Acoustic Control Corporation 126

Features listed in other reviews. I bought this amp back when ((hard to believe with all the crap I have accumulated I actually tossed the receipt) I was playing close to full -time -in the late 70's. I "got the bug" again a few years back and plugged this sucker back in . It''s all still there! 30 years later - almost 20 years of that sitting in an attic room,being moved to another house and being stored in a garage, then from the Philly area to St. Louis and back ..and it's cranking like new. Better than me, and it isn't going to a gym and giving up snacks after dinner. Features were real solid at the time (look an EQ!). Today, players prob expect more.

I play - then and now - an early 70's PP-Bass. I play blues, blues rock, a little funk. Back in the day, it was major funk, disco, top 40 in clubs and some private parties. Yes it rattles the ceiling at home. . But 30 years ago, trying to fill a club, it would struggle at times. But that was with drums, keyboards, guitar and two horns. So for 125 W...yeah, it cranks. Still love the variety of sounds. I like to arrange the EQ with high bass, sloping downward and punch the treble up. Baby!

What more can you say...pulled out of storage after about 25 years , plug it in and "wham." Not a rattle, not a rusted ...anything. Yes, I kept it out of standing water, and didn't subject it to freezing , but it didn't get any special care. They do not make 'em like this anymore. Would I use it w/O a back up? I did for 15 years.

Never engaged them when it was new. No one to call, now. But (so far) still no need. I did buy the warranty on it...so maybe that was a talisman. SO best rating ever...what's better than customer support you never need?

IT was, and is, a great amp. Prob said all that could be said up front. If I was buying an amp today, for the same application , I'd go with more power, and prob tubes. But I love the crispness that this amp delivers. Snap like you won't believe. Married to real solid bottom. But not quite enough watts to make you feel it in your body cavities.

Made in the early 70's.
Rated @ 100 watts rms @ 5% thd.
1-15" speaker in a vented baffle cabinet.
Features: high and low gain input jacks, bright switch, bass control, mid range control, treble control, power boost switch, and a 5 band graphic equalizer.
This is a great amp for practice or small to medium gigs.

I bought this combo as a dead unit unheard and restored it to working order.
WOW!!! was I surprised I didn't know a 100 watts could sound so loud.
I put a JBL 15" E-140 speaker in it and the sound was very clean and warm.
The vented baffle worked well and at volume it even pushed a little air.

I was able to get just about any sound that I wanted and was plesantly pleased, I think it would make a great rig for the jazz bass, but my son likes to play Metalica with it.

If you want a combo unit get one of these you won't be sorry, it beats any combo out there.

I don't know why the amp died but with the new power transisters it should last another twenty years.

After the cost of repair and a new JBL speaker I have spent a total of 315.00 dollars not to bad concidering you can't get an amp of this qaulity any more.
Ya I'd do it all over again if I had too, it's that good.

Out for Lunch

If lost or stolen I'd try real hard to find another.

Pros:I love the sound of this combo and it's loud enough for medium venus.
Cons: At 105lbs. it's a little awkward to load into your car.
dimensions: 33 1/4"h x 12 5/8"w x 26 1/2"d

For an overall rating I have to give it a 9 becase of the weight and size.

This amp was produced in the latter part of Acoustic's "Good Age" before they were sold to the Wagner group. It is a bit more modern looking with smaller plastic knobs and not the larger clunky silver knobs of the previous age. I bought this in 2005 at a shop in Jersey that was old when I was a kid - we be talking the early 70s! Paid too much but did not know it at that time. hey had this and several other Acoustic combos about. This was the easiest to clean up but the sound was a little muddy. When I got it home I found the speaker was switched out for some cheap Chinese "Screamer" speaker. I dropped in an EV Force 15 and that cured all.

After some minor repairs all work. About the only thing I miss from the modern amps is a tuner out (minor) and also an adjustable input control with a peak light same as my Ampeg SVT4-Pro has - so as you can see I am whining.

This sucker is heavy! It uses real wood!

The looks are cool - love that pastel blue!

I use a variety of basses from better active Alembics, 4 and 5 string, old USA BC Rich Mockingbird, new Spector active 5 string, some of the older NJ BC Rich passive basses and the list goes on. They can all be made to work with this amp. I am a rock bassist and also enjoy some New Wave and Alternative. This will do any of it and is also clean enough for jazz.

Very quiet signal to noise ratio. Very loud. Tone controls of bright, 5 band EQ and 3 way knobs give enough to modify your sound. The padded input really soaks power so even with the active basses i use the regular and just turn down a bit.

Like any combo - the head will eventually overdrive the speaker. I got the matching Acoustic 104 single 15 speaker cabinet to stack for louder stuff - very imposing.

Once I got it fixed it should run and run and run. They were guaranteed for life back then.

Acoustic is gone - you are on your own. But there are a lot of web sites and nice people at them who can help you out. Look for the unofficial Acoustic Control web page. Find the EZ Board to it.

I paid way to much for this. You can get them for under $200 usually. If I was ever to lose this I would replace with a similar or same Acoustic.

You've seen one, you think it looks cool and you're just wondering if it's loud enough to keep up with the drummer and guitarist seeing as it's only 100 transistor watts. Well, yes it is.
If that's not enough for you then it sounds really nice too and the graphic means you can get a sound that suits you.

You wouldn't be interested in a 30 year old combo unless you were deeply suspicious of the fake sounds produced by Ashdowns.
This sounds good, honest and real.
Ampegs are more musical but they cost loads more and are so omnipresent as to be a bit predictable.

These were top of the range items when they were built and are therefore very well made and very reliable.

Duh...

These things are really nice - I just want to get more and more Acoustic stuff just to have it. They look cool and they sound cool - and that's what rock'n'roll is all about.
(PS - plenty loud enough)

Has a DC hum when nothing is being played through it. Sounds fine when playing.

Company out of business , I am trying to find a diagram for it but have not been successful.

I have 12 different bass amps and I like to leave a few at different friends houses (when you hit 50 who wants to move equipment for a jam session). Would be a good to leave somewhere because they are fairly cheap to buy.

This is a very basic amp with all the necessities and nothing else. It doesn't do any tricks, but I have no complaints. It has multiples the volume of my 250 watt Marshall guitar amp. If this was a vehicle, it would be a big block.<P>

I don't have anywhere I can turn this up past about 2. It sounds great at "rattle the neighbors' windows" volume...<P>This is a bass amp. If you need a 6 string guitar or a PA amp, this would not be a good choice by itself.

It's solid state... As long as you can keep from dropping it off a loading dock or into a body of water you should be okay.

Everybody knows Customer Support is really just a myth.

If you need a LOUD, durable bass combo amp, this is a great choice!

It's a large combo cabinet, about four feet tall but surprisingly thin. The amp is solid-state, and has two inputs sharing the same vol control. One input is quieter, labelled -10dB. The amp has bass, mid, and treble controls, all very responsive; a brightness switch, very effective; a power boost switch that makes the output sound about a third louder; and a five-band EQ, also responsive. The speaker is 15" with a port duct.

There are jacks on the back for preamp out and preamp in, and for the speaker cable.

This is a very powerful amp. I just got it, and when I put it past 3 it rattled severely on notes near E. I found that the speaker mounting was not adequate. The speaker is held on by four metal brackets, which are held to the cabinet by bolts. I removed the speaker and applied a bead of acoustical sealant (available from hardware stores) between the cabinet and the speaker edge, and this cured the rattle.

The tone controls are all very responsive, and the variety of sounds you can get is amazing. The lows are deep and robust, and the highs are surprisingly crisp coming out of a 15" speaker. It's not good for mics though; you can detect the deterioration in the high end from the speaker size.

I bought a single-pickup low-end Peavey with it (fire-engine red), but I've also run my old Beatle bass through it. These are very different basses (thick, fat sustain versus open-toned punch), but with either one, the tone controls allow for pretty well any sound you want, from deep rumble to bright snap-and-click.

With no cord in the input, vol control wide open (and this amp must be 150 watts at least), tone controls flat, there is only the faintest whisper of hiss and hum. Very impressive. With an instrument in it, it seems to be feedback-resistant. It does hum a bit if you lay the bass on top of it.

There is some sound distortion at high volumes, presumably because this is a lot of power for a single 15". The speaker is connected by jack, so you could drive other bins if you wanted. At any reasonable listening level the sound is clean and clear.

I just got it, but it seems to have held up well, except for the EQ sliders. I don't know what kind of life it's had.

The company is out of business.

I've been playing bass for forty years, but never professionally -- a few high school gigs back when. My other amp is a Bogen MX-60A PA, which I run through a twin-15 Peavey cabinet that somebody cut in half in the mid-seventies.

I doubt I could find another Acoustic 126. I like the sound and the overhead power, but the combo cabinet is a bit big for jamming with the guys. Also I wished they hadn't used sliders for the EQ, because sliders always die. But they seem to be mounted on a separate panel, so I could probably replace the whole EQ with pots mounted on a new plate.

This amp was built in 1977 and sold for $799. It's solid state with a normal and low gain input. Bright switch,bass, mid, treble knobs and a very sensitive 5 band eq really allow me to get a broad range of tones. I play anything from jazz to funk and rock and can get a good tone for all of these. Preamp in/out has not been tried yet. I just picked it up at the music go round. I traded in a 40 watt Peavey with 1 12" for this. I've been using that practice amp for 20 years and have recently gotten back to jamming with friends. After getting the Acoustic home and tightening the speaker jack and amp hold-down screws, most rattles were eliminated. This amp kicks. Very loud. I haven't played it above 3 yet. The ceiling rattled.

Using a fretless 65 P bass and this amp really sings on the g string when I slide or extend a harmonic. Good sustain and great lows from the 15. At volume I have to reduce the bass level or I get pretty severe buzzing. Not sure if this is the cabinet, though it appears to be very solid.

I've only had this amp 3 days but the guts look very clean. Due to age, I may have a tech check out the caps. First I have to blow away the buds at the sunday jam.

Sadly, the company is out of biz but there is support for Acoustic control corp on a few web sites.

I've been playing 33 years all on the fretless P bass. I would definitely buy this amp or possibly an acoustic head with a 4x10 cab. I love the power and tone shaping options but hate the weight. It's a bulky 80 or so pounds.