fiSHman
loudbox mini
BY CHARLES SAUFLEY
When Larry Fishman started
selling acoustic pickups in the
early ’80s, he probably didn’t
imagine that the acoustic
amplification market would
become so big, varied, or
competitive. Yet as the market
has evolved, Fishman has consistently remained among the
most trusted and successful
companies in the business by
making pickups, preamps, and
acoustic amplifiers that sound
great, are built to last, and fit
players’ needs.
The latest addition to the
company’s Loudbox amplifier
line (which debuted in 1993),
the Loudbox Mini carries on
Fishman traditions of quality,
sonic versatility, and practical-
ity. Offering 60 watts of power
in a small, super-light, and ultra-
affordable package, the combo
is a breeze to tote in one hand and
powerful enough to fill just about
any smaller gig space.
Rock Solid, feather light
Like most of the Fishman amps I’ve played,
the Mini feels stout and appears flawlessly
assembled. You get the feeling you can
throw it in the back seat, take it on the subway—even strap it to your bike rack if you
needed to—without worrying a lick about
whether or not it will work when you get to
the gig.
simple control set. The far-left Instrument
channel has a Phase switch, plus Gain, Low,
Mid, High, Reverb, and Chorus knobs. A
simpler set of Gain, Low, High, and Reverb
knobs are on the Mic channel, and a Master
volume sets the amp’s overall level.
The back panel features a D.I. out to feed
the house system or a slave amp, 1/4" and
1/8" auxiliary inputs, and the power switch—
all readily accessible without tilting the amp
(or crawling around on hands and knees with
a flashlight or lighter in the middle of a gig).
support under the front of the amp. The
speaker baffle has 10 degrees of built-in tilt,
which compensates to some extent. And
given the Mini’s light weight, it’s no problem
to elevate it with a light stool or milk crate.
All things considered, the amp’s portabil-ity and small footprint are a fair trade for
reduced tilt-back capability.
The understated little Fishman is also
designed as elegantly as a mid-century hi-fi
system, and its subdued brown-and-tan
motif makes the controls easy to find, reach,
read, and adjust. Each channel has its own
My only complaint about the design is that
you can’t angle the Mini back any further
(which might be nice for certain monitoring
situations) without placing a book or some
To run the Loudbox Mini through its paces, I
used a Yamaha FG cutaway dreadnought with
a factory-installed undersaddle pickup and pre-amp, a Taylor 312ce with a Taylor Expression
System, and a Taylor 712 with a Dean Markley
ProMag soundhole pickup. It was easy to get
a warm and natural sound out of the Mini
straight away with its tone controls set flat, the
