Amps with more than one input....

any reccomendations for good amps that are good for ukulele, and have other inputs to hook up a guitar and bass maybe at the same time? Thanks! under 1 grand preffered.... i dont know where i should look that has good information on amps.

I have a VOX DA5 which has 3 inputs--the main input, an AUX in, and a mic in. The mic in has its own volume control. My son [plugs in his electric guitar on the main input and I use the mic input for my Risa electric uke. It works fine for me. I really the VOX since it has lots of effects and is pretty portable. I haven't tried it on batteries yet, so I don't know what the battery life his, but it's portable enough for my son to bring to band practice at school in addition to carrying his guitar, lunch, and school backpack.

If you want to see a picture of the VOX and more reviews on battery powered amps, see this thread:

http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5333

The Vox DA5 is a great amp that has more than one input. I commonly use mine (I have three, now) with a guitar or uke and a microphone.

When you added the BASS to the equation, it leaves two amps to mind. Both are Carvin. I own and use about 4 dozen guitar, bass, keyboard amps and P.A. systems. They are all for different applications. I will offer the following suggestions and also ask, what is your application for the amp, KB?

First: The Carvin S400D. It is a 100 watt battery/AC powered self-contained P.A. system. I bought the S400D, the extra battery, the extension speaker with 50' cable, 2 speaker stands and the 12 volt car cord for under a grand. With the extra battery, it will run at full power for over 6 hours on battery. I've used it at several kanikapilas and also an outdoor gig, since I bought it a little over a month ago. Very clean sounding and versatile.

https://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=S400D

http://www.carvinguitars.com/manuals/s400d.pdf

In the owners manual (and in my personal experience),
"CHANNEL 1 INSTRUMENT JACK
The INST. 1 jack is designed for instruments such as an acoustic or electric guitar.
CHANNELS 2-4 INSTRUMENT JACK
The INST. jacks 2-4 are designed for instruments or line level inputs such as a drum machine, tape deck, bass guitar, keyboard, an unbalanced mic, etc.. The sensitivity of these jacks are lower than CH 1 so LEVELS 2-4 will have to be turned higher in some cases."


Second: The Carvin AG100D. Captain Mike, at the Ukulele Society has one of these and uses his for slack key guitar. This one is AC only and has two digital effects processors. A 12" woofer gives punchy bass. There is phantom power on the mike input, so you can use a condensor microphone (in addition to any other dynamic microphone). It is under $500 bucks USD.

https://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=AG100D

http://www.carvinguitars.com/manuals/AG100D2003.pdf

"The AG100D 100 watt combo amp delivers full, pristine sound through a tuned-port full range speaker enclosure. The 3 input channels are individually designed, one for acoustic guitar, one for bass or a second guitar, and one for mic/PA/keyboard. The mid sweep on CH1 lets you dial in the sweet spot for your instrument. The effects send on each channel accesses either of the TWO lush internal 24-bit effects processors."

Channel one is specially designed for acoustic and electric guitars using a 1/4” phone shielded cable.
Channel two is an instrument/line input. Any unbalanced device such as another guitar, tape recorders, drum machine, or keyboard can be plugged in using a 1/4” phone plug shielded cable.
Channel three is a microphone & line input. Plug a microphone or line level device into the balanced XLR MIC input using an XLR shielded microphone cable and a 1/4” shielded cable from your tape machine. Both can be used at the same time.

I can't recommend the Headway Shire King enough. I wouldn't put a bass through it, but guitars, vox etc; no problem. I haven't played anything comparable at the price

http://www.headwayelectronics.com/shire_king_acoustic_amplifier.htm

SamWise said:

I can't recommend the Headway Shire King enough. I wouldn't put a bass through it

Click to expand...

I just looked at the owners manual for the Shire King. It looks similar to a:

http://www.crateamps.com/products/pindex.php?prodID=38

which I've played through, but do not own. If it's any thing like the Crate, it's got plenty of clean power and versatility. I wonder who sells the Shire King in the United States? I'll look around locally and try one, if available.

When KoloheBoy added that he wanted to play a bass through it, along with a uke and a guitar 3 separate channels, including a bass), that eliminated a bunch of amps I would have recommended for his application.

Hmmm. It looks like only their violin pickups are sold in the States (Headway pickups are also the bomb). I've not played that particular Crate, but the Headway is a class above the ones I have played. I recently reviewed the new SK120 up against the LR Baggs Acoustic Reference (a fancier looking and considerably more expensive amp), and it was the better amp, as well as being 2/3rds the price. It won't surprise you to know that I own an SK60 - I love it to pieces. Because they're a pickup designer as well, the amps have inputs specially tuned and balanced for different types of pickup. I'll report back when I first plug a Uke into mine.

ricdoug said:

I just looked at the owners manual for the Shire King. It looks similar to a:

http://www.crateamps.com/products/pindex.php?prodID=38

which I've played through, but do not own. If it's any thing like the Crate, it's got plenty of clean power and versatility. I wonder who sells the Shire King in the United States? I'll look around locally and try one, if available.

When KoloheBoy added that he wanted to play a bass through it, along with a uke and a guitar 3 separate channels, including a bass), that eliminated a bunch of amps I would have recommended for his application.

Click to expand...

So if im looking for good sound for a guitar and ukulele, it would be best to have a seperate amp for bass?

Both the Carvin S400D and the Carvin AG100D do very well with all three. Those are the only amps, short of a large sound reinforcement system that will do an excellent job for your purpose. The prices aren't bad, either! Ric

Reproducing bass well is very different from reproducing trebly sounds well. Acoustic guitar amps work well for vocals because they rely on replicating the input tone, without shaping it. Almost all other amps shape the tone at least somewhat, and are parts of creating the sound you get. Bass amps are designed to give excellent bass response, but not to be terribly good with treble. It's always best to use an amp that's suited to what you're actually playing.