Mark III with an acoustic

[starsky]

I am selling my Mark III red-stripe combo, and someone who is interested in it wants to play an acoustic guitar through it, primarily. Should I be steering him towards another amp? While I'd like to sell the amp (it's going to finance another amp purchase), I don't want him to waste his time driving 2 hours round trip for nothing.

I know it will "work", but I don't have an amplified acoustic to even try it out. Some of the complaints I've read about electric guitar amps being sub-par for acoustics, dealt with:

+ feedback, if you're not careful
+ not enough sound coverage in the lower frequencies (the "acoustic guitar" frequencies)
+ not enough sound coverage in the higher frequencies (same as above, sort of described as "acoustic sparkle")

I can't do anything about the first item on the list, but I was wondering since this amp has the enhanced bass frequency (if you pull out on the pot), and since it's sort of known for being pretty trebly, would this work for this buyer? Has anyone else tried it?

 

[Fronzil]

my buddy played his acoustic into the shittiest little marshall combo..i mean it can't be any worse than that and he got by. sell er.

 

[lesterpaul]

yes you can, but the tone sux-I play lots of acoustic gigs-if he is a gigger, he would probably know that he could plug into the PA and get a warmer, fuller ,more acoustic-ish tone-I would think a III set ultra clean would yield a harsh,thin,trebly tone on the edge of feedback(I never have plugged ol' Woody into a III,mind you...)-its the lo-fi vs hi- fi deal...I go into a TC G NAtural into the PA and it sounds fine...IMO, any pick-up/amplification of,say, a Martin D-28, kills the tone unless it is a quality mic-you have to make lots of compromises in the acoustic world, and standing still on stage in front of a mic isn't near as fun as running around with your freak flag flyin', so you deal with it-if he wants to plug up, there are many acoustic amps out there, or he could plug directly into the PA(I know a lot of guys who just strum at the house, and they end up buying an acoustic amp!It sort of defeats the purpose of the ol' soundhole, doesn't it?An acoustic is plenty loud for bedroom playing, and they usually realize this after the new wears off and they start to miss that woody tone-another topic,entirely..!)...maybe he wants red stripe acoustic tone, but there are better options

 

[fishyfishfish]

It is not bad for acoustic, but there are better options. Then again, if you can get the cash that you want for your amp and the dude is happy it's win win!

 

[Facelift]

In this day and age of bad economy, I would just worry about the sale. I personally wouldnt be too choosy on what the buyer is going to use it for. As long as you get your selling price then it shouldnt matter if the buyer plans on using it for acoustic or a doorstop. Get your money and move on in your own tone search.

 

[edmiller9999]

Maybe the dude has always wanted a Boogie and is thinking, "Maybe this acoustic gig won't work out and I'll try my hand on electric guitar."

Caveat emptor. God knows I've made some purchasing errors (hundreds) over the years!

 

[IBA]

Hi Starsky

I've a fully loaded red stripe III combo and I used it with my spanish guitar (nylon strings) thru it's piezo mic and my 12 string acoustic thru it's piezo. It sounds as good as a piezo pickup can sound. I wouldn't use that for recording acoustic (unless you wanna do something experimental- some spanish guitar with wah, for example as i did in a couple of occasions) For 'normal' acoustic guitar recording, I would go with one or two mics, and maybe mix the piezo in there if it adds something to it.

Going back to the amp, it sounds great for acoustic. Mind you, you will have to eq a bit (preferably before the amp and keep an eye on the volume of the guitar. Most of these piezo pickups are active and they throw too much volume at your amp, producing an awful lot of feedback. It takes a bit of fiddling but its a great amp (also for acoustic instruments).

Are you really sure you wanna sell it? :shock:

Cheers

 

[starsky]

In the spirit of not leaving a thread hanging... the person inquiring about the MarkIII for acoustic work disappeared into the ether without ever coming by. With the current market as it is, I finally got tired of waiting for a buyer & traded the amp in for a LoneStar Classic head. Should arrive next week, fresh from the factory On to a different pasture ...