Amp for electric & acoustic.

getmemyaxe · #1 02-24-2006, 10:24 AM

As some may have read, i have just ordered myself an electro-acoustic guitar.
At the moment i am in between amps, got rid of my last one as it was just too big (in size, and possibly volume, lol) for my room.

I already own a Epiphone Black Beauty LP.

My question is, is there any recommended amp i can/should by that would be sufficient to play an electro-acoustic and electric guitar through. As i said before my old amp was too big so i dont have space to get an amp for each guitar so im looking for an all-in-one type thing.

Also effects and that in the amp arent important, just clean and dirty switches, i can use pedals for the electric when i need too.

kludge · #2 02-24-2006, 10:47 AM

Try a regular acoustic amp (or a good PA), and use a SansAmp or some other pedal amp simulator for the electric guitar in a second input? The problem is that electric guitar amps are NOT high-fidelity devices - they roll off the highs and have a big midrange hump. This is essential to the electric guitar sound, unless you're a clean-toned jazz player. Acoustic guitar amps are basically small, hi-fidelity PA systems. Run an electric guitar through one, and it usually sounds dry and brittle.

But use a good amp simulator on the electric guitar, and it should sound just fine through any good acoustic amp. Maybe not quite as great as a real quality electric guitar amp, but good enough.

drjordan · #3 02-24-2006, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kludge

Try a regular acoustic amp (or a good PA), and use a SansAmp or some other pedal amp simulator for the electric guitar in a second input? The problem is that electric guitar amps are NOT high-fidelity devices - they roll off the highs and have a big midrange hump. This is essential to the electric guitar sound, unless you're a clean-toned jazz player. Acoustic guitar amps are basically small, hi-fidelity PA systems. Run an electric guitar through one, and it usually sounds dry and brittle.

But use a good amp simulator on the electric guitar, and it should sound just fine through any good acoustic amp. Maybe not quite as great as a real quality electric guitar amp, but good enough.

That's good advice. An electric guitar amp is designed to create a sound and an acoustic amp is designed to reproduce a sound. You'll find that not all acoustic amps are designed to reproduce a hugh range of frequencies. I'm not sure if you could plug an amp simulator into an acoustic amp and have it come out like an electric guitar or not. I've never tried it. In my experience, a similarly-priced keyboard amp is a little more like a mini PA than an acoustic amp is. I have a Roland acoustic amp. If I plug my electric guitar straight into it, it still sounds like an acoustic guitar (well, more like an acoustic than an electric) because it's designed to reproduce the range of frequencies produced by an acoustic instrument. If it were me, I would buy either a keyboard amp or a powered monitor. Then I would plug the acoustic straight into it, or use an acoustic preamp so I had more control over the EQ and I had a good, strong signal going into the amp/monitor. I would use a POD for the electric guitar.

drjordan · #4 02-24-2006, 01:48 PM

I would try one of these keyboard amps or one of these powered monitors.

getmemyaxe · #5 02-24-2006, 05:55 PM

I did actually have the idea of going for a Keyboard amp, but i dont know how good an electric guitar sounds through them.

By the way, whats a POD? for the electric.

Thanks for the replies.

Doc · #6 02-24-2006, 06:08 PM

The best you can hope for is a flat, acoustic amp. Throw a POD or Pandora in front of it for your electric if you must. But don't expect it to sound like electric guitar as we know it.

There's no single trick pony because they'ye two totally different grooves.

Doc

getmemyaxe · #7 02-24-2006, 06:12 PM

Ok, with that said, i think i might have to go with an electric amp and a little acoustic amp to sit on top of it to save some space in here, lol.

Thanks Doc.

trion12 · #8 02-24-2006, 06:20 PM

Try one of the Roland Cubes.
They have various settings/simulations for electric and acoustic.
The acoustic channel sounded pretty good (not as good as an AER, but then again what is . . .) when I tried it out and the electric sounds are your standard Roland Cube sounds with some amp modelling thrown in.

If I wanted a single amp for both that's what I would get.

Aaron

4Gtrs · #9 02-24-2006, 07:03 PM

Don't know how much you're planning to spend - You may want to look into the Rivera Sedona series. They are designed with one channel for acoustic and the second for electric

Johnny X · #10 02-24-2006, 07:57 PM

.

Try standing in front of one of these with your acoustic at half volume.

It's a trip. Splinters everywhere.

.

drjordan · #11 02-24-2006, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by getmemyaxe

I did actually have the idea of going for a Keyboard amp, but i dont know how good an electric guitar sounds through them.

By the way, whats a POD? for the electric.

Thanks for the replies.

Here's a POD.

You can also go straight into a PA with these. Try one in an acoustic amp and a keyboard amp and see what you like the best. Let us know what you decide.

TaylorConvert · #12 02-26-2006, 10:50 AM

I have a Takamine EAN10C along with a Fender '50s Esquire and Digitech RP100A. IMHO, the Ibanez is an underrated amplifier. I picked it after trying every acoustic amplifier in its price range as well as the higher priced Fener Acoustasonics, Marshall and Roland. All sounded great, but no better than the Ibanez. And since I didn't need a voice channel the Ibanez worked best for me.

My setup works very well for me.

Road Trip · #13 02-27-2006, 02:11 PM

I wresteled with the same issue for years; tried running through both acoustic and electric amps, PA, pre-amps, etc.... finally went a different direction - bought a Fender Steel King steel guitar amp ($699 new). It is loud and clean (200 watts) with plenty of tonal control and a great reverb. The 15" speaker is modeled on a classic JBL and sounds very warm for a solid state amp. It is VERY compact - but heavy (wheels included, though). Buy one of these and put a distortion box in the effects loop for when you want crunchy electric sounds....