Battery Powered Bass Amp

Why not Just get a battery/power pack and use an efficient amp?

buy the Roland Bass Micro Cube RX, amazing little amp!

I have a Crate Taxi - it's the little brother of the "Bus" or "Limo" or whatever they have. It's like 15 watts, with an 8" speaker, don't expect to shake the walls down, but definitely a GREAT portable amp for jamming outside, etc. Also has 2 inputs so your guitard or keyboardist can plug in too. Also, the battery stays charged for EVER

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Crate-TX15-Taxi-BatteryPowered-Combo-Amp?sku=487631

Hey Beaver Creek
Great thread. It's nice you researched all the different types of battery bass amps. I've spent hours and could only find the pignose, microcube and a little info hear on the Phil Jones.

Microcube gets all the buzz but the pignose is half the price.
I wonder if it sounds any better or just costs more because of all it's bells and whistles.

What did you go with?

Anybody else?

newbold said:

Why not Just get a battery/power pack and use an efficient amp?

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this is really the way to go IMO. ^

That said, the Phil Jones rig looks nice. You can run it on 12VDC if needed. Kinda pricey, tho.

I borrowed a Traynor TVM10 to use with my Kala Uke Bass for camping jams last summer. Worked great and sounded nice and uprighty. This was with a big accordian and a couple dreadnoughts and banjos to keep up with. Held a charge fine - 3 hours playing was no sweat.

This year I'm just plugging into the dash of my Honda Element. It's killer but a bit less portable. (gotta be careful about getting to close to the fire, too)

Used car battery and an inverter will run even pretty large Class B combo amps for long time. That's what I'd use if I'm ever in a pinch for extreme portability.

You can use a battery and inverter, but in the long run it will be quite a bit less efficient, as you are running an second conversion. However, it it works for your application, why not?

fasto said:

buy the Roland Bass Micro Cube RX, amazing little amp!

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+1 teach with this amp all the time the micro cubeRX kicks ass.

Spinal Tapper said:

I have a Crate Taxi - it's the little brother of the "Bus" or "Limo" or whatever they have. It's like 15 watts, with an 8" speaker, don't expect to shake the walls down, but definitely a GREAT portable amp for jamming outside, etc. Also has 2 inputs so your guitard or keyboardist can plug in too. Also, the battery stays charged for EVER

Crate TX15 Taxi Battery-Powered Combo Amp: Shop Guitars & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend

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I have the TX30 Taxi...supposedly...30 watts...I think they reclassed it as 15 watts in a pique of guilt, lol!...anyway...it does respectfully outdoors with a brace of acoustic guitars...and the battery freaking lasts f-o-r-e-v-e-r! Not a tone monster...but for those evenings on the beach or in the shade off a big old oak tree...I find it very satisfying.

Kim

Op - perhaps get at Jean Baudin (i think that's his screen name too) about the Phil Jones Briefcase stuff. i know he's used it for awhile and likes them. i think he endorses them. but i've used his and they seemed nice.

I have a Pignose Hog 30. great little amp. I use it primarily outside to practice for marching band, and have found it to be a great alternative to having to hook up 3+ extension cords just to play.
The amp comes with 2 inputs, a headphone jack, charging port, etc. It has not failed me yet. the handle rubber is coming off though, and it annyoys one to carry it. Other than the cheap handle on top, great portible 30w amp for an affordable price.

i like my hog 30 for quiet practice, for barbecues, and a s a portable PA, i actually played it on my friends art project, because my marshall was getting repaired

I have the Roland mini cube and the Phil Jones, both great amps

G

Roland Cube Street has 2 x 6.5 inch but is supposed to be a guitar and mic amp.
Roland Micro Cube Bass RX has 4 x 4 inch and is for bass.
To me it doesn't seem to make sense to have smaller speakers on a bass amp then on a guitar amp with the same power (both 2.5 W + 2.5 W).
Does anyone know if the Cube Street is any good for playing bass on?

A couple of 4" drivers driven by 2.5W each does not make a serious bass amp!.

I never considered a battery powered amp until my guitar player had me plug into a ION TAILGATER/ALESIS TRANSACTIVE amp it sounded warm/kinda loud and had a 12 hour battery life. I bought one for my self to use in an acoustic band...

I have a portable power station (actually, Invalid Link Removed)

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I had brought it to one of our jam sessions and just for fun I ran my 250W Roland DB-700 through it. It delivered perfect performance, and I had no trouble, even when cranking my amp just to see the watt-meter climb on the battery.

In the end, I got about 1.5 hours at insane practice volumes (SPL meter read 115db for most of the evening, measured in the middle of the room (yes, I wear plugs, but can't control bandmates))

All that to say, these things are good, but you might need a backup/external battery to extend your playtime, depending on your playing volume and amplifier efficiency. Class D amps will be able to get far more life out of the battery.

I have tried the Roland Microcube Bass, the Pignose HOG 30, and also the Crate TX15 ("taxi").

ROLAND - Based on reviews, I thought it would be the best choice; but it was extremely 'farty' for lack of a better word. I was playing quietly and without the bass knob pumped up, and it sounded terrible. (And I usually love Roland -- my DB150 is awesome!)

CRATE - Sounded better than the Roland. It will get a decent volume, but you need to dial down your bass knob, or it will get overloaded and farty.

PIGNOSE - Best sound of the three, by far. At the same volume as the Roland and Crate, it was able to produce a fairly deep bass tone without the fartiness. Noticably better than the other two. And you can sit on it while you play. Of course part of the reason you can sit on it is that it is way bigger than the Roland or Crate, which is a minus to me.

If good sound in a portable is your top-priority, I would recommend the Pignose (assuming you can't afford 600 clams for a Phil Jones!). That said, I actually bought the Crate. It was irrational, because the Pignose sounded better. But the Crate is smaller and more portable. And I liked the look of it a lot more than the Pignose, which is homely to my eyes. It seems like the Crate will be good enough for my needs (playing outside, alongside a guitarist, not so loud, and not worrying about perfect tone). I just got it, so I'll report back later on how it worked out...