Acoustic amp for SE HB II piezo

[ChrisC]

Good morning all,
Im new to this forum so bear with me if this has been asked before. I recently got a SE HBII piezo and love it. Ive been looking for an acoustic amp to run the piezo directly to. Does anyone have any recommendations on an amp that would sound nice with this guitar. About me, I basically play at home, but would like to get something that I would be able to play out if I ever wanted to. Any advice would be great. Thanks

 

[Wakester]

Just about any amp with a clean channel will do very well. Fishman makes a really nice acoustic combo amp that sounds very nice. If you have or can get a Boss Katana, they have an acoustic setting that is impressive. But you would have to use an A/B switch if you want to switch back and forth between the Piezo and Magnetic pickups.

 

[slater529]

I've have a Phil Jones Acoustic Cub that I bought years ago to play my nylon-string electric through. My SE HBII Piezo sounds really good through it as well.

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

The Hi-Fi Audiophile in me says "Yeah ! The amp has to have tweeters (high-frequency drivers) to get all the higher overtones an acoustic can produce ... (What's a "whizzer cone" ?? , Advertised in some makers "acoustic" amps)

But like mentioned above, there is a YouTube video demo of the Piezo in the blue by Premier Guitar I think, where a Katana 212 is used , via its acoustic channel ... 2 12" woofers !!! And its actually one of the better demo's of Piezo tone ... so I don't know ...

 

[Nice F Holes]

The Hi-Fi Audiophile in me says "Yeah ! The amp has to have tweeters (high-frequency drivers) to get all the higher overtones an acoustic can produce ... (What's a "whizzer cone" ?? , Advertised in some makers "acoustic" amps)

But like mentioned above, there is a YouTube video demo of the Piezo in the blue by Premier Guitar I think, where a Katana 212 is used , via its acoustic channel ... 2 12" woofers !!! And its actually one of the better demo's of Piezo tone ... so I don't know ...

It's a good question. I think it's tricky because the Piezo isn't a 'real acoustic.' Are the frequencies in the 2,000+ Hz range natural sounding? Does it pick up things like the pick rake, or finger squeaks, and replicate them accurately? I think the 'instructions' or guidance was to run the Piezo directly into a full range speaker or PA system. Running through a 2x12 would taper off higher frequencies - which might reduce some sounds that don't sound great, or might reduce 'sparkle or air.'

I can try mine with my powered studio monitors when I get it put back together in a couple days. I've always been thinking I'd just run the Piezo separately into them when I really wanted to use it.

 

[CandidPicker]

OP, you might find that using both an acoustic amp and standard guitar amp might sound more appropriate than trying to play through an acoustic amp alone. The HBII Piezo pickups are designed for both acoustic and electric guitar amps, but limiting yourself to one or another might not provide the tones you're looking for.

That being said, when I owned a piezo equipped guitar some years ago, I owned a boutique tube amp and a Fishman Loudbox 120W. The Fishman provided the acoustic tones I needed for the Piezo, but as a gigging amp the amp stayed home typically because the Piezo would plug into the house PA, not an acoustic amp. You might find that investing in a simple DI box would allow you to connect the Piezo to either a PA or audio interface best suited for home use.

 

[ChrisC]

OP, you might find that using both an acoustic amp and standard guitar amp might sound more appropriate than trying to play through an acoustic amp alone. The HBII Piezo pickups are designed for both acoustic and electric guitar amps, but limiting yourself to one or another might not provide the tones you're looking for.

That being said, when I owned a piezo equipped guitar some years ago, I owned a boutique tube amp and a Fishman Loudbox 120W. The Fishman provided the acoustic tones I needed for the Piezo, but as a gigging amp the amp stayed home typically because the Piezo would plug into the house PA, not an acoustic amp. You might find that investing in a simple DI box would allow you to connect the Piezo to either a PA or audio interface best suited for home use.[/QU


As of right now, IM running into a solid state inexpensive fender but looking to upgrade. Ive been looking at a few tube amps that seem promising and was trying to find something solely for the piezo output. I saw the fishman line and that interests me, but have also seen some good reviews on different PA setups. Unfortunately, in my area there aren't too many guitar stores to go and try them out.

 

[ChrisC]

Thank you all for the advice.

 

[CandidPicker]

Chris, you might try calling Sweetwater.com and asking a sales rep there what their recommendation might be for your budget. While they'll suggest something they might have in stock or could be ordered, it's a place to begin. The next steps will be listening to online videos (YouTube) of good players who let the gear speak for itself. Please check out Alberto Barrero, Brett Kingman, Pete Thorn, Chris Buck, & Shawn Tubbs to begin with. I've found these folks as an invaluable resource for making decisions regards gear purchases.