Acoustic Control Corporation 136

Two Channels, it is very basic, just volume treble and bass, with a brightness switch (doesn't do much) and a 15" speaker. It is a buddy of mine's that I used while I was waiting to get replacement tubes for my Marshall JCM 2000 head. I have been using a BOSS GT-8 through it with a 60's fuzz expression with high gain. I am also using a Ibanez 7420 7-string, tuned to straight A. Yes I am playing guitar through it, the band I play in is a experimental Death/grind band.

The fact that it is a bass amp with huge amounts of fuzz and a 7 string tuned too A does hamper the sound a bit. I am accustomed too a brighter sound, which if you are wanting some attack and definition playing metal, you won't get it. But I use a 4x12 custom cab with vintage (made in '75) Celestions. I would buy this just for another cab to add some growl to my live sound. I love the break up and creamy sound the lows get with my settings from my GT-8 and my 7420. The amp roars and has a bit of a Sunn tone to it, even if it is a solid state. So if you play sludge or doom, this is the amp for you. There is a lot of feed back at times but it isn't the annoying kind.

This amp is old, my buddy had some problems with it back awhile ago when he played bass (now drums) and the first channel doesn't work on it, but the second does. It doesn't rattle at all, it probably has a loose jack or something because the first channel will screech and cut out, but the second is fine.

Haven't needed it.

Aside from it being my buddies and the first channel not working if I can find one or he wants to sell the amp, I'd buy it in a heart beat, I love adding odd things to my rig and vintage equipment.

2 channels.
bass & treble & volume.

I used this with a Mosrite Bass. I played Pop, Rock, Country, Lounge, you name it. We were a working band.

I liked the sound. Noise-free & smooth. I compare it with
a larger Fender Bassman I once owned. I preferred the Acoustic
sound for my bass & playing.

Very reliable.

Never needed it.

I gave this amp away because I wasn't playing bass anymore. I was playing keys & guitar more & more.

I'm sorry I gave it away.

I give it a low grade for portability. It weighed over 70 pounds.
It had casters and ONLY 1 HANDLE!!! Can you belive a 70+ pound amp with only 1 handle?

I give it the highest grade for reliability.

I give it a very high grade for sound, because it was
so quiet.

I bought this amp in the summer of 1974, brand spanking new. 2 channels, pretty straight forward setup with volume, bass, treble, and bright swith. The manual says 110 watts RMS, 250 peak, solid state. My amp came with a 15" Eminence speaker, horn loaded, ducted port design. Yeah, it's a heavy amp, 75 lbs, but it came with casters, which should be a standard feature with any combo weighing this much (listen up, amp manufacturers!). And how about this, the store where I purchased this from also threw in a heavy duty vinyl cover, which had the Acoustic name on it. Pretty good service back in those days! No effects loops or headphone jacks, but back then, those weren't prominent features on bass amps and it didn't really matter. Acoustic amps had the now famous blue stripe across it, and that was a cool feature. Oh, I forgot to nmention that it had an extension speaker jack, which I definitley took advantage of. I always wish that this amp had more power..maybe 200 watts, and a better speaker, which I'll address in the sound quality category.

I don't use this amp very much anymore, mainly practice, but when I first started out as 17 yo geek in the mid 70's, I initially plugged a Univox Hi-Flyer bass into it. I then graduated to a Rickenbacker, and I agree "anonymous-10/23/03" that a Rick doesn't sound too good with this amp. I then graduated to a Fender P, which provided more thump. I also agree that this amp produced a rather single dimensional tone, especially when trying to blast it out. I started in a heavy duty rock band, you know, the Montrose, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Queen genre, and I basically couldn't keep up the guitar players. So after working my ass off to save up some money, I bought a 4-12" Acoustic extension cab, which really elevated the sound. Again, as I mentioned in features section, I wish this had more power at the time for my needs. Also, if I would have had the money I would've put a JBL or EV replacement. I'm not a jazz player, but I have a feeling that this amp would be best in a small club setting. It is quiet though, a "taken for granted" feature these days. Overall, it's a good sounding amp, but it was limited.

This amp was built like a brick! Never had a problem with it. Dropped it a few times...didn't matter. I don't think they make 'em like this anymore.

Been out of business for awhile. But at the time, they had the best warranty around...lifetime!

I can't beleive that I'm actually reviewing this baby after 30 years! A blast from the past. Well, I started playing bass just before I bought this amp. At the time, you were basically limited to Fender, Traynor, Ampeg, Kustom...and of course, Acoustic! I remember when I first went to the store and looked at this thing...well, right next to it was the massive 371 set-up. Remember that beast....365 watt head, 18" speaker? Well, in retrospect, that's what I was really lusting after, and it's what I needed to compete with my bandmates, but at $1,500....no way, Jose! So I settled for the 136. I may have been a little harsh with my overall sound rating, but in reality, this thing just didn't have enough horses to keep up with my guitar players. They were blasting a Les Paul and SG through...guess what, tube heads through Acoustic guitar bottoms! I'm telling you, those Acoustic guitar cabs were the loudest damn cabinets around...could easily compete with a Marshall bottomn. Just flat out loud! I was miked whenever possible, but we didn't have a state-of-the art pa back then. But the 4-12" extension cab helped me to keep up. I currently have an ESP B-304 bass, a Zoom BFX 798II to mess around with and Ashdown amps. In looking back, this was a great starter amp for me, built like a brick, great company, spartan features, single tone, but no question, a classic. If it were lost or stolen, I probably wouldn't replace it. If anything, I'd try to find a 370 head, which I had a chance to play through on several occasions...just couldn't afford it at the time. There are so many combo options today, and I like the Ashdowns, because they have a ton of features, the all important fx loop, and much lighter. But all in all, despite it's limitations for me at the time, with power, et., it's an amp I'll never forget, sort of like having your first girl, eh?

I think this amp is from the seventies, I play mostly blues, and groove jam band type stuff. 2 channels bass, treble , and volume controls for both I never use the bright switch.

My bass is just the cheapest thing you'll ever see Japanese p-bass copy,but its got a demarzio,badass bridge, gotoh tuners, and a pretty nice replacement neck from paul c. No noise no distortion One sound and that one is fat city baby. If I set it past 4 on the volume the boys tell me I'm to loud. the port actually seems to make it louder when your about ten feet in front of it than when you stand right next to it. I play mostly house parties and small clubs.

The one I have was salvaged from a friends basement inactive for maybe 15yrs. (since his bro passed away)and still worked when I checked it,not the bright switch,not all the jacks, and only one channel. Brought it to cae sound in san mateo, Ca. some new caps,jacks,and solder joints,and casters,I have no fear of break down

Acoustic is out of business, but cae sound set me up for 2 bills.since the amp cost nothing I consider this well worth it.

Ive been playing 30 yrs. Also have a boogie and a polytone, I hate that its big and heavy,but love the sound.Probably could'nt find another one. kicked ass on the fender wedge,and the crate i borrowed once.

Bought mine used in 1972, perfect condition. Features are as described in all the other reviews. Truth is, while my rating in this catagory is low because I didn't think it was really very versatile, don't let that put you off because the amp was so consistantly useful and good it didn't need to be versatile. Owned it for eight years.

The amp had really just one sound and that was good, flat, distortion free at any volume. Very clear, especially lower midrange. Absolutely noisefree. Never really tweaked the bass or treble settings because to my ear they really just tended to muddy the allready great lower mids the amp put out. Worked best with my Fenders, not so good with my Rickenbacker, because nothing but Ampeg puts out the crunch Rickenbackers need.

In eight years of more or less constant abuse, utterly reliable. For the first six years I played jazzy-type or pop bands, and I could cut through the band with the volume around 7 and fill up a reasonable sized club. The last two years I played in a rock-fusion group with Godzilla on drums and two maniac guitars, and I played the amp always on 10, and drove an SVT cabinet with it as well! Never, EVER, had any problem with it, and never even considered having a backup. Funny thing, while I never blew a speaker or anything else, I kept waiting for the speaker cone to get tired and sloppy. Never happened, when I sold it, it sounded as good as the day I bought it.

Wouldn't know, my amp never ever needed any support.

I loved its utter reliability and single great tone. The only reason I ever sold it was because it just couldn't cut through Godzilla on drums and we were playing large venues. Plus, I moved to a Rickenbacker and I needed more crunch than this amp could deliver. In it's day, and I'd say into the late 1980's, it was the best combo around, although it was pretty big for a combo. Beat hell out of Fender Bassman for sound and reliability. Great clear flat tone. I went from this to a full SVT, then to a rack-rig with an IVP preamp, Randall stereo power amp, and two CerwinVega B36MF cabinets with assorted equalizers, compressors, etc. Believe it or not, I went to the rackrig because while the SVT had the best sound for my Rickenbacker, at 300 tube watts it wasn't really an aweful lot louder, and the cabinet would distort at the higher volumes! The rackrig gave me the power I needed, the CerwinVegas gave me the combination of being able to shake the venue off it's foundations with the 18" folded horns and still let the audience hear the 12" front loaded speakers, and I could eq it to give me somewhere between the clarity of the Acoustic and the crunch of the SVT. Today I'm using an SWR Redhead, but for it's day, and at least 10, 15 years, the Acoustic 136 was my idea of thumbs up.

I bought this used in 1974 for about $250 as I remember. The features are as described by the other reviews (2 channels with bright switch and bass, treble, and volume knobs on each channel). 1 15" speaker that still sounds great through the folded horn cabinet. Yes it's heavy, and very solid.

I have a 74 P-bass that sounds great through this amp. I always played jazz and loved the warm sound I could get with this amp.

I had it in the shop 3 times and had it repaired. I am not sure what the problem was, it would just not have any volume, just a distorted little noise. I have since decided to just use it as a speaker cab with a Trace Elliot Commando head. It's a nice-sounding combination.

N/A

I've been playing 30 years and have a fretless p-bass and a fretted Rogue. I also have a Takemine nylon string electric that I think sounds great thru this amp. I can't buy this amp again, since Acoustic went out of business, but if they were still around, I'd consider it.

My amp is by far the best combo amp I've ever used...I am able to get equal volume at high and low settings. Where I bought this was from my close friend at After Midnight in Santa Fe. As soon as he had it in, I was eager to come see it. I was almost late to a gig at the biggest club in town. When I got there I wished I had, had the cash($250)then. I run my rig stereo!

I used a 71 fretless P bass through it with 62 reissue pickups in it.
Distortion has not been a problem because I never go past 7

Really new to me still couldn't say yet.

There long out of business? Got it working ETC.

I have been playing for about fifteen years. Fender factory fretless'
are hands down the best bass I have ever played, and I have played a t of different ones. Hasn't anyone figured out yet that the Worlds Greatest Bass Player used this exact kind...

1970s Acoustic Control Corpotation solid state combo bass amp. The controls are very straightforward, which I like. Specs: (Some of this is from acoustic360.com) 250 watts peak, 125 watts rms. 1 15" speaker in a horn loaded ducted port design. Two channels, each with volume, treble, and bass controls and two inputs. No channel switching. On the back, it's got two speaker outputs (one of which goes to the internal speaker), and a booster output (I have no idea what that does). I heard that acoustic made a model of this amp with a 5 band eq, which would be nice to have, but besides that, an EQ pedal would work fine, if you're even that picky.

I use a '70s Gibson Grabber and '94 Fender Jazz bass. It's pretty good for what I play (even though I'm not really a bassist), which is pretty much rockish music. It's a very quiet amp, unless I turn on my Big Muff (but that's the combination of my bass and the Big Muff, it has nothing to do with the amp as far as I can tell). The speaker gets a little distorted past 5 or 6, but I really can't see myself playing past that point (it's very loud). I plan to build a 210 cabinet to put on top of this, which would probably cut back on the distortion. Overall, though, it sounds great.

Okay, from every review I've read of Acoustic amps, they're durable. I've only had this amp for about a week, but it looks very sturdy. I'm not going to give it a rating, but it has been around since the '70s, and it still works perfectly.

Acoustic Control corporation is long out of business.

I've been playing guitar for about three years, and bass is pretty much my second instrument. This is my first real bass amp, and I'm very happy with it. I love the volume and the vintage look, but one thing I don't understand is why there's only one handle in the damn thing. Realistically, it would take two people to move it. Thank god it's got casters. I kinda wish it had a little more tone control, but I'm just going to buy/build an EQ/preamp for myself, so it's no big deal.

1973 Acoustic 136. The amp has two channels, each with high and low inputs, and a bright switch. Each channel has volume, bass, and treble. Both channels are voiced identically. It has two speaker outputs and a booster line out. I believe it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-130 watts RMS and 200 watts peak. The cabinet is of the 'folded horn' variet and has great aluminum-framed Altec Lansing 15" speaker. For a solid-state amp, it weighs a ton, and like one of the other reviewers said, it can't lifted by its one handle very easily. I like simple amps, and this is about as simple as it can possibly get. For bass applications, I can't imagine anyone needing anything more...

Like I said in the last catagory, I can't see anyone needing anything more. It is a simple, yet versatile amp. A twist of the treble and bass knobs can yield just about any sound you want. I see no need for an EQ like others mentioned, and actually picked this amp over the higher end Acoustic models because of it's simplicity. Another great attribute to the amp is the fact that when you aren't playing through it, it is DEAD quiet. No hiss, no hum, no static. That's solid state for ya!

I play a 70's P-Bass with a Leo Quan BADASS bridge and a DiMarzio and it sounds fantastic through this amp! I can get clean and crisp, and I can also get deep and moody. I can even get distortion and punch when you turn the volume past halfway. It is among the best sounding amps I've played through. I don't play funk or slap or jazz. For my playing styles (straight up classic rock-n-roll) this amp sounds perfect!

I've been playing for about 15 years. In those 15 years, this is only the second bass amp that I've ever owned, although I've played through tons of others over the years. This one's the simplest and easist to dial-in and that means a lot to me. My friend owned a tiny little Crate B-15 and even that (1-10" speaker, 3 band EQ, boost switches) was more complicated to dial-in, and never sounded as good. The amp sounds great, and I can't really ask for anything else, it suits me perfectly and if I was ever searching for a replacement, I'd buy it again if the price was right...

I bought my Acoustic 136 new in 1973, wanting to downsize from my Peavy Dynabass / 6 x 15" speakers. I moved from playing outdoor rock gigs, to smaller clubs. Now I use it for practice and 3 to 4 jam sessions a year.
The 136 has two channels, each with a high input, low input, and bright switch. It has two speaker outputs and a line out. The solid state amp is listed at 110 watts RMS and drives a 15" Eminence speaker. The controls are simple, Volume, Bass, and Treble. I purchased a Zoom effects recently to add some boost and reverb.

Good clean solid sound. Never had to push the volume above 5.

It's never to the amp doctor. It saw alot of action in the 70's, but has been "semi-retired" since about 1978.

No repairs needed.

If I had to replace this amp, I would like to find something with less weight (75 lbs) and maybe a little more power. I'm glad that I don't have to carry this amp around like I used to.