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Acoustic 370

Gearhead17

Gearhead17

Supporting Member
May 4, 2006
5,273
3,619
Mount Prospect, IL
www.afterforeverband.com
#1
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I just found this the other day and I was thinking of grabbing it. I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about with a vintage head versus the products that are being built now.

Is there anything in particular I should be looking for? The youtube videos for the Acoustic 370 are not the greatest. What else should I know about this head? Thanks.
 
#5
I've got one..use it as a backup. I LOVE the 370. Probably the LOUDEST SS amp I have ever played....

I bought mine for $45.00. Retolexed it, new corners, bolts and the like, had the amp checked out by a GREAT tech (replaced a couple of items) and now the amp is as good as the day it came off the line in Southern California.

Total investment - Aprox $200.00

You can't go wrong with ACC...
 
#8
I find that my 370 sounds its best with the 301 cab (obviously). I thought it sounded good with an 810 but, it was only pushing 260 watts (at 4 ohms). The 301 is a super efficient cab and the 370 can be TOO loud with it. Any other cab and I run out of steam faster.
 
#10
Ironic here as always
Had to move some gear from storage and took my 370 home; hadn't been turned on in at least 10 years.
A/B'd it against a LMII through a Berg cabinet and the amp sounds really good; no wonder I kept it all these years while selling others.
Pots were quiet and it makes decent power at 4 Ohms.
Think I'll take it on next week's gig
 
#11
father of fires said:
I find that my 370 sounds its best with the 301 cab (obviously). I thought it sounded good with an 810 but, it was only pushing 260 watts (at 4 ohms). The 301 is a super efficient cab and the 370 can be TOO loud with it. Any other cab and I run out of steam faster.
Click to expand...

+1. That combination can cover anything up to a good-sized airplane hangar in volume (double entendre there) by itself. The 370 isn't huge by today's standards, but it was in the 1970s, and the Russ Allee design paved the way for the SS AB1 designs for a few decades afterwards. Heck, I just fixed a Kustom Groove 1200 that is the same basic amp, scaled up.
 
#12
I looked inside an old Acoustic control corp amp once - under the hood.
Very well built. Even soldering - must have been machine. Wire ties, boards with edge connectors meant to be field replaceable. Power lines clearly routed away from audio.
Looked very well engineered.
Somehow they went out of business.
Look at it under the hood and see if you can see signs it's been worked on. Extra flux hanging off solder joints. Burnt wiring. Other than that it's an amp with a pre-amp. Maybe the pre-amp is voiced different than some modern amps.
The price seems high to me, but you can still buy schematics and parts from the official site: Link Removed
 
#13
Here's another Acoustic fan and owner of a 371 (the official designation of the 370 head and 301 cab together) along with an additional 301 cab - yes the 370 will drive both of those folded horn 18" Cerwin Vegas really nice. I also have and like the Acoustic 450 head and pair it with an Acoustic 106 (2-15s) cab. BTW - 370s have been appreciating in the last few years and based upon what I've seen, $375 is a pretty good deal unless it has some major issues. Visually, I notice that it is only missing one white slider on the EQ. It's been replaced with a black one because the white ones are pretty hard to find. Many times, most of the white sliders are missing. :cool:
 
#14
I have one with the 301 cab, very happy with it, even though it can be a little bit boomy at times (probably due to the 18" speaker), but due to the flexible onboard EQ this isn't a problem really

one "problem" with my amp is that it can't be played at low volume, the knobs seem to be ramping as in that from 7 to 9 o'clock you get no sound, and from 9 on up it's stupidly loud
 
#15
Step said:
I have one with the 301 cab, very happy with it, even though it can be a little bit boomy at times (probably due to the 18" speaker), but due to the flexible onboard EQ this isn't a problem really

one "problem" with my amp is that it can't be played at low volume, the knobs seem to be ramping as in that from 7 to 9 o'clock you get no sound, and from 9 on up it's stupidly loud
Click to expand...

Adjust the volume on your bass. I have to do this most of the time.
 
#18
I owned one and sold it to a friend, and it was stolen a few months later. Very loud amps, not too heavy not too light (keep in mind im used to carrying heavy tube amps) and I loved the tone. It seemed indestructible and was/is very bass and low mid oriented in my opinion as with all of the acoustic amps I've tried and owned (I currently have a 150b as a backup to mesa400+). For 375$ that looks like a good deal, get it and you wont regret yourself. At worse you can probably sell it for what you got it.
 

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