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battery-powered amps

hernameisrio

hernameisrio

Guest
Sep 27, 2011
1,202
250
Berkeley, CA
#1
Hello my darlings.

I am hoping to join a band which plays the subway stations...and they asked if I had a battery-powered amp. I was like, "SURRRE! :hiding:" Um, so, which one should I get? Ideas? I don't mind spending a few hundred to get something good. Thanks!
 
#3
hernameisrio said:
Hello my darlings.

I am hoping to join a band which plays the subway stations...and they asked if I had a battery-powered amp. I was like, "SURRRE! :hiding:" Um, so, which one should I get? Ideas? I don't mind spending a few hundred to get something good. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hernameisro
Well I think I'd get myself a used plywood upright of some sort, and have it set up for the best playability and sound, rather than try to cart an amplifier around in the subway.
Phil Jones Bass has an optional battery for their Briefcase, but it's not a inexpensive amplifier, and the battery adds additional weight and expense. I will run for about an hour of normal playing.

Ric
 
#5
They're not super-loud. It's R&B/funk covers, the drummer has a small kit and doesn't pound on it, and I'd imagine I'd be relying on the acoustics underground as well. I'm gonna go to Guitar Center in a little bit...I was thinking about this one:

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Is that similar to the micro cube?
The Carvin is unfortunately out of my price range. I was thinking $300 or under....but thanks so far! :D
 
#7
I just got the Roland Micro Cube bass amp. It was the floor model so they gave me a bit of a discount...with the 3-year coverage plan and tax, it was about $320, so, not bad...for the amp itself it was $225 which for what it is, seems pretty good! The Phil Jones looks awesome but is a little out of my price range at this point. I figured I'd start with this guy (the theory is that it'll pay for itself...albeit in singles and loose change! :P) and at least have something. I'm not usually this spontaneous with buying gear AT ALL but this gig would be perfect for me, and having a portable amp I can take on vacation and to my parents' house is always a plus too. Spending money to make money, and all that. ;) I'll be playing around with it soon. Stay tuned for a review!
 
#10
I have to +1 the Roland Micro Cube RX.
It rocks. great sounds, great effects, loud enough,
Rhythm machine, tuner, everything one needs in a battery powered system.
It has an aux input in the back, stereo input, and a comp in the front.
 
#11
I made my own. I have a bunch of smaller practice amps. I looked for one that didn't use a bi-polar power supply. With the single ended supply, I could drive it with DC battery power.

I ended up using a Marlboro guitar amp...around 20-30 watts. I made up a power supply using 24 D batteries. They are in a box, quite flat made of thin plywood. it is velcro'd to the back of the cabinet I built. 10" bass speaker with coaxial tweeter. I've actually used the same set of batteries for years. They are still holding up. I don't use it often these days, but it works well.

One amp that could be easily modified into a small bass amp is the old Peavey Decade. Although only 10 watts, it is a little workhorse. They are cheap in pawn shops and I see them quite often.

In a bigger cabinet with an efficient bass speaker, they will run on batteries. Their intended battery pack was a pair of 9v batteries, but they didn't last long. I built battery packs using 6 D cells, and they last a long time.
 
#13
I built/modded a cab from a 12" Bazooka enclosure
and an Eminence 2012. I installed dampening material on the interior walls to supress the plastic from coloring the sound. he T/S specs for the woofer are not that off for what I calculated the volume and port length to be. Bazooka keeps the internal volume of its enclosures as some sort of proprietary secret. Anyway, the F3 is actually lower then ideal, but outdoors, it just sounds pretty balanced. Indoors, it's too boomy. But where else would you use a battery powered amp? But I wish I could find a small bass amp that can run of the latest genration of smart lithium ion battery charging packs vs. heavy sealed lead acid batteries.

I think the thread strater is looking for something turn key for the subway tunnels. I doubt you would need much volume and there might be restrictions on amplifiers. Personally, I like the idea of a nice big boomy upright.
Otherwise, I would look into a used Phil Jones briefcase. The one for sale locally on CL is $500.
 
#15
bgavin said:
I saw somebody mention automotive car stereo amps as a possibility.
Most of these are designed for 2 ohm loads and high current draws, running on 12 volts.
Seems like a good idea, plus plentiful and cheap.
Click to expand...

http://www.jazzstudies.us/images/BatteryPoweredSetup.jpg

If you already have a compact cab and a DI box, you can get a car amplifier for $50 or less and the battery costs $20 or less, which means you will shell out $70 or less. Much cheaper than any battery powered amp you can buy off the shelf.
 

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