PlayJazzGuitar.com Forum

[Larry]

Hi.Could anybody out there tell me if an acoustic amp is suitable for a
jazz guitar [with humbucker].I can only aford one amp to accomodate both acoustic and electric guitar--it needs to be
light.and I only need a clean sound on both. Cheers LG..

[Pierrot]

Hi Larry,

I recommend you this little gem:

Simply put: Delicious!

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

[stratocasturbator]

AER Alpha. very small, quite lightweight, their least expensive model, and sounds great on both acoustic and electric/archtop (you'll need to change the tone settings when you switch guitars though).

[sunflower]

I use an AER Compact 60 cos of the size / weight ........
Its OK but not amazing for Archtop

I hope to get a Hennriksen sometime

[stratocasturbator]

p.s. I have a Henriksen Jazz10 in addition to the AER amp. both are great for what they do. but if you want versatility, you get a better single-unit acoustic AND electric capability with the AER than you do with the Henriksen. it's true that the Henriksen tone is fairly automatic with a humbucker-equipped archtop-that classic polytone style sound-but it's not quite as well-voiced for a typical piezo acoustic pickup. but with the AER I can get a pretty decent tone from an archtop in addition to the great acoustic sound, so if the gig calls for a bit of both types of instruments (especially solo guitar gigs), the AER is amazingly useful in such a small package.

btw I've had extensive dealing with Peter Henriksen, and I must say that I've never received better customer service from anyone vending any sort of musical product, be it amp, instrument or otherwise, in 30+ years of playing. you will never have to worry about security of your investment if you get a Henriksen amp. he takes a personal interest in the viability of all his products, even after they're long past warranty. (and obviously, this isn't spam, since I just recommended the AER, but I thought I'd add this bit since I had such a good experience with them).

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Yes, there's a handful of small amp manufacturers that I've heard nothing but good things about, including exceptional service. (I think many of us could roll the list off the top of our heads.) As time goes on, I value that more and more. I'd rather buy from a smaller company that treats me well and has actual people I can talk with, than a faceless corporation.

[sunflower]

Hi Strat,
Got any tips for getting a decent tone out of the AER
with an archtop ?

ta , Jem

[stratocasturbator]

sun--I'm not able to eyeball the controls at the moment but as I recall there are two buttons that are important--a "contour" or "color" button which affects the mids in the EQ. if I recall correctly I usually have that disengaged--and there's also a level button, "pad" which is basically a built-in limiter. this one is crucial, since the attack/gain curve coming from a humbucker is much different than a piezo signal. I leave that one depressed. so with that in mind I guess it's just a matter of tweaking the 3-band EQ to taste, not overdoing the "effect" knob (here in america we call this "reverb") and finding the right balance between pre- and post- gain knobs. and then of course finding the sweet spot with the vol/tone pots on your guitar. when I switch back to acoustic I basically undo several of these moves to open it up for the piezo sound. sometimes I use an archtop with soundboard transducers and a neck humbucker, and I run the sbt into the xlr side. sounds nice blended with the humbucker...good for solo stuff. it's a lot of sound in a small package. and very well made.

[sunflower]

Thats interesting , I've got the switches the other way round !
I'll try your way Strat ..... thanks

P.S. Interesting that the Henn isn't much better sounding than
the AER , maybe I'll stop pining for one now .... ta

[Generic Sobriquet]

[randyc]

... and whatever happened to: plug it in, turn it on, play it. One guitar, one pickup, one cable, one amplifier, one tone control ? Hasn't equipment become too complicated ? (rhetorical question, responses not necessary.)

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

[randyc]

of course you couldn't resist .... and I had THIS in mind: on/off switch, volume, tone, reverb, th .. th ... that's all folks !

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Then there's the Fender Champ: