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10 Acoustic Combos for the Gigging Musician

10 Acoustic Combos for the Gigging Musician

Need to play an acoustic gig on the go? These 10 combos will get you through nearly anything.

Acoustic amplification can be a tricky dragon to tame. With so many sonic forces potentially working against you, it’s important to have a rock-solid amp that can deal with feedback, volume issues, and even handle more than one instrument.

Fishman Loudbox Artist BT

With an impressive 120 watts on tap, this dual-channel combo offers both instrument and mic inputs, aux input, XLR output, built-in modulation and reverb, plus Bluetooth connectivity.

$659 street

fishman.com

Fender Acoustasonic 40

At only a hair over 16 pounds, this grab-and-go combo packs 40 watts into a rather small package. It has two channels with combination input jacks, independent 3-band EQ controls, digital reverb, and an XLR output that you can either use to record or feed FOH.

$199 street

fender.com

Boss Acoustic Singer Pro

This portable gigging machine is specifically aimed at guitarists who want to add a new dimension to their vocals. Included is an automatic harmony setting that builds harmonies that correspond to your guitar chords in real time .

$789 street

boss.info

TC-Helicon Harmony V100

Built around a single 10" Tannoy speaker, this 100-watt combo offers independent channels for guitar and vocals, modulation, and effects such as pitch correction and harmony. Another bonus is the TC’s BodyRez control, which adds resonance to acoustic signals.

$639 street

tc-helicon.com

Blackstar Acoustic:Core 30

A 2x5" amp that is also an audio interface? Not only does this uber-portable combo offer options tailored for the recording guitarist, it also has independent vocal and guitar channels, built-in reverb and chorus, plus switchable EQ shapes.

$179 street

blackstaramps.com

Hughes & Kettner ERA 2

Designed in collaboration with amp guru Michael Eisenmann, this combo—which includes two 8" custom woofers and a 1" dome tweeter—offers a whopping 400 watts along with three different types of reverb plus chorus, flanger, delay, and phantom power for the vocal mic.

$1,219 street

hughes-and-kettner.com

Orange Crush Acoustic 30

Usually, boxes of this color and shape are found crushing eardrums, but this 30-watt, 8" combo can not only run on batteries, it packs a ton of features in a rather small chassis. Features include dedicated mic and guitar channels, plus dedicated XLR and 1/4" outputs, and an effects loop.

$399 street

orangeamps.com

Vox VX50AG

Combining a full 50 watts with the company’s Nutube tech, this svelte combo can handle coffeeshop gigs and late-night practice sessions with ease. Each channel features independent EQ controls, digital reverb, and phase/phantom power options.

$299 street

voxamps.com

Roland AC-33

A fully featured, gig-ready combo that can handle nearly any one-person show, this box includes feedback controls, a looper, and Roland’s famous chorus effects. It also has a line out, aux inputs, and the ability to run on batteries.

$599 street

roland.com

Rivera Sedona Lite

This high-end acoustic combo is an incredible tool if you want to go the hybrid route and need a single amp for both electric and acoustic. It also includes a six-spring Accutronics reverb, an anti-feedback equalizer, plus a customized input for Expression System-equipped Taylor guitars.

$2,249 street

rivera.com

Bohlinger Tests EMG's SL20 Steve Lukather Pickguard on a '90s Strat
- YouTube

PG's demo master quickly (and easily) drops in an H-S-S setup into his 1994 40th Anniversary Stratocaster that needed help. Find out what happens when gets his first taste of active pickups.

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While creating her new solo record, Kim Deal was drawn to exploring the idea of failure.

Photo by Kristin Sollecito

The veteran musician and songwriter steps into the spotlight with Nobody Loves You More, a long-in-the-making solo record driven by loss, defeat, and friendship.

While Kim Deal was making her new album, she was intrigued with the idea of failure. Deal found the work of Dutch artist Bas Jan Ader, who disappeared at sea in 1975 while attempting to sail by himself from the U.S. to England in a 13-foot sailboat. His boat was discovered wrecked off the southern coast of Ireland in April 1976, 10 months after Ader departed the Massachusetts coast. Ader’s wife took one of the last photos of him as he set off on the doomed journey from Chatham Harbor: Ader, wearing a blue tracksuit and a bright orange life jacket cinched around his neck, is beaming.

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The legendary Dobro player talks about how to get session work, working with Allison Kraus, and the “baton pass” involved in recording great songs.

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The perennial appeal of one of Gibson’s most accessible Les Pauls is stoked anew in this feature-rich version.

Lots of nice vintage touches and features that evoke the upmarket Les Paul Standard at a fraction of the price. Coil-splitting capability.

A thicker neck profile would be a cool option and distinguishing feature.

$1,599

Gibson Les Paul Studio
gibson.com

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Effectively a no-frills version of theLes Paul Standard, the Les Paul Studio has been a fixture of Gibson product rosters since 1983, which says something about the enduring, and robust, appeal for affordable alternatives to the iconic original. The notion behind the original Les Paul Studio was that it didn’t matter how a guitar looked when you were using it in the studio. Who cares about a flamed top, binding, inlays, and other deluxe cosmetics in a session as long as it sounds and feels good?

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