AMPS
If you plan to play in situations
where you’ll need your own ampli-
fier—either with a group of jamming bud-
dies in your basement or in a smaller venue
(see the Location, Location, Location
sidebar, opposite page)—there are many
options. Besides varying in power output,
speaker configuration, sound quality, and
processing features (e.g., effects), they can
also have varying numbers of channels
(inputs for multiple sound sources). If
you’re just playing guitar, there are 1-chan-
nel amps, or you can get multi-channel
amps that enable you to plug in your guitar
and a friend’s, and/or a microphone’s XLR
cable for singing along. (Remember, if your
amp has a single channel with both an XLR
and a 1/4" input, you’ll only be able to use
one at a time—because there will only be
one set of volume and EQ controls.)
If you’re looking for a small, affordable, great-sounding amp, we recommend
you check out the ZT Lunchbox Acoustic
($399 street,
ztamplifiers.com). For great
sound and excellent versatility at a very
attractive price point, be sure to look at
the Fishman SA220 Solo Performance
System ($999 street). If professional-quality
sound is your priority, check out the AER
AcoustiCube ($2,999 street, aer-amps.
com), the Schertler Unico ($1,308 street,
schertler.com), and the L.R. Baggs Core
1 ($1,199 street). And if you’re going to
need a lot of sound but don’t want to carry
around an entire PA system, check out the
Bose L1 Model 1 Single System/Single Bass
Package ($1,999 street,
bose.com)—and
be sure to get the bass module, because it
is necessary to accurately represent your
acoustic guitar’s sound. Here’s a couple
more options: Behringer Ultracoustic
ACX450 ($218 street,
behringer.com),
Ultrasound Pro250 ($980 street, ultra-
soundamps.com), Genz-Benz Shenandoah
Shen ProLT ($1240 street,
genzbenz.com).
to emphasize midrange and treble frequencies—and because they are usually designed
to provide rock-approved distortion—they’re
not going to accurately represent your acoustic
guitar’s unplugged sound. That said, just as
with effects, if you’re not a purist and you don’t
mind risking a little feedback in order to give
your acoustic a little attitude, give it a try. You
wouldn’t be the first to get a sound you like out
of a nice vacuum-tube-driven guitar amp—
famous players such as Ben Harper and Monte
Montgomery have been known to do so.
Acoustic vs. Electric Amps
Acoustic amps and electric amps are at
least as far apart on the evolutionary tree
as acoustic guitars and electric guitars.
Yes, you can plug your acoustic into an
electric-guitar amp and get sound out of it.
But because electric-guitar amps are tuned
