idealassets said:
... It plays well, and is really too loud for practicing in the house above a volume of "2". At a recent weekend music fest I noticed a definate lack of any effects being used by the bands, either hard rock, or acoustic. Perhaps this is a good area for a musician to explore, even on an acoustic. The amp came without the factory footswitch, so I am getting ready to obtain a multi-effect footswitch from Fender.
Hi Craig: the amp's write-up from Fender's webpage:
"The Acoustasonic™ Junior DSP is ... designed for natural-sounding reproduction of electric-acoustic guitar and vocals. Its two 40-watt power sections
(not sure what this means: two 'sections' .. separate amps?) drive two 8” drivers and a high-frequency tweeter; Eq for both channels ... Patented String Dynamics™ control
(that's a mouthful right there :wink: ) tames harsh treble notes, and feedback notch control solves most feedback problems ... DSP effects include reverb, delay, chorus, Vibratone ... and optional two-button footswitch that allows effects switching for each channel. "
The amp is similar in features to the (built-by-Roland?) Guild Aspen; twin 8" speakers, full EQ, reverb, chorus and so on. I guess it's what people play that governs the use of effects; it's hard to imagine anybody scratching out Blowin' in the Wind on their small-body acoustic using Chorus but not so hard to imagine the dude providing the entertainment on a Saturday afternoon at the Tiki Hut in Riviera Beach resorting to effects to recapture the audience's attention as he belches out Margaritaville for the 768,934
th time .... :
Apparently the FS was an option; probably an expensive option ... effects-switching FSs usually have LEDs to tell the player what's 'on'. If I read the description right, there's one switch for each channel. So, depending on how many effects are switchable and since there are a number of effects, the player may need to hit one of the buttons several times to arrive at the desired effect.
The only editorial comment I have about 'acoustic' amps is that their 'quality of life' is inversely proportional to the extent of their features and gadgets. For example, instead of a stand-by switch as found on most tube-driven guitar amps with solid state rectifiers, many of these amps use time-delay relays in the speaker circuit to disconnect them when the power is turned on and, as member beinhard pointed out, the power supply filter caps charge up. The relays protect the speakers from spikes, pops, and noises .......... well ... so would a stand-by switch.
Member jazzdj's Guild Aspen was maybe 16-17 years old when his relays burned up. As it turned out, the relays in the Aspen are, by current industry standards, obsolete and the replacement has a different package size and pinouts ... it wouldn't drop in. So; since somebody thought it was a good idea ... either from an economic or 'design' point of view, to get rid of a stinky old low-tech toggle switch, the lack of a $4 part doomed his amp.
In short, it's okay to like your amp but you may not want to get too attached to it.
Recent LTG Guild Aspen thread. (pack a lunch ... it's a long thread :wink: )
