Favourite low-cost uke amplifier?

Headcorn George

New member
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Dear all,
I'm a new boy here and am loving looking around.
I'm in the market for a small amp for use with my electro acoustic 8 string for general jamming with friends. It doesn't need to be able to fill a concert hall but with a bit of oomph behind it. Has anyone got any experience with the Roland Cubes?
Thanks in advance.
 
The cubes are popular. The kustom pa50 is good, an acoustic a20 also.
 
Had a Roland Cube. They're good but really designed for electric guitars. I sold that and purchased a Yamaha THR5A which is designed for the acoustic player. Very happy with this amp because of the different mike modeling that it provides beside the normal EFX.

Suggest you check out practice amps that are designed for acoustics. YouTube is a good place to start.
 
Last edited:
I cast in a vote for the Fender Acoustasonic 15.
great little acoustic amp. Apart from being inexpensive and sounding great, you can also plug in a mic as well as have Chorus effect
 
Has anybody used a Pignose amp? The basic little one? Are they even worth the money?
 
Has anybody used a Pignose amp? The basic little one? Are they even worth the money?

Got the HOG 20. Great with my Telecaster when it comes to playing the Blues. But it's definitely not made for the ukulele. I sometimes use it with my Risa Stick, but it's a makeshift solution. One day I gotta buy an amp made for acoustic instruments.

With the HOG 20 not being great with the ukulele, I can't imagine the smaller ones being better... quite the opposite. Better judge for yourself - you'll find some videos when searching for "ukulele pignose" online.

It's quite hard to avoid using the IMHO annoying verb "to google" nowadays...
 
Not really good for acoustic instruments like ukulele.

If you want a good tone, use an ACOUSTIC amp, not electric guitar amps! (unless you want that electric guitar sound)
 
Take a look at the Behringer AT108 Ultracoustic amp. Affordable acoustic practice amp

I don't have any experience with any other amps but I had one of these and thought it was great. Has a second channel as well. At about $100 including shipping it's hard to beat.
 
Roland Mobile AC is worth a look at.
 
http://m.guitarcenter.com/Kustom-PA50-Personal-PA-System-106388085-i1934071.gc

Kustom PA50 is the best available professional sound amplifer in it's price range. At only $99 bucks, you get a 3 channel, 50 watt amplifer full of useful features:

Individual EQ on each channel
2 channels have XLR and 1/4" inputs, that can be used at the same time
3rd channel has a 1/8" input for MP3 players or effects players that have a headphone out
Built in phantom power for condensor microphones
Built in speaker stand mount
modular - you can interconnect as many PA50's as you want for more channels and power using microphone cables
1/4" low pass crossover subwoofer 1/4" out
lightweight, small size and portable with an attached carrying handle

The PA50 works well as a practice amp, MP3 music speaker and on a live stage performing for audiences:
 
Fishman Loudbox Mini is killer. A bit more $ ... but an acoustic gig-worthy machine. My buddy has a Behringer and it's pretty sweet as well. He's got the larger version though.
 
Here's my review of the Kustom PA50 from several years back. It still applies today:

Ukulele amp/personal P.A. system for under $100 bucks…

Several years back back, I was in Guitar Center checking out sound reinforcement gear. I came across a Kustom PA50 and intrigued by its size, specs and versatility:

KustomPA501.jpg


KustomPA502.jpg


It shows a list price of $159 bucks, but they sell them for $99 bucks:

KustomPA503.jpg


I searched the Guitar Center website, Musician’s Friend website and Kustom Amps website, but did not find any reference to this system. When I searched PowerWerks, I came up with:

http://powerwerks.com/pages/PA-Systems-8.aspx

http://powerwerks.com/ContentHandler.ashx?ID=87 Owners manual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZk33_3GmE4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL-RzN98VT0

http://www.youtube.com/user/GenoKreis?blend=5&ob=5#p/u/0/0xIY65YWEi0

The frontal shows the two 4.5” drivers and the high frequency horn:

KustomPA504.jpg
 
You can also note the rugged construction and the protective steel speaker grill. In addition, each corner is protected.



The rear view shows the three channels, controls, inputs and outputs. I was asked if the XLR and ¼” inputs could be used at the same time, so I plugged a microphone and instrument into both jacks on both channels. All can be used at the same time:

KustomPA505.jpg


One of the long sides has a carrying handle and the other side has four rubber feet:

KustomPA506.jpg


The bottom has a speaker stand adaptor and four rubber feet:

KustomPA507.jpg


Here it is shown mounted on an OnStage speaker stand:

KustomPA508.jpg
 
Here’s two in a small nightclub, Molly Bloom’s, in San Clemente, CA:

PA50MollyBlooms1.jpg


Here’s four used for a large outdoor block party using 8 microphones. We always plug the bass guitar into a separate bass amp:

PA50BlockParty3.jpg
 
Here’s three used in an odd L-Shaped backyard party. This was a large party with two large canopies and four long rows of tables that stretched behind where they setup our stage canopy. I aimed the PA50's at different zones. We plugged an MP3 player in at the dinner break and the sound was full and equal throughout the party area. We always plug the bass guitar into a separate amp:

CraigAndTheCruisers3.jpg


CraigAndTheCruisers5.jpg


CraigAndTheCruisers6.jpg


CraigAndTheCruisers1.jpg
 
http://m.guitarcenter.com/Kustom-PA50-Personal-PA-System-106388085-i1934071.gc

Kustom PA50 is the best available professional sound amplifer in it's price range. At only $99 bucks, you get a 3 channel, 50 watt amplifer full of useful features:

Individual EQ on each channel
2 channels have XLR and 1/4" inputs, that can be used at the same time
3rd channel has a 1/8" input for MP3 players or effects players that have a headphone out
Built in phantom power for condensor microphones
Built in speaker stand mount
modular - you can interconnect as many PA50's as you want for more channels and power using microphone cables
1/4" low pass crossover subwoofer 1/4" out
lightweight, small size and portable with an attached carrying handle

The PA50 works well as a practice amp, MP3 music speaker and on a live stage performing for audiences:
I second this, great amp,you won't regret spending this $99, even less if you get it on sale.
 
Take a look at the Behringer AT108 Ultracoustic amp. Affordable acoustic practice amp
I had two of these and sold them. The PA50 had a much better sound. The AT sounded kind of tinny to me. I installed a 1/4 cutout jack and used to play them through a 12" Kustom PA speaker. They don't have phantom power for condenser mics. I used to use a Art tube di/preamo with phantom. So much for being portable. The PA 50 sounds almost as good as the 12 inch Kustom plus it has built in phantom.
 
Top Bottom