Acoustic Control Corporation 120

This un' is a late model, made in 3 of 81' and except for a amall stencil job on one end of it, is in museum shape. It is very simple, but has just the right features for me. Of course most people want a compressor, but if you play dynamically with your hands (instead of just beating the crap out of your bass) you won't really need a compressor. Just like every other Acoustic I've played, this thing is really loud, powerful, and even sounding...even with the cheap pickup, knockoff basses I play. It has the standard Bass, Middle, Treble controls which are very useful, as well as a very simple but very useable and very AWESOME 5 band EQ that is tailored to suit a 4 string bass guitar. This is where this amp (and every other Acoustic that has it...most do) really shines. Plus, it has the standard 'bright' switch and the power boost switch. Cool for me, because these amps were made before active electronics were commonplace (which is essentially what the power boost switch approximates just from the amp, not the bass) and when low gain, low treble basses were a viable option in the minds of a lot of bass players (think Gibson EB series or those ultra-klunky but cool Guild basses from the 70's).

I have quite a few passive, low gain instruments, from the trebley/midrangey Rickenbacker copies to they muddy Eb-3, and with these simple features, I can boost and cut the frequencies I need to make my bass more full range or cut through the mix, and still retain it's character and personality...all the while being loud as hell! Don't let the low wattage (125 RMS) fool you...it sounds louder than it is! unless you are playing with the drummer from Lift To Experience, this thing will take care of you with the right cab. I'm using an Ampeg 1x15, and it can take it all and then some...you have to remember that this amp was made to be used with 15" speakers, and for me it really does sound much better with them than anything else.
It is a little noisy, but that could just be the city I live in and a high RF environment. Like I said this amp outdoes itself night after night for being so simple yet so flexible in terms of EQ'ing and downright quality of sound. I think guys like me love them so much because of a subtle type of overdrive that they have, it's clean, loud, even and powerful, yet edgier and grittier than solid state heads of today. I think it's lower wattage and simpler components to blame for that. I used to think that a lot of the bass sounds I loved sounded that way because of big tube amps, and sometimes they did, but a lot of the time, they were coming from a big ol' solid state amp from the 70s.

I used to have a 370 (wish I still had it), and I did stuff to it that shouldn't even be allowed (see my review on that page) and It just kept gettin' it. The 100 series was made to be more light duty than the 200's or 300's, but it's still cut from the same mold and still solid as a rock. I don't play a lot of bass right now, but I think I could gig out just short of every night on a cross country/world tour for part of the year, and it would be fine. Certainly fine to keep round the house or to take out on the weekend very frequently.

Here's my 2 cents: Find a cool guy that's a competent tech, treat him well, pay him fairly, and there you go...Great customer support! There is nothing you can do to this amp that cannot be fixed with the right parts and tech. It's very simple.

Another great part to Customer support is not ripping someone off should you want to sell it. I got this one off of an older hippie dude that had a room full of Acoustics and was thinning out his heard. Even though he was old enough to be my dad, he understood that I was an old Acoustic guy, and was happy to see it go to a good home, not just some shark who was gonna flip it for twice the price. When I was coming up (10 years ago), these were very working class, high quality amps for guys who knew what they wanted and knew they didn't have to spend a fortune to get an awesome sound. I'm seeing Ebay drive them up (and old Sunns and old Jap and Peavey basses too) and it's breaking my heart. If you're gonna sell yours, please find it a good home, and give somebody a good deal on it!

I think I've said enough. I love these amps, and it's not just out of sheer nostalgia, I use them regularly, and have for almost 10 years, and I've not gotten tired of the sound yet.

Mine is an 81` I got it used for next to nothing but it wasn`t working right. I took it to a friend that is very good with electronics and he said the problem was a small switch inside on the circut board that was labeled 110/220v He switched it back to 110 and wa-la! good as new! I play all types of music and it sounds great all the time. It has everything I need. Ive used it for a guitar head as well. sounds great for that too!

It does seem to get a little noisey when I really juice it up. nothing unexpected. when I use it to record, I usually run it with a noise gate anyway.

other than the switch problem, it seems to be built like a mack truck.

warranty? don`t make me laugh.

My friend has an Acoustic 360 rig. He seriously wants to be buried inside of it. He`s taking it with him.

My 120 was made in the 80's, you can tell becuase there is no blue on the face of the head. Pretty good amp. 200w at 4ohms. It's easy to get a variety of sounds with the use of the 5 band EQ and the Bright Switch. This amp also has a limiter which can help at higher volumes. This amp will distort, but I don't think that's bad thing.

I play a Fender P-Bass. I am a rock bassist. I like an amp that I can drive. The 120 is good for small gigs. I has a rich warm tone. It overdrives a bit giving you a tone similar to a tube amp. Good for the money.

When I got it, it was fried. But hey you get what you pay for. Anyway I got it fixed by some dude here in Pasadena. I guess he fixes amps for some local dude named Eddie Van something?? Anyway, he had a ton of NOS parts, and he made the amp as good as new. I have gig regularly with it, it's a tank...

Acoustic is dead....but maybe I'll build a site dedicated to these amps....since I love them so much.

Since I started playing bass some 12 odd years ago. I've played peavey, fender, crate, marshall, univox, kustom and acoustics. Once I bought my first acoustic, I sold everything else nothing(in this price range) comes close. Again I am a rock bassist. If you want to sound like Les Claypool this is not for you. If you prefer to sound like Lemmy then ENJOY!

Well, i really have no information on this amp aside from my experiences playing it, it does have every feature i want: a bright switch and an eq, which is alls i need for the indie rockin' indie rock that i so passionately play and love to death. solid state, yeah i know but it's still rad and pretty loud

well when i first got it iwas using a pedulla with bartolini pickups and it sounded amazing, sure it's solid state, but it really cut through the drums and the guitar in a way all it's own, increasingly beautiful tone, but now i use a custom built mahogany body bass with a maple neck, ballsier than any bass i've ever heard before, and better cause i built it. and with that it sounded tight, very very thunderous

allright heres the thing i bought this amp and used it for 3 or 4 months and then i showed up to practice one night with it and it would stop crackling, pissed me off, so i gave it to a friend of a friend and haven't seen it since, it's been almost a year, i miss it soo much. i've heard on several non consecutive occasions that acoustics were the toughest amps built, i fail to see their logic.

i wish

when i get it back, and i will i will have moved on to guitar again, but i'd never rid myself of this amp, this one sounds soo nice, better than any other amp i've played through