Budget home acoustic amp ???

riffpowers

I'm looking for a small acoustic amp to play at home . Doesn't need to be owt flash , but does need to be cheap !! Any suggestions ??!

mellowsun

Belcat?

http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Belcat-25C-25W-Acoustic-Guitar-Amp-w--Chorus/AV0?origin=product-ads&gclid=CMDeuI7ntsACFUjHtAodtW0ASg

daveww

Possibly not cheap enough but you can't go wrong with a fishman loudbox mini/

I'm also very impressed how good my my Yamaha THR10C sounds on the acoustic setting.

ICBM

If you can find a Leem KA-1210 or Meridian KA-1510 "Professional Multiple Amplifier" - they look different from the outside but are actually the same amp inside - they're a very useful, versatile and reasonably good-sounding amp that will handle acoustic instruments, vocals, keyboards and just about anything else you care to put through them. They typically go for between about £40 and £75 in full working order on Ebay or Gumtree. They're not the smallest and lightest of things being a 100W 1x12" amp, but they're not huge either.

I've used mine (the Leem version) for a whole host of things where a proper guitar amp or a full PA system aren't quite right, and it's always done the job. I've played bass through it on local radio and used it as the PA at a children's Hallowe'en party (background music plus comedy spooky reverb on vocals!) as well as a "proper" acoustic guitar and vocal amp.

"Professional" Multiple Amplifier is maybe stretching things, but two out of three ain't bad!

http://medien.markt.de/bilder/2010/06/08/18/928a08f5/medium_image/0/multiple_ampfifier_leem_ka_1210.jpg

http://worthopedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/thumbnails2/360/1012/20/360_a795e5ac2f30d566d5667125e7a4d4c1.jpg

(Sorry for the poor pictures, it's hard to find good ones.)

Fretwired

Roland Mobile Cube ... small stereo amp with effects that takes an electro acoustic quite well as well as an electric. Runs on batteries or a power supply.

http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=957&c=329

Or Roland Mobile AC .. http://www.andertons.co.uk/acoustic-guitar-amps/pid25543/cid559/roland-mobile-ac-battery-powered-5w-acoustic-guitar-amp.asp

riffpowers

Thanks guys , I went for the belcat .

thermionic

This is not a pop at the OP, but I've never understood why anybody would need to amplify an acoustic guitar at home... is it not loud enough for you?

Paul_C

you might, like I do, want to play around with effects, or maybe with a looper pedal

Fretwired

thermionic said:

This is not a pop at the OP, but I've never understood why anybody would need to amplify an acoustic guitar at home... is it not loud enough for you?

You might if it's an electro acoutic that doesn't sound great when its unplugged like my old Yamaha APX.

daveww

I use mine at home too quite a bit too.  Especially for finger-style stuff with reverb etc

thermionic

Fair point, I can sort of see a little niche there now.

The wife of a friend bought an electro acoustic when she started getting lessons, then bought a Pod to play it through - on headphones! Never could work that one out...

HollowAxis

I got a Vox AGA70 from Scan two weeks ago.

It's a great little thing. Think it was £234 from them. 

thomasross20

Can you just play through an electric guitar amp? Is there much difference?

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

Can you just play through an electric guitar amp? Is there much difference?

It generally won't sound very good, even if the electric amp has a good clean sound - electric guitar amps are almost all midrange (in audio/hi-fi terms) and have no real top-end which is the exact opposite of an acoustic sound… so what you get sounds more like an electric guitar than an acoustic, although not like a good electric guitar usually!

There is a partial solution though - perhaps unexpectedly, an 'acoustic simulator' pedal, which is designed to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic but usually sounds really crap for that, actually works surprisingly well for running an acoustic through an electric guitar amp. I have no idea why I even tried it in the first place, but it really works.

Phil_aka_Pip

wowsers @ICBM that would be worth a try!

bobblehat

ICBM said:

thomasross20 said:

Can you just play through an electric guitar amp? Is there much difference?

It generally won't sound very good, even if the electric amp has a good clean sound - electric guitar amps are almost all midrange (in audio/hi-fi terms) and have no real top-end which is the exact opposite of an acoustic sound… so what you get sounds more like an electric guitar than an acoustic, although not like a good electric guitar usually!

There is a partial solution though - perhaps unexpectedly, an 'acoustic simulator' pedal, which is designed to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic but usually sounds really crap for that, actually works surprisingly well for running an acoustic through an electric guitar amp. I have no idea why I even tried it in the first place, but it really works.

I have used a Line 6 spider with good results. I remember reading somewhere that the speakers they fit for modelling amps do not distort or break up the same way as conventional guitar amp speakers .Worth a try as a 30 watter can be had for peanuts .

daveww

Thought I'd just share a very quick noodle of my acoustic through the Yamaha THR10C on it's acoustic setting.  The recording is close mic'd direct on the amp.