I’m in need of a small battery powered amp for playing whistle but all that’s available
seem to be guitar amps.
Has anyone any experience with guitar amps like the Roland Micro Cube?
It’s for playing out doors with a couple of melodeons, they’re not amplified.
Thanks.
As you may know, the problem with most mini guitar amps is that they tend to start distorting at pretty low volumes. I haven’t tried the micro cube though, so I can’t comment specifically on that one. The Pignose, for example, does distort pretty heavily when turned up, which is part of its charm for guitar players.
Your best bet is probably something like the battery powered keyboard amp made by Roland, but that might be either too large or to expensive for your needs. Google it and take a look.
Another option is an older “Vintage” battery powered amp called the Mouse or its sibling the Maxi-Mouse. These can sometimes be found used for $100 or so, but often require the purchase of a new battery from the company, however they no longer produce the amp.
Your best bet though is to try the micro cube with a very clean mic, and see if you can make that work.
Good luck.
I have used the Roland Micro Cube. I don’t own one though. I have played Weissenborn guitar through one. It is different from the old guitar battery powered amps like the Pignose. It does not depend on the preamp overdriving the amp or the amp overloading the speaker to create distortion. It has a digital effects system on board. The nice thing, at least to me, about the Micro Cube is that it has a “clean” channel based on the venerable Roland Jazz Chorus amps, one of the cleanest and most even sounding guitar amps out there. It also has an “acoustic” setting for, duh, acoustic guitars.
There is a downside, IMO, to the Micro Cube. The small speaker does not offer much sound dispersion. My experience with the Cube was in a smallish room. I would be concerned that it would get lost, or just be “blowin in the wind”, if used out of doors with a couple melodeons. But that’s just an unfounded fear from me.
I would suggest a portable PA or active PA speaker with a built in mixer. The advantage is that you will have a more full spectrum preamp and speaker over the guitar rigs and they will support low impedance microphones. These are available in battery operated models too. I have used both the Ion and Alesis models outdoors. The Alesis was called something like “Roadfire”. It is no longer offered. The Ion is called the “Block Rocker” or something similar. I don’t know if it is still on the market but they seemed to be all over for a couple years. It came with an iPod dock so it was a decent portable party rig on college campuses. There are many similar, if not identical, rigs out there under other brand names. Thank you, China. These come with built in wheels and a telescoping handle to move then around. The battery is heavy. Again, I don’t own one of these. I have played through them. They offer a bigger sound and will give you better dispersion.
There are a ton of active PA speakers on the market. Many with mixers built in. Some have battery power. These will generally offer a pole mount for a speaker stand which will get it up high to facilitate dispersion so your sound won’t be lost in people’s ankles and trousers. I have some recollection of Roland offering one. Samson may offer one as well. Brands like Gem, Gemini and Pyle might be most economical. And there are Black Friday deals at Musicians Friend on them. These are DJ oriented products but should work. I can’t recommend any from experience though. All my PA’s and Amplifiers draw power from the grid. Reddy Kilowatt is an enabler.
Acoustic guitar amps frequently have a low impedance channel and a Hi-Z channel. Carvin offers, or has offered, a battery powered model. Haven’t used one. Their stuff is usually pretty solid. There should be other brands out there as well. These are generally self contained PA rigs with a very high impedance input for a piezo guitar pickup on one channel. You’ll generally get a reverb and chorus on these too, if that matters.
The suggestion of a keyboard amp is a good one. They have to reproduce a broad sound spectrum too. And they do frequently offer a mic input channel on the fuller featured models. I just don’t know of a battery powered model personally. Roland must offer one, probably a variation on the Micro Cube guitar models.
What are you using for a mic?
Hope that helps some.
Feadoggie
I owned the Carvin unit for years. It is called the StageMate. It is very heavy duty - and very heavy. It contains 1 lead acid battery - and a second can be installed. I used the two battery option. It has a full-range open sound to it, handles a number of channels, and for us, was very reliable. The unit contains digital effects. A matching speaker, model 810, can be added for stereo. We used that option, and the sound coverage was excellent. While no longer available from Carvin, one sees them on the used market from time to time…
For details, go here: http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/S400D
Best.
Byll
Thanks for the great replies,
I’m a complete newbie when it comes to amplifying so what you’ve said I’ll take away and digest
over the next few days.
I’m being loaned from a good friend a Micro cube amp this Wednesday to try and another is loaning me a small flute mic.
I’ve no idea what the mic is but I’ll let you know in the coming days.
Nick
Alright. A loaner keeps the costs down.
The reason I asked about your mic has do do with making sure that the plumbing bits work together.
Most mics these days will be low impedance(<600 ohms) devices and XLR connectors.
Most guitar amps will offer only high impedance (>10k ohms) inputs and 1/4" TS/Phone connectors. That’s what the Micro Cube uses.
The two do not match physically or electrically.
So take a look at the mic and get back to us.
Feadoggie
I own and use the micro cube and like it a lot. It’s very portable and I’ve used it both indoors and outdoors. Feadoggie has pointed out some of it’s good features so I won’t repeat them. I picked one up at a garage sale for $25 and it’s worked well for many years… I recommend it. I own other Roland products and they are excellent quality.
Make sure that the mic you’ll be borrowing doesn’t need phantom power.
There is one amp I would like to recommend especially, but I don’t know how much you’re willing to spend.
Roland AC-33.
A great amp for vocals and guitar. I use it for both, but I also use it to mic my whistles.
It can be run on batteries and is very handy for outdoor gigs. And the sound is really really good.
John
I’ve used a Crate Taxi - pairing a shure vocal mic and using the vocal input. Works well for us and the battery will last forever. No fancy bells or whistles, but it’s a workhorse with great volume. I think you have to buy used these days, but they are very popular with the street musician crowd in Lawrence.
I’ll put in a word for the classic Pignose. Because it’s the classic Pignose! And it’s what I have.
5 lbs/5 watts (vs. 7 lbs/2 watts for the Micro Cube). Very simple - just input, line out, and volume control. The cabinet latch is your tone control. 
I rewired mine to take a 9v battery as well as AA cells, because it’s convenient to carry a 9v or two in your pocket as a spare. Otherwise I use rechargeable AA cells. Either one easily gives me a good 3 hours or more.
As Loren said, it’s really designed to distort as you move toward the top of the volume range. But it’s pretty clean with the volume set low and you’re still getting 1-2 watts, the equivalent of the Micro Cube. You don’t need much amplification for playing with unamped melodeons, and a touch of distortion might actually blend well. And when you’re playing and carrying an instrument that weighs only a few ounces, minimizing the weight of your kit seems appropriate unless you really need the extra power and heft of those bigger amps, up to 20 lbs or more.
I’ve used the Pig since the 80s, for guitar as well. If I had to choose today, I might well choose the Micro Cube. I have an actual venerable Roland Jazz Chorus amp, and the clean sound is indeed good for acoustic instruments. OTOH, the Pignose is about half the cost of the Micro Cube. And it has a … pig nose!
Huzzah!
I have one of the Roland Street amps, the wedge shaped one that runs on 8 AA batteries. Previous generation of this one:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CubeStBlk
MTGuru and I have used it quite successfully at several indoor house gigs, but it has enough power to use outdoors for some busking reinforcement. Lasts for hours on batteries.
Looks like there is a new model, even higher powered, the Street EX. This would be great to have:
I like the sound of the Pignose, the weight and portability are a big plus.
We often have to walk from one dance spot to another 3 or 4 times in an afternoon
so size and weight are important, thanks MT for that one
The Pignose also has attachment knobs for a guitar strap. So you can easily carry it around hands-free on your shoulder, and even wear it while playing.
From the photos, it looks like you might be able to do the same with the Micro Cube if the carry strap is detachable.