Comments on: Portable, Potent Mini Combo Amps Deliver the Goods

By: Olive

Olive — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:50:31 +0000

I have a pignose and use it with my Dan Electro Bass Guitar. Good tone
indoors. Wouldn’t recommend it for outdoors.

By: Cherry

Cherry — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:27:27 +0000

Have a “room amp” which runs on a 9 volt, but only works for practice in a small room. What do you recommend for a keyboard and alesis black box-for outdoor, battery opperated performance?

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:09:54 +0000

Wow… I don’t know what to say other than… yes, these are lightweight and very portable. The small speakers give them a toy like sound. None of these impress. An electric guitar with a speaker smaller than 12″ is going to disappoint. I got a little Vox and gave it to my son.

By: Evelyn Hazzard

Evelyn Hazzard — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:32:23 +0000

The little Roland Cube is perfect for my harp!

By: Vicki Richards

Vicki Richards — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:27:26 +0000

This is great info. I picked up a little Roland Cube for my electric violin & accompaniment tracks on iPod. Can be a monitor if need be. (battery or AC powered)I’ve got a great Baggs EQ/tuner DI box which has proved to be invaluable when an amp or sound system is provided at the gig.
The best selection of amps & gear for electric violins plus expert advice is at http://www.electricstrings.com

By: Raheem Ajamu Shabaka

Raheem Ajamu Shabaka — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:40:01 +0000

Cool !!! Worth a try .

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:08:59 +0000

I’ve got a little Danelectro mini amp that looks like a slightly oversized ’50′s transistor radio. Unfortunately it sounds like one too, but runs off a 9 volt battery. I tried a number of the little modeling amps, but finally found a used American made Princeton 112 plus, as small as I can go and have real tone, which gives my American Blues Jr. a run for it in that category.

By: MikeGit

MikeGit — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:26:30 +0000

Had to comment, I’ve been playing through an excellent mini-amp for several years now. In fact, I played a jazz open “amp” with it just last night. The jazz purists were very impressed. The Roland MicroCube has good amp modeling, effects, wide range of volume, and runs for 12 hours on six AA batteries. Usable tones from clean jazz to metal meltdown. Yes, I use them all! Slightly larger versions also have microphone inputs. I tested several of the above-mentioned amps before buying, the Roland was the only one with real bottom end. I’ve played the infamous Pignose since the 70′s, it had no bottom end response at all. I’ve seen good reviews on the Line 6 mini also.
I speak from the perspective of missing my Marshall and Bassman amps I made a living with for 20 years. I’m 63 on Friday and playing more than ever, just not as much as I’d like in public.

By: Stephen Wise

Stephen Wise — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:27:31 +0000

Don’t forget the Pignose 7-100, the ultimate college dorm amp, at least when I was going to college! You could sound like Jimmy Hendrix from 100 miles away (it’s a 3 watt amp) and it went anywhere (battery powered). The chrome pig snout was marketing genius. They still make it, but I haven’t seen one in a while.

By: Tom Walsh

Tom Walsh — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:43:37 +0000

Great article “Gear Guy Chris” ! Wow a ton of info and experience.. I might just go out and get myself one of those minies…

Tom Walsh