Acoustic guitar -> CUBE80XL

geemobee

Hey chaps,

What should I expect to hear when playing my acoustic through a CUBE80XL.

Will it be BAD, OK or GOOD

Cheers
Gary

deefstes

I suppose it depends on your definitions of "bad", "ok" and "good". ?

I have a CUBE80XL and occasionally run my Martin DCX1E through it. I am not really impressed with the sound quality I get. It has a bit of a nasal sound. For just playing around or even recording a GFSA challenge entry I suppose it's alright but ultimately I would like to get myself a proper acoustic amp.

Having said all that, I'm of the opinion anyway that acoustic guitars simply doesn't have a good sound when rigged up. The sound that you get from the electronics is something completely different from the true sound of the guitar. I prefer the sound of a mic'ed up acoustic guitar by a BIIIIIG margin.

geemobee

That makes sense.

?

deefstes

Where are you based? If you're in the Randburg area you're more than welcome to pop in some time and run your guitar through my amp so you can decide for yourself.

Bob-Dubery

Wot 'e said. It depends on what you call "good". It also depends on the pickup in the guitar. Plug it in and see what happens.

Some folks like the sound of an acoustic through an amp. John Martyn did quite a bit of it. Richard Thompson does it on albums sometimes. I suspect Elvis Costello indulges every now and then. It may not sound exactly like an acoustic sounds all by itself, but that don't mean it ain't a useful sound.

geemobee

I actually stay in Randburg ?

Taking Keira's amp so its just a matter of time till I will find out how it sounds ???

Keira-WitherKay

? hi ya G ....... well when you get to see it at sunday's gig you can play thru it if you like........ i have used the 80 cube for all the percussion and the acoustic so bass drum /percussion and guitar are just going thru the cube 80 NO PA system lining it out .... and it handles a huge warehouse type gig ..... and the telecaster goes thru a valve amp of course .......

here's a video where everything except the sax is thru the cube 80 ......... also the sound is only picked up via a video cam ...and in a huge warehouse of a market ... so not best recording ... but the 80 copes well and i keep getting hired back to do the gig so the sound can't be bad.........

the 80 cube in my mind is as good as any powered speaker (PA) for acoustics...... if you want a dedicated acoustic amp one needs to get an AER 60 but it comes at about 16K instead of 2.5K the nice thing about the cube is that the EQ is pretty good and you can tweak most things out of it ......... and for electric the modelling amps just kick butt and loud too....... and has all the effects onboard like revrb/chorus /trem/flanger/ect ect

but yeah before you take it feel free to plug in your acoustic and play a tune and be happy it can cope with your style ....... i'd hate to sell it to you if you not happy with it ........ thats bad karma ?

geemobee

Keira WitherKay wrote: ? hi ya G ....... well when you get to see it at sunday's gig you can play thru it if you like........ i have used the 80 cube for all the percussion and the acoustic so bass drum /percussion and guitar are just going thru the cube 80 NO PA system lining it out .... and it handles a huge warehouse type gig ..... and the telecaster goes thru a valve amp of course .......

here's a video where everything except the sax is thru the cube 80 ......... also the sound is only picked up via a video cam ...and in a huge warehouse of a market ... so not best recording ... but the 80 copes well and i keep getting hired back to do the gig so the sound can't be bad.........

the 80 cube in my mind is as good as any powered speaker (PA) for acoustics...... if you want a dedicated acoustic amp one needs to get an AER 60 but it comes at about 16K instead of 2.5K the nice thing about the cube is that the EQ is pretty good and you can tweak most things out of it ......... and for electric the modelling amps just kick butt and loud too....... and has all the effects onboard like revrb/chorus /trem/flanger/ect ect

but yeah before you take it feel free to plug in your acoustic and play a tune and be happy it can cope with your style ....... i'd hate to sell it to you if you not happy with it ........ thats bad karma ?

I will definitely be taking it as I plan on getting an electric soon anyways ?

see you sunday!

deefstes

Look, you can't go wrong with the CUBE80, take it. It really is a useful amp with a nice amount of kick and at a very good price. I don't think there are many other amps out there that offer the same value for money.

What I particularly like about it is the reverb, tremolo, chorus etc. effects and I use the looper a LOT! If not built into the amp like this, each one of these effects could come at the price of a pedal. A pedal would probably do a better job but these are great for a beginner like me and it helps you familiarise yourself with the effect and make up your mind as to which ones suit your style and ultimately which pedals you'd be interested in.

I say go for it - even for an acoustic guitar. You'll have barrels of fun out of it.

StefStoep

Just a bit of topic, David Gilmour uses OD with his Taylor accoustic on "Coming back to life" on the "David Gilmour in concert" dvd.
I think he plays all his accoustics on the show through an amp, but not 100% sure.
I have a Epiphone PR6E that I got in the 90's that I have played through my Marshall Avt50 and it sounds better through that than through most PA's.
And I have fooled around with OD with it and it sounds quite good.