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Hey guys. Years ago I had a really cheap Fender portable, battery-powered, amp that looked kinda like a blackface Twin. It sounded kinda crummy if I remember correctly. Overdriven was a little fun I guess but it was impossible to get anything clean out of it. Does anyone have a porta amp that they like?
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06-18-2015 04:53 PM
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Roland MicroCube -- loud enough for practicing, or accompanying an acoustic instrument or two and/or singers, maybe a quiet drummer with brushes or hand percussion; not loud enough for a real band. Decent sounding models. Very easy to carry and fits in a knapsack or tote bag; good to bring on vacations, out to the park to practice, etc;
Originally Posted by dallasblues
John
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Yamaha THR.
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I've had the Microcube RX model (with 4 small speakers) for years and it is just super. Batteries last a long time too. Can't go wrong with the cube series. I'll bet the Cube Street is good too.
I bought a Yamaha THR10C a couple of weeks ago. Very sophisticated quality sounds. No idea on battery life yet.
These are both great options. I also think the Fender Mustang Mini is worth a look.
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I would not recommend the small Danelectro Honeytone. It would be OK for an office or someplace where you just needed an amp from time to time, but underpowered and not much clean headroom. Probably OK for overdriven stuff. Not really useful for playing in public.
I've heard good things about the Rolands. I have always wanted a Pignose, but everything I've read said it tends to overdrive at any volume, so not really a clean tone. LMK if you have one and love it.
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The Roland's an actual amp. The others are conversation pieces.
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A Pignose is a fuzzbox with a speaker. Never owned one, but played through many. Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
John
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The Micro Cube is great, even loud enough for a small bar (40? seater) where I tested it recently (fits on my bicycle rack!). I was also quite impressed by the ZT Lunchbox Jr I tried out some time ago, no reverb however.
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I have a VOX-DA5, selectable 0,5, 1,5 or 5 watts, you can select between several amp simulation from clean to dirt to full distorsion. aux in, Mic in etc. several effects etc. 6 c batteries that last long and the adaptor, if you want to plug it, provide 12 volt. It should be possible to plug it in your car! Look at VOX product also. I really like mine.
Pignose Danelectro etc. cannot provide a clean tone and are just toys.
Daniel
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i have a roland micro cube ..i agree...fabulous tone at acoustic/frontroom volume JC clean channel is tops for jazz .... and yes this is a real amp NOT a gimmick ....
as for cleans........ i use a Roland Micro cube with my flamenco guitar when i do "carnival style gigs for events " just a micro cube on a strap on my shoulder and really nice and portable clean sounds .... so NOT loud enough to hang with a drummer or even a loud sax BUT more than loud enough for busking/solo and definitely for practise or front room jams works well with my tele clean too
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Well Pignose has been around a long time, in fact maybe one of the first quality battery-powered amps, and apparently Eric Clapton and Frank Zappa recorded quite a few songs using it--"Motherless Children" and "Inca Roads", respectively, plus lots of Apostrophe apparently. So it's not really a toy, but I don't know that it's suitable for a clean jazz sound.
Keira have you used a battery-powered ZT? Wonder how it would compare to the MicroCube?
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NO ...i have not even seen a ZT jr yet (apart from you tube/online) .... i have gigged with both ZT acoustic lunchbox and the ZT Club ...but the ZT supplier in SA where i currently live has given up importing and i think even given up the distribution. real pity........ Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
as far as Roland micro cube goes i use it cos i can pop it on a guitar strap and sling it on my shoulder the amp comes fitted with strap pins to allow this.... it's small and light with a long battery life and still sounds good enough for mobile pro application .....
there are much better amps available...... if you don't want to sling it on your shoulder and walk about while playing ..
the new roland street cube EX is fully featured 50W battery amp ... but way too heavy to walk around with .....but to busk with or do outdoor gigs that would be my amp of choice also uses AA batteries and technology is advanced so lighter and way more powerful and dual channel with many features
the Roland AC33 is another one 20W but again a bit too heavy to lug around on a strap
not forgetting the original Roland street cube which is 5 w so double the micro cube but heavier
Vox mini 3 and 4 also offer close to what the microcube can do ...yet i have owned both but prefer the micro cube for my "walk about gigs" but still a contender and i have used it those kinda gigs
so i'd love to try the ZT jr...... when i can get my hands on one
i included below a short video (if you promise not to tease me for it ).....but i sometimes put away the serious jazz gigs and do these gigs for events companies where they want Carnival /circus vibe (stilt walkers/fire eaters/clowns/and roving musicians) which entails me walking about at various events and usually doing flamenco/latin style ....and i really enjoy them ...it's fun
BUT the catch is i need to be able to carry my amp on my shoulder .....and still get a natural sound ...and so far the roland micro cube is tops for weight/good tone/loud enough sound/battery life
Last edited by Keira Witherkay; 06-20-2015 at 11:58 PM.
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Any tips to practice with a tenor sax using a portable/battery powered amp ? Originally Posted by Keira Witherkay
I was planning to buy the Micro Cube, so thanks for your advice
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I stumbled across this and thought that the Phil Jones Bass Double Four BG-75 sounded pretty good:
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best advice is Originally Posted by michael_bxl
Any tips to practice with a tenor sax using a portable/battery powered amp ?
I was planning to buy the Micro Cube, so thanks for your advice
ask the sax player to play softly .... well you saw the post i made above i recommended the ac33 and the roland street cube EX as being way "louder" than a micro cube ..... i just find if the amp is too weak one always ends up playing harder to get max power then you lose all the subtleties that jazz guitar thrives on
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I've heard that the Crate TX50 Limo is pretty awesome. Never tried one myself.
Crate - The Best Value In Professional Tone :: Products
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Hiya everyone.
Can you make a micro cube louder?
Well yes, I frankenstiened mine to accept a 4 ohm 6.5" car stereo speaker.
I will admit it took a long time to break in and it sounds better as it breaks up with the O/D settings.
But...
I put in a switchcraft input into the wire loop from amp to speaker.
Switchcraft 12A.
Then I plug into a 2X10" 4 ohm cabinet. It sounds really good on the clean channel.
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