Uke amplifier

Just got a Duke 10 which came with a Schatten LP-15 pickup. Thought it might be fun to get a small, inexpensive amp (no bells and whistles) for use at home. Any suggestions?

You sure you need one with a Duke! :stop:

Those things are loud out of the box, from what I've heard.

However, I use a Micro Cube with my ukes, it's pretty inexpensive, but it does have a nice range of effects built in, might be worth your while taking a look.

noukeyet said:

Just got a Duke 10 which came with a Schatten LP-15 pickup. Thought it might be fun to get a small, inexpensive amp (no bells and whistles) for use at home. Any suggestions?

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What's your idea of a small and inexpensive amp? Now that I have an awesome Blackstar amp, my little Fender 10 watt amp and Boss distortion/overdrive pedal are sitting around collecting dust. Send me a message if you'd want them for $50

No specific suggestion, but make sure you get an amp designed for acoustic instruments if you want the best acoustic-like sound. Electric guitar amps have their own kind of sound, which you may or may not like. They are not ideal for trying to get a more realistic amplified acoustic sound though.

You must want to play REALLY loud to amp up a banjo uke.

Croaky Keith said:

You sure you need one with a Duke! :stop:

Those things are loud out of the box, from what I've heard.

However, I use a Micro Cube with my ukes, it's pretty inexpensive, but it does have a nice range of effects built in, might be worth your while taking a look.

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Yes, the Micro Cubes are great little amps, with lots of sounds, although a good clean tone with some reverb or delay is all I've needed for ukes on it. Great thing is, you can line out the back to a PA for bigger venues.

In fact, I played electric guitar at an outdoor event through it one time, connecting thru the PA, and got a few comments on my great tone, with a couple of guys looking to see where my amp was, and couldn't believe it was the itty bitty Cube.

The only justification I have for a banjo ukulele is that its SO loud that I don't NEED to amplify it. Its already too loud to practice with at home. A banjo uke with a pickup is really just for stage use and performance.

anthonyg said:

The only justification I have for a banjo ukulele is that its SO loud that I don't NEED to amplify it. Its already too loud to practice with at home. A banjo uke with a pickup is really just for stage use and performance.

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But it "has" a pick up........like most of us that is reason enough to buy an amp and plug it in. BECAUSE YOU CAN

Hate to admit it, but that was my thought process!

I would go to a music store and play it through a few inexpensive amps and pick the one that sounds the best. some instruments sound better through some amps than others. you might also go to a few pawn shops, they usually have lots of cheap amps, just make sure you test them first. bring a cable and your banjo. I recently got a microcube for $20 at one.

Honey Tone has good review
$45 Or less in US

For a cheap amp, I say don't mess around with a "toy." Here are a few $100 amps that will give you more than your money's worth:
http://www.cheapguitarguide.com/acoustic-amps.html

there are cheap amps, & there are inexpensive ams. i have never had a cheap amp that sounded good with acoustic instruments. however i can heartily recommend an inexpensive ($127) amp; to wit: the Markley 15M acoustic guitar amp. see it at...here. it is superb for home use or when performing in a small cocktail lounge.

DownUpDave said:

But it "has" a pick up........like most of us that is reason enough to buy an amp and plug it in. BECAUSE YOU CAN

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That's the truth. My first amp was what some would term an electric guitar amp, or an amp other than an acoustic amp, whatever you want to call it. It is a Vox Mini something and it is a pretty good amp. But then people convinced me that I needed an acoustic amp. So I bought a Kustom PA50. My friend has a Fishman, twice the price and I can't tell the difference. Plus the Kustom fits in a suitcase that I haul my stuff around in. I like them both, but the Vox is more fun to play with, and I can't tell the difference when I'm playing it clean. The Kustom is louder, which helps when playing outside. But the Kustom is sort of boring in a way, so I bought some pedals and basically turned the Kustom into what the Vox is. So my point I'm making is that an acoustic amp, which is nothing but a PA amp by the way, is not for everyone. So when someone says you gotta get an acoustic amp, no you don't. Some people want to be able to get more from their amp than just the sound of an amped up ukulele.

True - not much worth in just having plain old amplification, when you can have built in effects to play with.