Lee Flier Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 So, while we were in L.A. last week, we went to the Venice Boardwalk and saw this dude: http://what-the.com/lapics/LA%20Trip%20069.jpg I used to live in Venice, and this guy has been rollerblading around playing his Strat for the beachgoers for as long as I can remember (since 1974, he says). He always used to play through a Pignose in a backpack, but nowadays he's upgraded. He's got one of those little Marshall 1 watt mini amps clipped to his belt. It sounded really cool and got surprisingly loud! So that got me thinking about all these new cheapo little mini amps. Anybody own one? I know Fender makes a couple of them, has anybody tried those? What do you think of them? Kinda hard to go wrong for 30 bucks or whatever they cost, but if anybody thinks one type is head and shoulders above the rest I might try that first. It'd be fun to have something I can "busk" with if my band wants to walk around on the streets playing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Yer right on the money, Lee...haven't tried the Marshall mini, but, for a lark, we went to Westport (Kansas City's "cool" district) and busked a couple summers ago. For those who don't do that regularly, ambient street noise is amazingly loud. I've been thinking about one of those little Carvin battery powered P.A.s for such an occurrence... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldil Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I got one about 6-8 years ago. I travel for work a bit and take it and a mini Les Paul with me just to keep me sane. They do go surprisingly loud for their small size . Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverse the Curse Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 i hope you aren't drivin when u play The forumite formerly known as Cooper. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John Lennon "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will finally know peace." Jimi Hendrix "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." Jimi Hendrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Lee, If you want the best, you need to get one of the Z.Vex mini-amps. All tube, but it still operates off of a battery. From what I've heard of them, they have great tone in a tiny package, and you can hook it up to a 4 x 12" cab. http://www.zvex.com BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 10, 2004 Author Share Posted August 10, 2004 Well sure bluestrat, I'd love to have one of those but aren't they like 400 bucks? I don't have that kinda dough to throw around on something like that, I just want something cheap that I can take to the park and not worry about it getting messed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtual Jim Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I've got one of those Marshalls and I was just playing it in the other room! I'm not about to make it my normal amp, but it's great at times (especially when the power goes out and I want to further neglect my acoustic). It's scary how good and loud those things are. And true to being a Marshall, you've gotta crank the shit out if for it to sound its best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not coaster MODERATOR Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 i had the mini fender. it was a blast. i recall a guitar player review that gave it the highest review over the mini vox and marshall. rock on pee-wee blasters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeton Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 rock on pee-wee blasters! you can just stay awaaaaay from my pee-wee... Actually, i once had a G-Blaster. Not in the same league as what you guys are talking about, but it was kinda fun....especially when i gutted it and started modding it. I still have it somewhere and it still works... Interestingly, there was a street jammer at the fair this weekend. Tall lanky black guy with his hair all wrapped up... looked remarkably like the image that Lee took. Had a pre-recorded accompainment going, and was getting a really nice sound out of what looked like a little cheezy crate. he was playin' and be-bopping and jumping around. But then he lost his strap and dropped his guitar poor telecaster Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper . WWND? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I saw the Roland MiniCube (MicroCube????) at NAMM.. Battery powered, includes effects. A local store just had them on sale for $89. Bill "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Originally posted by phaeton: rock on pee-wee blasters!he was playin' and be-bopping and jumping around. But then he lost his strap and dropped his guitar poor telecasterFirst thing I noticed on this guy was Koho shin pads ! I wonder how often he wipes out? The guitar looks pretty clean. Peavey made a practice amp in a guitar case years ago but they had no guts. We're replacing PA systems in our auditoriums with low power electrostatic flatpanel speakers. They sound great and you could put together something light and loud with a little effort. Like a guitar case that screams and holds your contributions. Likely wouldn't be economical. I still think guitars are like shoes, but louder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipclone 1 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 of the ones I`ve heard, by far the Danelectro Honeytone. Hook up your favorite stomp box to it and Bob`s your uncle. Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Red 67 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Has anyone checked out the Fender can amps? Big Red's Ride Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlChuck Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Holy shit, that guy's still doing that? I lived in West LA from August 1980 until February 1982... used to see that guy whenever I went to Venice Beach... Has his playing gotten any better? (As I recall, he wasn't half bad!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 10, 2004 Author Share Posted August 10, 2004 LOL... yeah, I lived in that area from 1977-1992 and he was there the whole time. He still looks exactly the same, pretty much plays the same too except the little Marshall sounds better than the Pignose. Pretty wild. Oh yeah, forget about the Danelectro Honeytone. Have to check that one too. I can see I'm gonna have to go to GC and have a little Mini Amp Shootout! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennyf Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I have one of the mini-Marshalls. Had it for many years (pretty sure more than 10! have they really been making them that long?), and it still rocks! When I first went "pro" and was scrambling to make a living, I used it when I was teaching door-to-door. Point being they keep on a-workin', and they're not too hard on batteries, considering it's only one 9V. The belt clip is cool for wandering around while you're playing, and you can even plant the guitar body against it for mondo feedback effects! Saw a movie with Skater-man in it (L.A. Story, I think) and said "Hey, I got one a' those amps!" Then a couple years ago I was at Venice Beach, and saw him in person. Still using the same (or at least identical) amp. The surprising thing is that it's still got a marshall vibe in spite of IC power and a 2" speaker. Now, having said all that, I gotta say that those DanElectro HoneyTones sound pretty good. Fuller bass tones, and they're "gainier" but I don't know about battery life. I'm stickin' to my mini-Marshall! Huh, where's a battery, I gotta try that thing out again . . . band link: bluepearlband.com music, lessons, gig schedules at dennyf.com STURGEON'S LAW --98% of everything is bullshit. My Unitarian Jihad Name is: The Jackhammer of Love and Mercy. Get yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gug Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Hey Lee! I've got the Marshall Half Stack. The sound isn't bad. Pretty loud for 2-inch speaker. I did a mini-shoot out at GC. The Marshall won over the Fender and Danelectro. I forget what model Danelectro. The half stack is a great kick around fun thing. A Monster Cable cord can drag it around though. Very light weight... for a half stack... I just got my Bro-in-law one. He likes it. Also, at that time, GC had a $29 one from another maker, I don't recll, but the upgraded model of that same mini had a tuner on it! WHOA! Cool! They were out of that particular one model w/ the tuner. Didn't try out the other one either, as it was clear (ie. see-thru. Ugly. Hardly looked like an amp.) Mikegug www.facebook.com/theresistancemusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prague Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Can a player get good feedback with these mini's? I was looking at small regular amplifiers and couldn't get good feedback until I got to about 15 watts, or so. Anything smaller required practically having the guitar directly next to the amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skipclone 1 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I got the honeytone to replace a mini Fender bassman, crapped out on me for no apparent reason. Same old surprises, brand new cliches- Skipsounds on Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teahead Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I bought my kid brother a "Smokie" amp last year. It took some time for me to actually part with the thing! They're tiny, only just bigger than a cigarette packet, run on a 9 volt forever and are louder than you would expect. Great little amp, with a suprisingly big tone! Tea. Pedal Clips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Originally posted by Teahead: I bought my kid brother a "Smokie" amp last year. It took some time for me to actually part with the thing! They're tiny, only just bigger than a cigarette packet, run on a 9 volt forever and are louder than you would expect. Great little amp, with a suprisingly big tone! Tea.I must concur. A store I used to work at carried these, and we'd actually put them in empty cigarette packs. The model we had could also drive a cabinet. But on their own, they sounded excellent. They are asking smokers to help out, since they are running low on empty packs! http://www.smokeyamps.com There's a video on the site that shows it capabilities. The are 30 bucks, list price. "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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