Developments in acoustic amplifier know-how, like programable digital results and built-in multitrack recording, have given trendy acoustic performers extra entry to broader amplified sonic palettes than ever earlier than. One such improvement is the introduction of Bluetooth apps that enable guitarists to remotely modify amp results, management loopers, and extra, all on their smartphone or pill. 

Based in 2006, Nux sells a variety of digital and analog merchandise, from amplifiers to digital drums to keyboards and results. For the acoustic guitarist, the corporate affords its flagship Stageman II AC-80 ($449 road), an 80-watt combo amplifier that features a Bluetooth app, amongst many different cool options geared in direction of gigging musicians. I put the amp by way of its paces and was impressed as a lot by its flexibility as its sonic versatility. 

Excessive Constancy

The Stageman has a 6.5-inch speaker and 1-inch tweeter and is encased in a darkish sienna-tinted wooden cupboard with a cream-colored management panel. It’s a compact bundle, weighing in at simply 22 kilos in a roughly one-foot dice. The amp is good for gigging in quite a lot of settings. It has two channels—one with a 1/4-inch enter and the opposite with 1/4-inch and XLR combo inputs—and, to accommodate buskers, it may well function on battery energy alone for an estimated most of 4.5 hours. 

As quickly as I plugged my Taylor AD12e into the Stageman, I used to be struck by the amplified sign’s constancy to the unique acoustic sound. Even the perfect digital setups can compromise the natural tone of an acoustic instrument, however on this case, it was like listening to my first impression of my guitar a second time, simply louder. The AD12e’s mild, brilliant sound got here by way of almost as distinctively because it does when unplugged. 

The amp’s built-in settings for Channel 1 are managed by a three-way toggle change that means that you can select between Strum, Finger, and NOR settings. Strum offers you a rounder, deeper sound that’s sturdy within the lows and mids, whereas Finger drops that impact in trade for a brilliant, glowing evenness that’s splendid for fingerpicking. NOR is only a flat EQ. 

To get essentially the most out of the Strum and Finger presets, I left every of the three frequency knobs at 50 %; I did, nevertheless, want to lower the low finish only a bit for the Strum setting because it was slightly too heavy for me. That is likely to be as a result of I’m primarily a fingerpicker—naturally, the Finger setting was my favourite, and I discovered that it even improved the standard of my tone by mixing that brightness preset with my private expression.

The EFX knob affords 12 choices of refrain/delay/reverb, which could be chosen on the app. It’s nuanced, particularly when stored within the center (much less is extra!), but it surely’s additionally enjoyable to crank up for these songs you would possibly need to add an unconventional coloration to. Whether or not utilized frivolously or extra closely, it may well create a pleasant outer-space-sounding embellishment that works nicely with each fingerpicking and strumming. The EFX sits in between the Reverb knob and the Acquire knob. The previous, because it goes from dry to moist, maintains about the identical decay with minimal diffusion (simply making the projected house really feel bigger with out extreme reflection), whereas the latter cleanly adjusts the extent of the enter sign with out including any distortion.

Channel 2 has a two-way toggle change, with choices of Part and NOR. In any other case, its settings are the identical as these on Channel 1. When utilizing each Channel 1 and a pair of collectively—with a guitar and mic—the results are processed individually for every channel, permitting you to use totally different ranges of reverb or EFX to every one to fit your style.

Many Faces

After the necessities, a bonus attraction of the Stageman is its drum/loop characteristic. The amp comes with Nux’s NMP-2 twin footswitch, which can be utilized to set off a metronome or inventory beat and document loops up of to 60 seconds, or to toggle on and off reverb and a second chosen impact. (You hook the footswitch as much as one enter on the again of the amp for the previous pair of capabilities, and one other enter for the latter pair.)

The handiness of the footswitch is enhanced when coupled with the free Stageman app, out there for each iOS and Android units. The app means that you can select from eight totally different Impulse Response (IR) acoustic guitar profiles, which you’ll modify utilizing excessive and low lower filters. There are 12 totally different results and 4 totally different reverbs, every with adjustable decay, dampness, and blend ranges. The drum machine has ten beat choices, together with a BPM management, combine degree, and tapping characteristic. The looper can be managed from the app. Plus, on the Results display, the app enables you to save no matter settings you apply. 

When utilizing the IRs, there are alternatives for acoustic profiles that use both magnetic or piezo pickups; your guitar might be suitable with the profiles that match the pickup it has. (My AD12e acoustic/electrical is supplied with Taylor’s ES2 electronics system, so I used to be working with the piezo profiles.) The profiles embody a Gibson Hummingbird, Martin D-45, and Taylor 814ce.

It’s extremely enjoyable to mess around with the shapeshifting IRs. The Gibson Hummingbird profile remodeled my Taylor right into a jangly, vintage-sounding instrument, whereas the Martin D-45 profile re-created the nice and cozy, wealthy tone of the long-lasting dreadnought. Hopefully, you’re already taking part in a guitar whose tone you’re keen on—however with the assistance of the IRs, you possibly can have eight extra to check out.

In experimenting with combining the footswitch and the app, I discovered that making use of delay and reverb on the similar time didn’t trigger the 2 sounds to be muddied. As a substitute, they complemented one another, because the setup runs the results independently and blends them within the remaining combine; a delicate but key performance.

The Backside Line

Altogether, I discovered the Nux Stageman II AC-80 to be not simply correct in its copy of my guitar’s tonal character, however multipurpose with its results choices, the accompanying IRs, and drum/loop setup. You don’t need to make use of loops to get one thing out of this amp—its pure sound is sufficient to make it a precious piece of kit. However, hardly superfluous, the capabilities of the app supply myriad methods of boosting creativity in all features of efficiency. The overall bundle is nicely well worth the funding.