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Battery power combos (opinions please)

A

Auer

Guest
Feb 12, 2023
955
2,029
#1
So I have a Positive Grid Spark Mini and it's been..not so great as a mini portable bass amp.

Really just wanted something to use outdoors at evenings in the summer (at the house, practicing) with no power cords. So nothing big really.

What do you folks use? Not really interested in rigging anything up, needs to work out of the box as is.

TIA
 
#2
Auer said:
So I have a Positive Grid Spark Mini and it's been..not so great as a mini portable bass amp.

Really just wanted something to use outdoors at evenings in the summer (at the house, practicing) with no power cords. So nothing big really.

What do you folks use? Not really interested in rigging anything up, needs to work out of the box as is.

TIA
Click to expand...
Can you tell us what you didn't like in it? You didn't like the sound? It wasn't loud enough? It's too complicated? What's your budget? Are you looking for the smallest and cheapest amp you can find as long as you can hear yourselft, or for the smallest amp that starts to actually sound like a bass amp?
 
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#3
gtirard said:
Can you tell us what you didn't like in it? You didn't like the sound? It wasn't loud enough? It's too complicated? What's your budget? Are you looking for the smallest and cheapest amp you can find as long as you can hear yourselft, or for the smallest amp that starts to actually sound like a bass amp?
Click to expand...

I have the "gated Noise Issue"


I am curious what others use. Open to anything as long as it works out of the box as it should.
 
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#4
About the smallest I would consider is the Roland Cube Street EX. 2x25W into a pair of 8" speakers. I believe it's probably closer to about 12W. If I was busking I think this amp is the sweet spot if you want something you can carry in one hand and walk from place to place.

I believe a single Cube Street EX is carrying the vocals, bass, and guitar in this video:


If the Cube Street EX is to big for your needs, consider the Boss Dual Cub Bass LX. 2x5W into a pair of 5" speakers. It's probably closer to 1.25W.

For fun, I bought a pure sine power bank...so I can run my GK 700RB combo on battery power. If you are curious, here is the thread: Battery-Powered Mayhem! (Jackery 300) | TalkBass.com
 
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#5
The Blackstar FLY3 works well if you want to just hear your bass electrified or play along with a recording. I haven’t tried more than that with mine but others have reported that it will keep up with an acoustic guitar or two. Definitely light, portable, and inexpensive; not a good choice if playing with a drum kit.
 
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#7
I just bought a Cool Music 100w combo from Amazon for $229 to use for the open mic sessions with my uke group. Rechargeable battery, Bluetooth, record capable, multiple inputs, 48v phantom XLR, reverb, plenty of EQ. Used it the first time last week, worked great.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5SMKT2S?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Cool Music 100w.jpg
 
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#8
I have owned one of these for at least 20 years and had to replace the 2 gel cells a few years ago. The inputs and controls are positioned across the bottom so be careful to not step too close. This information was copied from one of the big "Musicians" online retailers. It isn't small in size:
  • 13-1/2"W x 17"H x 9-1/2"D
  • 28 lbs


"Designed especially for bass and keyboard players.
The Pignose Hog 30 Amp uses an 8" speaker and a 30W amp to help reproduce the low-end needed for keyboard and bass players. Kick in the legendary Funk Bass switch for extra punch and depth. Features volume and master volume controls as well as a 3-band EQ. Batteries will provide hours of portable playing, and playing time is extended when using headphones. Rear panel features a headphone jack, line out, and second input. Includes an adapter/recharger cable.
Features
  • Battery/AC powered
  • Recharges when you plug it in
  • Runs for hours on a single charge
  • Heavy-duty 8" speaker
  • 30W
  • Squeal overdrive
  • 3-band EQ
  • 2 instrument inputs
  • Headphone jack
  • Includes adapter/recharger cable
The Pignose Hog 30 Amp uses an 8" speaker and a 30W amp to help reproduce the low-end needed for keyboard and bass players. Kick in the legendary Funk Bass switch for extra punch and depth.
The Pignose Hog 30 Amp uses an 8" speaker and a 30W amp to help reproduce the low-end needed for keyboard and bass players. Kick in the legendary Funk Bass switch for extra punch and depth. Features volume and master volume controls as well as a 3-band EQ. Batteries will provide hours of portable playing, and playing time is extended when using headphones. Rear panel features a headphone jack, line out, and second input. Includes an adapter/recharger cable.
Features
  • Battery/AC powered
  • Recharges when you plug it in
  • Runs for hours on a single charge
  • Heavy-duty 8" speaker
  • 30W
  • Squeal overdrive
  • 3-band EQ
  • 2 instrument inputs
  • Headphone jack
  • Includes adapter/recharger cable"
 
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#10
lug said:
If you have a large budget, the Phil Jones Double 4 Plus is about to be released in the US, can be run off a USB C battery.
Click to expand...

Then there's always the old version of the Double Four. The one with the laptop power brick, that can also run off a laptop power bank. I run mine with a Dell USB-C battery (Dell PW7018LC) and an adapter and get multiple hours of playing out of it.
 
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#12
I use a Black Star amp plug2 fly bass, headphone amplifier... I like it.



If I need anything bigger I just take an amp outside I use a Hartke Kickback that travels easy.

For noodling its the headphone amp with perhaps the aux- in...
 
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#13
Wasnex said:
About the smallest I would consider is the Roland Cube Street EX. 2x25W into a pair of 8" speakers. I believe it's probably closer to about 12W. If I was busking I think this amp is the sweet spot if you want something you can carry in one hand and walk from place to place.

I believe a single Cube Street EX is carrying the vocals, bass, and guitar in this video:


If the Cube Street EX is to big for your needs, consider the Boss Dual Cub Bass LX. 2x5W into a pair of 5" speakers. It's probably closer to 1.25W.

For fun, I bought a pure sine power bank...so I can run my GK 700RB combo on battery power. If you are curious, here is the thread: Battery-Powered Mayhem! (Jackery 300) | TalkBass.com
Click to expand...


This would actually work well as I got a Orange Crush Bass 100 and a 50 hanging around the house too, the 50 I could leave by the patio door with a battery pack. (My house has no outdoor outlets and I dont want to run cords all the time)

It's bulkier tho. But I'm sure I'd find other uses for the battery as well.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I looked at this, pretty cheap too: https://www.amazon.com/BLUETTI-Generator-Included-Portable-Station/dp/B0B1LVWFCG
 
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#14
Maybe it's not efficient but one of those USB power banks that will invert it back to AC is the best solution. I can bring my Acoustic Image combo (supposedly 250 watts) or my Fishman acoustic combo and they power up just fine. A Phil Jones that has a 12v power supply can be powered with a USB to 12V converter. The AC lasted for more than 2 hours. If you get the one's that are used for camping, even the small versions last a long time
 
#16
Any time this question comes up, for guitar or bass, this is the video I post. On a number of fronts, it shows how some pretty humble gear can sound great. In addition to just a street cube for both guitar and bass, she's playing a squier bronco and sounding pretty darn good.


Wasnex said:
About the smallest I would consider is the Roland Cube Street EX. 2x25W into a pair of 8" speakers. I believe it's probably closer to about 12W. If I was busking I think this amp is the sweet spot if you want something you can carry in one hand and walk from place to place.

I believe a single Cube Street EX is carrying the vocals, bass, and guitar in this video:


If the Cube Street EX is to big for your needs, consider the Boss Dual Cub Bass LX. 2x5W into a pair of 5" speakers. It's probably closer to 1.25W.

For fun, I bought a pure sine power bank...so I can run my GK 700RB combo on battery power. If you are curious, here is the thread: Battery-Powered Mayhem! (Jackery 300) | TalkBass.com
Click to expand...
 
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#17
Phil Jones Double Four is outstanding with great tone. @lug is referencing the new D4 "Plus" model that is being released and will work off of a USB C battery pack but you can use an external laptop battery with the regular Double Four. There are plenty of TBers who use this and lots of info and feedback in the Phil Jones thread here.
 
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#18
Its top secret but I use an older PJB Briefcase with a lithium ion battery; I get 5 hrs of full volume playing time vs 1 hr with the traditional lead acid that also slowly degenerates the volume and tone as it dies.

also have a PJB Nanobass X4 with USB-C; you can buy these at a significant discount at the Amazon Japan site and they’ll ship it to US. Not sure why the US had to wait til 2024 for the USB-C portability.
 
#19
I've been using Roland Micro Cube Bass RX and it's really a killer.

IMG_1008.jpeg


It's battery powered modeling combo amp with several effects on it. The only shortage I found is that its outtage is only 5watts lol
 

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