FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Acoustic Amp

Question:
I'm looking for an amp I could use as a small pa when such is warranted. I've been reading about the Marshall AS50R, and the Fender Acoustasonic series. Does anyone have any experience actually using either of these amps in a solo act setting, and if so, can you tell me about the on board affects, feedback issues, etc? I'm visually impaired, and I've always dreamed of having a good amp/pa combo small enough for me to transport to a gig in a taxi, and to just to be able to say to the hosting venue, Point me to the stage, and show me where to plug in, and I'm set. Can any of these amps really take the place of say a standard small club house pa.

Answer:
About 6 years ago I took a Shure SM-58, armed with my acoustic guitar, and went from one music store to another trying out different acoustic amps with this purpose in mind: to find a piece of portable equipment that would serve as a small PA. I tried a Peavey Acoustic, Centaur, Trace Elliot, and both a 60 watt and 125 watt Crate acoustic amp. I had read a great review in Acoustic guitar magazine that rated the Seymour Duncan Tara amp as being rated the best acoustic amp at the time, yet I couldn't find one at the time in any of the stores. Of the four brands I tried, I liked the Peavey the least while singing with the mic. The Trace Elliot had some nice features, but it wasn't a big enough sound for me. I thought the Centaur sounded pretty good, and may have bought that until I tried out a couple of the Crates. The CA-60D is a very nice sounding amp for both guitar and accompanying vocals. There is plenty of EQ control for the guitar channel, with I believe, Bass and Treble adjustment for the Mic channel. The digital effects sound very nice, especially chorus for the guitar. I ended up buying the more powerful Crate CA-125D, with digital effects, and I've never regretted my purchase. The amp has two 10 woofers plus a 2 tweeter, each powered by an individual amplifier; 50 watts for each of the 10 drivers, with a 25 watt amp for the tweeter. I have used this amp as a mini PA, and the both the XLR and 1/4 line outputs can be used to feed the signal to an auxillary amp to drive another speaker or two for more enveloping sound. The CA-125D features a 5-band graphic EQ, so I generally set this first for the mic, as I am left with extensive EQ controls for the guitar channel, such as Low, Mid, High, with a contour control and adjustable notch filter for the mid frequencies. The Crate is backed by a 5 year warranty for parts and labor, which is very generous and greatly appreciated. I would also like to hear the Fender amps, as they came out a year or so after I purchased my Crate. And I've also heard great things about the Ultrasounds, but I am pretty sure that they are considerably more expensive than the Crate acoustic amplifier line, the latter of which I recommend any guitarist. vocalist check out before making their final purchase decision.