General Music Chat

I see several makes and models, Roland CUBE STREET is very pricey at 300 bucks ..operates on AA batteries, amp modeling features but low wattage yet 2 speakers but 300 bucks just seems too much for what you get, (I need to go to a music store that stocks these and see what my ears tell me?)
Pignose HOG 30 seems a better value, but rechargeable batteries inside will probably eventually rundown after many charges and need replaced in 3 to 5 years? no?.. if you need extra overdrive you will need a pedal of some sort, but really like the price on this at $159.00.. I am leaning towards it, but again, none in stock to go try out.. and the Crate TAXI LIMO? TX15??..Fender Mini-Mustang at 7 watts? --->99 bucks? I know the Roland CUBE STREET cheerleaders are here, but is it really worth 300 bucks?

Test drive one of these:
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i- ... OCUBE-LIST

A surprising variety of good guitar tones and just enough sound for a little busking on a boardwalk at the beach. Not designed to run with a full band but I think it has a line out so you could run it through a PA in a pinch. $139 new, $50 on CL.

Here is one in your area and he has a nice cord and AC transformer to go with it. Bring $80 and offer him $60 if it checks out in good working order. These amps are pretty bulletproof but if it was dropped hard it could have issues. Trust your ears.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/msd/3837034421.html

I have a Micro Cube. The clean settings sound pretty good and they are built very solidly. No matter what amp model you choose it still sounds like a small speaker. If you like the Roland sound .. you could use two Mirco Cubes for about 1/2 the cost of the Street Cube.

It tends to be popular with many Hawaiian lap steel players since they used to play through those small Oahu and Supro amps with little 6" speakers.

I have not heard the Pignose Hog 30, but 30 watts through an 8" speaker suggests that it might be louder and better able to handle bass frequencies, even over the larger more expensive Street Cube.

If you can buy from a place with a 30 day trial period, it seems like it would be worth checking out the HOG 30 for the price, if you just need basic amplification without the limited effects of the Rolands.

The differences in price are mainly due to features. Do you only need this for guitar or for guitar + microphone? The Cube 30 has separate mic input, the others do not.

Check out the Block Rocker at Sam's. It's 120 bucks and comes with a mic, 2 1/4 inputs, an RCA and phone jack input and you can mix it all. Has a built in battery and goes for 12 hours at a time. I got one and love it. For 120 bucks you can't beat it. Good luck.

ANYTHING under 20 watts will sound anemic outdoors with even a small breeze.

Anything that doesn't run on D cells won't last very long because of the high consumption of a power amp.

I tried it all. I made mo won amps and found that even 50 watts wasn't suitable for me. I designed my power amps top run from a small motorcycle battery that will fir into a speaker enclosure, but found that 50 watts was not suitable for me. So I design my amps to put out 100 watts clean, with an average drain of about 5 amps. A small motorcycle battery will power that for most of the day with non stop playing. However, I only take a 200 watt portable amp with me when I go to the park because the drain on a 2oo watt amp pushing a 15" JBL with a 5" mid and a 4" tweeter does the job and I can still run it most of the day on a small 12Volt Motorcycle battery. (I use a Harley battery)

I can also use a car battery if I don't want to carry a motorcycle battery with me when I take a trike.

Most commercial portable amps are pretty expensive to run and battery's are too costly. But whatever trips your trigger

Check out the Block Rocker at Sam's. It's 120 bucks and comes with a mic, 2 1/4 inputs, an RCA and phone jack input and you can mix it all. Has a built in battery and goes for 12 hours at a time. I got one and love it. For 120 bucks you can't beat it. Good luck.

Not sure who this guy is, first post here, but googling shows this Block Rocker @ $150 and up (there are a couple of different models). Sam's probably has an older model.
This is a divice for playign your iPod loud, although it does have mic inputs, and a higher end model has an instrument input. Probably doesn't sound too good with electric guitar, but might amplify an acoustic alright. Most reviews indicate the rechargable battery sh*ts the bed in a few months.

ANYTHING under 20 watts will sound anemic outdoors with even a small breeze.

Anything that doesn't run on D cells won't last very long because of the high consumption of a power amp.

I tried it all. I made mo won amps and found that even 50 watts wasn't suitable for me. I designed my power amps top run from a small motorcycle battery that will fir into a speaker enclosure, but found that 50 watts was not suitable for me. So I design my amps to put out 100 watts clean, with an average drain of about 5 amps. A small motorcycle battery will power that for most of the day with non stop playing. However, I only take a 200 watt portable amp with me when I go to the park because the drain on a 2oo watt amp pushing a 15" JBL with a 5" mid and a 4" tweeter does the job and I can still run it most of the day on a small 12Volt Motorcycle battery. (I use a Harley battery)

I can also use a car battery if I don't want to carry a motorcycle battery with me when I take a trike.


Most commercial portable amps are pretty expensive to run and battery's are too costly. But whatever trips your trigger

Whew Slacker! That is a lot of gear for a little casual sidewalk busking.

In the San Diego Gaslamp district they have pretty strict rules on sound levels for buskers. A little Micro-cube will deliver 95db which is just enough for guitar. If you a add a vocal mic you might need more. 100watts and a 15" JBL translates to 125db which is 30db over the limit. Hey if they can't hear me across a busy street with my little Micro-Cube, move closer. I prefer my sidewalk audience to be as close as possible. More tips for me.

The differences in price are mainly due to features. Do you only need this for guitar or for guitar + microphone? The Cube 30 has separate mic input, the others do not.

Mike, it will basically be used for potential customers at the swap meet to try out electric guitars I have for sale, many potential customers want to make sure the pickups are working the switches and pots are clean and static free, and occasionally I might use it to stir things up at the swap meet

The differences in price are mainly due to features. Do you only need this for guitar or for guitar + microphone? The Cube 30 has separate mic input, the others do not.

Mike, it will basically be used for potential customers at the swap meet to try out electric guitars I have for sale, many potential customers want to make sure the pickups are working the switches and pots are clean and static free, and occasionally I might use it to stir things up at the swap meet

Ok, then go for the cheapest one you can find! Just beware of rechargable batteries.

The differences in price are mainly due to features. Do you only need this for guitar or for guitar + microphone? The Cube 30 has separate mic input, the others do not.

Mike, it will basically be used for potential customers at the swap meet to try out electric guitars I have for sale, many potential customers want to make sure the pickups are working the switches and pots are clean and static free, and occasionally I might use it to stir things up at the swap meet

Ok, then go for the cheapest one you can find! Just beware of rechargable batteries.

Thejohnny7band

I like a lot of power because I like what I play to be squeaky clean, not necessarily loud. When I pick I like a rich full bass on my lower strings and a small amp can not produce the tone that I require. A low power amp with a small speaker is inadequate for finger picking. Full sounding bass and rich highs will not carry well in the open where as midrange will. The nice thing about a lot of power is that you do not need to use it all the time, but it is there when you want it.

The nice thing about 100 -200 watts of power is that it can actually cost less than a small inefficient amplifier. One way to do that is to use an inexpensive car stereo power amp in bridge mode to boost the signal from a modeling pre amp. We have jams in the parks around here. I can simply pull up to the stage and play away without needing to get wired up and not get drowned out by the guys with the AC power.

But all my amplifiers run on 110 volts AC or 12 volts DC since I use PWM switching supplies to convert the 12 volts to the +- 30v to 50v rail voltage of the amplifiers. Maybe it isn't for everyone, but I enjoy the hell out of them since I take one with me when I feel like playing outdoors in the shade of a tree on a hot day in the park or along side a river.

Slacker, only battery powered amp I can find that is 50 watts rms is the Crate Limo, but that is for heavy duty buskers in NYC that need to get over the top of the NYC street noise..

here it is:
Crate Limo TX50DB

http://www.zzounds.com/item--CRATX50DB

Check out the Block Rocker at Sam's. It's 120 bucks and comes with a mic, 2 1/4 inputs, an RCA and phone jack input and you can mix it all. Has a built in battery and goes for 12 hours at a time. I got one and love it. For 120 bucks you can't beat it. Good luck.

Not sure who this guy is, first post here, but googling shows this Block Rocker @ $150 and up (there are a couple of different models). Sam's probably has an older model.
This is a divice for playign your iPod loud, although it does have mic inputs, and a higher end model has an instrument input. Probably doesn't sound too good with electric guitar, but might amplify an acoustic alright. Most reviews indicate the rechargable battery sh*ts the bed in a few months.

yes Mike, that is exactly what I am worried about on ALL the internal rechargeable batteries amps.. what do you think of the Fender Mustang Mini amp that runs on C batteries? buy a charger and NimH batteries and never worry about the internal expensive Crate or Pignose battery shelling out in 2 or 3 years? all the guitar forum busker threads are saying good things about the Fender Mustang Mini @ 7 watts

Test drive one of these:
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i- ... OCUBE-LIST

A surprising variety of good guitar tones and just enough sound for a little busking on a boardwalk at the beach. Not designed to run with a full band but I think it has a line out so you could run it through a PA in a pinch. $139 new, $50 on CL.

Here is one in your area and he has a nice cord and AC transformer to go with it. Bring $80 and offer him $60 if it checks out in good working order. These amps are pretty bulletproof but if it was dropped hard it could have issues. Trust your ears.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/msd/3837034421.html

thanks much J7 !.. the local music stores in Springfield does not have one to go try out.. I live in the Ozarks! LOL!