Way to go Fishman

I heard another soloist playing at an open mic and he brought it on stage and within a couple of minutes was playing.I couldnt believe the sound from this amp. I bought one the next day and could not be happier.The sound is crisp and clean.I play a DC1E Martin acoustic
and us a Shure sm58 microphone. I like the separate bag for the stand that clips on to the PA bag.The Pa bag has a side compartment for cables and mic..Bag has wheels.

Fishman SA220 ROCKS!

I recently picked up a Fishman SA220 Solo Performance System and I am playing a Babicz ID-DRW-06 acoustic guitar, and running the guitar and a Shure SM57 Microphone through a TC Helicon Voicetone Harmony GXT into the Fishman SA220.
I was in a band for 21 years, but for the last 11 years I have been performing as a solo guitarist/vocalist.
The sound I get out of the SA220 is phenomenal! It has 2 channels, a very nice reverb (4 choices), 3band EQ, phase switches, anti-feedback controls, tweeter level control, and many more features. Both channels will accept either a high impedance or low impedance cord. The SA220 is very user-friendly.
I have been using a Bose L1 model 1 for the last 5 years and it is a fine sounding PA, but I personally prefer the sound of the Fishman and have started using it for all my gigs. Not only does it have a great sound, but I can set up the Fishman, hook up my guitar and the TC Helicon, set up my tip jar and mike and mike stand, and tune my guitar in less than ten minutes. Also, when I am done I can have it all torn down and be ready to leave in less than ten minutes.
I carry the Fishman SA220 in one hand, my guitar, stool, and tip jar in the other hand, and a bag with everything else I need is on my back.
The bag for the SA220 has a couple of straps to strap a mike stand on the side - ONE TRIP IN AND ONE TRIP OUT!
I also highly recommend Sweetwater Music as the place to purchase the Fishman SA220.
Sweetwater gives you a two year warranty, fast free delivery, and tech support.
I would highly recommend the Fishman SA220 to any solo guitarist/vocalist.

Awesome PA!

I've owned the SoloAmp now for 6 months. I run a TC Helicon Create X in channel 1, another vocalist uses channel 2, and I run my Korg PS60 synthesizer in the rear aux channel - the sound is FANTASTIC! This PA can handle a medium venue (150~500) easily.

Best investment of my professional life.

I bought a SoloAmp about a year ago from Sweetwater. I first saw it at the NAMM show, and decided I had to have one. I really thought I would only use it on gigs occasionally, and for home practice. But as I came to know it's capabilities and trust it more, I've come to use it on 90% of my gigs. I play solo guitar, sing, and also play saxophone and use backing tracks on some songs. I have a house gig at a very hi-end hotel in Southern California, so I use this amp 5 nights a week there, and often do other gigs on the other days. It is the only amplification I use on the hotel gig for a fairly large room, and it covers it beautifully. Not a day goes by that someone doesn't comment on the amazing clarity and richness of the sound I get thru the SoloAmp. I especially hear this from other musicians and guitarists who are blown away by the acoustic sound I get with my Lowden and a Fishman pickup. I've also used the SA220 as a monitor speaker on full band gigs, as a front fill for a large PA system, an outdoor wedding sound system, and as a sound man's wedge. It's versatility and coverage still knocks me out even after owning it for a year. Many of my friends have gone out and bought one after hearing mine. I should start my own dealership! I can't imagine being a working musician without it now. It's become an indispensable part of my gear arsenal - every bit as important as the instruments I plug into it.

SoloAmp Rocks !!

I just received my soloamp about a week ago (6/9/09), when I received it, it appears that I was sent a slighty used demo unit by mistake. I had a gig coming up that weekend, so I needed to get this resolved. I called Sweetwater and Steve Dimaggio was very quick to help get my situation resolved (Thanks Steve!). He quickly sent a new one out and advised for me to use the old one on my gig Saturday night. I received the replacement yesterday and packed up the old one for return to Sweetwater. They even sent the Fed Ex paperwork for the return (no cost to me). Now for the product: I was blown away with this SoloAmp from FIshman.. I am running a Taylor 310CE through it with the Fishman Prefix plus. The sound was room filling, crystal clear, and Loud. Every nuance cut through the crowd noise, and people to the rear of the room had no problem hearing my mix. I could also hear myself very clearly with no monitor needed (it works exactly as intended). I did a lot of research before buying this (wanted something with quality sound for solo gigs). My vocal sounded excellent and was extrememly clear through this unit. I received many compliments from my sound at the gig. It was really easy to quickly dial in the EQ for the room setting that I was in. The restaurant was not huge, but I have no doubts this can easily handle small to medium size venues. SOLOAMP ROCKS and so does Sweetwater's customer service and support - top notch!! Thanks Sweetwater, Rob

COMPLETELY SATISFIED

I HAVE HAD MY SOLO FOR A WHILE NOW AND I AM NEVER AT A LOSS FOR COMPLIMENTS ON HOW WELL IT SOUNDS. I WOULDN'T GO BACK TO DRAGGING THE STUFF I USED TO USE FOR ANYTHING. THIS IS JUST MAGIC. SO SIMPLE, LIGHT, EASY SET-UP AND, SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL ACOUSTIC AND/OR VOICE SOUND.
AND OF COURSE SWEETWATER MAKES IT ALL SO EASY.
I JUST HOPE THE CASE HOLDS UP WELL. IT SHOULD. SEEMS STURDY ENOUGH. ZIPPERS ARE MY MAIN CONCERN.

CLARITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND PLENTY OF BASS

My son Ben Owens is a gigging fingerstylist who plays Maton and Baden guitars. The SoloAmp makes them both sound awesome. Nicest amp he has ever played through! I have seen some comments from people worried that the bass may be lacking due to the small speakers. Nothing to worry about here; there is plenty of bottom end. Plus the mids and highs are sweet and natural. Ben will be demoing it in the Baden booth at the winter NAMM show.

And Sweetwater is the only way to go. Best price, fast shipping, great follow-up - as always!

Solo Amp

I should start by saying I am using 2 Solo Amps in an acoustic duo. I have not tried gigging with only one.

Setup is unbelievably easy. Not only in terms of assembling the unit, but also for quickly dialing in a good sound.

My duo has been playing for 5 years and the first night we used the Solo Amps our regular fans all commented on the difference in sound. You can hear every nuance of your playing and singing in every corner of the room. I even stepped directly behind the speakers and noticed only a slight loss in high end. The dispersion really is that good.

The sound is VERY natural. My Taylor finally sounded like an acoustic guitar, only louder. It used to sound like an amplified acoustic guitar, if you know what I mean.

Most incredible to me is how the Solo Amp responds to the dynamics of my guitar playing. In the past, I would have the volume of my guitar set lower for rhythm then quickly turn it up for leads. Awkward. With the Solo Amp, I keep the volume the same and just "dig in" more when I play leads and they jump out in the mix. Unreal. I've actually started doing a lot more fingerpicking, which never came through on my old PA.

A friend told me he could hear EVERYTHING — including mistakes. The Solo Amp is unforgiving in its detail, but I think that's a good thing.

I've tried the Bose L1, but by time you get the bass module and the Tone Match unit, you're in for $3000. You can get TWO Solo Amps for $2000, and set both of them up quicker than a single Bose. It's no contest in my opinion.

Does what it says!

Just purchased this thing a few days ago...sounded pretty good in the store but you know how that goes..Anyway, took it to the first gig, average size bar where they had a small house PA (4 channel amp, couple of 12" speakers) Set up was easy...took only a few minutes to dial in a good sound...couldn't go much higher than about 1/4 volume without being a bit too loud...This thing blew away that house PA easily. First thing that takes a bit of getting used to is hearing your vocals and guitar so clearly on stage..no more honky monitor mix and wondering what it sounds like out front..it's all perfect...and the same sound indeed does project to the audience..I had friends travel around the room and they all agreed the sound was quite evenly dispersed and clear with an almost cd quality..There are definately a few "sweet spots" though..about 20 to 30 feet out towards the corners..unbelievable. The following night I took it to a coffee house gig..very long and narrow with extremely high ceilings...once again..a few minutes to set up and dial in...this time competeing with a far more elaborate house sound system (separate power amp, board, eq's, high tech speakers, etc) No problem...people were amazed that my little "stick PA" was again owning the house system..compliments all night. For the money, you can't beat this thing..it totally rocks...one of my only minor concerns is as to how long the tweeter will last...it does have a level adjustment which I keep at about halfway as to not run full power (20 watts) to it constantly...I think it will last longer (maybe forever) that way...Anyway, that's it...got it, love it and wouldn't want to play without it..:)

Yes, get this one.

I play solo acoustic gigs in small venues, and the SA220 is perfect for that. Sounds great - buddy of mine has the whole Bose L1 rig and I hear no advantage to the pricey Bose at all. One nice unexpected thing I notice is that the SA220 responds nicely to pedals. I mainly play a J45 through a Diamond comp pedal and a Radial PZ-Pre, with the SA220 EQ flat. Sounds great. I run my vocal through a UA Solo 610 into the SA220's monitor input (to bypass the onboard preamp, per my sales engineer's advice) and that sounds great too. But I would be very happy without the fancy mic pre if I had to take it out of the loop. My half-star-off rating is because, as lots of people have noted, the zippers are flimsy and after one gig the stand broke!! But I still recommend the SA220 because I got a replacement in a few days with absolutely no hassle. My Sweetwater sales guy Nick took care of it all -- the new stand came straight from Fishman quickly and all I did was send one email. Fishman does need to consider offering a more rugged case and stand. But overall, the SA220 does what it's supposed to do, and does it very well.

fishman solo sa220

I've been playing in a country band now for 3 years and had numerous amps trying to get a real acoustic sound, when i heard this amp i floored
right there and then and bought this amp brought it back to the band and they felt the same way, so much so the other acoustic player in the band bought one, now we chain them together when we play for small gigs, the vocals out of this amp sounds good. Now we dont carry all the sound system to do small gigs.This is one great amp . we also play mandolin and violin through this amp and sounds great.

Big things from a small package!

I received my SoloAmp a couple weeks ago and have now used it live five times. I perform somewhere between 180 and 200 shows a year with my band and solo and the one thing I am always trying to do is carry less gear. It's just a pain making trips to the van. To start with the Fishman SoloAmp is a hands down winner for weight and size. The photos just don't do the case justice at all! It's really compact. The photo with the guy pulling it makes it look like a wide bag but its only about 10 inches wide and almost as tall as a guitar case if you stand it on end. It's so small you could lay it on the floor in the back seat of most cars! It weighs in around 25-30 pounds with everything.That's less than one of my regular monitors. The wheels work well too. It has an attached bag for the speaker stand and velcro straps on the side. I've been using the straps to hold a straight mic stand and this thing makes my load in a true single trip! The set up literally takes me five minutes from the van until I can play music! The amp/PA works great for small to mid sized venues. I've used it now with as large a crowd as 60-70 people and so far I've only heard compliments about the sound. I have used it inside three times and outside twice with solid results. The sound is similar to the obvious competition BOSE but no better or worse in my opinion. I have performed on them as well. The Fishman is not set up with the same 180 degrees of sound idea as the Bose. It tends to be a little more forward facing but it has a decent spread. I have found that I like the placement a little more to my side because it has a sort of rolled off dead zone for me to monitor myself without hurting my ears and I can turn it up more for the audience without feedback from the mic. The two channels are simple three band EQ (Bass,Mid,High) and a feedback busting single knob notch filter. It works pretty good. It has a 10db pad on each channel and phantom power. Both have worked well for me. The SoloAmp also has four preset reverb settings that you can dial up or down for the two channels. The bass end is good but just like the Bose don't expect it the thump the floor. It has the same relative bass issue when you try to really crank up the low end you get a hollow sort of honk out of it. It's very similar to acoustic amps in general they just sound boxy because they're generally built like PA's and not guitar amps or heavy mains. Who really cranks bass on acoustic instruments anyway? It sounds great for guitar and voice. I get plenty of natural sounding low end out of this thing and crisp highs. Fishman has actually done away with the idea that you need a sub for this thing and I think it works fine. It has something like 225 watts and it's enough. If I would say anything it might be cooler if it had a pinch more power just for some headroom in bigger rooms although I haven't had to go past 4 or 5 on the main yet. I can tell though that it would be pushing it to turn it up for a fairly large room. It's very easy to get a good mix and volume for your voice and instrument on the SoloAmp. I generally play without effects on my guitar or voice so all of this info is about my clean mixes. If you used a pod or amp simulator I'm sure you could get great results. I would say if you want to outfit a band then everyone should have their own Soloamp but get rid of your drummer or make him/her play a Cajon instead of a kit. I would say that the Fishman SoloAmp is a real value in the portable arena for solo/duo acts. Compared to the obvious competition it's half the price and much more compact. If you are booked to play a room bigger than this thing could take they probably have a PA anyway. The Fishman saves you more than money. It saves your time, your back and your legs. Seriously. It sounds great and you can pay for it in a few gigs. It's a winner with me. It's got great sound and it's definitely powerful enough for any coffeehouse or mid-sized bar.

little dynamite

got mine the other day and only used it once so far but, it was more amazing than i imagined. set-up is so simple and quick and the sound is amazing. lightweight, portable, simple and versital

great

love it , good range sounds good . probably sound better when i get to know it better

Fishman SoloAmp

I've been using The SoloAmp for 2 weeks(7 shows) in an acoustic trio. 3 vocals and two guitars into a Mackie CFX 12. All acoustics(Martin00015,D28,Taylor 414) use Fishman AGX passive pick ups. In general a very good sound. Extremely acoustic sounding. We set it up behind us and use it primarily as a monitor/sidewash. Very clean but we found out that we could not use it as mains. (we use powered QSCs) It is amazing though how much it fills out the sound and how far it does travel.It has all the bass you need. It's not a thumping bass, but a very acoustic sounding bass.
The main purpose of the SoloAmp is just that. It's for a solo artist and it does not fall short. I did a solo show outside and my duo partner was there and stated he couldn't believe how great it sounded. Again, though, I used the Mackie board. Also needed to have it farther away than what is suggested. At higher volumes it is kind of blarring in the ear.
This is not a Bose tower and is not intended to compete with it. It sounds far more acoustic than the Bose. We're considering buying a second SoloAmp to use 2 as mains.(we need 2 mains in order to pan the guitars) At under $2000(a grand a piece) it's several hundreds less than the Bose and sub(s).(Bose wants you to buy a tower for each person). And easy to set up!
Conclusion: if you are a solo artist buy this thing. You'll like the sound, portability and savings. I didn't give it a five because within 2 weeks the zipper broke.