AER
104 Guitarist July 2011
£1,249
ACOUSTIC AMPS
Need more power but still in a compact box?
Once again, AER has the answer… by Dave Burrluck
Photog r aPh y by J oE br aNSto N
AER Compact XL
£1,249
A
ER’s Compact 60 has
pretty much written the
rulebook when it comes
to portable acoustic
amplification. If you’re serious
about your gigs, you probably
have one, or have at least
thought about investing. You
come across these lil’ black
cubes wherever you see
professional working players in
small bars and clubs – you’d be
forgiven for thinking they hand
them out when you join the
Musician’s Union…
But take the 60-watt Compact
60 to a bigger gig where your
drummer swaps brushes for
sticks and you might be in
trouble. Enter, then, the
Compact XL – effectively
a 200W version, but only
marginally bigger and heavier.
Housed in black splatter-
finished 15mm birch ply
cabinet, the XL is the same
width as the 60, 60mm taller,
50mm deeper and 3kg (6.65lb)
heavier. It comes, therefore, in a
slightly bigger padded carry bag
– it’s still compact, but is a
heavier and chunkier
proposition if you’re carrying it
to a gig. The large carry handle
is now placed on the side, with
four large feet both opposite it
and on the base, giving you
placement versatility. That
means the control strip, cited
on the back edge, can either be
vertical or horizontal.
The control layout is identical
to the Compact 60: dual
channels, with input one being
the instrument channel and
sporting a single standard jack
input, high/low sensitivity
switch, gain with clip LED,
colour preset (a low-mid cut/
treble boost) and bass, mid and
treble EQ. Input two has a jack/
XLR combi socket, line/mic
switch and the same controls,
except for the colour preset and
mid-range rotary. The effects
section controls (pan, select
and level) are the same too,
although here we get two
reverbs (small and large) and
two preset delays (240 and 330
msec) and, finally, master level.
Rear panel features are
comprehensive, but the main
difference lies in the uprated
fan-cooled power section and
the presences of a twin speaker.
The idea? Considerably more
clean headroom.
Features such as input one’s
9V phantom power switch to
power compatible instrument
preamps connected via a stereo
cable and, of course, the 48V
phantom powered XLR mic
input, give the Compact XL
a thoroughly pro feel that’s
The rear panel has a comprehensive selection of sockets and switches
GIT343.rev_aer 104 5/18/11 2:47:56 PM