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Best Acoustic Amplifier for Gibson J-45


RainboGuy

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About a week ago I purchased a new Fender Acoustic SFX Amp for my new Gibson J-45 Standard from Dave's Guitar Shop in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. The Fender rep was there that day (this past Saturday) as Dave's was celebrating their 35th Anniversary and there was a LOT going on in the store. I brought my new J-45 along with me to plug in and test various acoustic Amps....tried a Couple of Fishmans and they didn't really ring my bell, and since the Fender Rep walked me through the use of the Acoustic SFX amp with my guitar plugged in, and it sounded great in the store even with the noise going on all around me.....I pulled the trigger.

 

When I got the amp home, of course, I played with it a lot, but wondered..."Should I have purchased the Fender Acoustic Pro instead?"

 

So, I guess I am very interested in hearing from those of you who use acoustic amps as to what YOU think is the best one for your Gibson and why?

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I use a Fishman Loudbox Performer. Covers off 90% of my live work (I DI it into house rigs for large venues and bring my own PA for medium size shows).

 

Works great for acoustic and vocals. It has to be said it doesn't jive well with the Baggs Element-the hyped sub bass frequencies of the Element can blow the main driver of the Fishman if you hit the saddle with a thumb/finger/wrist too hard, as happened to the first one I had.

 

I use Fishman Matrix Infinity pickups now, which work just fine, especially with a bit of Aura fairydust.

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I used to have some definite favorites on this subject, but my latest observation is technology has come such a long way that any of the acoustic amps or even electric amps with an instrument setting if it has multiple settings (that equates to an unfiltered input from the instrument) and/or even a PA setting will do the job reasonably well.

 

QM aka Jazzman Jeff

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"BEST" is subject to personal need.

 

What are you plans ? is this the one with the wood cabinet, that looks like a pc of Furniture?

 

They look really nice, I've never heard one, but I was tempted to upgrade when they released them.

The demos were convincing, but I have yet to see one/touch one.

 

 

For some comparison, I have an Acoustasonic Jr, and a Fishman loudbox artist.

 

To my ears, the fender "Colors" the sound a bit and you can't EQ that out.. it's just the way they are voiced. And as you turn it up, that "voice" comes out a bit more as the DBs increase. Don't get me wrong, it's a great little amp,.. Reliable, and solid.

 

The loud box pretty much will sound like your guitars pickup, just WAY WAY WAY louder. It's scary how much volume these little things will crank out.

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"Should I have purchased the Fender Acoustic Pro instead?"

Ah, buyers remorse, a frustrating, sinking feeling. I do hope it passes and you come to enjoy your amp!

 

Best? Very subjective. Most players end up comfortable and satisfied with whichever acoustic amp they buy.......sometimes it takes a second shot at it to get it right, but much like GAS I reckon there's AAS as well...........grass often appears greener on the other side of the fence. I bought a Schertler David Deluxe combo after a lot of research. Two factors weighed heavier than others in the decision: 4-band EQ and on-board spring reverb. I've been pleased with the choice from the start. The amp has adequate power, is quite compact and is sonically very transparent. There are no on-board effects and that suits me well as what I do does not need guitar effects beyond the spring reverb. 48V phantom power is available which allows for using a condenser mic.

 

Everyone's ear is different as are priorities when selecting an acoustic amplifier.

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I have a Fishman SA 330. I actually bought a 220, had an issue, and Fishman sent me a new 330 in response. Talk about customer service.

Anyways. Why this SA330 is awesome... it sounds great. And it's expandable. You can get the sub woofer if you need. You can get an expander mixer as well to add 4 more inputs.

If you are playing just in your home, this is overkill. If you think you will gig, then it's a neat option from a great company.

Catch a sale, and you get it for $850

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Well, for what it's worth, I traded in (for full value) <nice to have a record of $1,000's of bucks of purchases in the datatbase, yes?> the Fender Acoustic SFX for a Fender Acoustic Pro.

 

The Acoustic Pro has MORE of what I need.......more power, a BIGGER bottom End, more responsive dynamic control, a Tilt-back feature, more feedback control, and, importantly, since I have a Furman SPB8 Pedal Board with 12 effects on it, I can plug MY effects into the amp.....and they sound WAY better and more organic than the effects on the Fender Acoustic SFX, in my opinion.

 

Nothing wrong with the Fender Acoustic SFX...it's a NICE amp........

 

The Acoustic Pro is simply more gig-worthy, methinks!~

 

HIGHLY recommended!

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