Acoustic Guitar Amplifiers

Acoustic guitar amplifiers are made for acoustic guitars and similar instruments and have been widely used in genres such as blues, folk, and bluegrass. They're similar to keyboard amplifiers in that they have a rather flat frequency response with minimum coloration. To produce this "clean" sound, amplifiers have to be able to provide up to 800 watts of RMS. The benefit of this is it provides additional headroom and prevents unwanted distortion. 800+ watts amplifiers are designed and built under the standard class-AB amplifier technology, which is quite heavy. Because of this, manufacturers sometimes use class-D amplifiers, which are lighter. We know those by the name of "Switching Amplifiers." These amplifiers often come with a simple mixer so that signals from a pickup and condenser microphone can be blended. Since the early 2000s, it has become increasingly common for them to have various digital effects such as reverb and compression. Also, they can have feedback-suppressing devices, such as notch filters and parametric equalizers.

Acoustic and Electric Guitar Amplifier Differences

When choosing a decent acoustic amplifier, knowing several things is important. One of them is its raw power. Less powerful guitar amplifiers begin to distort as you turn up the volume. This is exactly what most electric guitar users want. However, in order to maintain a clean sound at higher volume levels, you need more power. Suppose you're used to running a twenty-two-watt electric guitar amplifier and try to run a thirty-watt acoustic guitar amplifier at the same volume level. In that case, you might be unhappy with the clarity of the sound. This is why most acoustic guitar amplifiers are relatively more powerful than their electric guitar counterparts. They need that power to stay "clean." In addition, acoustic guitar amplifiers are generally "Solid-State" in their design, meaning they use transistors rather than tubes. We know tubes for their warmer, thicker-sounding, distorted quality, which is not necessarily the sound preference of acoustic guitarists. Also, these amplifiers are mostly enclosed in their design and don't have open backs like many electric guitar amplifiers. This is because of similar sound processing differences. What sets these amplifiers apart from the main PA amplifiers are the extra specs that cater to the specific needs of an acoustic guitar, such as additional inputs for microphones or mobile devices and on-board effects. All of these features will ensure that you get the best representation of the natural sound of your guitar.

Reference Tests

• Guitar Amplifier