Looking for Amp Advice After Going Down the Research Rabbit Hole

[Medford Guitar]

Originally Posted by Groberts

I use a variety of options. For smaller restaurant/bars and 5 star resort patio's (Ritz Carlton etc) I use a Fishman Loudbox Artist with an extension speaker from the DI Out. I was using a Bose S1 Pro but there were times where it would clip and bottom out from more aggressive attack, not just volume per se. So I just got the EV Everse 8 and I am super impressed with its performance, battery power and Mixer features via the app. It matches my Fishman Loudbox Artist quite nicely and depending on how I EQ it, the Everse 8 may sound slightly better. The pair of these is very capable for a lot of shows.

When I need to cover more area I use a Bose L1 Pro 8 and the Everse 8 as a monitor. Or I have a pair of Bose L1 Pro 8's. In that regard, I don't need a monitor since I can place them behind me and to my left and right slightly. I can hear them fine and I know exactly what the mix is like that the audience is hearing.

Lastly, I have a Bose T4S Mixer for time when I play in a duo. That gives me more inputs. All this is very portable. But for ease of set up and load-in/load-out, the Fishman LB Artist/Everse 8 is incredible easy to work with and it sounds great.

I recorded a solo acoustic instrumental at home today with my Fishman Loudbox Artist and Everse 8.

Beautiful work!

[guitargabor]

Hi Gumbino,

I've been through many different amps over the past 15 years playing at various farmers markets .

Despite other posters views, you need to be amped up unless it's a very small market with booths close together.Even so, with a normal acoustic and an average (not operatic) voice, your sound will project about 6 feet on a calm day.

I've owned AER compact 60, Fishman, Roland 60,JBL EON compact,Bose s1 and most recently the Everse 8.

The weight and portability factor is important IMO.

The column amps project better but I have found the Everse 8 to be the best compromise.It's portable, light and is loud enough.Dependency on the app is one disadvantage.You can use the tiny LED screen on the amp for settings once you figure out the menus.
.

Start out with that one or similar.Much less feedback than with the Bose S1(I use one for a second amp or in monitor mode).

Make sure you buy from a retailer with a fair return policy.

best luck!

Gabe

[thegreatgumbino]

Thanks for all at the feedback, folks. It's greatly appreciated. I was able to hit my local GC yesterday but only long enough to put my hands on the stock they had (not play them). The pole PA systems seem to be overkill for home practice.

• Cube Street EX was incredibly light and seemed like a toy.
• Bose L1 Pro8 is a refined and visually appealing PA
• Evolve 30M is similar in size, but more weight. Upper stick is odd looking.
• They only had the Loudbox Mini and Performer. Mini was tiny and Peformer was smaller than I anticipated.
• Everse 8. Larger than I expected. Nice build quality.

Originally Posted by Mike Buchman

If I was looking for something today for 2 inputs I'd be thinking about that Loudbox or the Spark Live!

The Spark Live is interesting. I'd not heard of this one before your suggestion. Not many demo videos using it for an acoustic & vocal mic setup, unfortunately. Wish I was an electric player to take advantage of the features.

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

You may want to check out an LR Baggs Synapse. It will make your guitar sound like a million bucks. I had one of those and sold it because I needed the money more than I used it.

That thing is wild! Clips I've seen sound pretty good. I don't see any information about using it other than on a speaker stand, unfortunately.

Originally Posted by LAPlayer

To add if you are on more of a budget but still want a good small amp, you could look at the Bugera AC60 2-Channel Acoustic Instrument Combo Amplifier (60W, 1x8"). It punches way above its $230 (shipped) price.

I'd not heard of these. They sound pretty great on the videos I've watched. Definitely a contender.

Originally Posted by Groberts

I use a variety of options. For smaller restaurant/bars and 5 star resort patio's (Ritz Carlton etc) I use a Fishman Loudbox Artist with an extension speaker from the DI Out. I was using a Bose S1 Pro but there were times where it would clip and bottom out from more aggressive attack, not just volume per se. So I just got the EV Everse 8 and I am super impressed with its performance, battery power and Mixer features via the app. It matches my Fishman Loudbox Artist quite nicely and depending on how I EQ it, the Everse 8 may sound slightly better. The pair of these is very capable for a lot of shows.

When I need to cover more area I use a Bose L1 Pro 8 and the Everse 8 as a monitor. Or I have a pair of Bose L1 Pro 8's. In that regard, I don't need a monitor since I can place them behind me and to my left and right slightly. I can hear them fine and I know exactly what the mix is like that the audience is hearing.

Lastly, I have a Bose T4S Mixer for time when I play in a duo. That gives me more inputs. All this is very portable. But for ease of set up and load-in/load-out, the Fishman LB Artist/Everse 8 is incredible easy to work with and it sounds great.

I recorded a solo acoustic instrumental at home today with my Fishman Loudbox Artist and Everse 8.

That sounded fantastic! Beautiful playing.

Originally Posted by Jinder

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned AER…I’ve tried so many acoustic amps and have found the Compact 60 to be the only thing that has truly satisfied me professionally. Absolutely love mine and never leave the house for a gig without it.

JSeth suggested the AER Compact 60 a few posts above yours Jinder. They look to be great, but for that kind of money I think the EAE has better features and 4 inputs.

Originally Posted by guitargabor

The column amps project better but I have found the Everse 8 to be the best compromise.It's portable, light and is loud enough.Dependency on the app is one disadvantage.You can use the tiny LED screen on the amp for settings once you figure out the menus.

Start out with that one or similar.Much less feedback than with the Bose S1(I use one for a second amp or in monitor mode).

I was impressed with the build quality of the Everse 8 at GC yesterday. It was bigger than I realized. I've seen nothing but good things about it compared to the S1 Pro.

[thegreatgumbino]

I think I'm drawn to the Bose L1 Compact systems purely because it's what I've always regarded as the thing to have and the first thing I played through. The dispersion and sound is fantastic, but the features are lacking. Having to add a mixer is a bummer.

Thinking it would make sense to go with a cheaper option like the Bugera / LB Artist to start. Get comfortable with the process for now, and if I start playing out then I can explore other options. By that point, there may be a new kid on the block. Of course, this could all change tomorrow.

[Murphy Slaw]

I use the S1-Pro because it has 2 mic inputs. I use an SM57 for guitar and an SM58 for vocals.

If required, I can then line out into an L1 Compact. If I need more stage power/spread, I can still line out of that into a Carvin AG100D.

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by thegreatgumbino

I think I'm drawn to the Bose L1 Compact systems purely because it's what I've always regarded as the thing to have and the first thing I played through. The dispersion and sound is fantastic, but the features are lacking. Having to add a mixer is a bummer.

Thinking it would make sense to go with a cheaper option like the Bugera / LB Artist to start. Get comfortable with the process for now, and if I start playing out then I can explore other options. By that point, there may be a new kid on the block. Of course, this could all change tomorrow.

FWIW the Bugera, which I recommended above as a dip-your-toe-in-it contender, is basically a tweaked copy of the highly regarded and highly expensive AER Compact 60.

I agree the column/driver stick of the 30m is odd looking. Others love it. I think they were going for a bit of an industrial look. Of the sticks, visually my favorites are the previous era Bose L1 line including the Compact and the L1M2, and then in second place the current Bose Pro line, but not enough to sway me from my 30m and Everse.

[Koamon]

For home use I would recommend the Roland AC 60 or the Boss Acoustic Singer Live. They both have phantom power on the mic channels with separate delay and reverb. The guitar channel has separate chorus and reverb. They both have pre post XLRs outs to the house or powered speakers. The Roland even has a subwoofer out and the Boss has a basic looper and you can have vocal harmonies as well. Used Roland’s can go under $300 and used Boss’ under $400. I have had both and for home use they work fine and you can experiment with all sorts of condenser mics for vocals or dual source guitar amplification.

[thegreatgumbino]

Thanks for all the replies, folks. I ended up trying out the following:

Bose L1 Compact
Bugera AC60
Fishman Loudbox Artist
Everse 8
Carvin AG200

I ended up going with the used Bose L1 Compact. I love the sound/dispersion and got it for a great price ($400).

Next up, figure out my mics and mixer.

[lkingston]

To my ears, a number of high end amps can do very well with getting a good guitar sound. Where the Elite Acoustics amps pull ahead of something like an AER Compact is on the vocal sound quality.

The D6-8 Pro and D6-58 have digital mixers. That is where the “D” in the names comes from. The number after the hyphen is the speaker size. The D6-8 has an eight inch woofer. The D6-58 has five and eight inch woofers.

The preamps are very high quality analog class A preamps. The mixers have more features than any other amps that I know of: Three band EQs with sweepable mids, high pass filters, compressors, notch filters, etc. the master effects include reverb, chorus, and a delay that can be assigned only to a single channel. The reverb is somewhat programmable which makes it quite flexible.

There is also a stereo aux send on each channel so you could actually run a monitor mix if you wanted.

Another huge feature is that there is an EQ on the stereo line outs. You can run an EQ if you are running to a powered speaker or two.

None of this would be important if the sound quality wasn’t good. But it is. It doesn’t sound like live sound gear. It sounds like you invited the audience into your studio!

I absolutely LOVE their amps!

[thegreatgumbino]

Originally Posted by lkingston

To my ears, a number of high end amps can do very well with getting a good guitar sound. Where the Elite Acoustics amps pull ahead of something like an AER Compact is on the vocal sound quality.

The D6-8 Pro and D6-58 have digital mixers. That is where the “D” in the names comes from. The number after the hyphen is the speaker size. The D6-8 has an eight inch woofer. The D6-58 has five and eight inch woofers.

The preamps are very high quality analog class A preamps. The mixers have more features than any other amps that I know of: Three band EQs with sweepable mids, high pass filters, compressors, notch filters, etc. the master effects include reverb, chorus, and a delay that can be assigned only to a single channel. The reverb is somewhat programmable which makes it quite flexible.

There is also a stereo aux send on each channel so you could actually run a monitor mix if you wanted.

Another huge feature is that there is an EQ on the stereo line outs. You can run an EQ if you are running to a powered speaker or two.

None of this would be important if the sound quality wasn’t good. But it is. It doesn’t sound like live sound gear. It sounds like you invited the audience into your studio!

I absolutely LOVE their amps!

I wish I could have tried one of the D6-58 out. I spent a lot of time watching demos and reading about them. It definitely checked all the boxes.

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by thegreatgumbino

I ended up going with the used Bose L1 Compact. I love the sound/dispersion and got it for a great price ($400).

Next up, figure out my mics and mixer.

Great choice, used by many.

[johbren]

Ill second the boss acoustic singer.