Amp for Mandolin

[McGroovin']

Ok, I think I know what electric mandolin I'm getting. Now I need an amp to go through. I've never had experience with amps and electric mandolins together, complete noob when it comes to the two put together. I don't know if it needs to run through a guitar amp or a nice acoustic/keyboard amp. What do you all think as far as a good amp goes?

I was thinking something around $350, so probably a combo. It would be nice to have something versatile enough to go between guitar and mandolin. I appreciate any input anyone has.

Thanks

[Stanley Design]

A used Peavey Ecoustic 112.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...mbo?sku=481373

[jady]

Fender Acoustasonic 30 DSP Acoustic Guitar Amplifier (30 Watts, 1x8 in.)



$399

I played with an acoustic group and both guitarists and the violinist had one. One of the guitarists played mandolin also and it sounded great.

[McGroovin']

Thanks

How would an electric guitar sound through an acoustic amp though? I would think the 8-inch speaker would be really lacking when it came to an electric guitar.

[Stanley Design]

You wont want to use an acoustic amp for an electric guitar, and you wont want to use a mandolin with an electric amp. An acoustic amp is basically a portable/affordable PA, so if you like a PA kinda tone for electric guitar, that'd work. But you're not going to see many people rocking mandolin through a marshall stack.

[Rugaar]

What kind of amplified sound are you after?

If you want a natural acoustic sound then go for an acoustic amp like the Fender or Peavey already suggested or you could get a DI and go straight into the PA. If you're looking for something a bit different you can run it thru a standard guitar amp for a more distorted electric sound. I've done both and both are useful depending on your needs.

Friend of mine plays his Tele thru his Crate acoustic amp frequently and it sounds great. Very clean and full but not a distorted electric guitar sound. Again, it depends on the sound you're looking for.

[Jumbotron]

If you're going for straight-up electric mando, then you can just go for a guitar amp. But if you want a more amplified acoustic sound, you probably want something more designed for that. For my mando and fiddle, I use a little Ashdown acoustic combo (can't remember the exact model). They're reasonably priced, and I think they smoke the comparable Fender amp. They also have an XLR DI out, which many of their competing amps don't have. If you want a lot of info on such topics, and more expert advice than I can provide, you might check out the forums on http://www.mandolincafe.net/.