I almost fell on the floor laughing the first time I grabbed my Les Paul off the wall and heard my office acoustic amp turn into a fire-breathing Marshall! That was last year when UAFX introduced the Lion ’68 Super Lead Amp. With the number of awesome emulation processors on the market growing every day, the amp game is changing at a crazy pace. Nowadays, an acoustic amp can be made to sound a heck of a lot like your favorite vintage tube amp.
The previous two Learn columns addressed maximizing an acoustic amp by utilizing both channels: first by setting up dual signal paths from an acoustic-electric guitar using piezo and magnetic pickups, and then processing those signals independently for a killer combo tone. Now let’s take acoustic-electric amplification to its ultimate realization.
DOUBLE TROUBLE, SINGULAR SOUND
Once you’ve got dual piezo/magnetic signals feeding both amp inputs, processing options abound, including the possibility of placing an amp-emulation pedal on the magnetic side. Do so and notice a huge difference in how the tone opens up. Like most pedals, the emulator is designed to accommodate the magnetic signal’s lower impedance, and then the magic of modeling produces a tube-like response complete with electric speaker emulation. You’ve essentially turned your dual-channel acoustic amplifier into a pair of individual amps with the ability to blend the two tones. This can be as simple as having a clean electric-style tone plus a true acoustic sound, or as wild as pairing the latter with a daring high-gain sound.
While players such as Alex Lifeson have been mining this territory for years, it’s mostly been done like he does, i.e., blending in a bit of a piezo along with the primary magnetic tone using a traditional tube amp. Doing so in reverse is largely uncharted territory, so there’s plenty of new ground to be found.
ACOUSTIC AS ELECTRIC
The acoustic-as-electric amp concept is also ripe with possibilities for those who prefer one signal at a time. In fact, it may just flip the script for some multifaceted players. Instead of thinking about your acoustic amp as a second option, it can become primary. If you’ve got an acoustic amp in, say, your office or teaching space, it can be electrified using a good emulation pedal to transform channel two.
Now when you want to switch from, say, a Martin to a Stratocaster, you can simply set the acoustic guitar on a stand, grab the Strat off the wall, and wail away. You can even become a bona fide lead player taking flights of improvisation if you first get a looper pedal going with the Martin. And of course, one can simply grab the Strat in the first place and focus solely on that. Using your acoustic amp as a practice amp for both saves time, money and space. And with the previously unimaginable sky-high quality of modern amp-emulation pedals, it’s completely within the realm of possibility to bring the same situation to the stage.
REALLY, HOW DOES THAT SOUND?
Some will argue than emulations don’t translate well to a live environment, and there is some truth to that. The dimensionality provided by power amp tubes pushing air via speakers onstage is real. It’s way less of a deal when using in-ear monitors, but most players are stuck with whatever monitors the venue has available, which is why having your own high-quality monitor in the form of an acoustic amp is a great idea anyway.
In the tube-amp emulation arena, the ideal stage monitor is an FRFR — Full Range, Flat Response — speaker cabinet. I’m not discouraging anyone from checking out all the cool FRFR monitor boxes, but I am pointing out that you may already have a workable situation with a decent acoustic amp. And if you’re an acoustic player first, it makes total sense to focus on your acoustic amp first. After all, an acoustic amp is essentially a little P.A. designed with a focus in the middle range suitable for a guitar. The more powerful and the larger the speaker in your acoustic amp, the more it has in common with a typical FRFR, and the happier you’ll be onstage.
I truly cannot believe the killer vintage electric guitar tones coming out of my acoustic amps and P.A. systems using one of the many convincing amp-emulation pedals available on the modern market. These range from companies that specialize in the digital realm, such as Neural DSP and Tonex, to classic companies that have gotten in on the modeling game, such as Fender.
Three truly remarkable pedals that have got me thinking about ditching my electric rig altogether come from Universal Audio’s effects division, UAFX. I’ve got the Dream ’65 Fender emulator set totally clean, the Enigmatic ’82 Overdrive Special Dumble emulator on crunch, and the Lion ’68 Super Lead Marshall model roaring with glorious gain.
Armed with a Strat Plus or a Les Paul, I can play just about any classic riff and have it sound convincing coming out of an AER Compact 60/3 Tommy Emmanuel Signature, a Circa ’74 by Taylor, or a Fender Acoustic Junior Go. Wielding a Cole Clark True Hybrid or a Martin SC-28 equipped with a Baggs magnetic pickup in the sound hole, a rainbow of glorious acoustic-electric blends lies at my feet and within arm’s reach.
Acoustic amps are almost always solid state, which makes them way more durable than most electric amps, vintage ones in particular. So, if one can achieve a convincing tube amp tone via an emulation pedal, and if you can use either channel individually or both for pioneering acoustic-electric combinations… There are lots of reasons to consider acoustic amps in a whole new light.
I continue to believe wholeheartedly that the most exciting developments in the entire guitar universe are happening on the acoustic-electronic front. Hopefully these past three Learn columns have convinced more players to come aboard and explore.
