Those 50/watt acoustic guitar vocal amps

midiman1962

There are a few of these around where you can stick a mic in one channel and acoustic guitar in another. Having dragged an hk Lucas into a micro pub last weekend,thinking that one of these might be a good solution? The Marshall as50 seems to be the predominant amp here , though I see Behringer have their version acx900 which seems to have a few more features.
anyone use either of these or have any other options? Tia 

TheBigDipper

Following…. 

ICBM

AER Compact 60
Acus One 6T
Fishman Loudbox Mini

All these are smaller and sound better than the Marshall in my opinion - though more expensive (the first two especially).

greejn

AER Compact 60, or Schertler David. I prefer the latter, but both great amps that project really well...and my favourite trick is to send to a mackie PA speaker as well.

Snags

I've got a Loudbox Mini. It won't replace a PA for a big/noisy place, but it will give you a good lift for a small pub/café situation. I haven't checked it recently but my recollection is that you can get the guitar significantly louder than the vocal through it, although that might be as much to do with the register of my voice as anything else.

maltingsaudio

Done loads of gigs with that kind of set up using my aer https://fb.watch/cRjd_XEy0O/

BenSirAmos

AER Compact 60 for me too. Fantastic sound - perfect for my vocals and harp and a guitar. Also put a mic on the congas in the absence of a drum machine that will give me a decent bass drum sound (but that's another thread).  

And when I do use my pa (which is rare now) I use the AER as a personal monitor.

Supportact

The Marshall one is ok, but the ones mentioned above made by AER, Fishman, Schertler in my view sound better. Not tried the Acus one. 

Stratavarious

I used the Marshall AS in a trio years ago for loads of gigs.  Better sounding products today but it was an easy load in! 

 Does the job but compared with a modest PA, they can sound quite boxy and only good in small spaces.  Get a mini mixer and a couple of 300w or so powered mains. Yamaha do an all in one that clips together to roll in.

p90fool

The Marshall AS100 is way better than the 50, not just louder. 

The Fishman Loudbox is good too.

ICBM

Stratavarious said:

Get a mini mixer and a couple of 300w or so powered mains. Yamaha do an all in one that clips together to roll in.

I think that’s exactly the amount of faff and set-up space the OP is trying to avoid . For a really small bar, a single-box amp is much more convenient.

I’ve got the Acus One at the moment, largely because it was cheaper than the AER and the mic channel sounded better with vocals. It’s much better than the Marshall AS (I had the original one, the AS-80R). Both it and the AER are small enough to sit on a bar stool, so you don’t even need to worry about a stand.

BillDL

If you are on a restricted budget you might also consider Laney acoustic amps.  I have the 30 watt 2 x 6.5" version of their budget line of three acoustic amps (LA30D) that is surprisingly good for the price and would probably do a quiet small pub lounge bar, but they also do 60 watt ones that are still very affordable and I think they are easily as good as the Marshall AS amps:

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Laney-A-SOLO-Acoustic-Combo/2VEP (1 x 8")

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Laney-A-Duo-Acoustic-Amp/1YLJ (2 x 8")

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Laney-A-FRESCO-2-Acoustic-Combo/2VDX (1 x 8" dual cone)

Don't discount the Roland "AC" range either, but they are more expensive than the Laney amps.

ICBM

BillDL said:

If you are on a restricted budget you might also consider Laney acoustic amps.

Good reminder, I'd forgotten that - there was a Laney A1 (now replaced with the 'Plus' version I think) in the shop I work for not long ago, it sounded very good.

midiman1962

BillDL said:

If you are on a restricted budget you might also consider Laney acoustic amps.  I have the 30 watt 2 x 6.5" version of their budget line of three acoustic amps (LA30D) that is surprisingly good for the price and would probably do a quiet small pub lounge bar, but they also do 60 watt ones that are still very affordable and I think they are easily as good as the Marshall AS amps:

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Laney-A-SOLO-Acoustic-Combo/2VEP (1 x 8")

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Laney-A-Duo-Acoustic-Amp/1YLJ (2 x 8")

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Laney-A-FRESCO-2-Acoustic-Combo/2VDX (1 x 8" dual cone)

Don't discount the Roland "AC" range either, but they are more expensive than the Laney amps.

I do have 2 mobile Roland ac amps which I use for outside busking but at 5 watts you are “on the edge” in terms of being loud enough - got away with it on non windy days outside the co-op where the building formed an L shaped cove to play from. I had noticed the Laney so good to know this is worth further investigation- thanks 

BillDL

@keefy had a Laney A1+ for sale in the classifieds section here a while back.  It went for an absolute steal.  I would have bought it but I had just bought my 30W one.  I think the A1+ is now discontinued though.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/214492/sold-laney-a1-acoustic-amplifier/p1

Keefy

BillDL said:

@keefy had a Laney A1+ for sale in the classifieds section here a while back.  It went for an absolute steal.  I would have bought it but I had just bought my 30W one.  I think the A1+ is now discontinued though.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/214492/sold-laney-a1-acoustic-amplifier/p1

Yep, went to @danishbacon.

danishbacon

Keefy said:

BillDL said:

@keefy had a Laney A1+ for sale in the classifieds section here a while back.  It went for an absolute steal.  I would have bought it but I had just bought my 30W one.  I think the A1+ is now discontinued though.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/214492/sold-laney-a1-acoustic-amplifier/p1

Yep, went to @danishbacon.

It’s a superb amp, it was used for a solo classic gig last weekend by a friend who came back with only praise! He otherwise used a high end Bose PA system

steviebee74

I often use a Roland AC60 with a separate 10” Tanglewood T6 Sub. The beauty of this rig is that both pieces have a socket for a standard pole so I can sit the amp well above the sub and get plenty of spread. I don’t sing but work a female vocalist and we’re more than happy with this for smaller rooms. The amp has separate channels for guitar and mic and volume wise, it’s easily able to cope with 50/60 people. 

TJT1979

I highly recommend the Blackstar Sonnet. I got the 120w model due to extra flexibility (phantom power in both channels, individual line outs per channel or DI mix, both with post/pre switches, etc)

Honestly I was really surprised how good this sounds. I’ve only used it in very small venues so I haven’t got it past probably 10 o clock on the volume. 

I’ve used it as a monitor sending signal to a PA, and also as the only reinforcement. 

The only things I’d change are that the bass ports should be on the front rather than pointing backwards, and I’d like a Clip indicator when setting the input gain for each channel. 

Edit: I have a dynamic mic straight in, and the guitar goes in via a Baggs Session DI which uses phantom. The amp sounds great without the Baggs but I already had it, and it’s useful as a mute switch. 

joeW

Henriksen the Bud has 2 independent channels which is good for guitar and vocals. Definitely more jazz focused and on the pricey side, but they are super light and very loud 

JCA2550

I am happy with the Fishman Loudbox Mini, but will also vouch for the AER Compact 60 and Blackstar Sonnet. The Marshall AS series are simply outclassed by them. If I was starting again, I'd definitely go for the Sonnet.