Electric guitar and singer amplification

[gitaarklas]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a decent way to amplify electric guitar and microphone (phantom powered). I was thinking of one or two active speakers. Portability is important. I am using a little jazz now.
I will be performing with a singer, and would prefer one system for high quality amplification.

Thanks for your input.

[jads57]

Carvin used to make a two in one solution. Look for one used cheap!

Used Carvin AG100D Guitar Combo Amp | Guitar Center

[Woody Sound]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a decent way to amplify electric guitar and microphone (phantom powered). I was thinking of one or two active speakers. Portability is important. I am using a little jazz now.
I will be performing with a singer, and would prefer one system for high quality amplification.

Thanks for your input.

Do you have a budget/limit? What kind of "electric" guitar/music?

[Woody Sound]

Carvin used to make a two in one solution. Look for one used cheap!

Used Carvin AG100D Guitar Combo Amp | Guitar Center

The AG100's were 35-40 lbs, depending on the specific version.

[jads57]

For e I’ve gigged several times just using my Quilter Aviator gen 1&2 1x8” and 1x12” Combos for both guitar and vocals.
Just get an high impedence adapter for your microphone.

Practicallity and not hauling extra gear was the reason.Worked out really well in several different scenarios.

[pcjazz]

Schertler David or if you're playing bigger rooms Schertler Unico.

[jads57]

Remember if you go into an amplifier that’s geared for piezo pickups.It will have some type of high end tweeter.
In that case find a type of preamp pedal for your guitar, that can tame the high end.
Otherwise it will sound too bright.

[Little Jay]

I do this a lot with an AER Alpha and a Joyo American sound between guitar and amp to tame the highs (the AER is sort of a mini PA/acoustic amp). Very portable, good sound and plenty of volume inspite of the amp’s modest 40 watt rating.

[rpjazzguitar]

I am doing exactly that and I also use an LJ.

I posted ad nauseum about my experiements with the Bose S1, Everse 8 and JBL Eon One Compact.

I settled on the JBL and I'm quite happy with it.

Brief summary.

The Bose S1 was a too bassy at times and doesn't have much flexibility with EQ. At its best it was the best of the three, but sometimes I couldn't get to "best".

The Everse 8 has a great feature set, but I couldn't get comfortable with the sound. I didn't try the parametric EQ, though, so I may not have given it a good enough try.

The JBL has a hi Z input. Last night I used it with a big band, guitar>JBL into that input and it worked fine. Two nights before that it was a monitor for two mics and guitar and worked fine. In rehearsals I just run mic>mixer>JBL and it sounds great. Be aware that most of the adjustments will be done with your phone. Adjustment is easy with the phone app but is not easy on the device itself.

I have tried going guitar>ME70>LJ>JBL (ch 1). Sounded fine both with and without the LJ, so I stopped using the LJ. I also went out of the line-out on a JC55>mixer>JBL(as monitor) and that was fine too.

Another point worth considering is the internal mixer, if any. The JBL is a 3 or 4 channel mixer with phantom power on some channels (Ch 4 has some limits which I haven't explored yet). With the phone app it does a lot of what a stand alone mixer does. The Bose has a more rudimentary mixer and I can't recall the mixing capabilities of the Everse 8.

I have a Yamaha MG10XU which I prefer for gigs. I want to be able to reach over and twirl a knob, not fumble with phone menus.

17lbs. I'm using a picnic cooler for a carry bag, which is working very well.

I also ordered an Alto TS408, which was recommended. It arrived in pieces with stuff rattling around inside. I returned it and gave up on Alto, perhaps unfairly. I never got to hear it.

I work with a singer who has a little Fishman. Think: the size of a Fender Champ, give or take, maybe a little bigger. I don't know the model. Sounds great for vocals and didn't suck for guitar.

[SierraTango]

I've done hundreds of gigs with my Shertler Unico, which is currently listed in the For Sale section. Although I see you are in Europe and I'm in California-that's a no go I'm sure.
However I can say that the Shertler is a great amp-about 28lbs, phantom power for mic channel, and a magnetic input for mag pickups. You could line out your Little Jazz into the line in channel-that's what I did with my Evans amp. Sounded wonderful. It is bi-amped 8" speaker and tweeter.
Maybe being in Europe you would be able to find one. They made a big deal about them being "Swiss"-the designer is Swiss but they were made in Italy.

[gitaarklas]

Thanks for all the usefull input.
With all the info I'm shure to find a working solution.
Stefaan.

[Doctor Jeff]

The Fishman Artist has the features you want in a lightish, reasonably priced package. Great little amp that’ll handle anything you throw at it except death metal.

Fishman Loudbox Artist

[Woody Sound]

Here's one that's a bit off the radar. I have both this one and the larger pro. They sound incredible. The smaller one has dedicated vocal and guitar channels. On-board reverb and chorus. I've used mine in a full theater.

Acoustic Array Mini - Genzler Amplification

I've seen them for as low as $500 used, if you look around.

Used Acoustic Combo Guitar Amplifiers | Guitar Center

[Woody Sound]

If you want a nice clean jazz guitar or acoustic sound, you'll do fine with these acoustic amps. But as mentioned earlier, if you want an "electric" sound, you'll need some kind of preamp pedal to warm things up, probably with gain and eq.

[John A.]

I have a TC Helicon VoiceSolo. [TC doesn't make them anymore, but they're easy to find used]. I mostly use it just for vocals and amplify the guitar separately with a small guitar amp, but I do sometimes use it for both together. When I do that, I use a Joyo American Sound pedal in front to make the sound a little more guitar-amp like. It's surprisingly loud (loud enough to amplify vocals over a 4-piece blues band). It has vocal eq/compression presets that work quite well, and it also has reverb. It's light and compact (fits in a small-ish shoulder bag), and can be mounted on a mic stand facing the audience.

[Doctor Jeff]

If you want a nice clean jazz guitar or acoustic sound, you'll do fine with these acoustic amps. But as mentioned earlier, if you want an "electric" sound, you'll need some kind of preamp pedal to warm things up, probably with gain and eq.

I agree the Fishman Artist sounds fine with magnetic and other pickups, but it is a clean sound. I do have a TCE Tube Pilot pedal for adding a little "oomph" and overdrive.

[Chazmo]

I am a guitarist and singer, so I usually need mic and guitar inputs on my amps, too.

Most of the amps mentioned so far are marketed as acoustic amps and directed to the singer/songwriter crowd. Almost any two channel acoustic amp will do, but some work better with archtop guitars.

I am surprised no one has mentioned the Bud. They are immensely popular in the jazz community and work well with two independent channels. I have a 6" model, but they also come as a 10.

Before the Bud, I used an Acoustic Image Corus combo that does a nice job, but they no longer make them.

I recently settled into a Fishman Loudbox Performer, similar to the Artist mentioned before. It is bigger than the Bud and has a midrange speaker which sounds good for jazz guitar.

All I listed are American made and may be costly or hard to find in Europe. AER amps are very popular there.

[Spook410]

As you are in Belgium, Schertler or Acus. Plugging in directly isn't bad and they have decent EQ. Using them with a modeler / speaker IR works extremely well.

[Gitterbug]

I'm shamelessly advocating my Toob Metro FR II+, a mini-mixer with effects, such as Yamaha MG 06X or Soundcraft Notepad-8FX, and an inexpensive Class D power amp such as TC Electronic BAM200. The combined weight and price stay well under anything comparable, and the sound quality is excellent. A pair of FR IIs on lightweight stands, hooked to a mixer amp such as old Yamaha Stagepas or current Behringer PMP500MP makes an utterly portable yet loud multi-channel PA system.

For the time being, I abstain from shipping to the USA due to the unclear tariffs situation. The 15% EU tariff appears in no official document. Every day brings more bad news. According to today's update from UPS, if a customer refuses a product, the seller must pay the duties, whether the item is returned or destroyed. Hail to the King!

[rpjazzguitar]

I'm shamelessly advocating my Toob Metro FR II+, a mini-mixer with effects, such as Yamaha MG 06X or Soundcraft Notepad-8FX, and an inexpensive Class D power amp such as TC Electronic BAM200.

I'd be curious about your view of the following.

Conventional wisdom at one point was that a guitar amp wouldn't sound good for vocals and that a PA wouldn't sound good for guitar.

Was that ever true? Is it true now? If something changed, what was it?

[58flame]

Powered PA speaker(s) and a little mixer will get the job done.

[misterjay]

So... TOP indicated that they want to use a phantom powered microphone. Many of the suggestions do not accommodate microphones that need phantom power.

[58flame]

So... TOP indicated that they want to use a phantom powered microphone. Many of the suggestions do not accommodate microphones that need phantom power.

Exactly why I suggested the mixer. I've done it. It works well.

[rpjazzguitar]

So... TOP indicated that they want to use a phantom powered microphone. Many of the suggestions do not accommodate microphones that need phantom power.

JBL Eon One Compact has phantom power.

[pcjazz]

JBL Eon One Compact has phantom power.

As do the Schertlers.