I am looking into purchasing a rechargable or battery operated mini amp. On my list of options are Pig Nose 20, Roland Mini Cube, Roland Steet Cube, Line-6 Spider, Vox DA-5, Vox Mini 3. Obviously I am looking for feedback and recommendions from players on this post. My ability is intermediate and I like to play various forms of Alternative Country and Blues.
I recommend the Pignose 20 if you are after a good gritty tone. It's a bit of a one trick pony as it doesn't have any controls other than volume but it's one of my favorite amps. EDIT...sorry Doc...I meant the Pignose 7-100, not the 20.
I would recommend the Vox DA-5 if you want to try different tones and effects. I have a larger 50watt version of this and I love it.
I've also tried a Roland Cube which I liked...it's a bit like the Vox but I found the Vox controls easier to use. Plenty of usable tones there too.
Welcome aboard DOC! ---------- Oisin
Last Edited by on Nov 09, 2010 1:34 PM
@ Doc Randell, I'm pondering most of the above mentioned mini amps myself at the moment. The only difference is I've been thinking about the pignose 7-100 also.
I've seen some good Youtube videos about various amps like the Hog and Vox just try searching the amp name and harmonica.
I've yet to try any of these myself and living in Scotland I've yet to find anywhere even remotely close to try the pignose. The others though I've seen and have asked if it would be ok to bring in a mic to try 'em out a little.
I'm also thinking that a wee valve amp might be good to have for home use as well, something still small though. Perhaps the Vox AC4 mini, Champion 600 or Epiphone Valve Junior there all much the same price in the UK. Any thoughts would be great.
My biggest problem would be that although I can try some of these out, I've only been learning a short while and my playing and mic technique is fairly basic, so might not get the great sound you hope for and see others achieving. Early days thought :o)
So Doc I look forward to any info you get from the forum and sorry if I've kidnapped your thread by posing questions in my post.
I have the Vox DA-5 and I like it a lot. It is battery operated, has a variable power select switch on the back 0.5Watt, 1.5 Watt and 5 Watt depending on the setting your playing in i.e quiet practice at home etc., also an Aux in on the back and a separate vocal Mic input with its own volume control, a Line out/Headphone. Then on top a guitar or harp input, 11 styles from Clean, Blues, Crunch Hi Gain and Overdrive and 11 effects Reverb Delay etc., the length of delay which are adjustable.
I am using this amp with a Shure Green Bullet 520 DX and line out to my PC sound card to record and upload onto YouTube.
Check this vid out by a German Guy called Ralf using the DA5. EDIT: He is using a custom harp and he also has very good cupping technique to maximise that drive sound. I have been unable to get it to sound like that on the settings he's using.
i have a pignose hog 20 which i bought used a few years ago.it has volume tone and squeal knobs.squeal for gain .its not a bad sound with my sm57 but my 2 bullets have nasty distortion in the treble.just try to test one before you buy.
Gig74...I also have a Fender champion600 and love it. I use this amp at most of the jams I go to and although it sometimes has to be mic'ed up, it has a great tone. I've also played through a Valve Jr and it was excellent also. Either of these two make a good harp amp. Both of these amps can be modded quite easily but I've never tried it. One of the other forum members from the UK, LukeJuke, has modded his Valve Jr and was very pleased with the results. He siad it wasn't too difficult either.
If you can afford it, a Harpgear amp is the one to go for though. ---------- Oisin
Its probelly to small for what you want but i just got a Honeytone amp and its great,I love the tone i get with my green bullet mic,I wish my other 2 bigger amps sounded as good,It also works great with cigarbox guitar,its just so so with a acoustic guitar,I have a 9volt adapter,so im not sure how long the batteries last,but its loud for such a small amp,Im definetly a honeytone fan there only $20 musicians friend
@ Greyowlphotoart, Like the sound of the Vox on the video, nice. It sure seems to do alot for the price it cheaper over here than a pignose but seems to do more.
@ Oisin I do like the sound of the champ and it looks nice too (which is important, if it's in the house my wife can't think there's that big ugly amp, I'll get that sold on ebay)
Is it overkill to have two amps for slightly different purposes when your just starting out?
I'm not sure I'd want to risk modding something I'd take it apart and put it back together and be like "where's this bit from, must be a spare"
Last Edited by on Nov 09, 2010 2:41 PM
Just to make things harder, another option is the Jay Turser Classic 10. Battery powered, solid state, ten watts. Sounds best with low-Z mics (as are most dynamic mics).
Here's a couple of samples of me playing through one:
This one using a Digitech rp155 and doing some looping.
This one is no effects, using a low D.
Both were done using a cheap no-name low-z dynamic mic. ---------- -------------------------------------- View my videos on YouTube!"
oh, it's cheap too. Cheaper than a 7-100. I got mine used for $40. The little piggy goes for $70-100. I used to own a 7-100, and I think that this amp sounds much better. Less shrill. ---------- -------------------------------------- View my videos on YouTube!"
Probably shouldn't mention this one, but I'm digging my Letrosonic Maxi-Mouse. This is a mid 80's busking amp, solid state, 2 channels, sounds great, rechargeable, with 8" speaker. I heard Adam play through his a few years back and decided to pick one up if I ever found a deal on a decent one. I think i paid 50.00, but they are not easy to find.
Gig...you don't really need two amps and with the Fender you can get a tone similar to the Pignose by cranking the volume. (Although it's only rated at 5 watts, when it's cranked up it is quite loud).
I just got the missus and kids to buy me an amp for my birthday or Christmas so over a couple of years I ended up with a few.
If you're after a few different sounds then you should try out a modelling amp like the Vox DA-5 or one of it's biggers brothers (they do a 30,50 and 100 watt model). These have 11 different amps in one and loads of built in effects. You really can have some fun with these and they sound great. The little DA-5 is a very good starting amp.
The Fender champion 600 is another amp with just a volume control and although the tone changes slightly with increased volume and different mics, you won't get anything like the number of different tones you can get with the Vox. You will spend hours messing about with it.
I bought a VOX DA-5 last year after hearing several good reviews on it (for playing harp). Great little practice amp !
It has three power settings, .5 watts, 1.5 watts, and 5 watts, an auxillary input that's great for plugging in your iPod for jam/groove tracks, a line out, several "styles" (I like the Blues 3 best), various effects (I like the delay and reverb the best).
I'm using rechargeable Tenergy C-size NiMH 5000mAh batteries (6) and charger that I bought from Amazon.
I think its a great little amp, better than the Pignose 7-100 and Hog-20 that I have. Much more versatile.
I heard that VOX was discontinuing this model, but they are still available last time I checked.
I picked up the MicroCube about 6 or 7 years ago, can't go wrong, not bad for harp. I also bought a Crate mini when Guitar Center was blowing them out for 50.00 last year, I like that one a lot too. I had an idea that I might want to try busking last year and found a deal on a Vox DA-20, this is a twin 8 battery powered amp, it has a 5W 10W 15W power switch and a lot of amp modeling and effects. My guitar buddies also have one and love them, I'm not sure I like the way the effects work. So, if possible, check them all out first. I prefer my Mouse to the Vox, anyone want a deal?
Plus one for the Vox DA-5. I did a review of it on YT (see my profile here for the link). For me the best feature of it is the variable power switch. It can sound good at very low volume for in-house practice. ----------
Last Edited by on Nov 10, 2010 2:01 PM
@ mr so&so, Cool, I've actually watched your vid several times recently. It's a very good review and one of the factors that had me interested in the Vox DA-5. Thanks.
@ Isaccullah, Nice sound you have there, very mellow. Love your looping work. I'm plannig on getting a loop station one day (without changing the thread I was thinking perhaps of the akai headrush or the boss rc-2 after seeing Katie Tunstall and Brendan Power).
Hi Doc what's your thoughts? I'm feeling a lot of love for the Vox DA-5, any one tried the mini3?
I never thought taking up the harp would open up so many fun and exciting ways to spend money.
I have not tried any of the other amps but I do have a microcube so I can give you feedback on that.
You did not say what conditions you would be using it for or why you want a mini amp but I find it certainly works great and is surely loud enough for busking on the street. It also has enough effects that sound good on the harp that you can pull a variety of different sounds out of it to mix it up.
I bought a set of rechargable batteries for it and have used it at about half volume for almost 4 hours straight and not run out of juice.
I play it with an sm57 and can get it really clean and acoustic or dirty with the amp simulations. ( I am pretty sure you know this but just in case. make sure your impedence matches depending on your mic since this is a guitar amp you may need a transformer )
I am guessing you are not looking for a gig amp but I do use it sometimes when I am sitting in on a freind's gig for a few songs since it is small to lug around and I just use the output right into the PA and keep it close by so I can control volume for feedback and switch up the effects depending on the songs played and feel I want.
It was suggested to me that I can get a tube pre amp to warm it up for pretty cheap on line. I have not tried this yet but I am getting a loaner preamp on Monday to see if I am going to go this route. I can keep you posted if you want.
Oh and just cause I am particular. I pulled off all the logos and crazy looking things so it is not such an eyesore.
Well guys I'd like to say thank you for all your advise on the mini amp topic, I went out yesterday and got myself an amp.
I went to Red dogs in Edinburgh, Scotland and what a great shopping experience it was. I asked if I could try a few amps and the sales assistant was only to happy to help. She offered me the chance to test them on the sales floor or a practice booth, I went for the practice booth, with only just over six months playing I thought I'd be a bit nervous in front of a busy music shop.
I went pretty much with the intention to get a vox Da-5 after all the positives I've heard here, but I tried a few just for fun. I spent just under an hour and tried out the Roland Micro Cube, Vox DA-5, Vox mini3 and a Vox AC4 ( I didn't really have the budget for the AC4 but it was very nice sounding all the same).
After all was said and done I went for the Vox mini3, it was very, very similar to the cube and da-5 which I thought were both really good, but I found the mini3 just a little more obvious as to how it worked and the tap delay was very straight forward for me.
So now I'm a very happy owner of my first amp. I Plan to use it to practice at home but also for when I hook up with my inlaws (who are a very musical bunch and are always jamming away on guitar, 12 string and banjo. It makes for great family get togethers). And one day hopefully not too far away I'd very much like to hit the streets and do some busking.
@ Doc Randall hey there, have you made a purchase yet, if so what did you go for?
Well boys I am just overwhelmed with the feed back. Thanks to all of you. I am leaning towards the Vox-DA5 or The Roland Microcube. I will just have to take my bullet and head over to The Guitar Center and try 'em all out. I do not plan to use it for big gigs. Just for stuff like around the firepit down at camp or a for a quick jam and of course practice. I will report back once I have made a purchase. Warning: It could be another month before I have the extra money to spend. And, then there will be the hassle with the wife after that!!!!! Doc Randell
Last Edited by on Nov 09, 2010 2:48 PM
