Your comments and perspective are tremendously helpful and appreciated. I don't plan to layer on any digital efx other than at the beginning out of curiosity. The Lowden is too nice to junk up.

Your take on piezo pickups is valuable. A performer friend is urging me to look at the Myers percussion pickups http://www.myerspickups.com/home.html based on performance, quality and eliminating the need to modify the Lowden. Are you familiar with the Myers products?

I wasn't even thinking about getting an amp, but the Kustom was $100 and did seem to me like a decent acoustic amp. So I figured I could play around with it and if I don't like/need it, I can always sell it for at least as much as I paid.

It's being delivered by my son tomorrow and we'll see how it looks. Then I have to decide whether to mic it or install a pickup. I'm leaning toward Myers.

7. crying towel (for those !!&?$! intermittents)

I'll betray my newbie status and confess that I don't know what's meant by a dedicated acoustic amp. I've noodled around for 50+ years with steel string folk guitars -- a Lowden 12-string cutaway since 1984 --  but never have used or owned an amp.

Here's a link to the amp. You tell me whether it's dedicated.

http://www.kustom.com/product_detail.aspx?TypeID=5&FamilyID=125&ProductID=265&Tab=2

Avery in Potomac, Md.

About to pick one up and I like to have repair info on hand. Kustom doesn't provide service manuals. Thanks for any info!

Later edit:
Kustom kame, I mean came, through! I now have a complete and very clean schematic with parts values marked, thanks to a nice guy at Kustom's parent company. He told me there is no service manual for the amp.

If somebody else needs it, email me and I'll send a pdf.

Major props to Kustom.