Portable, reliable rig that doesn't run on house electricity.

[johnh89]

In reply to your original question , I will give a second vote for the PJB briefcase . I have played small gigs with this and the sound is awesome . I find battery life to be just over an hour but can be connected to a car battery to increase life . Not a light amp but will do the job admirably . If you want a headphone amp then the PJB bighead ( either version ) is a wonderful but not cheap headphone amp . Also can be used as a preamp or USB interface , so you could play through laptop or PC if your interference problems do not affect that . If using as a headphone amp , decent studio phones are essential .
I have also used a ZT lunchbox amp with a motorcycle battery with some success but at a lower volume with the bass rolled off ( its a guitar amp) . Tiny and with a great low volume sound .
For stuff that I do not own , the PJB double 4 has a thread on here about running it with a laptop battery with some success or the Roland microcube bass gets a fair bit of love .
I have no alliance with PJB but all of their gear I have found to be well engineered and a tone to die for .

 

[Deleted member 165050]

+1 for a UPS - I use one at home mostly for my Mac but I also take it with me if I am doing any mobile/location recording as I want to be sure my power is good. It has internal batteries that recharge from the main electricity, but the power provided to whatever I plug into it comes only from the internal batteries. Cheaper and more versatile than a new rig! Mine is made by APC.

With the PJB Double 4 it's worth knowing that the latest version cannot run off battery and is mains power only - check with the dealer what version they have. PJB's site is out of date where this is concerned.

 

[TheAnalogKid]

The most important thing to do, as others pointed out, is to address the root problem with the respective houses' electrical services. I see that Europe can have as much electrical work done half-assed as in the US (sorry for being so blunt, it's that I hate shoddy workmanship, especially electrical, that can potentially endanger lives). No two houses should be "sharing lines"; it's both dangerous and costly, since there is no way to accurately meter/bill usage to the respective tenants/owners. Katoosie's house should be on its own "service drop" from the electric company.

 

[Jonathan C]

The most important thing to do, as others pointed out, is to address the root problem with the respective houses' electrical services. I see that Europe can have as much electrical work done half-assed as in the US (sorry for being so blunt, it's that I hate shoddy workmanship, especially electrical, that can potentially endanger lives). No two houses should be "sharing lines"; it's both dangerous and costly, since there is no way to accurately meter/bill usage to the respective tenants/owners. Katoosie's house should be on its own "service drop" from the electric company.

Exactly what I was trying to point out. Unfortunately many people don't understand the difference of how things should work vs how they are working currently. The OP basically describes whether accurate or not that her electric is coming directly from another home which is 50 shades of wrong if it's true.

 

[J_Bass]

Phil Jones has portable amps.

I have a PJB cab and I like it, never tried the portable.

Take a look at Phil Jones Briefcase Bass amp.

 

[Lobster11]

Hi.

Just had a talk and a troubleshooting session with my landlord.

My new house is connected to the same line that an old house is on and the line is bad, makes amplifiers useless.

I need a new rig that is portable and one that does not run on house socket electricity while playing.

I'm looking for reliability, good tone, portability. Price doesn't matter.

Hit me with everything you got, TalkBass.
Please. I need all the help I can get on this!

Hey @Katoosie -- As I recall from another thread, your buzzing problem was resolved by a combination of shielding the bass and using a power conditioner. What happened?

 

[JimChjones]

What are you talking about?
One of the houses on the line is old and so is the electricity system. It's not my house and I can't do anything about it, my house is new.

Thing is probably 75% of us either live in or near old houses and don't have the sorts of problems you describe, and its not obvious why you should have them. In general in europe we normally have better power standards than the US, so your issues are quite surprising. In the US especially such problems can be associated with dangerous wiring, so that's why people are concerned.
TB has a habit of trying to get to grips with root causes rather than quick and dirty fixes. In addition there may well be a legal requirement that other houses do not cause interference for you: it would be worth checking with your elsakerhetsverket.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

The OP basically describes whether accurate or not that her electric is coming directly from another home which is 50 shades of wrong if it's true.

It's not uncommon here in the overpopulated UK with the constant subdivision of dwellings and building of annexes. You have to pay the power company to put in a separate supply.

 

[Katoosie]

Exactly what I was trying to point out. Unfortunately many people don't understand the difference of how things should work vs how they are working currently. The OP basically describes whether accurate or not that her electric is coming directly from another home which is 50 shades of wrong if it's true.

Eh its her house and I live in a small build in that was made 5 years ago thats directly connected to hers in some way i guess, I dont know squat about electrical installations. Her kids lived here i would assume. No idea why everyone is jumping to something shady right away, especially with how things are done here in Sweden...

 

[Nighttrain1127]

They are just trying to point out that the issue you have is not normal and could possibly be dangerous to you and your gear

 

[Katoosie]

Yeah, I got that

 

[Lobster11]

Yeah, I got that

Hey @Katoosie, my question about what happened since the end of your previous thread was a serious one. You were so confident that the problem had been solved that you asked the mods to close the thread so the solution would appear at the end of the thread for the benefit of others who might have similar problems. If the problem really did go away for some period of time -- whether it was related to the power conditioner and/or shielding or not -- that might point to a different kind of solution than if it never goes away.

 

[lermgalieu]

I have a Roland Bass Cube that runs off AC or 6 AA batteries. Has a tuner, amp sims, and basic drum machine to boot. It’s totally portable, but wouldn’t keep up with a loud guitarist. Great little amp. Another idea is a rechargeable speaker like the JBL Eon One Compact.

 

[Runlikegregg]

I found this thread about creating your own battery powered amp.
Was thinking of trying it out especially with a high efficiency cab and small head.

Why So Few Affordable Battery Powered Bass Amps?

 

[Klangfarbe]

Hi Katoosie,
I use this one with my "Accoustic-Band" and at home when I don't want to use my Computer/ Headphones:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It will obviously not sound like your Reidmar, but it has some good tones for practising especially when you care for your neighbours.
The included EFX are a bit gimmicky and the Drums are late 90s Midi, however they are there.

Another option might be the Yamaha THR line. They are primarily Guitar-Amps, but also come with some Bass-Amp simulation.

https://www.thomann.de/se/yamaha_thr30iiw.htm

 

[Katoosie]

Hey @Katoosie, my question about what happened since the end of your previous thread was a serious one. You were so confident that the problem had been solved that you asked the mods to close the thread so the solution would appear at the end of the thread for the benefit of others who might have similar problems. If the problem really did go away for some period of time -- whether it was related to the power conditioner and/or shielding or not -- that might point to a different kind of solution than if it never goes away.

There is so much to write here and so many things i have tried ever since I moved in here a month ago but to keep it "short"

- my basses are fine, dont buzz anywhere else
- my rig is fine, it dont buzz anywhere else
- all the amps buzz in my house
- battery ran amps dont buzz in my house
- running the power into my amps at my house from her house buzzes

So whether its here or at her place, the line is bad in some way. How is it bad? Dunno

I wrote to her that im worried and scared and also scared for her kids if there is some electrical issue, we will see when and if she gets back to me on it.

 

[abarson]

There is so much to write here and so many things i have tried ever since I moved in here a month ago but to keep it "short"

- my basses are fine, dont buzz anywhere else
- my rig is fine, it dont buzz anywhere else
- all the amps buzz in my house
- battery ran amps dont buzz in my house
- running the power into my amps at my house from her house buzzes

So whether its here or at her place, the line is bad in some way. How is it bad? Dunno

I wrote to her that im worried and scared and also scared for her kids if there is some electrical issue, we will see when and if she gets back to me on it.

Your own logic highlights the problem: power at your/her house.
Where your logic fails is “no one has died yet, so it must be okay”. You are being presented clear evidence that it’s not okay.
As a onetime licensed electrician I can say that this isn’t normal and is potentially dangerous. You ignore everyone’s concern at your own peril.

 

[Jonathan C]

There is so much to write here and so many things i have tried ever since I moved in here a month ago but to keep it "short"

- my basses are fine, dont buzz anywhere else
- my rig is fine, it dont buzz anywhere else
- all the amps buzz in my house
- battery ran amps dont buzz in my house
- running the power into my amps at my house from her house buzzes

So whether its here or at her place, the line is bad in some way. How is it bad? Dunno

I wrote to her that im worried and scared and also scared for her kids if there is some electrical issue, we will see when and if she gets back to me on it.

I'm sorry that our intent to help solve your issue caused to scare and worry you. It's the nature of us to try to solve problems, sometimes the solution is simple, sometimes not. Just trying to cover all the bases. We also attempt to help folks from buying things they might not need, there might be a cheaper/better way.As at least one person has suggested, it could be a single source transmitting RF noise that your amp is picking up. Do you know if you have a dedicated electric meter on your home? Do you pay for your electricity directly from the power utility? If so your neighbor's power is a separate feed from yours, and not anything to worry about in that sense.
What amp/bass do you have?

 

[Katoosie]

Your own logic highlights the problem: power at your/her house.
Where your logic fails is “no one has died yet, so it must be okay”. You are being presented clear evidence that it’s not okay.
As a onetime licensed electrician I can say that this isn’t normal and is potentially dangerous. You ignore everyone’s concern at your own peril.

Im not ignoring anyone here, you should read my reply above..

I'm sorry that our intent to help solve your issue caused to scare and worry you. It's the nature of us to try to solve problems, sometimes the solution is simple, sometimes not. Just trying to cover all the bases. We also attempt to help folks from buying things they might not need, there might be a cheaper/better way.As at least one person has suggested, it could be a single source transmitting RF noise that your amp is picking up. Do you know if you have a dedicated electric meter on your home? Do you pay for your electricity directly from the power utility? If so your neighbor's power is a separate feed from yours, and not anything to worry about in that sense.
What amp/bass do you have?

All I have is a breaker with switches, its all connected together since both properties are hers so it's one meter for both, the power just got extended over to this house.
I have a spector, a Warwick, ebs reidmar 502 and a GK 2x12 cab.

 

[Lobster11]

There is so much to write here and so many things i have tried ever since I moved in here a month ago but to keep it "short"

- my basses are fine, dont buzz anywhere else
- my rig is fine, it dont buzz anywhere else
- all the amps buzz in my house
- battery ran amps dont buzz in my house
- running the power into my amps at my house from her house buzzes

So whether its here or at her place, the line is bad in some way. How is it bad? Dunno

I wrote to her that im worried and scared and also scared for her kids if there is some electrical issue, we will see when and if she gets back to me on it.

Right, right -- a lot of that was discussed in your other thread. But at the end of the thread you said the problem was resolved by a combination of shielding the bass and using a power conditioner. Evidently, though, the problem isn't resolved after all. Do you think you were mistaken that those two fixes had eliminated the buzz, or was the buzz actually gone for some period of time but then came back? That's what I'm getting at.