Thought I would separate out the discussion about mini amps from the "I bought an East-Start Semihollow electric uke" thread.
I have three mini amps, a Fender Mini-Deluxe MD-20 I've had for a couple of years, and two I just bought this week, a Daneletro Hodad DH-1 and a Vox AC1 Rhythm. They are each $50 US. (Interesting note; in testing these amps, I discovered how unbalanced the pickups are on my ukes, only the Oscar Schmidt was good, so off to the luthier next.)
I've used the Fender a couple of times at little parties and it was fine. I use it from time to time just to work the preamps in my ukes, but with that East-Start arch-top semi-hollow steel string uke arriving in a few weeks, I thought I would look for better amps. I have a Crate Limo 50 watt battery amp for real gigs, I just like having a mini amp in my gig bag.
The Fender is 2 watts, has a 2" speaker, and overdrive, which has to be on a little to get any volume. The Danelectro is 1 watt, two 2" speakers, echo and tremolo, which caught my attention, and very small, so I bought it. The Vox is 1 watt, one 3" speaker and includes 66 rhythm tracks for accompaniment, which is why I bought it. And as another gimmick, it has an E tuner built in.
To make a long story shorter, after testing all three, I found that I like the Fender the best because it has the least distortion when raising the volume, which I'm sure is because it has 2 watts.
Next is the Vox because of the rhythm tracks, and also handles volume, and last is the Danelectro. Not only does it have a difficult time with volume, it's also the only one without a separate on/off switch, the volume switch turns it on and off, so you can't leave all the settings in place like the Fender and Vox. Also, another draw back is the control knobs are not protected like the other two, so Danelectro includes a foam cover to slip over them, not so good in my gig bag.
I'm going to keep them all for their various specialties, but I'm sure I'll get the most use out of the Fender.
I have three mini amps, a Fender Mini-Deluxe MD-20 I've had for a couple of years, and two I just bought this week, a Daneletro Hodad DH-1 and a Vox AC1 Rhythm. They are each $50 US. (Interesting note; in testing these amps, I discovered how unbalanced the pickups are on my ukes, only the Oscar Schmidt was good, so off to the luthier next.)
I've used the Fender a couple of times at little parties and it was fine. I use it from time to time just to work the preamps in my ukes, but with that East-Start arch-top semi-hollow steel string uke arriving in a few weeks, I thought I would look for better amps. I have a Crate Limo 50 watt battery amp for real gigs, I just like having a mini amp in my gig bag.
The Fender is 2 watts, has a 2" speaker, and overdrive, which has to be on a little to get any volume. The Danelectro is 1 watt, two 2" speakers, echo and tremolo, which caught my attention, and very small, so I bought it. The Vox is 1 watt, one 3" speaker and includes 66 rhythm tracks for accompaniment, which is why I bought it. And as another gimmick, it has an E tuner built in.
To make a long story shorter, after testing all three, I found that I like the Fender the best because it has the least distortion when raising the volume, which I'm sure is because it has 2 watts.
Next is the Vox because of the rhythm tracks, and also handles volume, and last is the Danelectro. Not only does it have a difficult time with volume, it's also the only one without a separate on/off switch, the volume switch turns it on and off, so you can't leave all the settings in place like the Fender and Vox. Also, another draw back is the control knobs are not protected like the other two, so Danelectro includes a foam cover to slip over them, not so good in my gig bag.
I'm going to keep them all for their various specialties, but I'm sure I'll get the most use out of the Fender.
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