I currently use a small Acoustic B20 combo (all of my performances can be handled with a small amp or just direct in house), but I've been wanting to step away from combos. I love my B20 and love Acoustic's amps especially for their value, but I was wanting to get some other opinions on their mini stack. And also, any other recommendations for stacks in the 300-500 dollar price range?
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Opinions on Acoustic 260 Mini Stack
- Thread starter PoorePlaysBass
- Start date
If you are happy with the tone you get with Acoustic, nothing wrong with staying with the brand.. Hit your local GC and try out the mini stack.
I tried one at my GC when they first came out as they look cool, but i didn't care for it. Unless someone already blew the speaker on a new unit, it sound flabby and couldn't get very loud (or high on its volume control) without sounding bad... Maybe it was just a bad unit..
I like Ampeg gear and would go with a pf350 (or micro svt) with a av210 cab. You can find them used and in you range... Also keep an eye out for Shuttle 6.0 heads(sometimes hard to find cheap), any GK micros, etc. For the top end of your range you could grab a nice used head and a used 112 cab..
I tried one at my GC when they first came out as they look cool, but i didn't care for it. Unless someone already blew the speaker on a new unit, it sound flabby and couldn't get very loud (or high on its volume control) without sounding bad... Maybe it was just a bad unit..
I like Ampeg gear and would go with a pf350 (or micro svt) with a av210 cab. You can find them used and in you range... Also keep an eye out for Shuttle 6.0 heads(sometimes hard to find cheap), any GK micros, etc. For the top end of your range you could grab a nice used head and a used 112 cab..
My feelings exactly.
The Ampeg mini stack is $100 or so more and much better in my A/B comparison at GC with the Acoustic mini stack.
Didn't know Ampeg had a similar mini! Obviously Ampeg's reputation speaks for itself, so I'll definitely have to try that out.
I like both the Ampeg and Acoustic mini-stacks. The B260 seems like a great buy if you can't really spend more. Plus, its a good upgrade platform. That big cab is just begging for an upgraded driver. The Ampeg's cab is too small to get much out of a driver upgrade. I have seen the Ampeg Micro VR with 210ave used for about the same price as the Micro CL. Just a thought.
This is what I put together:
I bought the SVT-VR and cab separately, though. After a while, the cab started to "breathe" and put out some impressive volume by itself (no bothersome tweeter
). From a product review on TB, circa 2009, the SVT micro is conservatively rated at 200 W at 4 Ohms. The reviewer tested its output closer to 260W @ 4 Ohms. Just food for thought...Review link: http://www.talkbass.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1536/title/ampeg-micro-vr-head/cat/25
Or, just ask JimmyM...
I've had an Acoustic 260 for about a year. I play a Jack Casady bass and a Hofner bass through it. The single 10 inch speaker benefits from the larger tenant cabinet and the shelf port at the bottom to make a beautiful deep rich tone. It's easy to move around and I've been very pleased with it. Prior to using it, I used Ampeg B15s, a Trace Elliot and a SWR 15inch combo. I'm absolutely delighted with the amp.
I owned the B20 a couple of years ago and I agree with the OP about how nice it sounds. I currently own the 260 rig and must admit I have more mixed feelings about it.
On the plus side it's reasonably priced, has a great tone at reasonable volume levels, and is more versatile compared to most similarly-priced combos.
The negatives are it's build quality reflects its price; the head is way too noisy running out of the XLR (I found this out today) to be used at a gig; and it's 100 watts does have a definite limit to how loud it can get, especially if you're playing alongside higher power.
It's great to play in my music room and does deliver old school bass tone, but
IMHO there are too many shortcomings outside of practicing alone to recommend it.
Save your money and try to move higher up on the food chain. Good luck!
On the plus side it's reasonably priced, has a great tone at reasonable volume levels, and is more versatile compared to most similarly-priced combos.
The negatives are it's build quality reflects its price; the head is way too noisy running out of the XLR (I found this out today) to be used at a gig; and it's 100 watts does have a definite limit to how loud it can get, especially if you're playing alongside higher power.
It's great to play in my music room and does deliver old school bass tone, but
IMHO there are too many shortcomings outside of practicing alone to recommend it.
Save your money and try to move higher up on the food chain. Good luck!
OM
OMG this string is soooo long ago. I picked up a 260 110 cab with full intension to throw a BP102 400 watt 8 ohm legend in it as being 100 watts I was sure both head and driver were going to sound great at low volumes and nothing more. Sure enough, the speaker is weak. As said having replaced the driver and driving it with a 500 watt head with a slight compression it is so fun to push. It has a slight controlled distortion all it's own. It actually reminds me of the crazy distinct sound of the original 360 minus some of the bottom. Running through the house for their subs it may just be perfect as a stage monitor. Having hauled a 360 in the past I find this thing adorable. It was 100 bucks. It ended up being a worthwhile experiment and the sound inspires performance.
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Part 2- I would have liked to have found another 260mk bottom but it seems I was lucky to have found the one. Next up...Acoustic B15. Once again I didn't expect much and the youtube bassists(?) that promoted it are full of donkey dung. If this was intended for recording it would have had something besides a headphone out. But I didn't buy it for that. I just wanted a place to put my second Legend BP120 left over from experimenting with a Fender DuoTen which they made no improvement in. (It was a sealed cab conversion experiment that failed). This thing (Acoustic B15) sounded as bad as I expected and actually as bad as it sounded on the youtube samples. Surprisingly it sounded real good once I pulled the garbage feather weight ten out of it. The amplifier itself sounds pretty good and can be played a whole lot louder now but I just wanted it for the cabinet. (The cab is about .8 CF which is within the BP102 sealed cab spec). So....I wired the speaker direct for outside use with the TC 500 head and a loop for use as the combo was intended. Btw, it was never intended to be a great piece, only to be cheap. As was I paid 69 bucks only because it was so clean but it's a well built cab. It's mdf but has a plywood baffle and is solid and sealed. I added a parallel speaker out to the 260 MK2 cabinet (because the TC500 only has 1 speaker out) and boom, I've got a real nice sounding bedroom combo and/or a fantastic sounding 500 watt two ten ported and sealed rig that monitors close to my ears, is portable and that our sound man will love me for. Just thought I'd throw this out there.
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I ended up putting an Eminence B102 whizzer (discontinued but available) and tuning the cab to 50 Hz. It brought up mids/highs and is super clean. Combined with the 1-10 sealed Acoustic project below it has been amazing and is easy to carry. Combined with my first Precision I certainly wish I had this set up 54 years ago. (yep, that's an Electrovoice 664 Hammer in gold off to the side)
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All in all the price of GAS is killing me, but I'm having a panic (in a good way). Reversing all that I've said in the past concerning the Acoustic 260 micro stack I returned two cabs to their original state concerning the speakers. It seems you can't beat the original plan and engineers know the balances involved and know what they are shooting for. By putting Legend BP102s into them they had boat loads of bottom but little else. The B102 Midrange with a whizzer cone proved best so I did leave it in one and it does perform very well as a stand alone 8 ohm cab that you can abuse with power and add as an extension cab. It sounds great partnered with a MB CMD 121. The original units, run as a pair daisy chained thru the inputs are amazing. Once again, very heavy on the bottom but the original speakers offer a lot more crispness and upper punch compared to the Em Legends. For general sound, flexibility, convenience and aesthetics I'm sorta loving the original stack elements when run as a pair. The pair is the same size as a Fender TV Duo Ten but a lot easier to carry but.... I still hump the iconic Fender because it sounds fantastic and.........because I can.
