Aussiesucker
1044 posts
Mar 10, 2012
1:43 PM
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I have for the last 3 years been using a Casino Buskers Amp which is portable has both battery and mains power. A week back it blew up ie a loud bang and a tiny aluminium thimble shaped dome flew out the back + a puff of smoke. The amp however still works with no noticeable difference? I use the amp primarily for recording, so fixes, effects etc can be added in Audacity. Favourable comments were always made about my tone.
Unsure as to how long I could rely on the Casino amp I went and purchased a Roland Micro Cube as I had read many favourable comments. It certainly has an array of controls to add effects which I guess are more suited to guitar. My need though is to play fairly clean but the Cubes tone is very cold and weak compared to what I was able to get from my old amp.
I seek to get a fatter warmer tone but still clean & clear. I am using an Audix Fireball V with impedance converter plus a delay pedal. I was wondering if there were effects pedals available that can beef up tone? Or other Micro Cube users may be able to guide me on what controls to set for the results I want? Thanks for any advice.
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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timeistight
438 posts
Mar 10, 2012
2:06 PM
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Rather than spending more money trying to make the Roland sound like your old amp, why not take it back and get another Casino? Then you'd have a backup.
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tookatooka
2800 posts
Mar 10, 2012
2:32 PM
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Cold and weak? Does that mean bright and low volume?
I have MicroCube and it's plenty good enough for my playing. I usually play with the Tone LO. EFX Off. 1/4 to 1/2 Delay. R/FIER selected. Then Volume and Gain adjusted depending whether the neighbours are in bed. I use a dynamic mic, get good mic/hand compression and get a very tasty Little Walter Honk going on.
A little bit of chorus is nice sometimes too.
The good thing about the MicroCube is you can output it straight to your computer Line-In and the effects are even more noticable.
Hope that helps.
Oh! and battery life is excellent.
Last Edited by on Mar 10, 2012 2:43 PM
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1727 posts
Mar 10, 2012
2:37 PM
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You might try using the art pre amp that Tony recomends at our school for playing live ,for a nice warm clean sound,its in the library,He uses a ART tube Pre amp (35$US)with a sm58 mic and a boss delay pedal,runs it into a PA,But you have every thing but the Art pre amp.So it wouldnt cost alot and run everything into the Cube on a clean channel,Im not sure if it would help it alot or not,But im fixing to get the Art pre amp for my vocals going into my PA.Ive heard from a couple of recording friends that they do wonders for such a low cost item,
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Hobostubs
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billy_shines
182 posts
Mar 10, 2012
2:51 PM
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micro cube is 2 watts your casino was 10 i think. i got a pignose hog 20 because i felt 20 watts was better for a busy outdoor street. and im glad i did. the micro cube isnt rechargeable and is for guitar. what im working on now is a vintage tube portable radio it take 96 volts to power it im using 10 rechargeable 9 volts lasts about 5 hours of playing. has a 4" speaker thats nice overdriven. i just need to find the right 9 volt preamp for it but it works great with my shure unidyne 515. radio was about 15 bucks and is 15 watts. the batteries were about 20 and the 10 bank charger another 20. the tubes are made hot with 4 C cells that last and last. the amp is the size of a lunchbox. i can also use this 90 volt rechargeable battery bank on a spare radio i have. the DC eliminates line noise and electrocution. i like it better than the hog20 much lighter and real tube sound.solid state sucks!
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Aussiesucker
1045 posts
Mar 10, 2012
4:58 PM
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Thanks for your input & suggestions.
tooka> cold & weak. No volume doesn't matter. Tone is thin & not warm. Would like to beef tone up and still have it clean. Will play around with the settings you have suggested. Isuspect it could be speaker size which I figure is the same as on the Casino but the Casino speaker is mounted on thick chipboard which could add to warmth?
Hobo> I will check out the pre amp that Tony recommends.
billy_shines> I realise the difference in output between the 2 amps. I still have my Casino amp albeit having blown something. It sounds ok & from day 1 the Casino's controls ie contour, gain etc had no variance on the sound. The only knob that worked was the volume. I'm thinking that the blow up was in a part that didn't previously work? I didn't want another Casino as it was like a home made amp and when it was under warranty it had a few faults that were never properly rectified. But it had a solid warm tone.
timestight> the Cube is more robust and will suit for out door /travel use. I can still use the Casina for recording at home but for how long. But this can be the case with any piece of equipment.
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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billy_shines
186 posts
Mar 10, 2012
7:49 PM
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yeah thats what im working on now that warm tone. it just takes a hell of alot of volts DC to power tubes.
but alot of these 10-25 watt tube portable radios still work. because they used them once payed a million bucks for a 90 volt battery to listen to a ball game when fishing stuck it on a shelf and never used it again.
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Aussiesucker
1046 posts
Mar 10, 2012
11:08 PM
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billy_shines > I have been researching/reading all afternoon and the A.R.T. Tube pre amp gets both excellent and lousy reviews. At the US price (Amazon $29) I wouldn't hesitate but its 12v AC & buying from the US it comes with a US adapter to only fit the US power supply. Locally the item is over $100.
Would be interested to hear what others experience with the ART unit is?
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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Libertad
44 posts
Mar 11, 2012
3:39 AM
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If you want to colour the tone why not try an amp modeller? The Digitech RP155 with Richard Hunters patch set would do the job.
Martin
Last Edited by on Mar 11, 2012 3:40 AM
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1730 posts
Mar 11, 2012
3:54 AM
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I looked at one of those the other day for 99$ cause I heard they can loop,are they decent for harp?whats Richard Hunters patch set?
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Hobostubs
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geordiebluesman
557 posts
Mar 11, 2012
11:41 AM
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I got a Fireball V for Christmas and was a little disapointed with it untill my more experienced harp buddyrouted it through his ART pre amp and suddenly that big fat tone i wanted was there.
I was playing through a Digitec 350 effects pedal with the Richard Hunter patch set installed but the sound did'nt jump out untill the preamp got involved so i recon that might just be the way to go.
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Aussiesucker
1048 posts
Mar 11, 2012
8:49 PM
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geordiebluesman> I love my Fireball V & was getting that fat tone until I got the Micro Cube. Sounds like the ART pre amp is the way to go.
I was also looking at recording direct into computer using the Fireball + ART (interface?) into Audacity. Is this a suitable fit?
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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Jehosaphat
196 posts
Mar 11, 2012
10:00 PM
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I had an Art (DI) preamp.It just wouldn't work well into my computer Line in imput.Some sort of impedance mismatch?
Worked fine into PA's etc.
Something maybe to be aware of, though of course YMMV.
As an aside don't we guys who don't live in the US really have to pay over the top for gear.
My new VHT six cost me $445 as opposed to US prices around S200
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Aussiesucker
1049 posts
Mar 11, 2012
10:13 PM
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Jehosaphat > not only do we pay considerably more but the service sometimes is non existent. Some electronics cameras computers etc are competitive but speciality stuff is 2 or more times the price. Harps are $20 cheaper from US and delivery from Rockin' Ron is quicker than what I can get from a local music store who normally carry little stock.
And you will have to explain YMMV?
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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Libertad
45 posts
Mar 12, 2012
1:14 PM
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'whats Richard Hunters patch set?'
http://www.hunterharp.com/hear-our-new-huntersounds-rp155-patch-set-samples/
Cheers
Martin
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Jehosaphat
197 posts
Mar 12, 2012
2:20 PM
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@Aussiesucker
Same here in NZ.Rockin' Rons gets orders to me quicker than i can mail order locally with a much better selection and price.
A lot of local music shops don't even stock harps anymore and the ones that do usually just have a few Hohner Blues bands and maybe an L/O or two.Mostly in the key of E.I have tried to explain why E isn't a popular Harp key but they say"its a popular blues key isn't it?"
Ah well.
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