Gearank High Notes
- 2020.07: Equal Highest Rated Acoustic Amp Under 50 Watts
Tied With:- Fender Acoustasonic 40
Gearank Recommendation
The AC-33 first appeared on our recommended list for Acoustic Guitar Amps when we first published it in July 2016. It came off the list in January 2019 when it was out-ranked by other amps. It made it back onto the list in July 2020 where it remained until May 2022.
It also appeared on our recommended list for Battery Powered Guitar Amps when we first published that one in January 2018 where it remained until June 2021 when it was out-ranked by other options.
Overview
Roland has a great reputation for making high quality transparent instrument amplifiers and in the past they produced some of the highest rated keyboard amps and that experience translated well to their acoustic amps.
Their AC (Acoustic Chorus) line carries their brand of crisp and clean tone, tweaked to better match the frequencies produced by acoustic guitars and other acoustic instruments.
The 30-Watt AC-33 is a highly rated stereo 2-channel acoustic guitar amp that comes with the added bonus of being able to be run on battery power making it ideal for street performers, although the power rating drops to 20 watts when using batteries.
One channel is dedicated to guitar and the other is for microphone input. It also has a built-in 40 second phrase sampler / looper. One thing to note is that it doesn’t have phantom power so you are limited to using dynamic mics or condenser mics that have their own power supply.
And as expected from Roland, this amp comes with built-in chorus, along with reverb and anti-feedback.
It works well with Piezo pickup equipped guitars giving them a natural sounding tone without bringing the “brittleness” that some amps have when paired with the pickup type.
The amp’s light weight makes it a great companion amp for traveling and touring, and with the ability to run on batteries and the availability of mic inputs make this a nifty busking amp.
It is also available in a Rosewood colored finish in addition to the black version pictured here.
Though the low power rating limits the size of the venues it can be used at, the Roland AC-33 is great for coffee shop gigs or small outdoor events where you won’t need to be loud. Because small venues like cafes are prone to acoustic feedback, the anti-feedback control does a great job of avoiding ear-splitting squeals during performances.
Website | Source | *Rating Value |
Audiofanzine | Anonymous | 80/100 |
Audiofanzine | Deuf35 | 100/100 |
This is Classical Guitar | Bradford Werner | 90/100 |
Specifications
- Power Rating: 15 + 15 Watts with AC power and 10 + 10 Watts using batteries
- Amplifier Type: Solid State
- Channels: 2
- Master Volume: Yes
- Inputs: 2 x 1/4″, 1 x XLR, 2 x RCA, 1 x 1/8″ (Aux)
- Outputs: 1 x 1/4″ (R, L/Mono), 1 x 1/4″ (Headphones)
- Controls: 3-Band EQ and Chorus Per Channel, Volume in Guitar Channel, Reverb, Anti-Feedback, Looper Buttons, Master
- Speakers: 2 x 5″
- Weight: 10.36 lbs.
- Dimensions: 9.63″ x 12.56″ x 8.81″