Acoustic Amps Quick Pick: How the Boss Acoustic Singer Brings More to the Stage
The BOSS Acoustic Singer Pro is a great example of an acoustic amplifier that offers much more than meets the eye. At a glance, the Acoustic Singer Pro offers the essentials you’d expect for acoustic performance, including two channels for guitar and microphone, and anti-feedback protection for both channels. And when you dig a little deeper, you’ll find the Acoustic Singer Pro can actually eliminate the need for external processors like loopers, acoustic enhancers, and more — let’s take a look.
BOSS Acoustic Singer Pro (and Acoustic Singer Live) Fast Facts
There’s a lot to talk about with the BOSS Acoustic Singer Pro, but at its core you have a standard foundation for performing guitarists: ample power with 120 watts of bi-amplified power driving an 8-inch speaker and dome tweeter, a dedicated input for your instrument, and a combo channel for a microphone or second guitar. You’ll find dual XLR DI outputs for direct connection to a PA system or recording interface, plus a USB connection for direct recording to a computer. That’s a solid starting point for a versatile acoustic amplifier for performance — plenty of wattage for full, dynamic tone without excessive noise, and flexibility to use with instruments, vocal mics, or both at once.
Before we get into what makes the Acoustic Singer Pro unique, it’s worth noting that BOSS also offers the lower-powered Acoustic Singer Live. The Acoustic Singer Live amp reduces the wattage to 60 watts, and uses a 6.5-inch woofer instead of 8-inch, but other than those specs they’re essentially identical. If you’re playing for smaller groups, or focusing on studio recording, you don’t sacrifice any functionality by choosing the lower-powered Acoustic Singer Live over the Pro version. Both offer the advanced functionality that we’ll get into right now.
Acoustic Resonance Enhances the Sound of Any Piezo Pickup
The BOSS Acoustic Singer’s dedicated instrument input features built-in Acoustic Resonance enhancement that makes a night-and-day difference when using acoustic guitars with piezo pickups. In fact, you may already be aware of pedal processors designed to blend the sound of natural acoustic resonance with your direct pickup output — players can spend a lot of money to reduce the “quack” in their piezo pickups and make them sound more like a natural acoustic instrument.
Built-in Acoustic Resonance processing eliminates the need for a separate pedal solution, and that’s a benefit to any performer. Just plug your guitar into the BOSS Acoustic Singer, and tap the Acoustic Resonance button to cycle through four options (including Off for no processing). The options range from the full-bodied sound you’d expect from a dreadnought, to the brighter sparkle and clarity you’d hear from a concert-sized guitar. Whichever you mode you choose, Acoustic Resonance adds the depth and harmonic complexity that a miked-up acoustic instrument would create, and is definitely a sonic upgrade for piezo pickups. If you use a hybrid pickup system that already has a mic element, simply leave the processing off.
Harmonize Your Vocals With Your Amp
Every singer-songwriter knows the power of tasteful vocal harmonies, and they also understand the investment players can make in pedal-based harmonizers. The BOSS Acoustic Singer eliminates the need for external vocal harmonizers by building it right into the dedicated microphone channel. Thankfully, the harmonizer is footswitchable for use during performance, and a two-button footswitch is included with the Acoustic Singer.
The harmonizer offers three modes: High mode for a harmony above your vocal, Unison for a doubling effect, and Low for a harmony below your vocal. Best of all, the harmonization follows what you play on your guitar to maintain musicality, and you can also tweak the reference pitch to create customized harmonization if you wish. A well-placed vocal harmony can take even the most humble performance to the next level, and the BOSS Acoustic Singer makes it possible without requiring you to learn, operate, and transport a dedicated harmonizer pedal.
Accompany Yourself with Onboard Looping
Some guitarists have based their entire performance style around looping, but a looper can also be a powerful learning tool even if you never intend to perform with one. Capturing a loop of a basic chord progression and then playing over it exercises a lot of different musical skills in a very fun way. And if you’re a solo performer, creating a very basic chord bed with a few strums can elevate your sound in a big way.
The BOSS Acoustic Singer’s guitar channel is equipped with an onboard looper that offers the same functionality as you’d find in most basic looper pedals, and you can even control it with the included two-button footswitch (you can also operate it from the amp itself, but the footswitch is recommended). Just tap your foot to start looping, and tap again to begin cycling the loop. From there you can add overdubs as you play, allowing for even more complex arrangements. In other words, the Acoustic Singer’s built-in looper is plenty of fun for practice and songwriting sessions, and it also offers just enough functionality to be capable for stage performance too.
Independent DI Outputs with Flexibility
Most acoustic amplifiers offer a basic XLR DI output to connect directly to a sound system or recording device, and the BOSS Acoustic Singer takes things a step further with independent DI outputs for each channel, a mix function, and pre/post effects monitoring. If you’re connecting to a mono sound system like a single powered speaker, use the mix function to combine both channels into a single DI output. If you have multiple inputs available, connect each channel separately for more control at the mixer.
You also have the flexibility to send the Acoustic Singer’s onboard effects through the DI outputs, or leave the effects out so that the sound engineer can apply them at the mixing board with more control. You’ll still be able to hear the onboard effects through the Acoustic Singer itself, making it an excellent stage monitor that also doubles as your DI interface — no separate direct boxes or preamp pedals required.
Studio Quality Vocal and Instrument Effects
Each channel on the Acoustic Singer features an independent effects section, and with the BOSS name it should be no surprise that they sound great. The instrument channel offers separate Delay/Echo and Reverb modules, while the microphone/instrument channel features Chorus and Reverb modules. These operate independently from the Acoustic Resonance and Harmonizer functions, so you don’t need to sacrifice those advanced processors to use these effects.
Each channel is equipped with 3-band EQ for control over bass, mids, and highs, making it easy to balance instruments and vocals in the mix. If you’re a solo performer and want to hit the stage with only your amplifier and guitar, the BOSS Acoustic Singer gives you everything you need to do so.
BOSS Remains a Stage and Studio Staple
BOSS is known for making stage-ready solutions for musicians that can be counted on gig after gig, and the Acoustic Singer Pro and Acoustic Singer Live are both great examples of why they’ve earned that reputation. At their core, these are great-sounding acoustic amplifiers with the right size and power for the majority of gigging acoustic guitarists. And with capable onboard processing to eliminate the need for acoustic enhancement pedals, loopers, and acoustic effects, the Acoustic Singer is an amazingly efficient performance solution. If you’re looking for maximum capability from your acoustic amplifier, you definitely need to check out the BOSS Acoustic Singer.
- Introduction
- BOSS Acoustic Singer Pro (and Acoustic Singer Live) Fast Facts
- Acoustic Resonance Enhances the Sound of Any Piezo Pickup
- Harmonize Your Vocals With Your Amp
- Accompany Yourself with Onboard Looping
- Independent DI Outputs with Flexibility
- Studio Quality Vocal and Instrument Effects
- BOSS Remains a Stage and Studio Staple
