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Acoustic B30 30 Watt Bass Amp

I

Idroppedit

Jul 22, 2012
16
0
Texas
#1
Hey guys, I just wanted to post my review of this little amp. I purchased this last night after playing it at Guitar Center. I sat down in front of this thing thinking I was going to be disappointed but I must say, it has a great sound. It doesn't have a lot of options in the way of EQ but I don't need a whole lot of eq on a practice amp. I have a lot of control from the active basses I play and I felt like those mixed with this little guy matched up pretty well. I recommended it to another bassist who was trying on some basses and he sat down and made this little amp sing. It has a 12" speaker and is only pushing 30 watts but I'm telling you, its a smooth 30 watts.

Anyways, never reviewed anything before and couldn't find anyone else' review on this practice amp.

As a side note: I understand Acoustic is made by SWR which is owned now by Fender. Can anyone confirm/disprove this?

Thanks!
 
#5
acidrain222 said:
i had an acoustic b100 and it rocked i was wondering do you think this little amp would work for band rehearsals with a drummer?
Click to expand...

I have the old version, the B20. It did not work for me with just me and a drummer. I doubt this would be satisfactory except with a very light hitting drummer, perhaps using brushes and a muted kick drum
 
#6
If you don't play it with a drummer it can be satisfactory. My amp is a 15 watt combo with a 6" speaker. Not able to be super loud but I can get quite good tone for practicing in my apartment.

All over online you see little 15 to 30 watt practice amps get bad reviews because they can't play with a drummer. They aren't supposed to be able to.

And to answer your other question, the Acousitc line as carried by Guitar Center and Musician's Friend is indeed made by Kustom, or at least by the facility making the amps under the Kustom name. As for the high-end stuff fromthe other half of the arrangement I have no idea. From what I remememer reading the GC folks bought the rights to use the name on the line of imported amps which allowed the tiny boutique original company to return to or stay in business on a very low volume basis selling their handmade US gear.
 
#8
I will start rehearsing with a strong voiced fem singer, 2 spanish-style strumming acoustic guitarists and a dual conga/spec perc. player soon.

All my rigs are 1x15",210's, 212's, 410's that I use with several different bass heads for my gigs and other louder band practices.

So I'm looking for a combo, about 50 watts I think should cover my new unplugged rehearsals. Been searching here on Roland cubes, Ampeg BA's-108,110,112, Peavey Max's (they're heavy), Acoustic B20, etc. I like some of the features some of the pricier combos have; built in tuner, effects, MP3/CD aux, etc. I have a older Fender Rumble 100 I use for home practice with some of those features but its darn heavy to haul around.

But those features make the price climb so I can live with a plain combo, under 30lbs that I can one-hand thru downtown streets to new rehearsal space (as in church auditorium). I hear its got great acoustics, must if they can all be unplugged.

So may go check out the Acoustic combos at GC to see if they'll work. I'd prefer a 12" driver and has to handle my 5 string basses. I was even thinking a acoustic/elec bass 5 string. But from all I've read, I'd still need an amp to be heard. Let's see how it goes.
 
#9
I recently got the B20. For $70, new in the box, I couldn't leave it at the store. I was considering the B10. This is much easier to carry than my GK MB115 despite the supposed weight difference of only 3 1/2 lb.. It also seems easier to carry than the Line 6 Studio 110 that I had that was allegedlly lighter. Go figure.

It is doing fine for rehearsals with the two acoustic guitarists I play with. I even took it to an open mic at a local coffee house. It did fine.

No complaints here. The added features on the new version should make it quite a deal.
 
#10
Just writing to say that I have had this Acoustic B30 for over 10 years and it is still working great. It is a great practice amp to have in the den. It is a true workhorse since I have the audio from the laptop always going through it (Aux IN). I use headphones play the bass along with YouTube videos. But it gets used practically every day even if just for listening to the laptop. That Aux IN is a great feature along with the headphone jack. If there was one thing I wish it would be a tad louder before clipping but it works great. (I tend to cut back on the highs and mids and go for more bass for my preference tone so I guess it is understandable.). But very happy with it. I don't think that they make the model B30 anymore? (The only thing that I vaguely remember about "SWR" or "SW" is the Ibanez SW 35 Sound Wave bass combo. Could this be what Idroppedit was thinking of?)
 
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