[Harp-L] Portable P.A. amp?
dmf...@yahoo.com
Am I the only person on a never-ending quest for a decent sounding portable amp that I can sing through at a rehearsal where there's no P.A. system in the room? Most guitar amps sound pretty crappy when you try to sing through them. Any recommendations?
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M. Erickson
I've used this on the street as a PA and a harp amp. (And as a backup amp, a
stage monitor, a rehearsal PA, a guitar amp, a jam amp .......) It uses a
rechargable lead acid battery and will go for a couple of hours at decent
volumes. I love these amps. It will work as a rehearsal PA if your band's
not too loud. Having heard your stuff on You-Tube (great stuff, by the way),
I assume you'll be playing jazz and the volumes won't be extreme.
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Crate-TX50DBE-Limo-BatteryPowered-Amp?sku=487761&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=26040421
I'm not a big fan of Barringer, but if it keeps working the first time you
turn it on, it'll probably work for a while. You can't beat the price,
though, for this keyboard amp:
http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-K1800FX-180Watt-4Channel-PA-System-and-Keyboard-Amp?sku=480782
I've never used this Carvin battery PA, but I hear they are great:
https://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=S400
Richard Hunter
<Am I the only person on a never-ending quest for a decent sounding portable amp that I can sing through <at a rehearsal where there's no P.A. system in the room? Most guitar amps sound pretty crappy when you <try to sing through them. Any recommendations?
A keyboard amp will certainly do the job--it's basically a self-contained PA system, designed to amplify sounds with sharp transients and a wide range of frequencies with minimal coloration. Most keyboard amps include 3-4 bands of EQ and at least one lo-z XLR mic preamp, in addition to the usual hi-z instrument inputs. Many of the newer models also include basic effects like reverb and delay. (My Peavey KB/A 100, purchased new in 1996, also includes reverb, but it's about the worst reverb you ever heard. What the hell--the mic preamp is really good. The newer models use much better-sounding digital effects.) You can even use a keyboard amp all by itself for your primary harp amp if all you want from the harp amp is clean and louder.
Keyboard amps cost anywhere from $150 to $500 new, depending on size and power. Peavey and Roland are reliable names; Behringer has some good models, but make sure to check the specific model against the user reviews on harmonycentral.com. I recommend something with at least a 10" speaker, although models are available with 8" speakers. Make sure also that the model you buy has at least some EQ and at least one XLR mic input and preamp.
As an added plus, you can use a keyboard amp to add volume to your favorite harp amp or amp modeler on a gig. I used my Peavey as the back end booster to my Crate VC508 for years, and I use it for my Digitech RP200 and RP250 now. The keyboard amp just takes whatever you feed to the input and makes it louder--no added color like you'd get from a tube guitar amp. Very handy.
Regards, Richard Hunter
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
Tom Klingl
http://www.fishman.com/products/details.asp?id=106
SR Technology Jam Series (probably more difficult to get in the US)
http://www.srtechnology.co.uk/jam_and_pocket_series/jam_series.html
Best
Tom
Doug Schroer
I have used them one at a time, or sometimes chained at gigs. With a small mixer and both speakers, you have a mini PA. I have played gigs with a single one without a mixer, (though I usually use one of my tube amps mic'ed to the PA for gigs). I even used one to reinforce a small tube amp with an 8" speaker to play a moderately loud gig.
I have sometimes used a vocal mic or Fireball V to the XLR, I have used a digitech Genesis 1 with the FireballV through a transformer to the line in, and on another occasion I used a Bad Monkey pedal with a delay in the line in 1/4" input with a Hi-Z Shure 585V. All these sounded good through the 1270P. I once had one in the trunk of my car when playing with a guitar player at a coffee house, and the PA at the venue died. Our act and another act (guitar duo) played the gig through one monitor and a small mixing board to the line in.
I love these things!
has...@aol.com
I have a Carvin AG100D Acoustic/PA amp.
I is really portable(around the size of a small bass combo amp),
and fairly light(maybe weighs as much as a fender deluxe amp).
It features a 12" woofer and a titanium high frequency tweeter
with adjustable L-pad on the crossover. It has three channels;
Channel one and two have 1/4" inputs with three and two band active tone controls
respectively, and channel three features an XLR and 1/4" jack for
microphone or cd/tape input. it also features a 24 bit digital effects
processor and a 5 band EQ, and a master volume. Compact cabinet with
a hole in the bottom for a cabinet stand. You can play harp, guitar, or bass,
and have a microphone too, with effects. Best yet, it goes for around
$450.00 with cover. A friend of mine turned me on to these, and this is
my second one(first one was stolen). Nice on a low volume gig or in
a smaller room.
HB
-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Schroer <doug...@yahoo.com>
To: for posting Harp-L <har...@harp-l.com>
Sent: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:09 am
Subject: [Harp-L] Portable P.A. amp?
I have had good luck with the Fender 1270P Powered 10 2-Way Stage/Performance
Monitors, powered monitors that I bought to use with my PA.? I now own two.?
They are small, light, and 100watts.? They have line and XLR in as well as
volume and tone, and if used with a PA have line in and out that allow control
from the PA and chaining the two.?
I have used them one at a time, or sometimes chained at gigs.? With a small
mixer and both speakers, you have a mini PA.? I have played gigs with a single
one without a mixer, (though I usually use one of my tube amps mic'ed to the PA
for gigs).? I even used one to reinforce a small tube amp with an 8" speaker to
play a moderately loud gig.?
I have sometimes used a vocal mic or Fireball V to the XLR,? I have used a
digitech Genesis 1 with the FireballV through a transformer to the line in, and
on another occasion I used a Bad Monkey pedal with a delay in the line in 1/4"
input with a Hi-Z Shure 585V.? All these sounded good through the 1270P.? I once
had one in the trunk of my car when playing with a guitar player at a coffee
house, and the PA at the venue died.? Our act and another act (guitar duo)
played the gig through one monitor and a small mixing board to the line in.?
dmf...@yahoo.com
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone gave here regarding portable vocal P.A. solutions. Today I had a chance to visit a couple of music store and try out a few candidates. In order of price from lowest to highest and also, coincidentally in order of size:
1) The Roland Mobile Cube.
This is a very cute battery powered stereo amp with two speakers. Smaller than an 8-1/2 x 11" piece of paper and only 4-1/2" deep. Sam Ash was selling it for $159. I'm a sucker for tiny electronic gizmos and I nearly bought this one, but it just doesn't have the vocal quality I need. These tiny amps have been getting better and better for guitar, but they still don't quite cut it for voice. It does have a 1/4" mic input (no XLR) and it also has reverb and delay, but it still sounds kind of like a toy. Passable in a pinch, but not what I'm looking for.
2) The Mackie SRM 150.
Also quite small (about the size of a shoebox), this thing has an amazing sound and punch for its size. It sells for $299. It's got 2 mic/instrument combo 1/4"-XLR inputs with bass, mid and treble controls and a third channel with RCA inputs for plugging in an Ipod or similar line source. Great sound but it has no FX and also lacks an FX loop.
3) The Yamaha Stagepas 250
Substantially larger, this has a unique design - It's a two way speaker that stands about knee-high with a detachable built in mixer in the rear. It sells for around $500. It has 2 mic 1/4/XLR inputs, reverb, EQ and looked like it had everything I could need. Unfortunately it just didn't sound all that good! Kind of anemic actually. The Mackie sounded better!
4) The Fishman Solo
This one was the bee's knees. It's a sleek tower design with 6 vertically stacked 4" speakers topped off by a 1" tweeter. It stands about 6 feet tall on an included heavy duty tripod and the whole thing folds up to fit into an included rolling case. The whole package weighs only 35 lbs but looks pretty imposing when its assembled. It's got 4 mic channels and great sounding FX. I tried it in two different stores and there was no denying that this is a great sounding P.A. Unfortunately it costs $1000. I guess that's not so much compared to a good guitar amp, but it still ain't cheap.
I ended up going with the Mackie at least temporarily. I'm going to try it in a rehearsal setting and then decided whether to keep it or take it back and get the Fishman Solo instead.
Obligatory Harmonica Content:
None of these amps are going to be any good for harmonica unless you want a pure acoustic sound.