'Ukulele Amplifier on a budget...

I'm always on the lookout for today's cutting edge gear. Face it, most musicians work with a limited budget. The need for quality, professional gear at an affordable price is growing.

Acoustic Amplification has stepped up to the plate with their new A20. The front shows the wide array of tonal and feedback controls. For effects, there are separate and switchable Chorus and Reverb controls. There are two XLR/1/4" inputs with separate volume controls. This allows you to use a variety of instruments and microphones, to fit your sound situation. There is a 1/8" AUX In for MP3 and CD players, along with a 1/8" headphone jack for private listening.

On the back, there's a protected switch to switch between 115VAC and 230VAC to allow you to travel abroad and perform on worldwide voltage systems. It also has a sophisticated XLR D.I. output with it's own level control. There's a switch to allow this D.I. to be pre or post EQ, for those fussy sound engineers that want a dry signal to process. There's also a ground lift switch to eliminate issues caused by ground loops.

The speaker is an 8" woofer with a coaxial tweeter for full range response and accurate fidelity. I played an acoustic electric bass, acoustic electric guitar and acoustic electric soprano 'ukulele through the A20 with great results. For an acoustic electric guitar or acoustic electric 'ukulele, the A20 will work fine as a stand alone system for coffee houses and small venues. It will hold it's own on stage with other acoustic electric instruments, but will not keep up with a drum set and an electric guitar. This can be overcome by plugging the D.I. output into the mains and monitors.

For $129 bucks, this gets a two thumbs up rating. Ric

http://www.acousticamplification.com/products/index.cfm?catid=2&subcatid=2&modid=13&product=A20

http://www.acousticamplification.com/prodImages/acousticAdmin/products/gallery/A20-Manual.pdf

20W 1x8" Co-Axial Speaker
ACOUSTIC-ELECTRIC BASS AMP

Coming Soon!

The Acoustic® A20 instrument amp is designed to provide authentic, pristine tone for both acoustic instruments and vocal accompaniment. It is the perfect compact solution for today’s acoustic-electric musician. Two combo inputs with independent level controls allow for instrument or microphone connection and 20 watts of power drives the studio-monitor style speaker for amazing sound. The digital reverb and chorus lets you dial-in your personalized sound, while the anti-feedback filter eliminates unwanted feedback with ease. A full feature direct out provides the perfect interface for any external PA system, and the monitor style cabinet provides excellent live sound monitoring.

Features
• 20 watts
• 8" full-range co-axial speaker
• Dual inputs with combo XLR-1/4" jacks
• 3-band EQ
• Ported cabinet design
• Digital chorus with adjustable rate
• Digital reverb with adjustable level
• Vari-control feedback elimination
• Full-feature direct output with ground lift, pre-post EQ and level
• Effects loop
• Dimensions: 14.4"H x 13.0"W x 15.8"D
• Weight: 21.5 lbs.

Nice, Ric, how do you decide which Amp to take with you when you go out to play? I'd love to see your stash and spending a day goofing around with them .

Jimmy Blues, I like to travel light, when possible. I almost always recon the event venue, before playing, to see what obstacles need to be overcome. Most of the time I can avoid brute power and weight. The Kustom PA50's have opened up a lot of new doors for sound solutions. You can stick those buggers anywhere for more coverage. Ric

Is it appreciably better than a VoxDA5?

sukie said:

Is it appreciably better than a VoxDA5?

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Much better than a Vox DA5, Sukie. Much more clean volume and natural sound. It will handle small venues easily and work as a monitor in larger venues. Ric

Until tonight, when Glenn Alapag of the band Mana played bass through the A20, I was not sure how it would handle a bass in a live setting. I'm now fully convinced. It did awesome with the bass! Ric

thanks for the update. Even though I have an amp, I am always curious what's out there in case I want to change it up a little. I wish I was a little further south so I can play in a kanikipila

wow, lots of features at this price point. seems very similar feature wise to my Fishman Loudbox mini, except the Fishman is 60 watts and a ben more.. I played my first solo gig at a local winery last week outdoors using my Koaloha tenor with Baggs pickup, a Sure 58 mic, and the Loudbox. I got lots of compliments on the sound. When a friend performed a song he had written and I got to hear it from the audience I was impressed too.

The Fishman Loudbox Mini is a workhorse that can handle surprizingly large venues. The Mini will hold it's own on a stage with a drum set and an electric guitar. The Acoustic A20 does well with other acoustic electric instruments and also works well with an electric bass guitar. Ric

ricdoug said:

Much better than a Vox DA5, Sukie. Much more clean volume and natural sound. It will handle small venues easily and work as a monitor in larger venues. Ric

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Thanks. Why I think I need another amp I don't know. I guess I just want a better one.

Nice Ric, just what I have been looking for! Ordering one later today.

Wow this looks sweet. I like the fact that I could add a couple of Kustom 50s later so easily. Thanks for sharing this.

Ric, I'm seriously looking at getting a UBass in near future and have been looking at bass amps.

Can you compare this amp you have recommended to the one I was thinking of getting: an Ampeg BA108? The feature set seems pretty similar...The Ampeg is $99 at Sweetwater. The Ampeg is a "combo" amp which I believe means I could also use it for an electric uke if I ever got one?

Thanks very much for any insight.

CTurner said:

Ric, I'm seriously looking at getting a UBass in near future and have been looking at bass amps.

Can you compare this amp you have recommended to the one I was thinking of getting: an Ampeg BA108? The feature set seems pretty similar...The Ampeg is $99 at Sweetwater. The Ampeg is a "combo" amp which I believe means I could also use it for an electric uke if I ever got one?

Thanks very much for any insight.

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"C" The term "Combo" usually refers to an amp that has the speaker and amplifier in the same housing instead of a separate power section and speaker cabinet, each in separate cabinets connected by a speaker cable.

CTurner, I can personally answer that. I just took my BA108 out of the trunk of my car to snap a few photos. Mine is the older box type model. The new model angles up like a monitor.

The A20 has two inputs with separate volume controls. The BA108 has an attenuated input (-15db) for use with a bass with active electronics and a 0db input for a standard electric bass. It was intended to use one input at a time. The A20 inputs can be used at the same time and accept both XLR and 1/4" pugs.

The A20 has a balanced XLR Direct Output with level control, ground lift switch (to eliminate ground loop problems) and a switch to send pre or post EQ to the mains. The BA108 has an unbalanced Line Out.

Both have an Effects Send and Return.

Both have Aux Input. The A20 has a modern 1/8" stereo jack and the BA108 has the older RCA jacks.

The A20 has Feedback Elimination Controls. The BA108 does not.

The A20 will run on 115VAC or 230VAC. The BA108 will run on 115VAC only.

Both have an 8" woofer. The A20 has the addition of a coaxial tweeter, for full range reproduction.

I'm not knocking the BA108. It's a solid bass amp that we use often for gigs. The A20 is just more versatile and can also be used as a P.A.. Ric

RicDoug, this is really fine, thanks very much for the details and comparison. You've just bumped up the A20 on my "serious consideration" list.

Thank you.

"I played an acoustic electric bass, acoustic electric guitar and acoustic electric soprano 'ukulele through the A20 with great results. For an acoustic electric guitar or acoustic electric 'ukulele, the A20 will work fine as a stand alone system for coffee houses and small venues. It will hold it's own on stage with other acoustic electric instruments, but will not keep up with a drum set and an electric guitar. This can be overcome by plugging the D.I. output into the mains and monitors."

Ric...
Are you saying stye A20 has three inputs? Without a mixer? (You're testing my reading comprehension skills here, Ric!)

So the A20 and the Kustom would handle 90% of venues?

Thanks for all the great info here, Ric!

Is the A20 only available from the manufacturer?

If you're counting the AUX, it has 3 inputs. It works fine for coffee house gigs. Ric

sonomajazz said:

"I played an acoustic electric bass, acoustic electric guitar and acoustic electric soprano 'ukulele through the A20 with great results."

Ric...
Are you saying stye A20 has three inputs? Without a mixer? (You're testing my reading comprehension skills here, Ric!)

Click to expand...

I think what Ric meant was that he tried three different instruments separately (a bass, a mid-range, and a treble instrument), not all three at the same time (but Ric can clarify that). Although as Ric pointed out, it technically has three inputs, the aux input is not a standard instrument or mic input, but 1/8" input. I wouldn't recommend using that input for an instrument.

- FiL