Acoustic amp recommendations

[ovation]

Hi guys this is my first time posting, but i've been reading the forums quite a bit now.

Anyway, as the thread title suggests, I'm looking for a decent acoustic amplifier. More for practice like a bedroom amp, or playing in a small hall. And my budget is below $200. Pretty limited huh.

I play an acoustic ovation guitar and heard that it sounds great plugged in, so i would really love to amplify my experience with a good acoustic amp. The forums haven't provided much information on decent acoustic amps despite extensive searching.

Well i'm definitely open to electric amps if they can give value for money as well.

Thanks guys! Hope to gain some valuable information here!

 

[CogitoAngMoh]

Acoustic amps

Are you looking for something to play out with at gigs or jams or are you just looking for something to play and have fun with at home? That makes a big difference in recommendations.

If you're playing out, one option is going straight to the PA and massaging the EQ either on the Ovations tone / volume controls or on the channelstrip of the board itself. You would get a decent tone and plenty of volume from the PA.

$200 is a very tight budget for an acoustic amp, but you might want to see if you can track down a used Ibanez Troubadour 25 somewhere. It's newer replacement is the T35, though new would be well out of your pricerange: http://www.zzounds.com/item--IBAT35

Someone has an Fender Acoustasonic amp in the box posted here....but for $700!

Good luck.
Marc

 

[ovation]

Thanks Marc. Ah i suppose $200 is abit cheap eh. Would a normal amp (for electric guitars) do fine then? Cos it looks like there are quite a few half-decent ones out there for that price.

Oh btw it's more for playing at home.

 

[futures]

Yes i think an electric guitar amp should do fine, if you're playing at home. Get one of the Vox Valvetronix ones, maybe the AD30VT. You can get a nice clean acoustic sound along with a ton of effects to add to it.

If you get it second hand, it'll definitely fall within your budget.

 

[EugeneSmasher]

There was an acoustic guitar amplifier at Maestro I tried and it sounded great. It was the outlet at Parklane, you might want to pay them a visit and try some of the amplifiers there. But personally my favourite method would be to go direct to the mixer and PA system, it gives the best tone at least for me. Particularly for recording.

From what I've heard, the only differences between an acoustic guitar amplifier and an electric guitar amplifier is the tone, so you can plug an acoustic into an electric guitar amplifier, but it won't sound truly acoustic. But adjust the settings and you should be able to get a pretty nice tone.

 

[ovation]

Thanks guys for all the replies.

To Marc: Did some research and found out that the Ibanez Troubadour has a smaller version called T10, sounds ideal for bedroom use. Any idea where I can go and try one of these? Does anyone in these forums have one?

I'll definitely look into all ur suggestions, including those at the Maestro outlet. Yamaha is having a sale on their Orange and Crate amplifiers, are they any good?

 

[CogitoAngMoh]

Not sure. You can post a WTB (want to buy) ad in the buy/sell forum.