Help! Questions on Acoustic Equipment

Goldtop11

Goldtop11

Mojo & Blues
So I've been part of a rock band for many years now and wanted to start doing some solo acoustic shows on the side. I'm fairly new to the whole acoustic game equipment wise, so I had some questions.

First off, I'm looking at the Marshall AS50R or AS50D. From the reviews I've read the R has a warmer sound than the D, but the D has phantom power. The R is discontinued, but is sold used for cheaper than the D new or used. Does anyone have any experience with either of these amps?

The phantom power thing leads me to my next question, do I need phantom power to run a vocal mic? I was looking at getting a Blue enCORE 100i and running it through the second channel of the Marshall for my vocals. When I play out with my band I have the phantom power on on our mixing board all the time, so I don't know which mics are using it and which aren't. (We use condenser mics for the guitar and bass and standard vocal mics for vocals. Sorry about the lack of knowledge here, I don't know much about the technical side of things once we get out of the relm of guitars, lol. :-\)

My last thing is basically if you guys have any more recommendations or advice on what to get. I like sticking with brands I like, and Marshall and Blue have served me well, but I'm open to any suggestions that you guys may have if you think there is something superior to those in the same price range. Thanks!
 
You only need phantom power to run a condenser mic, and I would say the majority of folks use a dynamic mic for live and a condenser for studio.

I have a small preamp that I could use to provide phantom power if I really needed it (and then run the out from the pre to the board or amp).

The issue with those acoustic amps is they're great for a sidewalk busker or if you're the acoustic player in the band and you're using it as a monitor, but I personally wouldn't use one to project guitar and vocal for an audience. The guys around here that do that always have muddy sounding vocals.

You're better off with a good powered speaker (or even a Bose column) and then run a nice little acoustic preamp so you can dial in the mids or do a cut if you're having any feedback issues. The vocals will be clearer and project farther.
 
I have NEVER played through a good sounding Marshall acoustic amp. IMO a good DI and going through the PA will be your best bet. If you need to go with a separate amp, SWR and Fishman make some nice little acoustic combos. Some of the older Fender combos were nice too.

You probably don't need phantom power for your vocal mics, as they're typically dynamics, as is the Blue you posted.
 
Ok, that's good to know that the mic will work w/o phantom power.

I totally get what baimun is saying about the vocals being muddy coming out of the same amp. In an ideal senario I would play through a PA, but most the coffee shops and restaurants that I'm looking to play at don't have PA's and I really want to avoid bringing a whole PA out. (I already do this with my rock band and I don't want these acoustic shows to turn into full fledged set ups and tear downs like those are, lol.)

Now baimun, what did you mean by the powered speaker with an acoustic preamp? Are the vocals and guitar still going into the same amp, just with the acoustic going through a preamp first for EQing, or are there two different amps and/or speakers in that set up? Sorry, again, I'm new to the whole acoustic gigging thing, lol.
 
I'm not saying you need a whole PA.... a Fishman SA220 would work perfect.

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Or what I would use would be a JBL PRX 2 way speaker on a stand, with a little Alesis or Allen and Heath mixer.
 
Ah, ok. Yeah, the Fishman or Bose would be perfect, but they're way out of my price range. :( The Roland looks interesting though. Does it sort the guitar and vocals into the two speakers separately?
 
Goldtop11 said:
Ah, ok. Yeah, the Fishman or Bose would be perfect, but they're way out of my price range. :( The Roland looks interesting though. Does it sort the guitar and vocals into the two speakers separately?
Click to expand...

I believe they split, but you're talking such close proximity that it hardly matters.
 
I've played a pretty good amount of live acoustic. I agree with Baimun and Kerouac.

Think of it this way: You need a preamp to control the sound of the acoustic and then something to amplify it. The acoustic amps combine both functions but possibly at the expense of something else (like vocals).

I had best results using a dedicated acoustic preamp into a PA. If I wanted small and portable, I used a Peavey keyboard amp. It has multiple inputs and acts like a mini self-contained PA. When I had a real PA available, I used the Peavey as a monitor and it worked very well in that role. Roland's keyboard amps should work well, too.

The Baggs Para Acoustic DI is pretty much the "Marshall" of acoustic preamps. A lot of guys just get that and call it done. I prefer the Ultrasound DI a little more but it's just because I like the Ultrasound matched with my choice of acoustic pickup.
 
I use a Fishman Aura for my guitar, a Shure 58 mic into a PA. Sometimes the venue has a PA and if not I use an Allen Heath board into a QSC Power Amp into Yamaha Speakers. I am looking to simplify by going to power speakers - either QSC or EV. My PA also b eased for a small club or private party.
 
Get a real PA, not any acoustic amp, unless you're playing to a very small, very quiet audience...for what you'll pay for a quality acoustic amp, you can probably find a used 4- or 6-channel powered mixer, a pair of small 10" or 12" + horn cabs and a couple stands. Think Carvin, Peavey or Crate. Once you start bringing in the $$$, look at the Fishman SA220 "SoloAmp" or upgrading your PA. Very few acoustic gigs require being very loud, so 200 watts is almost always plenty (few of my gigs require me turning the Master Volume control past "3" and the channel volume past "7" on my PA1200.

Sometimes I can get by with my Crate Limo 50 on a stand, all by itself (Farmer's Markets, small restaurants, nursing homes, VA Hospital, that sort of thing).

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John (bass) and I both playing through Limo 50s at the Keller Farmer's Mkt.​

Lastly, those Marshall amps, even though they're sold as "acoustic" amps, really aren't very good for acoustic or PA use, but they're dandy for a Telecaster! :thu:
 
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There are some very good acoustic amps out there, but they run about the same price as a decent PA setup like mentioned above. spend the cash on a good acoustic DI/Preamp like a Baggs Para Acoustic DI, Ultrasound DI Plus, or Fishman Pro EQ, and run direct to house or a powered speaker. Way better sound. I went the DI route abut 6 years ago and have not looked back.
 
Here is basically what you need, something that is clean, ultra clean. I personally use a 40 year old Kustom tuck and roll K50 that is 25W with 1 channel with built in reverb and tremolo it is 24" x 20" and weighs 46lbs. I can run my acoustic through it with no color through my multi-effect pedal, but I can also kick in my pedal and sound like a Strat, Tele, Classic rock with Chorus, distortion, etc. and run my mic through the other input. It cuts through the mix like crazy as I use it for my Gigging amp for electric gigs too and it will kick the snot out of a Marshall stack as it is not such a one directional unit like a 4 x 12 cab is this you can also DI through the frontals if you want and use the amp for your monitor. The best two things is they take pedals better than any other amp I have ever used and they cut through the mix like no other. For example take a line 6 amp they have all of the great patches and sounds, but are great for a bedroom, put it on a stage and it just disappears!

Many other company's make great sounding solid state acoustic amps with 2 channels, one for instrument and one for vocals. The DI route is a great way to go as well. I try to do that when I run sound with my PA. I will DI the Bass, and the Guitars, and put a couple of condenser mics over the drums.

Here is a pick of my amp,

 
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