Partially OT: small portable amplifier

[RandyFF]

@PianoMan51,

At Melodica World forum, there are several people who talk about doing it.

[MoKen]

I use the bass version of this with my Gold Tone Microbass. Roland Micro Cube I'm very happy with it and it seems to tick most of your boxes.

 

I know Roland is not well regarded for keyboard amplification but seems to be good at this job.

[RandyFF]

I bel

I use the bass version of this with my Gold Tone Microbass. Roland Micro Cube I'm very happy with it and it seems to tick most of your boxes.

 

I know Roland is not well regarded for keyboard amplification but seems to be good at this job.

I believe that's for the Roland KC models. There's a Jazz Chorus? model that's heavy but wow, I used a Street Cube EX for years, not bad for what it was, and then there's the BA series, which many like.

[Fleer]

Are their any other tiny amps like the Orange Crush Mini that provide an out to large 2x12 cabinets?

[Groove On]

Take a listen to the quality of the Bose Soundlink III in this video - pretty impressive for a speaker that fits in a backpack (skip to 2:30 min). I think the equivalent of that Bose speaker today is called the SoundTouch 10/20/30 (which still has a 3.5mm aux input).

 

(On a side note - his setup broke all my biases about keyboard equipment (bluetooth, consumer audio, mini-keys) - so I now have G.A.S. for this portable system. Urghhh !!!!)

 

[video:youtube]

[zxcvbnm098]

Wow...just wow.

[zukskywalker]

Yeah, wow!

 

First off, dude can play.

Second, it"s a great day for keyboard players!! So much available, at way less cost and without the weight!

 

That rig is actually large compared to the monster featherweight combo of Reface CP/iPad into the amazing Blackstar Fly 3 Combo.

(Yes, too small for a 'show', but great for small gatherings and travel.)

 

(Perspective? This from a guy that grew up regularly gigging with a Hammond M3 Leslie 122 rig. Too poor to afford any synths.)

[RandyFF]

As far as BT speakers, I've used a KMC 3 for several years that has a 5 1/4" woofer and 2 " tweeters, stereo sound, lots of bass and volume for a smallish speaker, aux in, sounds really good, and can run off of D batteries as needed. No longer sold, I've seen them on ebay for $100-$150

[mauriziodececco]

Thanks Maurizio, that clarifies. Your earlier post talked about picking up a lot of handling/key noise "klunk" - I'm not surprised with a piezo pickup in contact with the instrument. Have you considered a clip-on microphone like the Sennheiser e608? I think that's a better route to removing key noise than effects processing. EDIT: I see PianoMan51 posted something similar above.

 

Doesn't the Hammond melodica have a built-in microphone rather than a contact pickup? That should sound good also.

 

Summary: Hammond 44H + Samson Expedition, or your existing melodica + a clip-on mic + Samson Expedition = deep amplified melodica joy.

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

I am considering either a serious microphone as you said or the Hammond; i haven't found any specification on the kind of mike the 44H have, other than it is dynamic. But i saw on youtube people using it directly connected to guitar effect pedal, so it should be close to the guitar levels.

 

What i am wondering is that things like the e608 have a XLR out, using external effects require a pre amplifier or an effect with XLR input; this means dedicated effects for acostique instruments or a portable amplifier with XLR microphone input and an effect loop or with good effects; in all cases, price go up, and a Hammond 44H gig become partially more competitive (assuming an interest for the instrument itself), for exemple with a relatively cheap pedal like the TC Hall of fame or similar ...

 

Maurizio

[Ken Beaumont]

I have an iLoud speaker and I love that thing. I have used it to play outdoors with an iPad and a battery power supply attached to an alesis controller. But its more than that, I found that if I sanity check a mix through it and if it sounds good on that, it will usually sound good on anything. I also use it for music outdoors and the beach. Before the pandemic when I could actually go to the beach! I tried it side by side with a bose sound blue tooth system they sounded so close I went with the iLoud because it was cheaper. No regrets. The guy can definitely play though the bear is a bit creepy.

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks Maurizio, that clarifies. Your earlier post talked about picking up a lot of handling/key noise "klunk" - I'm not surprised with a piezo pickup in contact with the instrument. Have you considered a clip-on microphone like the Sennheiser e608? I think that's a better route to removing key noise than effects processing. EDIT: I see PianoMan51 posted something similar above.

 

Doesn't the Hammond melodica have a built-in microphone rather than a contact pickup? That should sound good also.

 

Summary: Hammond 44H + Samson Expedition, or your existing melodica + a clip-on mic + Samson Expedition = deep amplified melodica joy.

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

I am considering either a serious microphone as you said or the Hammond; i haven't found any specification on the kind of mike the 44H have, other than it is dynamic. But i saw on youtube people using it directly connected to guitar effect pedal, so it should be close to the guitar levels.

 

What i am wondering is that things like the e608 have a XLR out, using external effects require a pre amplifier or an effect with XLR input; this means dedicated effects for acostique instruments or a portable amplifier with XLR microphone input and an effect loop or with good effects; in all cases, price go up, and a Hammond 44H gig become partially more competitive (assuming an interest for the instrument itself), for exemple with a relatively cheap pedal like the TC Hall of fame or similar ...

 

Maurizio

 

 

I have one of these with the male 1/4" plug on it.

https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/accessories/a95uf

The femaile 1/4" jack has merit as well since using a short guitar cord could take weight off the input jack of the speaker.

 

Small, light and it sounds good. A Whirlwind IMP 2 would be a bit larger and probably less expensive used since they are a pretty common standard.

 

Either way, you could use any dynamic microphone with an XLR out on it. For reliability and resale I'd just get a Shure SM 57 or maybe an EV 635 since the omni pattern might be easier to obtain an even response.

Place the speaker to reduce or eliminate feedback and you are good to go. The Sennheiser is super or hyper cardiod, it will pickup up more of what it is directly aimed at which could lead to some notes on your melodica being much louder than others.

[montunoman]

I use a pair of Bose S1 Pro for outdoor busking. They have worked very well.

[Fleer]

I have an iLoud speaker and I love that thing. I have used it to play outdoors with an iPad and a battery power supply attached to an alesis controller. But its more than that, I found that if I sanity check a mix through it and if it sounds good on that, it will usually sound good on anything. I also use it for music outdoors and the beach. Before the pandemic when I could actually go to the beach! I tried it side by side with a bose sound blue tooth system they sounded so close I went with the iLoud because it was cheaper. No regrets.

Same here. Nothing but love for the IK iLoud.

[mauriziodececco]

I started looking around for portable effects, and i finally realise that i have all the needed hardware: an IK iRig Duo audio interface with a nice Lightening cable and an iPhone 8.

On the software side, Garage band offer already a number of effects, and if that is not enough, Eventide make a number of plugins (including Black Hole, Ultratap and Micropitch) for

iOs at a very reasonable price. OK, no button, no switch on/off pedal, no expression pedal, but good al least to make some serious test.

Great way to make a wearable rig: either a tool belt or a small cross body bag :-> (i do not want to live my iphone around in a busy Parisian Bistro .

 

Maurizio

[Morrissey]

For a melodica only gig, 4-6 Kg could be ok, less would be better. 10Kg, wheels would be a bit too much.

That's a tight weight restriction:

- Dave's Samson Expedition (Express I think) is 4.7kg, so that's a contender. The Expedition Escape is even lighter at 3.9kg.

- Kuru's Fishman is 9.6kg

- Brad's BlackStar is 900g, but a much lower output (imho 3w is not enough for any kind of outside performance).

- Scott's Bose is 7kg

- Jake's Ion is 12.7kg

- Fleer's Orange is also 900g (like the BlackStar Fly, 3w output)

- My JBL pick is 8kg.

- Ledbetter's Hartke is not battery-powered

 

 

 

I'll add the Blackstar Super fly to the list, at 2.45 kg. Brad and Stoken mentioned the Blackstar Fly. The Superfly is its less popular big brother. Some retailers have had recent spot sales to clear them out, as low as $99 USD.

 

12 watts, two 3" speakers, battery powered. Marketed as a busking amp. Has an XLR, 1/4, 1/8" and Bluetooth inputs. I bought one the other week. The volume isn't overwhelming but it was sufficient for my first test to amplify keys at a backyard outdoor jam session last week. And it is modular in a sense, in that Blackstar sells a matching powered extension cab.

[AnotherScott]

If battery power not needed, consider the Vox V50. 50W 3 channel keyboard amp. 9 lbs = 4 kg? Quite good for being so light weight. I use 2 for stereo and they handle small room gigs quite well.

I hadn't thought about a pair of those for stereo. I'm guessing it sounds better than a Roland Cube Street EX or KC220 at comparable total weight and price, plus you can better place the speakers for stereo (albeit at the expense of the convenience of moving it in one piece). I'd be curious to hear if anyone has made this comparison, e.g. for piano sound quality, or for organ stereo rotary effect.

 

First off, dude can play.

Yup. I watch this guy on minikeys and think of those folks watching who say they are thrown by Yamaha's just-slightly smaller than normal keys on their non hammer boards.

 

But what really surprised me in that video was the apparent lack of latency concern. Ravenscroft on iOS will have some latency to start with, bluetooth adds more, bluetooth at probably a good 10 feet away likely adds more, then add another 10 feet or whatever in the free air distance from the speaker atop the bear to the player's ears... there's GOT to be a noticeable delay from his fingers to his ears. Honey badger don't care.

[GovernorSilver]

Marshall has a line of Bluetooth and battery powered speakers that look light and powerful for their size

 

https://www.marshallheadphones.com/us/en/speakers/

[Morrissey]

If battery power not needed, consider the Vox V50. 50W 3 channel keyboard amp. 9 lbs = 4 kg? Quite good for being so light weight. I use 2 for stereo and they handle small room gigs quite well.

I hadn't thought about a pair of those for stereo. I'm guessing it sounds better than a Roland Cube Street EX or KC220 at comparable total weight and price, plus you can better place the speakers for stereo (albeit at the expense of the convenience of moving it in one piece). I'd be curious to hear if anyone has made this comparison, e.g. for piano sound quality, or for organ stereo rotary effect.

 

The VX50kb? Looks promising indeed. Good user reviews online. I don't have experience with it.

[Morrissey]

A certain "friendly" online music vendor has a "stupid" price today on a Harbinger 8" battery powered speaker / portable PA. Certainly not as high quality as other options listed in this thread but price of entry is VERY low for those who might've been on the fence about picking up an option like this for outdoor jam sessions, etc.