My only acoustic amp for the past 9 years has been a Fishman Loudbox Mini; it's been a reliable little workhorse with a 'decent' sound. I certainly can't complain about the value for money it's given me. It stopped working the other night (power but no sound) and although it's probably repairable, I'm considering an upgrade.
Pickups in my guitars are Trance Amulet M-VT and Baggs Anthem. I accompany a choir and smaller vocal ensemble, mostly strumming. We rehearse in a hall and perform in a variety of venue sizes, as well as outdoors. I've also started doing solo gigs with guitar and vocals. I prefer not to use an external preamp or EQ for a simpler life and quick setup.
The Fishman coped pretty well - at larger venues with a PA I'd use it as a monitor. It did sound strained, barky and unrefined when turned up and had a certain character to the tone, especially the mids, which I appreciated less and less as time went on. It seems to make cheap piezo pickups sound someway acceptable but doesn't allow my more expensive pickups to shine like I know they can.
I'm after something with more clarity and air that also sounds good with a mic (vocals through the Fishman sound truly awful IMO). Something of a similar size and weight would be preferable.
AER Compact 60 seems the obvious choice. I've played guitar through one and was impressed, and have heard they sound great with vocals too. A little more than I wanted to spend but they have a solid reputation.
I keep looking at the Bose S1 Pro. The price is attractive and I like the battery option (I borrow a mate's Roland AC33 twice a year for gigs with no access to power). I also like the idea of a wide horizontal sound dispersion which I think would work well for the choir rehearsals. There's less tone-shaping options and no mid control. Whether or not that would be an issue without resorting to an external EQ I don't know. For what it's worth, I like the sound of both pickups straight into a PA with a flat EQ.
I've also considered a Hughes & Kettner ERA 1, which is apparently similar to the AER but cheaper. They seem pretty hard to find.
I've found a shop near me that stocks both the AER and the Bose. Will head up there to compare them next week.
Any thoughts? Anyone happy plugging straight into a Bose S1 Pro? Other strong contenders I'm missing?
Comments
One complaint I do hear from others is that a mic plugged directly doesn't have enough signal level to make the most of the capability of the s1, so a preamp or mixer is considered essential in most circumstances. I've just bought a used ART dual pre for this and other duties but haven't had the chance to try it yet.
As far as EQ is concerned there is a switch on each of the two main channels with EQ presets for both guitar and vocal. This is quite effective, although I prefer to do my own and leave it flat.
I actually like the Bose L1 for acoustic gigs. With acoustic and vocals there's nothing below 100Hz ish so the system works well, has a superb dispersion pattern and is very reliable. We have had 3 systems in use since 2010 and none of them have ever gone wrong.
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
My Gibson. Dove Original has all its electronics, yes, but I'll never use 'em.
It's not that I dislike amps, it's just that I'm much more at home with a mic for me and one for the guitar
@Mellish I still like to use a mic on gigs where I'm sitting and accompanying a solo singer. Impossible with the choir as I'm conducting and singing at the same time as playing - moving around, gesturing any way I can and generally rocking out.
@TheMadMick I largely agree with what you're saying, although I'm not so much trying to achieve the "unamplified tone of the guitar but louder", but rather a sound that I personally find inspiring, musical and appropriate for the material. The more I like the sound that I'm making, the more I enjoy the experience. If I don't like the tone I find it distracting and harder to concentrate on leading the choir. My OCD makes that effect a lot worse.
It's important for the guitar to sound consistently good for the singers too. This is why I'm thinking a Bose S1 might be a good idea with its wide horizontal dispersion pattern; in most applications with the choir it would be facing the singers - either in rehearsals or used as a monitor at gigs. Post-covid, they do like to spread out a bit more.
The guitar does play a bit more a prominent role in this choir than you might expect. There's a lot of pop, disco and soul and my guitar arrangements are geared towards replicating the feel, groove and harmony of the original recordings, including intros, hooks and breaks. It's very 'guitar-driven' but making sure the voices aren't overpowered is important, or course.
This is it: ONE FORSTRINGS 6T (acus-sound.it)
I considered keeping the S1 and using an active PA cab + preamp for gigs where power is available, but ended up picking up an Acus One For Street 10. 120W, 11 kg, 10" woofer gives excellent bass response, vocals sound beautifully clear through it, no need for a separate preamp and best of all can be powered by Makita batteries. Can't wait for the next gig!
Acus do an 8" version of this for a little less money but I loved the bass response and fuller sound of the 10".
The only things I don't like are a lack of a phase switch, and the too-short proprietary power supply which puts strain on the connector when pole mounted. I'll just run it on the batteries wherever I'm playing - as I don't use any mains-powered pedals it makes for a quick and easy set up and pack down. The on board reverb isn't exactly stellar but I only use a touch anyway.
Great amps!
It's decent, sounds good for vocals and piano but my acoustic guitar through it seemed a bit quiet. That said, it was just a magnetic pick up into passive DI into the amp so it could be different with a proper preamp or a better electro-acoustic setup/instrument
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
I will probably get one again at some point though, the small size and weight make them a very useful and handy bit of kit.