chorus..it still sounds brittley. I have bass-mid-treble on my a/e guitar and usually have the treble set at a minimum and the mid and bass set way up so perhaps I'm looking for something that's just not there.....or.......perhaps.....maybe......it's just the way I play ! ! ! ! ! !
hb

GotDeeBlues · #9 May 30th, 2008

With my acoustic electric, which has a Fishman 3 band eq I keep mids high, treble about neutral or a touch low, and the bass about 1/4 to neutral. The Roland I keep pretty flat, and the chorus about 1/2. If anything I add some bass with the guitar's eq. Hope you find the tone you want.