ricdoug
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- Joined
- Apr 15, 2008
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Over the last year, my interest grew in battery powered amplification.
The ukulele presents itself as the perfect instrument for busking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busking
I have played in community events with the Moonlight Beach Ukulele
Strummers, Ukulele Society of America and represented the Ukulele
Underground at a BakitWhy beach party. Amplification has been a must,
due to the ambient noise of large crowds outdoors.
Here are some short reviews of battery powered amps I own and others I
tried:
Danelectro Honeytone:
Loudest of the "pocket amps" I tried. I own two of these. 9 volt battery.
The volume needs to be turned all the way up, for the cleanest possible
sound and use the overdrive control from about 0 to 2 to adjust the
volume. It eats batteries rapidly, so I use MiMH rechargeables. These
last about an hour each. I used one of these attached to my belt at
a Carlsbad Village Farmers Market luau concert and changed the
battery every hour. There is no really clean sound available, but it will
help you cut above the ambient noise.
Roland Microcube:
Works well with uke. Muddies up quickly with the bass notes of an
acoustic guitar. This won't be an issue, if you're playing blues. It has
onboard effects and can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It runs on readily
available AA batteries. Light weight makes it suitable for carrying in your
luggage. Long battery run time - 10+ hours
Roland Street Cube:
Similar to the microcube, with the addition of a controllable microphone
input. It has two speakers, for improved bass response. It handles an
acoustic guitar OK, if you don't play too loud. It runs on readily
available AA batteries. Light weight makes it suitable for carrying in your
luggage. Long battery run time - 10+ hours
Line6 Micro:
It's advertized at 6 watts, but has similar acoustical output as a Roland
Microcube. Works well with uke. Muddies up quickly with the bass notes
of an acoustic guitar. This won't be an issue, if you're playing blues. It has
onboard effects and can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It also has a
controllable microphone input. It runs on C batteries. I would use AA
adaptors (see the photo on the Vox DA5), as AA batteries are available
everywhere. Light weight makes it suitable for carrying in your luggage.
Long battery run time - 10+ hours
Vox DA5:
This amp has a marked increase in acoustical output, over the Roland
Microcube, Roland Street Cube and Line6 Micro. It does better than them
with an acoustic guitar, but is still not ideal for that application. It has
onboard effects and can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It also has a
controllable microphone input. It runs on C batteries. I would use AA
adaptors (see the photo on the Vox DA5), as AA batteries are available
everywhere. Light weight makes it suitable for carrying in your luggage.
Long battery run time - 10+ hours
Roland Microcube RX:
The RX does a great job with an acoustic guitar. It lacks a microphone
input, but has onboard effects and an onboard drum machine. There are
4 speakers. It can can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It runs on readily
available AA batteries. It might be a little heavy for your luggage. Long
battery run time - 10+ hours
Roland Microcube RX Bass:
The RX Bass does a good job with a bass guitar. For it's size, we are all
surprized at it's punchy bass tone. It lacks a microphone input, but has
onboard effects and an onboard drum machine. There are 4 speakers. It
can can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It runs on readily available AA
batteries. It might be a little heavy for your luggage. Long battery run
time - 10+ hours
Crate Taxi TX30:
Plenty of acoustical output. No effects. It has a seperate controllable
microphone input. It runs on an internal motorcycle size battery. It can
also double as a powered monitor wedge. It might be a little heavy for
your luggage.Long battery run time - 6+ hours
Carvin S400D:
Best battery P.A. I tried. Hands down. It will play 6 hours at full power
(with the extra internal motorcycle size battery I bought), which should be
more than enough for most gigs. It has 4 channels with various
combinations of XLR, 1/4" and RCA jacks. The "D" model I bought has
onboard "D"igital effects. I also bought the stands and extra speaker, for
more coverage. It is definately too heavy for your luggage!
Setup on the bar at the Ocean House. There was a reggae band set up
on the main stage in the same room. This was the first all battery
powered kanikapila at the Ukulele Society of America. Left to right:
Roland Microcube RX Bass, Roland Microcube RX, 2 Vox DA5's, Crate
Taxi TX30, 2 Danelectro Mini's:
Back of the Carvin S400D battery powered P.A.:
Playing to a crowd of 100 on battery power:
The ukulele presents itself as the perfect instrument for busking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busking
I have played in community events with the Moonlight Beach Ukulele
Strummers, Ukulele Society of America and represented the Ukulele
Underground at a BakitWhy beach party. Amplification has been a must,
due to the ambient noise of large crowds outdoors.
Here are some short reviews of battery powered amps I own and others I
tried:
Danelectro Honeytone:
Loudest of the "pocket amps" I tried. I own two of these. 9 volt battery.
The volume needs to be turned all the way up, for the cleanest possible
sound and use the overdrive control from about 0 to 2 to adjust the
volume. It eats batteries rapidly, so I use MiMH rechargeables. These
last about an hour each. I used one of these attached to my belt at
a Carlsbad Village Farmers Market luau concert and changed the
battery every hour. There is no really clean sound available, but it will
help you cut above the ambient noise.
Roland Microcube:
Works well with uke. Muddies up quickly with the bass notes of an
acoustic guitar. This won't be an issue, if you're playing blues. It has
onboard effects and can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It runs on readily
available AA batteries. Light weight makes it suitable for carrying in your
luggage. Long battery run time - 10+ hours
Roland Street Cube:
Similar to the microcube, with the addition of a controllable microphone
input. It has two speakers, for improved bass response. It handles an
acoustic guitar OK, if you don't play too loud. It runs on readily
available AA batteries. Light weight makes it suitable for carrying in your
luggage. Long battery run time - 10+ hours
Line6 Micro:
It's advertized at 6 watts, but has similar acoustical output as a Roland
Microcube. Works well with uke. Muddies up quickly with the bass notes
of an acoustic guitar. This won't be an issue, if you're playing blues. It has
onboard effects and can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It also has a
controllable microphone input. It runs on C batteries. I would use AA
adaptors (see the photo on the Vox DA5), as AA batteries are available
everywhere. Light weight makes it suitable for carrying in your luggage.
Long battery run time - 10+ hours
Vox DA5:
This amp has a marked increase in acoustical output, over the Roland
Microcube, Roland Street Cube and Line6 Micro. It does better than them
with an acoustic guitar, but is still not ideal for that application. It has
onboard effects and can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It also has a
controllable microphone input. It runs on C batteries. I would use AA
adaptors (see the photo on the Vox DA5), as AA batteries are available
everywhere. Light weight makes it suitable for carrying in your luggage.
Long battery run time - 10+ hours
Roland Microcube RX:
The RX does a great job with an acoustic guitar. It lacks a microphone
input, but has onboard effects and an onboard drum machine. There are
4 speakers. It can can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It runs on readily
available AA batteries. It might be a little heavy for your luggage. Long
battery run time - 10+ hours
Roland Microcube RX Bass:
The RX Bass does a good job with a bass guitar. For it's size, we are all
surprized at it's punchy bass tone. It lacks a microphone input, but has
onboard effects and an onboard drum machine. There are 4 speakers. It
can can be plugged into a larger P.A.. It runs on readily available AA
batteries. It might be a little heavy for your luggage. Long battery run
time - 10+ hours
Crate Taxi TX30:
Plenty of acoustical output. No effects. It has a seperate controllable
microphone input. It runs on an internal motorcycle size battery. It can
also double as a powered monitor wedge. It might be a little heavy for
your luggage.Long battery run time - 6+ hours
Carvin S400D:
Best battery P.A. I tried. Hands down. It will play 6 hours at full power
(with the extra internal motorcycle size battery I bought), which should be
more than enough for most gigs. It has 4 channels with various
combinations of XLR, 1/4" and RCA jacks. The "D" model I bought has
onboard "D"igital effects. I also bought the stands and extra speaker, for
more coverage. It is definately too heavy for your luggage!
Setup on the bar at the Ocean House. There was a reggae band set up
on the main stage in the same room. This was the first all battery
powered kanikapila at the Ukulele Society of America. Left to right:
Roland Microcube RX Bass, Roland Microcube RX, 2 Vox DA5's, Crate
Taxi TX30, 2 Danelectro Mini's:
Back of the Carvin S400D battery powered P.A.:
Playing to a crowd of 100 on battery power: