Thoughts or Experiences With Fishman Loudbox Artist?
I'm thinking of buying a Fishman Loudbox Artist, 120W, bi-amped solid state amp built specifically for acoustic guitar. I would most likely front it with a Harp Commander IV, Harp Attack, LW Delay or Carl Martin Delayla xII, and a Martin Compressor. Being bi-amped, it has two completely independent sets of EQ and effects controls; one for each XLR/1/4" input. I'm thinking I could run my harp mic into one side and run my Tricone mic into to the other, and have just one fairly lightweight amp to deal with. It has notch filters and a polarity switch for feedback control, but I expect they would benefit my resonator much more than the harp. It also has post-eq XLR out for a PA if 120W isn't enough for a particular venue. The cost is under $500 USD.
Any thoughts or experiences using this kind of amp and setup, or anything similar? My valve amp sounds beautiful (Fender Prosonic), but it seems to get heavier as I get older, and you have to wear hearing protection to get that sweet clean channel breakup. The drive channel is useless unless you're fond of the sound of a harp played through a dimed out Mesa Boogie.
Thanks for your thoughts and observations.
Thanks for the reply! For this price, I expect all of the pots and jacks will be mounted directly to the PCBs. Break any one component and you have to replace the entire board, likely at a significant portion of the cost of a new amp. Sadly, that seems to be true for a lot of modern amps, including the new "reissues". The Prosonic clean channel is basically a 12AX7 2X6L6 amp with two 10-inch Celestion/Custom Shop speakers. I just wonder if it can be modified to break up at a lower volume.
Tell me about the Harp Attack and the Harp Commander IV. Overdrive pedals no good?
Krowe- Pedals can be good, and many people use them. However, when used with a super-clean amp like the Fishman, don't expect it to get a really great distorted tone. Of course, your results will depend on how much time you are willing to spend practicing with the set-up.
On the Prosonic, I would certainly experiment with lower-gain preamp-tube substitutes if you haven't already. I'd also suggest disconnecting one speaker.
Skip Simmons
Hi Skip,
I've replaced V1(clean) and V2(gain channel) with ECC802S tubes. It made the drive channel a little friendlier and gave me a lot more knob on the volume control but feedback and 6L6 breakup still compete with each other. I'm using one of Greg Heumann's Ultimate SM 57's with the Bulletizer, so there is not a ton of compression from the mic. Would a Kinder Anti Feedback allow me to hit the power tubes a little harder and get more OD out of them before feedback?
Thanks!
PS My Harp Commander IV doesn't generate anywhere near the compressed tone that I hear on their demo videos. It has been a bit of a disappointment.
Kelly
Kelly- I'm not the best guy to ask about pedals for harp. The Kinder box will absolutely allow any amp to play louder without feedback, but it can affect tone. Also, don't forget that practice and better technique will allow you to get more overdrive before feedback as well!
Hello Krowe- Thanks for writing. I don't have any experience with this specific amp, but here are a few thoughts....
Sure, it would work for your set-up. It should be fantastic for the resonator guitar and a clean harp sound, but don't expect a lot of old "Chicago" sound from the harp even with the outboard effects you mentioned.
Check out similar amps from other makers. Because of their (much) better than average customer service, I like Carvin.
Speaking of service, that is a LOT of amp for $500. This price point means that the amp will be fairly fragile and difficult to service if say, you break an input jack. Treat it gently.
Skip Simmons