PunkKitty Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 Last year I sold a friend a small Line 6 amp that he has already outgrown. I honestly didn't expect him to play electric as much as he does. So he is looking for a new amp. The amp has to be good for electric as well as acoustic guitar. He often performs at small clubs. So I was thinking that a 15 watt tube amp like the Kustom Defender v15 would be a good choice. He's not opposed to going with a good solid state amp. But he doesn't want any frills. He's not even a fan of reverb so digital modelling amps with a lot of built in effects are out of the question. Let's hear your thoughts on this.
bluwoodsman Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 You will probably get more knowledgeable folks than I to respond, but here's my take. I think the applications and the design are so different that it's hard to select one that does both well. Rivera makes an amp they claim can do AE and Electric well, but I think you could buy two separate quality amps for far less than the rivera would cost. The Rivera is intriguing though, two channels so you can have an AE and electric plugged in at the same time, turn one off and grab the other. If I was to go with a dual purpose amp I'd probably look into a solid state one known for a very clean sound. Notch filter in the guitar would help. EQ in the amp would be ideal, otherwise going through a pedal EQ might work. Unless expense is really a big issue, there are dedicated acoustic amps out there that are fairly cheap. I haven't played many though so am not a good person to provide a recommendation.
barrymclark Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 At the risk of sounding like a broken record, have him try a Cube. The interface is like a basic amp. Don't want the effects? Turn them off. Especially good for cleaner tones. Now, there is no one amp for every person and his tastes in tone may (likely) vary from mine; however, Cubes are used as workhorse club amps. ....particularly in Jazz. I mention the Cube as it is a lower cost amp like the Kustom Defender. I have the 80w version and love it.
Horace Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 I've used the Gibson GA40-RVT for both acoustic and electric and it sounds very nice for both. They are pretty rare and also way undervalued in my opinion. They come up on ebay every so often and anything under $650 is good value. Nice mid range tones and takes pedals well.
kidsmoke Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 What is his budget? This. PK...you're not asking for much here are you? Acoustic and electric, no frills, 15W, gigable...a lot of possibilities, but what are the available funds? I'm assuming he wants to get to some degree of breakup on the thing, right? Whether real or modeled? I agree that the cube line gives you the best bang for the buck and will take an acoustic pretty simply.
GASguy Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 You will probably get more knowledgeable folks than I to respond, but here's my take. I think the applications and the design are so different that it's hard to select one that does both well. Rivera makes an amp they claim can do AE and Electric well, but I think you could buy two separate quality amps for far less than the rivera would cost. The Rivera is intriguing though, two channels so you can have an AE and electric plugged in at the same time, turn one off and grab the other. If I was to go with a dual purpose amp I'd probably look into a solid state one known for a very clean sound. Notch filter in the guitar would help. EQ in the amp would be ideal, otherwise going through a pedal EQ might work. Unless expense is really a big issue, there are dedicated acoustic amps out there that are fairly cheap. I haven't played many though so am not a good person to provide a recommendation. I have the updated version of the Rivera amp you are referring to the Sedona, mine is the Sedona Lite with the new split grille Venus style cosmetics. There is a more expensive version the Sedona that goes for about 3 grand, mine was less than that but still expensive. The amp sounds fantastic with acoustic or electric channels engaged, but unless you play a lot of acoustic and electric out, it may not be worth the cost to you. I bought the Sedona Lite because I wanted an acoustic amp of comparable quality to my Juke Warbler and KBP810 Red Rocket, basically a 12" speaker equipped Princeton Reverb clone, except it is LOUD! I have a Roland AC 60 solid state acoustic amp that I have used for many years and was satisfied with until I upgraded.
slider313 Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 Fender blackface circuits do well with both electric and acoustic guitar. Plenty to choose from and a used "reissue" can be a good "bang for the buck".
Redsand Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 I've been gigging with a same Fender Acoustisonic Jr. for over 5 years years. I play my H-535 thru it with no issue.
212Mavguy Posted May 29, 2014 Posted May 29, 2014 Ceriatone Lunchbox head, small but mighty Dumble clone, 20watts pair o' 6v6's. Clean, OD, boosted clean, and boosted OD in the amp, passive FX loop, user-adjustable bias with meter probe ports on the back of the amp, how easy is that? D-clones are fine with acoustics. This is a small sized amp head that will need a separate cab. Tone is to DIE for, The oversized iron and build kills anyone else's lunchbox amp in the tone department. As a matter of fact, one can run 6l6gc's with a rebias, more like 30+ tube watts, no problem, the iron is that good. So that means more headroom can be had that way for acoustic clean use. Time based fx go in the loop. Not the cheapest, but one of the very nicest, widest tonal ranges for the buck out there. And yes, it can get quite loud, but works well at small house/bedroom volumes.
PunkKitty Posted May 29, 2014 Author Posted May 29, 2014 Cleans are most important to him. I suggested a ZT Lunchbox. It' loud as hell, clean, and super portable. You can get them for around $250. Money is tight for him.
davesultra Posted May 30, 2014 Posted May 30, 2014 At the risk of sounding like a broken record, have him try a Cube. The interface is like a basic amp. Don't want the effects? Turn them off. Especially good for cleaner tones. Now, there is no one amp for every person and his tastes in tone may (likely) vary from mine; however, Cubes are used as workhorse club amps. ....particularly in Jazz. I mention the Cube as it is a lower cost amp like the Kustom Defender. I have the 80w version and love it. I too can vouch for the CUBE amps. I have the 40w and 20w versions, and find them very versatile. The only effect I use on them is the reverb.
mars_hall Posted May 30, 2014 Posted May 30, 2014 I would have to agree with Barry. I have a micro-cube for around the house and it gets the full range and really kicks at lower levels.
jdd55 Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 Try the Marshall acoustic amps and use pedals when playing electric.
rjsanders Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 Cleans are most important to him. I suggested a ZT Lunchbox. It' loud as hell, clean, and super portable. You can get them for around $250. Money is tight for him. the Lunchbox is nice, as is the ZT Cube. but i still have concerns with heat buildup that i don't have with the Roland Cube. i'd recommend the Cube 30 or bigger, as budget allows. someone above mentioned the Juke Warbler. maybe someday your friend's ear & touch sensitivity will be refined enough to "need" one of those (among the finest & best-built amps around IMHO) and not the most expensive. when that day comes he can enjoy a great portable combo and still have the Cube as backup. yeahman
jrfreed Posted July 20, 2014 Posted July 20, 2014 Tough to beat the Cube...I also own the Fender Acoustasonic and the independent channels come in handy but think the cube cleans sounds better
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