Amps

I know there have been a lot of talk about amps in the past, but since new items become available, and some older ones are no longer sold, I thought I'd ask what people currently like.

Usage would be just for fun, playing around at home. So, no need to be able to be heard over a crowd, or annoy my neighbors. I did get the IRig and Zoom, but since I have to use headphones with the Zoom, (I don't have any amps), I realize already that there will be times that I don't want to be required to use headphones, (though I do like that option, and it can help keep me from being distracted from other things.)

So, what amps do you all currently like? I've got to work some extra hours, so might be able to use those work hours to fund an amp.

I use a 100 watt Blackstar amp. I know it is overkill, but I figure that it is always better to have too much than not enough.

A Roland Mobile AC ($130) would be very portable, and it runs on batteries (or electricity). I don't know how it would handle the Zoom, but I have both of those, so I could/might try it out and find out.

From there, you could get more power, size, and expense, with other amps.

For an acoustic amp I use the Kustom PA50. It has been a good amp and it is clean. But I also have a Marshall and a little Vox electric guitar amp that are all set up in the basement roadhouse bar and I often plug in my uke and rock it. They both have a clean setting and I honestly can't hear the difference between them and the Kustom PA50. I guess some people say they can.

A friend of mine has a 15 watt Yamaha THR5 Mini Acoustic Guitar Amplifier that he uses to practice on both his acoustic/electric guitar and uke. It sounds very clean, though it has some simple effects like reverb. Will accommodate various microphone types as well as an instrument. Don't know if it has a preamp for passive pickups.

DaveY said:

A Roland Mobile AC ($130) would be very portable, and it runs on batteries (or electricity). I don't know how it would handle the Zoom, but I have both of those, so I could/might try it out and find out.

From there, you could get more power, size, and expense, with other amps.

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If you get a chance to do test out the Zoom with it, I'd appreciate hearing how it worked out.

Kenn2018 said:

A friend of mine has a 15 watt Yamaha THR5 Mini Acoustic Guitar Amplifier that he uses to practice on both his acoustic/electric guitar and uke. It sounds very clean, though it has some simple effects like reverb. Will accommodate various microphone types as well as an instrument. Don't know if it has a preamp for passive pickups.

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I'm in the Dummies category here, so my stupid question is:
So you would need pedals if you wanted things like looping and a few effects?

Vox mini 5w seems good for what you want to do. It’s a small, lightweight practice amp. Runs on elect. or batt. Instrument input, mic input, headphone jack, audio input for backing track mp3s, several effects, and a bunch of rhythm tracks. Sounds decent and is even adequate for powering my mic and instrument for when I lead my outdoor jam. I had a Roland Street Cube, which is very nice but much heavier and more than you need for your purposes (more for busking and small venues). Decent cheap preamp- Behringer DI 21, about $30. I like the Ditto looper pedal but they seem to be much more money than when I got one several years ago but mine was an open-box at Guitar Center. Boss has a decent one for about $99. Sweetwater is a good place to look. Good prices, good customer service and I love that shipping is always free, even when you just buy small stuff like strings or picks.

Joyful Uke said:

I'm in the Dummies category here, so my stupid question is:
So you would need pedals if you wanted things like looping and a few effects?

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Yes, you would need a separate pedal/device for looping.

My 30 watt BOSS Acoustic Singer Live amp has a short-time looper built into it. I believe it's 30 seconds, but might be slightly longer. But it's expensive. BOSS makes 3 different looper pedals with different capabilities.

I have a Roland AC-33 that I like a lot, but it's way more than what you need. It's 30w, electric or battery powered, has a 30 sec. looper and a few chorus settings built in. It can support two ukes or one uke and a mic. It's a decent size for transporting (11 pounds, 9X9X12) and has enough power for performing in a medium sized room. I got it to take out in public to jams as opposed to a practice amp. Prior to the Roland, I had a Black Star Fly3 mini amp that was quite nice. That one might be a good choice for you.

Joyful Uke said:

I'm in the Dummies category here, so my stupid question is:
So you would need pedals if you wanted things like looping and a few effects?

Click to expand...

I've got the 10 Watt Yamaha THR5A amp and really enjoy it. It has a few built-in effects like chorus, reverb, delay, and compression. It also simulates a few different microphone types (tube, condenser, dynamic, etc.). No looping though. For that, you would need to add an external pedal. The sound quality is excellent. It's small and not super loud, but for my stay-at-home pandemic playing, it's perfect.

The Boss Acoustic Singer has everything but the kitchen sink, including a looper and a vocal harmonizer, and I have been through many amps with the intention of supporting small gigs. I think it really fits the bill for amplification, if you're needing an "all in one" solution (vocals and instrument).

But if you're just wanting to amplify a uke at home, check out the Blackstar Fly 3w amp (I have the combo pack, which has additional cabinet).. Much less expensive, and smaller in size than most of the competition. And it provides a surprisingly good sound for such a little critter. It's not a gigging amp, though. For that, Roland and Boss provide a number of fine options, as others have mentioned above.

Another decent amp to consider is the Fender Acoustasonic 15. It's cheap ($99), has good volume, and a clean sound. The only built-in effect is Chorus, so you would need external pedals for anything else.

We have a Vox mini5 it is a nice small amp but the clean setting is not as clean as my Fishman Loudbox mini. Then again, the Fishman is 60w and made/designed for acoustic plug in type playing. I've paired my Fishman with a Zoom foot peddle to play around with effects. There are likely better choices out there--single pedals just for what you want or multipedal programable ones as well. I'm not a big techie but can usually figure things out. I was just starting to work with the Zoom and programing my own pedal settings and the system says I've run out of memory. Kind of disappointing. I'll now have to delete some of the pre programed settings to make room for my own settings. Admittedly I don't care for or use all the preprogramed setting. I've also played my Godin through my son's 100w Fender Mustang. While loud and fun with lots of settings possible--it doesn't do much more for me then my Fishman/Zoom set up.

If I was looking now I'd still look at the Fishman, I'd also consider the Yamaha likely more watts, and I'd look at several of the Roland options.

Of course your budget will also dictate some of you decision making process.

We have a Vox mini5 it is a nice small amp but the clean setting is not as clean as my Fishman Loudbox mini. Then again, the Fishman is 60w and made/designed for acoustic plug in type playing. I've paired my Fishman with a Zoom foot peddle to play around with effects. There are likely better choices out there--single pedals just for what you want or multipedal programable ones as well. I'm not a big techie but can usually figure things out. I was just starting to work with the Zoom and programing my own pedal settings and the system says I've run out of memory. Kind of disappointing. I'll now have to delete some of the pre programed settings to make room for my own settings. Admittedly I don't care for or use all the preprogramed setting. I've also played my Godin through my son's 100w Fender Mustang. While loud and fun with lots of settings possible--it doesn't do much more for me then my Fishman/Zoom set up.

If I was looking now I'd still look at the Fishman, I'd also consider the Yamaha likely more watts, and I'd look at several of the Roland options.

Of course your budget will also dictate some of you decision making process.