NAD-New Amp Day

JackLuis

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Today I got my first Amp! A Honeytone micro amp. Yeah, I know it's wimpy, but it has surprising volume and was inexpensive, which is a most endearing attribute to a poor retiree.

Most of my Ukes have built in Eq/Preamps but I've seldom played amped until now. I tried it using a contact microphone with my sopranino and was amazed at how it really picked up the sound of this littlest uke. I can't wait to try my acoustic Concert and Tenors with it.

The only problem I see with the Honeytone is it is so light weight that a standard 10 ft. cable tips it over!

I'm looking forward to playing with the knobs to see how many sounds I can get out of my ukes without having to beat the strings.
 
Yes the Honeytone is a handy little amp. I clipped mine to the back of my music stand when I played a few songs at Christmas last year.

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I tend to lay mine on its back when I plug into it - there's a bit of tone control, or there is overdrive - I quite often use the overdrive 'fuzz' just for kicks. :)

(If you like using an amp, I also have a mains/battery Micro Cube GX that has several effects built in - I think it's worth the money.)
 
I have one of these too. I use it mainly for testing pickups and other audio gear. It is quite useful for that purpose.

I would not consider the sound a high-fidelity simulation of a decent pickup as it tends to be very crunchy at mid-volume, even with the overdrive turned down, but it does make a decent sound at lower volumes.

One can only expect so much from a very small speaker (no lower-midrange, and no bass frequencies), and when powered by the 9-volt battery you can only get so much out of it, but it is neat looking and one of the less expensive options for a tiny amp, which does not boast above it's ability.

IMHO, Unlike the tiny Marshall and Fender pocket amps of similar size, which imply by their looks that you are going to get big sound, that Honeytone has a sort of retro and understated look to me, and the looks do not seem to promise a big sound.

It's all good, but I'd be embarrassed to perform with it, partly from the size, and partly from the tone.
 
I got it just to see how amping will effect the sustain and tone of my Ukes. It is too loud to really use in my small 'music' room but outside I can annoy the neighbors dog!

It came with a sheet of instructions about how to get different sounds out of it by adjusting the knobs. I played with it a little and found it works to change the tone of a uke, not sure it's necessarily a good thing, but interesting.

One thing it is really good for is to make my pocket ukes sound really good using the contact mic. I'll probably use them to practice finger picking now. :D
 
Don't forget that there is a headphone socket on the side, so you can play late into the night now. :D

I thought I'd try that to connect to my computer to get Amp sounds into my recordings. I need a 3.5 to 3.5mm patch cord though.
 
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