Battery powered for ABG?

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Apr 13, 2010
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#1
A new project may include a level of outdoor performance and electricity may not always be available. Is there anything that could serve for bass and be battery powered? I'm not expecting any options above 15W or hi-fi quality. But even in a relatively quiet situation no one is going to hear an ABG without some assistance.

I'm not looking for anything expensive as (a) that's expensive and (b) I'm in the UK and it will get rained on at some point. Some inexpensive battery powered acoustic guitar amp that isn't totally devoid of low end might be sufficient. But before I try to find a bricks and mortar store that has more than one such amp (not easy to find these days) to try out, what should I be considering?
 
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#2
The expensive premium option would be a Phil Jones Double Four and a laptop battery.
But that's above 15W and sounds HiFi.

Roland/ Boss have the CUBE series. There's the older Roland Microcube Bass with four tiny speakers, and out of that same series, there's a PA version which is supposed to be even better. I can't recall the name, though.
 
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#3
On the Roland side, you now have the DUAL CUBE BASS LX but it's only 2x5W
Positive Grid Spark have a full range of amp: Spark (40W), Mini (10W), and Go (5W) + external cab (140W)

No idea how loud they are, how good they sound, and I'm not even sure you can compare their power (W) to get an idea of their respective volume.

What I can tell you however, is that I just bought a Phil Jones Double Four for just 300 € used, and… wow! It is so loud for its tiny size and it sounds so good, it's hard to believe. It really feels and sounds like a real bass amp, an excellent one, only smaller a quieter.

Other practice amps I have tried before were feeling like toys in comparison, very frustrating.
I haven't searched for a laptop battery to power it yet, I know there's a thread on this topic somewhere…

Last, there's a new version Double Four Plus available in the USA, not yet in Europe as far as I know. I think it only adds Bluetooth aux, but the good news is that it should become easier to find the original version for cheap on the used market.
 
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#4
gtirard said:
On the Roland side, you now have the DUAL CUBE BASS LX but it's only 2x5W
Positive Grid Spark have a full range of amp: Spark (40W), Mini (10W), and Go (5W) + external cab (140W)

No idea how loud they are, how good they sound, and I'm not even sure you can compare their power (W) to get an idea of their respective volume.

What I can tell you however, is that I just bought a Phil Jones Double Four for just 300 € used, and… wow! It is so loud for its tiny size and it sounds so good, it's hard to believe. It really feels and sounds like a real bass amp, an excellent one, only smaller a quieter.

Other practice amps I have tried before were feeling like toys in comparison, very frustrating.
I haven't searched for a laptop battery to power it yet, I know there's a thread on this topic somewhere…

Last, there's a new version Double Four Plus available in the USA, not yet in Europe as far as I know. I think it only adds Bluetooth aux, but the good news is that it should become easier to find the original version for cheap on the used market.
Click to expand...
The Spark and Spark Cab aren't battery powered. For the former there are some hacks for, but that's not an ideal option.
 
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#5
el murdoque said:
... There's the older Roland Microcube Bass with four tiny speakers, and out of that same series, there's a PA version which is supposed to be even better. I can't recall the name, though.
Click to expand...

The BA-330. I have one. It's OK, but the tone isn't exactly right compared to a proper bass amp. 30 watts powered by 8 AA rechargable batteries.

I now have a Phil Jones BE-17, and an EcoFlow Delta2 1 KW battery/inverter to power it. The tone is much better, but no MIC inputs.....
 
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#6
I can't vouch for how it performs, but it does meet your criteria.
www.thomannmusic.com

Joyo MA-10B Portable Bass Amp

Transistor Combo For Electric Basses 2 Channels, Power: 10 Watt, 5" Customised full frequency speaker, Closed cabinet, Controls: Volume, tone, gain, Switch: Normal / drive, Input: 6.3 mm jack, AUX input, Headphone output, Power supply via 6x AA...
www.thomannmusic.com www.thomannmusic.com
 
#7
el murdoque said:
The expensive premium option would be a Phil Jones Double Four and a laptop battery.
But that's above 15W and sounds HiFi.
Click to expand...

The Phil Jones can be picked up used for $350 or so used if you keep your eyes open. And a used laptop battery for it for just a few dollars.

I have one and lug it around to play with a guitarist friend. Useful for practice at home too. Sounds exceptional, can get way louder than you'd think and plays for hours on battery. Can't recommend highly enough.
 
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#8
abarson said:
I can't vouch for how it performs, but it does meet your criteria.
www.thomannmusic.com

Joyo MA-10B Portable Bass Amp

Transistor Combo For Electric Basses 2 Channels, Power: 10 Watt, 5" Customised full frequency speaker, Closed cabinet, Controls: Volume, tone, gain, Switch: Normal / drive, Input: 6.3 mm jack, AUX input, Headphone output, Power supply via 6x AA...
www.thomannmusic.com www.thomannmusic.com
Click to expand...
I doubt this toy is enough to play outdoor

[EDIT] But OP can try: Thomann has a nice return policy (and it's so cheap there's no big risk, except waisting time)
 
Last edited:
#9
el murdoque said:
The expensive premium option would be a Phil Jones Double Four and a laptop battery.
But that's above 15W and sounds HiFi.

Roland/ Boss have the CUBE series. There's the older Roland Microcube Bass with four tiny speakers, and out of that same series, there's a PA version which is supposed to be even better. I can't recall the name, though.
Click to expand...

The new Phil Jones Bass BG-80 Double Four Plus has a USB power input so you can use a cell phone power pack.
 
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#10
I have an EV Everse8. !2-hour battery. 400 watts. Under 17 lbs. Four channels built in, two with xls-combo jacks. All controls on rear, or via their bluetooth app. Built by a pro-audio company. I just did a 3-week European tour with it (acoustic duo). The XLR pass-through in the back serves as a DI out as well. Sounds excellent. Pricy, $749. But makes all the above choices look like the crap that they are,
 
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#11
mark107 said:
I have an EV Everse8. !2-hour battery. 400 watts. Under 17 lbs. Four channels built in, two with xls-combo jacks. All controls on rear, or via their bluetooth app. Built by a pro-audio company. I just did a 3-week European tour with it (acoustic duo). The XLR pass-through in the back serves as a DI out as well. Sounds excellent. Pricy, $749. But makes all the above choices look like the crap that they are,
Click to expand...
Have you tried the Phil Jones Double Four? I doubt you call it crap if you had.
 
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#12
Regarding the Roland battery powered amps, I think the Cube Street EX would be the sweet spot in size VS performance. The sound is more like a PA cab, and headroom is pretty limited but it will definitely be louder than an acoustic ABG. It's not cheap.

I wouldn't bother with the smaller Roland's. To be honest, IMHO the Cube Street EX barely produces usable volume.

If you already have a suitable amp, consider a pure sine powerbank. I bought a unit rated for 300W continuous and 500W surge to use with my old GK 700RB/112 combo. A higher power rating would be nice, but I chose based on carryability VS performance. The amp does produce a small amount of hum on this particular power bank. Otherwise it seems to operate the same as it does plugged in.

My thread: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/battery-powered-mayhem-jackery-300.1567820/
 
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#14
I would look more at battery powered PA options than guitar options. I have done a lot of busking with a Bose S1 pro - it sounds great for bass, and they’ve been around long enough to be on the used market. A poster above mentioned the EV speaker, and some other major companies like Yamaha make them, too but they’re not really cheap. I know a busker who has several 12” unbranded battery powered pa speakers bought directly from China via eBay. They sound great, seem to hold up well, and I think he said he paid 250$Usd apiece. Anything like that will be far better than a Roland cube. I did see a Jackery unit at HF the other day and will probably buy one when I have more disposable income…
 
#16
abarson said:
I can't vouch for how it performs, but it does meet your criteria.
www.thomannmusic.com

Joyo MA-10B Portable Bass Amp

Transistor Combo For Electric Basses 2 Channels, Power: 10 Watt, 5" Customised full frequency speaker, Closed cabinet, Controls: Volume, tone, gain, Switch: Normal / drive, Input: 6.3 mm jack, AUX input, Headphone output, Power supply via 6x AA...
www.thomannmusic.com www.thomannmusic.com
Click to expand...

It did pop up when web searching. It's very light, cheap but 10W into one tiny speaker is probably too little. It's almost worth it just for the hell of it given the price, though.
 
#17
MVE said:
Has anyone tried to hide a speaker inside an ABG?
Click to expand...
like the Fernandez travel bass?

IMG_2632.jpeg
 
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