valve amp for acoustics

musicman100

I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on playing acoustics through valve amps. I've had an aer compact 60 and sold it on. IMO my wienbrock valve amp sounds awesome.

BigLicks67

I've never done it but I'd assume it may warm up the tone a bit, having said that I find most pickups for acoustic to sound thin and trebly and an acoustic amp to be a necessary evil only if you are gigging without a decent PA. So, I'd say a valve amp is an unnecessary luxury for home based players, after all the acoustic has it's own amp : >

BigMonka

I remember once running my acoustic through the "tube preamp" setting on my POD2.0 and getting a few compliments on the sound that day. I don't think either of my valve amps would give a natural enough sound with an acoustic though.

ICBM

There is one at least one full-size valve acoustic guitar amp, made by Rivera, and a little one by Vox but which is really just a typical 4W single-ended amp with a wider-range speaker than normal. I tried one and liked it, but it was barely louder than the guitar!

There's no reason it won't work or sound good, other than a normal electric guitar amp won't usually have enough top-end on its own because there is no tweeter. If that's the sort of sound you want it's fine though - a lot of people have done it, mostly with bright clean amps like Fender Twins.

I did discover an unexpected alternative - if you use a Boss acoustic simulator pedal. I know that's meant for making an electric guitar sound like an acoustic guitar… which it does with questionable success. But for some odd reason it's much better as an acoustic *amp* simulator when used with a real acoustic guitar.

musicman100

Well I think it sounds 10 times better through my wienbrock than the compact 60. The acoustic amps all seem to thin. But after all the wienbrock is an incredible high end amp anyway.

ICBM

The AER is a very hi-fi sounding amp even by acoustic-amp standards and I agree they can sound thin, or 'cold' somehow - the newer ones seem worse than the earlier models for some reason (other than that being the way things always are…).

I must admit I've gone off that super-hi-fi 'acoustic' amplified sound anyway. It doesn't sound like a real acoustic guitar in the room, and it never sounds as pleasing as an old magnetic pickup going through something warmer-sounding, even if that doesn't sound 'like an acoustic guitar'.

If it sounds good to you, it is good - it doesn't matter if it's the 'proper' way of doing things or not.

musicman100

ICBM said:

The AER is a very hi-fi sounding amp even by acoustic-amp standards and I agree they can sound thin, or 'cold' somehow - the newer ones seem worse than the earlier models for some reason (other than that being the way things always are…).

I must admit I've gone off that super-hi-fi 'acoustic' amplified sound anyway. It doesn't sound like a real acoustic guitar in the room, and it never sounds as pleasing as an old magnetic pickup going through something warmer-sounding, even if that doesn't sound 'like an acoustic guitar'.

If it sounds good to you, it is good - it doesn't matter if it's the 'proper' way of doing things or not.

There is no such thing as the proper way or not. Just different ways. I think people these days get to suck into what they read in magazines n on forums. When people say you need this, that and the other.

Evilmags

The best sound I have had (at any real volume) is mixing a microphone and a piezo. Microphones tend to howl more than pickups, so getting the EQ/ Filtering right is a pain and it needs a digital EQ to do properly. 

Basically there will be a frequency that really howls when you turn up the mic. Find it by taking a negative spike on the EQ and moving it along the frequency range (probably a low mid, a tuner will help you get it as well). When the spike finds the frequency range then the frequency feeding back is taken out. If you need to turn up more, then you may have to find the second harmonic of the same note and do the same to it. This forms the core of your sound. 

The piezo then gets fed into an FX unit (If it is stereo send one hard left and one hard right) use the EQ on the piezo to add some of the sound back. Keep gain as low as you can and volume / headroom as high as you can. Units like a TC G System or the Line 6 floor units have plenty of stereo effects which help disguise the piezo´s inherent "not an acoustic" sound and lets it reinforce volume without screwing up the natural sound coming out of the microphone. 

The more volume you need, the more Piezo or magnetic pickup you need to use. 

If you don´t want that faff get a Fisherman Aura.

EreforGuitarGear

I have and use a valve acoustic preamp made by Dennis Marshall... Definately adds warmth to the tone when used as a DI. Not as fancy as a fishman aura but floats my boat!

CHRISB50

John Butler plays a 12 string through a JCM800 half stack and he sounds alright! It's a bit of an extreme solution though.

mgaw

that will do it

ArchtopDave

I've got a Rivera Jazz Suprema, which obviously from it's name isn't designed for Acoustic Guitars as such, but it is designed to stay clean and warm, and an Acoustic does sound fine through it. Must admit I've eyed up the Humphrey Amp for quite a while.

EricTheWeary

Rivera Sedona is the one designed for this. The Alarm used to run acoustics through valve Marshalls but that's a different kind of sound.

crunchman

I saw someone using some valve DI boxes with an acoustic.  Great sound through the PA.  That might be more practical than an amp.  Can't remember the brand though.  He told me they were about £600 each though.

ICBM

crunchman said:

I saw someone using some valve DI boxes with an acoustic.  Great sound through the PA.  That might be more practical than an amp.  Can't remember the brand though.  He told me they were about £600 each though.

Sunrise Tube Interface, I think.

Lloyd Cole uses one and has an amazing amplified acoustic tone.

EreforGuitarGear

The Dennis Marshall preamp is cheaper and is used by people like Martin Taylor.