-
I’ve been playing my Tele through a Roland keyboard amp, KC something or other, at the music school. 4-channel, maybe a 12” speaker? Not very powerful. It took a while to sort out but the last couple of sessions I got it sounding pretty good. Flat (12:00), maybe cut the bottom end a tad. Roll off the neck pickup, guitar volume up to about 66%. I’m pretty happy with the sound.
What makes an amp a ‘keyboard’ amp? Or, for that matter, an ‘acoustic’ (for guitar) amp? Clean obviously. What else?
So far, this Roland does the j-guitar thing just fine, and, to my ears, better than the Jazz Chorus 22 the other guitarist is using (with a full size jazz box).
-
05-29-2024 09:42 PM
-
The KC series has four inputs. Ch 1 is mic/line, meaning there's a preamp in Ch1 and not in the other channels. So it will be louder if you plug into Ch 1.
Originally Posted by Bach5G
I've used it for one jazz gig. I thought it was pretty lifeless. I prefer the Roland JC55.
The KC series does not have reverb and has only two band EQ. I usually like to add some reverb with my amp -- and I like 3 or more bands of EQ, so these are limitations.Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 06-01-2024 at 08:11 PM.
-
IMO, such amps are attempts at FRFR (full range flat response). The Henriksen amps seem to me to be in this family. Originally Posted by Bach5G
-
How would a Tele into a powered FRFR speaker sound? Something like the Headrush with the 8”.
-
Keyboards put out a lot more bass than guitars, so one of the characteristics of a "keyboard" amp is to handle bass transients without speaker damage. Playing an electronic keyboard through a guitar amp at stage volume is a recipe for torn speaker cones.
Most keyboard amps also have more high-frequency range than guitar amps - often, they'll have a tweeter in addition to whatever other speaker(s) the amp provides. Generally, guitar amps of the era before the FRFR or IR types roll off a lot of the treble response that you'd get from a keyboard amp, PA speaker or other full-range system. Try plugging your favorite vintage guitar amp into a full-range cab like a PA speaker and you'll hear the difference immediately - all of that top end you hear does not translate to a "good" guitar sound for most guitars with traditional magnetic pickups.
Acoustic guitar amps + acoustic guitar with piezo PUPs or transducers are an exception to the "less high-frequency response" generalization. That combination benefits from an extended high-frequency response. But a typical jazz box with mag pickups does not sound good with a tweeter in the cabinet, and distortion guitar (old-school, not a model of old school) sounds downright bad coming out of a tweeter.
You can verify all of the above by plugging your favorite old-school amp into a PA speaker. What sounds good pumped into a speaker whose response is tailored for guitar will not sound good coming out of a full-range cabinet.
-
If you were to find an FRFR speaker that could take the very low-level signal straight out of your tele without a preamp, it would sound totally dry, with tone-shaping capabilties limited to the choice of pickups and treble rolloff that the guitar itself provides. If you are into a really dry sound, it might be fine, but it also might not be. Originally Posted by Bach5G
Adding Headrush to the signal chain is not just Tele into powered speaker. Headrush provides preamp, fx, and (?) cab emulator, so it might sound fine.
-
yeah , I’ve used a roland Keyboard amp a couple of times at a jam session
yeah channel 1 worked sounded
(no perceivable output using
channel 2 3 or 4 , the guitar straight in
didn’t have enough omph to drive those
inputs)
-
I have a Fender keyboard amp, does not work for electric guitars, sounds completely bland and dull, might be suitable for an acoustic-electric but I doubt it.
-
At the same time, there are a lot of recordings of bands where the guitar sounds amazing in the mix but harsh and horrible when listening to the isolated guitar track. Originally Posted by starjasmine
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
(edited) Yes, "good" sound for live vs tracking vs mixdown can be very different things, but the OP asked about playing live through a keyboard amp - not sure what any of that has to do with keyboard amps.... Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
-
It’s in reference to what you said. What sounds good in a mix can sound horrible by itself. In the right mix it’s possible that the keyboard amp with tweeter might actually sound good. Of course someone could eq it pretty much however they want to sit in a mix anyway in a recording. Originally Posted by starjasmine
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
My experience- which may vary from yours - is that every time I've played mag pickups through an amp with a tweeter it was horrible. The extreme high end from the tweeter just did not work for the guitar and nothing in the mix would change that. GIGO :-) Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
That's not saying you couldn't use a keyboard amp with the high highs rolled off, or use it with different speakers. Keyboard amps can work really well for guitar. But you're definitely going to roll off some (usually a lot) of top end. YMMV.Last edited by starjasmine; 06-01-2024 at 10:45 PM.
-
Can anyone explain the difference between a kb amp and a modern powered speaker with some mixing and EQ built in?
-
It might depend on the specific amps you're comparing, but in general they're pretty much the same thing. Since the advent of smaller/lighter FR/FR powered speakers and PA's, most of the keyboard players I know have switched to them. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
-
I have a similar impression of the Henriksen amps. The Bud is said to be good for vocals, suggesting that it's more PA like than a typical guitar amp. Originally Posted by dconeill
Which led me to the question, why not use something like a Bose S1 or an Everse 8 instead of the Henriksen Bud or Blu? I tried both, but neither worked for me. The Bose S1 doesn't have flexible EQ. It sounded great in some situations but not all. The Everse has very flexible EQ, but I couldn't get it to sound warm.
The Bud/Blu have 5 band EQ with different center frequencies. I haven't had a chance to evaluate them, but a lot of players seem very pleased. That would be surprising if they're really PA like.
-
I don't think I'd want to put any of my guitars through a FRFR amp. Ever since my early days playing guitar (late 60s) we were lead to believe that a guitar amp had to be 'voiced' for guitar. I get the impression that, by definition, FRFRs aren't voiced for guitar. Originally Posted by dconeill
-
I was intrigued by the Headrush FRFR.
Throw a graphic equalizer in front of it and there you are.
A guy showed up one day with a Flyrig into what I think was a FRFR. Sounded great.
-
Is the Headrush FRFR a guitar amplifier and why would need an eq? Thanks Originally Posted by Bach5G
Edit; I just looked it up. It says it's a guitar amp precision tuned for amp modelers. So is an eq a good substitute for an amp modeler?
-
That’s what I am wondering. Originally Posted by garybaldy
-
- Originally Posted by garybaldy
No!
-
If you'd commented to Bach5G with your wisdom I wouldn't have asked!! Originally Posted by Danny W.
Reply With Quote
Gibson L-5 or L-7 acoustic archtop
Today, 05:10 AM in For Sale