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manXcat
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Joined: 02/17/18
Posts: 1,476
manXcat
Registered User
Joined: 02/17/18
Posts: 1,476
02/25/2019 8:57 pm

Just to add to what Christopher said and affirm part of it.

Learning to play or playing in one's bedroom or ersatz home 'studio', the bed or couch, isn't necessarily about only it must be "the best at any price" with every bell and whistle or peer parroted "cool!" brand name on the facia cloth. It's about what you will use, features you can use, that is also affordable and practical for the purpose to which you will apply it. Someone else said earlier in this thread that they bought a Fender Mustang full on digital modelling amp, and replaced it with simplicity of a WYSIWYG Bugera, if a tube amp in the particular case could be considered simple vs a solid state along the same feature lines. I get why totally. That for instance is why Fender's Champion series amps are fantastic, if under-appreciated by those seduced by the hypnotic hype of every aspect of latest tech implemented must be better.

I compromised within budget for instance on my Blackstar ID:Core, not unhappily so in retrospect, as its functionality for purpose as a 40W solid state patchable modelling amp met my purpose of use criteria as my initial amp for my first guitar, an electric. That saving over the Katana 50 permitted me to additionally buy a Fender Acoustasonic acoustic purposed amp within the same total budget. Over here the Katanas are about $100 more expensive than my ID:Core was. In the US it's different, and Katanas can be had for about the same or no more than $20 difference so YMMV.

My experience endorses Chris' recommendation for a dedicated acoustic purposed amp of proportionate size and power for intended application for playing any acoustic with an active preamp, typically piezo fitted to so many e-acoustics today. Passive pickups typical of many soundhole pickups won't matter quite so much with an electric amp e.g. Katana or ID:Core without true bypass circuitary. They'll also sound OK with mic'd acoustic, but you can't get past the selectable presets - choose one. In the Katana's case, Boss have [u]labeled[/u] one of them Acoustic. The ID: Core, you have Clean Warm or Clean Bright to choose from, unless you write your own specifically acoustic voiced config patch. Regardless which brand amp, the signal inputs are still being unavoidably and additionally processed through the amp's preamp stage for both the Katana and ID:Core. This will not sound as good for playing any acoustic with a preamp fitted as an acoustic specific amp does IMPE. The Fender Champions OTOH have a true alternative clean (bypass) channel coupled with a larger speaker, which is a useful feature if you play both electric with pedalboard or amp simulator, and e-acoustic.

On the speaker size debate. Hmmm. My personal practical perspective is that today it's a half truth much like the endless argument debating tube versus solid state. The stereo sound image produced by Blackstar's ID:Core 40 2×20W 6.5" speakers is mighty impressive in its own right. So much so that in class i.e. solid state digital around 40W, for intended purpose which sounds "better" is moot, and very much individually aurally subjective at best. You've got to listen to it to comprehend. I'm not playing at ID:Core 'fanboi' here, as I also think Boss' immensly popular Katana 50 with its different single speaker config a fabulous amp in its class, just as I do the Yamaha THR series and in its own right for different reasons, Fender's Champion series one of which, the Champion 100 x2, I bought favouring it over both Boss' Katana 100 x2 or Blackstar's ID:Core 100 x2! And, the crunch decider wasn't price but end user ergonomics, different features I will use in its intended deployment, and tones better suited to my purpose. Just sayin'.