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Post subject: Is there an amp for both acoustic and electric?
Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 5:27 pm
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My son plays a Taylor acoustic, and also has Fender and a Gibson electrics. Is there a double-duty amp that would be effective for all 3 guitars?


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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:44 pm
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Welcome to the forum, FBF. Yeah that's a tough one for sure ! My first answer would have to be no, there is not an amp that is designed for that capability. But wait, there are amps that can do a good job. I'd have to ask what type of music and if your son is playing in a band ? Wouldn't hurt to know which Taylor guitar and on-board system it has. Oh yeah, does he use effect pedals ? Art

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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 11:28 pm
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there are amps that will get him by.
now if hes recording quality stuff then he will
want different amps.

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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 1:31 am
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Believe it or not, the Fender Frontman 25r for $99 makes a pretty good acoustic guitar amp, and a decent at home practice electric guitar amp. If you take precautions to reduce feedback, i.e., soundhole cover with pizeos and sensors or use a magnetic soundhole pickup it should be no problem. Plus it has 2 channels and reverb for tweeking. The 10" speaker realy helps out the bottom end. It can get loud but it's no SWR California Blonde.


Last edited by TTSC on Sat Dec 04, 2010 2:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 1:37 am
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TTSC wrote:
Believe it or not, the Fender Frontman 25r for $99 makes a pretty good acoustic guitar amp, and a decent at home practice electric guitar amp.


+1

I have a buddy who plays his Ovation with the Fishman electronics through one of these and they don't sound half bad. In fact, it sounds better with the Ovation than it does with his MIJ '57 re-issue Strat.

HTH

Arjay

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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 2:49 am
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Bottom Line: If the acoustic guitar has a place to plug in a guitar cord, you can play it thru any guitar amp.

The Problem I have had: You may not like what you hear. I have a Martin with a Fishman undersaddle pickup. It buzzes and feeds back very badly on regular guitar amps (I have used a Super Champ XD, Champion 110, and Deluxe Reverb RI). You can be picking one string, and some of the others just start vibrating and making noise. Acoustic amps are supposed to be similar to a PA system, and are not supposed to feedback like a regular electric guitar amp; but I have had no experience and thus no opinion on them.

My Fix: I plug the Martin in to a Boss GE-7 Equalizer and then in to the amp. Magically, almost all of the feed back is tamed and gone (unless I turn up the volume too much). You have to play with the sliders and the gain to find the sweet spot, but it is doable. I usually do not even need a sound hole cover. I do not know why this works, maybe some other folks can give us the physics.

Should you buy 2 amps: I say don't bother. Get a good guitar amp for the electric, and work the acoustic in to it. You get a decent "acoustic" sound, but no pickup is ever going to mimic the nuance of hearing an acoustic guitar ring out in person.


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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 8:30 am
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Wow, great input guys!

His Taylor has the onboard "Sound Expression" system. He plays in a couple of small bands, and he has a recurring gig at a local pub where he plays both the Taylor and a Fender Strat, mostly blues. He does use a couple of pedals.

A year ago, he got a Marshall half-stack. We desperately tried to get him to consider a Fender Blues Deluxe, but kids are kids and the Marshall made the ride home. Now he's understanding that portability is important...

Your help and input is greatly appreciated.


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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:40 am
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His Taylor would probably do better with a D/I directly into the band's PA system than with any "electric" guitar amp. JMO.

Arjay

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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:48 am
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I've not been much impressed with the Expression System on the newer Taylors and very much prefer the Fishman Blender my Taylor came with.

Your mileage may vary. Many people do like it.

A dedicated acoustic amp is always preferable for amplifying acoustic guitars but they can also sound quite good plugged straight into a console. Not everyone has a PA at home. I reccomend a 2 amp system for the boy. Here's mine and it's pretty tough to beat for overall usefulness. Great tone, reasonably light, loud enough for most situations, excellent flexibility for live gigs and some subtle built in FX as well. Perhaps a tad pricey for a kid especially considering there will be an additional expense buying an electric guitar amp on top of it but the one thing almost every guitarist feels is crucial is good tone. Amplified tone comes mostly from the amp and the better amps aren't cheap.

http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2267&sid=420&cid=94

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Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 10:03 am
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This amp is prolly a little better than mine for recording and/or tone purists who demand accuracy but it won't be as stage friendly. Also likely will not be as novice friendly either as it will reveal limitations in the player's abilities to a greater degree.

http://www.ultrasoundamps.com/image-viewer-pro250.html

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Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:14 am
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SWR Californa Blondes are good acoustic amps and better for solo gigs in small venues. But some like to mic it. If you need higher power for large venues the Bose PA is another option IMO. A lot of options out there.


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Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:29 am
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Hey! I use my SWR Strawberry Blonde for my Martin. I plugged my Tele into it & darn if it didn't sound too bad. I D/Ced the tweeter with the Tele. It's my favorite non-tube amp.

http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/fit,40 ... a95132.jpg


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Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 12:51 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
His Taylor would probably do better with a D/I directly into the band's PA system than with any "electric" guitar amp. JMO.

Arjay
What ARJAY said.Its the best way to go with an acoustic.I used to use a crate acoustic amp back in the day,but with a DI box into the pa gets the best results.I had a friend in NC that had a Laney amp that had an electric channel and an acoustic channel.I have never seen one since though.


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Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:10 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
TTSC wrote:
Believe it or not, the Fender Frontman 25r for $99 makes a pretty good acoustic guitar amp, and a decent at home practice electric guitar amp.


+1

I have a buddy who plays his Ovation with the Fishman electronics through one of these and they don't sound half bad. In fact, it sounds better with the Ovation than it does with his MIJ '57 re-issue Strat.

HTH

Arjay


In general, I would think that any clean sounding, solid state amp would be suitable for an acoustic. The Strat could be accommodated with a few choice pedals. The thing would be to avoid an amp that imparts any of its own coloration on the sound. I think that would rule out almost all tube amps. Even a "clean" Twin Reverb has a characteristic sound. In addition to the Frontman 25R, I think a Roland JC-120 ( http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JC120/ ) would be a good choice if the funds are available.

As others have mentioned, a D/I into the PA may be the most expediant solution, though.

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Post subject: Re: Is there an amp for both acoustic and electric?
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 7:52 am
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fbfl32034 wrote:
My son plays a Taylor acoustic, and also has Fender and a Gibson electrics. Is there a double-duty amp that would be effective for all 3 guitars?


None to my liking. Some tube amps are just OK with an acoustic, but I perfer an acoustic direct into the PA system.

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