I really have no clue about acoustic amps. I just recently bought an acoustic-electric and I'm thinking of finally buying a mic. I need an amp. Are acoustic amps solid state for the most part? Are there any low $ amps that jump out at you? Suggestions? Good websites? Anything would be appreciated. I'm not asking about specific amps so feel free to throw anything out there.

This one is VERY popular -

http://marshallamps.com/product.asp?productCode=AS50D

They do a bigger one with more inputs and volume but the link if for the one I've seen LOADS of people playing through.

They sound okay but, in my opinion, you'll get a better result playing through a preamp and going from that to the desk. Unless the PA is a Bose L1... then you won't need a preamp to sound AMAZING!

You don't need to spend big money on a preamp - this thing will make your guitar sound markedly better when plugged in -
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-BEH-ADI21-LIST

Acoustic amplifiers are basically small portable P/A systems. They usually have 2 inputs so you can run both a mic and a guitar for a portable one man show. Most of them will have some kind of built in FX section so you can add a bit of chorus to your guitar and a bit of reverb to your vocals or different combinations as you see fit. Reviewers of these amps usually fall into one of two categories. The largest group wants to see how truly high fidelity the amp is and will sing an amp's praises if it is completely flat EQ-wise and tone nuetral. The other opinion camp has much fewer followers. They feel an acoustic amp should attempt to improve upon the tone of the guitar by voicing the cabinet or tone stack or the FX section to emphasize certain characteristics. In the lower end of any product line you will find most makers try to do a compromise between the two idea and will usually lean to the Hi-Fi side of center. When you get into the higher end pro-grade amps you start to see the amps becoming more focussed one way or the other and both sides do very good jobs at achieving their goals.


Here is an example of a very good amp that is very high fidelity and gets rave reviews especially for its studio recording capabilities.

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

Here is an amp that take the other approach. It is less well recieved by the critics because it is less accurate but it is more popular as a working man's amp because it excels in live performance and it also excels in improving on the tone of the guitar, something that is frowned upon by tone purists.

http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2268&sid=420&cid=94

I chose the little brother of the latter for my own use and I have no regrets at all.
The two GenzBenz amps I linked to both employ a 12AX7 tube to warm up the preamp section.

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

Edit:
Oops! I guess I missed the point about low $. In that case I tried the Acoustasonic 30 a few months back and it sounded pretty decent for the price point. Looking at the web site I see they`ve discontinued that model.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

jackdragbean, this looks like it would fit in anywhere with some versatility added:

_________________
you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I just bought a Fishman Loudbox Mini. 65 watts sounds great with my Martin. Very simple. My Martin has Fishman electronics in it. The amp really compliments the guitar. Try some with your guitar and in your budget. And yep it has a mic input and a balanced line out. Perfect for small gigs.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

I waited for months for someone to get the acoustasonic 150 in for me to try. I drove up to three hours away looking. Last week someone from 2 hours away (who I had stopped in at previously looking for one) sent me an email that he had one come in. I took my American Special Strat, my old Yahmaha acoustic which had the electric tuner and pickup added, my Deering Old Tyme Wonder banjo which I added a pickup under the bridge to, and my Hohner D harmonica and took a day off to go try it out. I was really hoping to fall in love with the sound as much as I had the idea. I am sorry to say I was very disappointed. I'm sure some will love it. I took a heavy (The reason I was looking to trade.. the only reason) Ecoustasonic Peavy 112 EFX to trade in.

The Fender 150 sounded decent with the strat... but not as bright as I had expected.
With my jumbo acoustic it sounded ok on a few settings.. but still far from what I was use to.
The banjo and the harmonica both sounded horrible on it to me..although they sounded great on my old amp.
After a lot of going back and forth and fiddling around with it, I decided I could not be happy with it.. and asked if he had any Fishman loudbox amps..(the option I was originally considering before I heard about the new Fenders coming out). He had one that had just come in.. still in the box.. one of the new Fishman loudbox artist amps. It was a few pounds heavier than the fender (the weight of the fender I would have to say was my favorite part.. it's size and shape and weight were excellent)... but at 25.5 lbs it was still far lighter than my old 62 lbs amp. The fishman sounded great on everything.. even vocals (yes I brought my microphone and tested that too).. not being an electric guitar amp it still had a decent sound on the strat... good enough for me since country and gospel are as wild as I get... so.. an hour and a half later I bought the Fishman.

For a rocker or someone who likes more distortion in their amp the Fender may be just the ticket. I think for the acoustic guys like me.. who are just expanding out a little into doing some leads on electric... the Fender has a ways to go.

The best way to be sure.. is do what I did.. find a place that has them both.. and some others if you like what others say about them... and take a day.. and your instruments and give them a real good tryout.

I don't mean to offend any Fender lovers... for those who fall in love with it I am happy for them. I like Fender.. that's why I'm a member of the forum.. and why I waited so long before I bought a new amp so I could try theirs out. This model just wasn't for me.

Thanks everyone for the replies. All of them gave me insight and ideas.....BMW, I appreciate the higher value ideas and even more so the types of acoustic amps and pros and cons. That will give me ideas as what I may get in time plus gave me more things to think about and read about. I think I'll head to a few different music shops and try out the Fishman and Acoustasonic for sure as I look for my first acoustic amp (got to get started somewhere and these seem like good options to try out). Thanks again, and if you have any other ideas, or if anyone else wants to chime in, feel free. As I normally do, I'll probably be looking around for a few weeks (trying things out and reading to get more educated on the subject) so if something hits ya that you may have forgotten.....feel free to add to the thread! Thanks again!

qxotic, funny you mentioned the harp. Our harp player tried out my Fishman with his mic, fell in love with it and just ordered one this week. Unlike me to bash a Fender amp, , the Acoustasonic did nothing for me at all. Fishman is a pretty big hitter as far as acoustic amplification goes and it was a great match for my Martin Performing Artist guitar.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Got myself an AER Alpha 40 a few years ago, it's a great acoustic amp. I'm not sure if you can get them in the US, they're German made.

Here's another question. What do you think about just buying a PA to hook up to my half stack? I know jack about PA's too. Just been looking around at amps, and it dawned on me that I might could just buy a PA to hook up to the acoustic guitar and mic, etc. Is this even possible? Also, maybe a powered mixer to hook up to the half stack?

Oh yes -

http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/sho ... /index.jsp

There's a number of options but for my money it'd have to be that.

They do a larger one with more inputs and greater volume but I think if you were considering an amp then the above should be more than adequate.

Honestly, they sound amazing and are so easy to move around and get set-up.

You could. I don't really know how great it will sound though. It just depends on your expectations. PA speakers are pretty specialized and tuned differently than guitar cabinets. Most of the acoustic amps have a separate channel for a mic anyway.
As for as Bose, I never liked any of their overpriced hype. I've heard them clubs and used one once at a gig. Sounded like a Bose radio to me. Didn't do a thing for me. Lots of people like them though. It's just not for me. It's well built too. You can get a nice 120 watt acoustic amp for half the price. YMMV

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

oxfan, I'm not talking about the company Acoustic, I'm talking about acoustic guitar amps. Amps specifically designed for use with acoustic style guitars. Both Acoustic and Kustom make some fine gear though.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal