I know it seems like overkill but if you want a Katana, pay the extra for the 100. You won’t need the extra volume but Boss scrimped on a load of things with the 50, such as no effects loop which is important if you ever get into pedals. I bought the 50 because I didn’t know better and I regret it - not because it’s not a good amp, just all of what is missing vs the 100
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The attack plays a big role.
make sure you don’t stroke them too gently
- pick firm in your hand to make it move along just a little (not death gript either but firm enough)
- A confident series of down strums in a strong and measured fashion.
- a bit of tension in your upper arms without wearing it out.
Powerchords are 50% technique and just as much attitude! 
- fiddle around with the mid control; try boosting it a bit together with the treble.
- A good amount of gain but not foll blown gain (common mistake)
- listen to basket case by Greenday for a good example of what I described above
I bet you can find an attitude and osund on any amp, as long as you put the mids and gain in the right place. Not having mids can be tricky then so even a cheap little (second hand) distortion with a bit of ocntrols gives you a LOT to play with already
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I have and can’t seem to do them at all. The 3 finger ones sounded kind of okay today though I didn’t get any input from the hubby today. Oh, wait, I just asked, he said when I cranked up the distortion (the lead button and volume, lol) he said it started to sound like a garage band was in the house. He thought it sounded pretty good. Maybe I am getting the hang of this.
I’d still like a better amp, though. Do y’all think the Peavey would be okay for an acoustic for now?
edit: changed toe to the, though toe distortion could be interesting… lol
Do that! Yes, get a small tube amp. I picked up the little 5W from monoprice and it’s great (Harely Benton sells the same rebranded amp). Who only uses one amp? That’s like being a golfer with one club.
Sounds like good advice, thanks, I’ll have to get an amp with gain and mid levels though, first. lol
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Probably not, but it depends on why you think you need an amp for an acoustic guitar.
For everyday use, you really don’t need one, unless you are looking for some effects that the amp might have on it, like reverb or chorus. The Peavey doesn’t have those anyway.
Really the main time you would need an amp for a acoustic guitar is if you are performing, and the venue is big enough (or outside for busking) where you need to amplify it. In the case, you’ll need something a lot better than the amp you have.
I’ll note that the Katana has those effects, as well as an acoustic guitar setting and is easily good enough for performance use, as well as home use (e.g. recording).
Cheers,
Keith
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Yep the only time i plug my acoustic in at home is if I am recording it or want some effects (reverb etc)
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This. Look beyond the raw wattage and you get extra (useful!) features in an amp that you’ll unlikely outgrow.
There’s a reason it’s highly regarded. Not only does it sound ‘good’ it’s very versatile at its price point.
Darn I must have misread something because I thought you were on the electric.
I never play power chords on an acoustic because it lacks harmonic richness. Indeed; it sounds dull. The 3 note version sounds ok-ish, 2 note power chords never please me on an acoustic.
My bad; if you wanna rock with power chords with a beefy chunky tone; an electric will work a lot better, given right gain settings, amp model or a pedal.
I did distortion on an acoustic a few times. It sounds odd to say the least but it had a charm. Not really a recommendation though
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Rebecca, there’s a little confusion in here.
Can you please clear everything up.
When the power chord blues are hitting you, are you playing an electro-acoustic or an electric guitar into your Peavey Audition?
If electric, what pickup and what volume / tone settings?
What settings do you have on the amp?
Can you record a short audio-video demo?
If yours has the above controls, you should still be able to achieve something that sounds like power chords and not like rubbish.
Volume = how loud overall.
Lead = on for some overdrive / distortion, off for clean.
EQ = increasing / decreasing the bass / treble
It is not the best amp in the world but it should still deliver a sound you can work with on power chords.
Power chords work great with all down strums and some palm mute.
I agree, except for the word little. Maybe substitute “lot of”. Too many (well meaning) posts missing the mark. Why should someone purchase a $200-300 pedal for an $89 mini amp? How would someone boost their Mids on an amp that doesn’t have any Mid controls?
I can’t help but think of the sound output as a product of the instrument, the amp, the speaker, and the room it’s all set up in not to mention the technique of the person playing. The entire system needs evaluation in order to have an effective solution. I have “good” equipment. Just standing up, it all sounds tonally different than when I’m playing sitting down.
Someone used a golf analogy earlier - just look at any online golf forum. Someone posts a swing issue and they will receive a 100 different isolated tips. Tips, but no beneficial instruction.
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I think that you’re going to be better off with a better amp, but it needs to have more control over the EQ and gain levels to get a decent sound. You don’t really need to get a much bigger amp to do that; at one stage I had one of these and for your purposes it’s an inexpensive option that does sound pretty good for a small amp
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If you are referencing my golf analogy of only using one club, it only pertains to music gear. I can expand upon the idea in other ways:
- Stamp collecting with one stamp.
- Painting with one color and/or one brush.
- Cooking with only one pan.
So yeah, buy another amp, buy a bunch of different picks, mics, slides, strings, guitars, etc. It’s still an affordable hobby compared to a lot of other things.
You didn’t miss anything, I have 2 electrics and am looking to buy mu first acoustic, (which is why I asked if my little Peavey would work with any electric-acoustic I end up buying, unless I fall madly in love with a plain old acoustic.)
BTW, I attended one of your Clubs today. Was totally worth the time. Thanks!
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Thats the advantage of amp sims/IRs etc now
You dont need a wall of different amps, its still nice to have but the vast majority of stuff you hear is recorded dry and reamped etc with software.
Even a small tube amp is generally going to be loud if driven hard, you can get around it, you can use Power Attenuators / Load Boxs etc and take that feed into an IR response etc etc
But the good thing about now is we have all that old stuff and all the new stuff and you can mix and match whatever you want.
The Katana is a good amp but theres a bunch of similar from fender, yamaha etc too just depends what you end up preferring
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Yeah, Richard, that is exactly my amp, and I AM playing with a PRS Soap Bar 2 electric guitar. (I hope to buy my first acoustic later this month, it may have power or not, depends on what I find that I like).
I am finally getting the hang of the power chords even with this little Peavey, sure they don’t sound like stuff you hear from better amps but they’re finally not sounding crappy anymore.
I am finding that setting the Amp to Volume 4, EQ high at 5.5 low at 8, with the Lean button ON, seems to be getting me something that sounds fairly good. I’m setting the guitar volume lower and the switch fully on the bridge and the Tone knob around 5-7. Seems to be working.
If I tried recording it would only be with my phone and judging by the sound of my previous AVoYP recordings, I don’t think that would help.
Also, someone up-thread, I think it was Lieven, suggested really whacking those strings with my pick and having an “attitude”. Believe it or not, it helped! 
I get that, but for some reason, my hubby, the electrical engineer in the family, doesn’t! He’s afraid that I’m going to crank up the full 100 watts and blow out our ear drums. His inability to understand this is probably why I’m the one who buys the stereo equipment. 
I can do that! lol But I do prefer using lots of pans. I’m a messy cook.)
I’m starting to think I should take my PRS with me on this trip, I was going to take my Strat because it’s cheaper and I use it as my travel guitar, but this may be too important. (This visit to Sweetwater is at the start of a 1500 mile road trip to visit family in Texas.)
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Sweetwater will almost certainly have a similar PRS in stock to use
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OK, you could do all of your cooking in one pan. See if the other examples make sense. LOL
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I watched that interview not so long ago David (no-one who knows me here will be surprised at that!). It’s a great watch 