The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Question for anybody who has a Godin electric nylon string guitar (my son has the Multiac Grand Concert Duet). What amplifier are you using?

    My son currently has a Fishman Loudbox Mini. Yesterday he plugged directly (he bypassed the DI box) into some kind of JBL powered speaker. He said it sounded much better and more natural than thru the Fishman. (The bass player has an upright electric bass and goes thru a DI box into this powered speaker.)

    He's not much of a gearhead and neither am I. Can anybody explain the difference between an amplifier and a powered speaker? A powered speaker obviously has an amplifier to power the speaker so what's the difference?

    Thanks.

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  3. #2

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    AERs seem to have a remarkable ability to make all nylon string guitars sound awesome.
    I use an alpha.

    Powered speakers have no preamp. Amplifiers generally have a preamp, inc reverb, eq, maybe compression. I think the AER preamp does quite a lot to the sound

  4. #3

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    Most likely the reason for the difference is right in the Fishman name - MINI. It's small product, with a smaller sound. 6" woofer + tweeter. The powered speaker was most likely a bigger unit with more power. But the IDEA is the same. To reproduce the full range of an acoustic instrument. The Fishman mini is just inferior to a higher powered, larger, powered speaker.

    Now if he had THIS Fishman amp, the differenc would be much less. Or maybe even the opposite:

    Loudbox Performer Amplifier | Fishman

  5. #4

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    I had a Godin ACS that I loved, which I ran through my Rivera Venus 6 (a much larger 12" tube amp) and it sounded lovely -- very full and round with lots of bottom, always pleasing as one would expect from a 12" tube combo. I also played it for awhile thru a Bugera 5-watt tube amp, smaller with an "8" speaker and, while not in the same league as the Rivera, it still delivered a very pleasing sound. Agreed about the AER, from personal experience, very hard to beat.

    Little speakers produce little tones, and offer much less range than larger ones. And it's not so much the power as it is sum of the total package.

    --Jeff

  6. #5

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    For several years I used a Godin Multiac nylon and a Gibson L5S, often taking them both to gigs and switching between them.

    All I ever did was move the jack from one guitar to the other and keep the treble low and the bass a little high on the Godin. Always sounded fine to me. Lots of different amps.

    Oh, one other point. The Godin was incredibly prone to feedback. In a duo rehearsal I once had a practice amp pointing towards me, while playing at a level we could easily talk over, the guitar howled. Eventually, I stuffed the body with upholstery foam. After that, the acoustic tone, which had been about as loud as a full body hollow guitar, was muffled sounding. But, the amplified tone was fine.

  7. #6
    Thanks for all the responses. Much appreciated.

    Right now he's researching the AER Alpha and the Loudbox Performer. This is confusing stuff. The AER is 60 watts with one 8 inch speaker. The Loudbox Performer is 180 watts with a 1" tweeter, a 5" midrange, and an 8.5" woofer. Yet the AER is more expensive. Both have very good ratings.

    I guess it's time to learn what "watts" are really all about. I'm not particularly interested myself. However, I want my son's Loudbox Mini when he moves up to something else. It's perfect for my meager needs.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jack E Blue
    Thanks for all the responses. Much appreciated.

    Right now he's researching the AER Alpha and the Loudbox Performer. This is confusing stuff. The AER is 60 watts with one 8 inch speaker. The Loudbox Performer is 180 watts with a 1" tweeter, a 5" midrange, and an 8.5" woofer. Yet the AER is more expensive. Both have very good ratings.

    I guess it's time to learn what "watts" are really all about. I'm not particularly interested myself. However, I want my son's Loudbox Mini when he moves up to something else. It's perfect for my meager needs.
    The AER has some sort of clever tech that gives it more bass than you’d expect. It’s also super light and compact, reliable, professional industry standard and he probably won’t need to buy another acoustic amp for at least a decade.

    Alpha is 40w.
    Compact 60 is 60. Id go for a 60 if budget allows.

    I have no experience with the loudbox. No one I know uses them. It’s all AER.

  9. #8

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    I'm interested in the JBL mentioned.

    After all, that Godin, a very nice instrument, has a preamp.

    Good luck with your adventure, in any event.

  10. #9

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    Please don’t think necessarily I’m endorsing AER at the expense of other good solutions. Simply relating my experience. I basically got one cos that’s what everyone had....

  11. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by rabbit
    I'm interested in the JBL mentioned.

    After all, that Godin, a very nice instrument, has a preamp.

    Good luck with your adventure, in any event.
    My son is such a non-gearhead that he didn't even check to see what model the JBL powered speaker was.

    Interesting that you mention that the Godin has a built-in preamp. That's what a friend of his told him also.

  12. #11

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    Quilter Aviator amps

  13. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    Please don’t think necessarily I’m endorsing AER at the expense of other good solutions. Simply relating my experience. I basically got one cos that’s what everyone had....
    Thanks for your input, Christian. AERs seem to be very popular with a lot of pros. I know that Frank Vignola, Tommy Emmanuel, and others use them exclusively. They apparently give you a lot of bang for their small size. That's probably why they cost as much as they do.

  14. #13

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    AER did sound good with mine. Fender Acoustasonic Ultralight was not a good match. Neither was an Acoustic Image Clarus. It sounded absolutely natural and superb through an older SR Jam 100 that I acquired. Still have it, sold the Godin. I regret it and am looking for another.

  15. #14

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    Hi everybody. 'Haven't been on here in years. I'm looking for a used Godin Multiac SA nylon. (Not ACS or grand concert.) Have these guitars changed much over the years? That is, is one of the early ones pretty much that same as the newer ones?(Asking for a friend. I don't really need yet one more guitar.)

  16. #15

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    My main axe for years has been a Godin Multiac Nylon 7-string. Wide fingerboard (2 5/16"), slightly crowned (20" radius, I think), very comfortable for a classical player or a jazzer. The ideal amplification is a Bose Compact and a multi-effects pedal for some reverb and delay. Through the Bose, feedback is very rarely a problem, and it's a very hi-fi system, so the guitar's excellent RMC pickup system really sounds acoustical. As an SA, it has a synth system built-in, and that's a great feature for accompanying singers and playing world music gigs. With my Digitech pedal, I can even get good rock tones and electric guitar tones when the situation calls for it. With my Zoom A3 acoustic pedal, I can get a rich classical sound or a bright, percussive flamenco sound. Great workhorse for the versatile, eclectic working pro.

  17. #16

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    those godins are meant to go straight to a PA
    making them super easy for gigs

  18. #17

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    acoustic image coda / contra is amazing too!

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by jads57
    Quilter Aviator amps
    Old thing here, but that's a pretty useless goofy response JADS. Quilter Aviator not even close to the frfr desired for a Godin electric nylon.

  20. #19

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    Somehow I missed this thread, but my Godin Grand Concert Duet Ambiance sounds great plugged into literally anything.

    Through a good PA...Shiiiit. heaven.

  21. #20

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    I know this is an old thread, I loved the ACS for use with my Roland GR33 guitar synth, but it always quacked too much for me to appreciate it as an electric acoustic. I tried all kind of ways to make it non quack but failed, Even my Fishman Aura failed. But last night I restrung it with medium tension strings replacing the high tensions I had always put on it. I did this hoping the quack would get better, ad the lower tension strings will put less power on the Piezos in the RMC pickup. Well, damn it, it worked. I now have useful tone out of it.