Surprised no reaction from BYD owners on this forum

[Drew Aitch]

Lots of people buy electro acoustic guitars and never plug them in, but I think to get the best sound (not volume) out of semi acoustics, it really is best to connect them to an amp. After all, they were built for the job.

Having no experience of guitar amps, can any musicians reading this recommend a sweet sounding practice amp that can be purchased locally? I remember VOX used to have a value-for-money reputation in the 1970’s, but I'm sure there’s been a lot more great products come onto the scene since then.

Any tips and advice much appreciated

Aitch

[trompelemonde]

I don't play a semi-acoustic/electro-acoustic, but from experience know that there is a very wide choice of guitar amps available in Bangkok; all the well known brands (Marshall, Vox, Fender, Line 6, Laney etc) can be found without too much trouble.

It is difficult to offer advice on what one, as I don't know if you are going to gig with it or just use it for home practice, or what your budget is. Expect to pay quite a bit more for some of the bigger brands than you would do in the USA or Europe though.

As a 'one-stop-shop' I would suggest that you try Central World, there are 3 or 4 quite good guitar shops with a good choice of amps. Also, the only Vox dealer in Thailand is located there (3rd floor I think).

Shop around and read-up on it, try Harmony Central's website and the user reviews section.

[Drew Aitch]

Thanks for that trompelemonde.

I've since had a shop around and you're right about the prices being higher in Thailand than both the USA and Europe. In some cases the cost of guitars and music amps here is way above other places around the world. I assume the Thais slap a luxury tax on these items. If the country needs something, then it can be brought in really cheaply, but if the item in question is something that people want, as opposed to something they actually need, then the import duty on these products is painfully high. I found that out when i used to run a business here

Cheers

Aitch