well I was in the same boat as you like a year and half as you so I know what you mean.
I got an ampeg b200r. Which can get louder than drummers! its like 220 watts.
Recommendations:
-something around 200 watts is good because you can keep up with a loud drummer. So good for practice. Now keep in mind more watts doesn't always mean louder. like tubes jack how loud an amp is for the wattage atleast from my experience. More wattage ussually means louder though. Something else to keep in mind is I think something like 4 times the wattage equals about twice the volume. The whole wattage thing can't be worked out as a math equation then since there are different parts and speakers etc.
-don't get to big. Speakers from my experience sound better when they are working a little. Like an 8x10 cab doesn't good really at 2, but when its at like a 6 the tone is better. You don't need a huge amp.
-try to get one with a balanced out. This is really good, because its an out of your amp to go directly to the board sound guys will love you. No micing your cab means less chance of feedback. Also if there is a separate volume for the xlr out and the master volume that is really nice.
- don't get to small. the last 1/4 of the volume knob is just fuzz usually. Amps are like cars. If a car can go 120 that because its meant to be driven at about 60mph. Driving an amp as hard as you can is not good for it.
In my opinion a decent sized combo like 200 watts is the biggest you will ever need unless your playing a large outdoor gig with no PA backing. With a balanced out you can run it straight into the board. My amp can play a medium sized venue rather easily and can be louder than a drummer. You don't need an amp that can kill small animals ;-)
There are a probably a lot of people that like huge amps though ;-) so I don't want to push any buttons in that area.
I think a good amp would be the GK MB115. Its $400 has enough power to do some work. Has an xlr out. also this like 33lb's (my back wishes I had this amp)
I haven't played acoustic amps much. They are pretty inexpensive, but I am guessing the GK tone would be better.
As far as ampeg goes I don't think the new combo's are good and I wouldn't buy anything from them right now. They got reliability issues.... I wish their QC was better if you see an American made ampeg combo's they will be trustworthy companions. My amp has had some issues. basically they discontinued there good combo amps, because they couldn't keep up with QC and there new ones they are coming out with are flops.....
glad you did not mention behringer....
I wouldn't trust behringer. There stuff usually does not last and is made very cheap from my experience. Better to spend a little more and get something that will last. your smart on this point
Peavey stuff sounds pretty good and is known to last. Especially there 80's stuff built like tanks! ;-) oh and its heavy haha
So I guess +1 to the suggestion for the GK combo amps
for $400 for the Gk BA115 I don't think you can go wrong. ITs light and has power.
I hope this helps! Have fun looking around and go play some amps and see what you like!
shalom,
Matthias
