Good battery powered amp?

axisus

What a good un for playing out and about? preferably with an input for something like an ipod for backing tracks.

Samgb

My THR10C takes batteries. Its pretty great. Or are you talking huge, gig volume?

not_the_dj

That new Blackstar Fly

xscaramanga

THR10s are indeed good (and rechargeable battery technology has now reached the point where with 8 of these you'll get good battery life and not have to buy batteries all the time).

Hear good things about the Roland Cube Street. I haven't used one, but I always liked the original MicroCube.The old ones with the Roland logo on the front, mind, not the newer ones which just say "Cube" on them. They sound shite for some reason. 

Flanging_Fred

I would think the Roland street cube should be the first choice to investigate.

simonk

The Blackstar Fly is surprisingly impressive.

Sassafras

Pignose. I think most of them take batteries and they're bloody LOUD, too.

close2u

I have a VOX DA5 I can sell you.

http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/show/112474196/vox-da5-classic-digital-guitar-amp-digital-fx.html

richh

I used to have a Pignose, and it was a bitter disappointment.  What got me fired up to order one, years ago, was a 'Guitarist' magazine review / demo with soundtrack.  This was basically a Tele into a Pignose, and it just sounded great.  Order placed, I waited in keen anticip...pation...

I never got anything like that quality of sound with mine, and it had rattles that I could never properly dampen.  Maybe I didn't get one of the good ones, but it was a leap of faith that didn't work for me.

Where I live (Oxford) there are always people busking with battery amps, so if that's the case where you are, maybe worth checking out what some of these guys are using and what results they are getting?

Sounds like other folk here are more up to date on this than me.  And I'm sure there are great Pignose amps there, but mine certainly wasn't one of them!

Kebabkid

The Roland Micro Cubes are very good and you can line out to a PA if you wanted to use it as a spare amp or for jam sessions, but plenty loud for at home at 2W. I actually have a Street Cube on loan at the mo and the amp models aren't as good as the Micro Cube (should be Roland-naughty) but they're still good and this also has a separate mic/line channel but no line out. It's quite loud too. A used Micro Cube can be had for about £40.

guitarfishbay

Used Microcube. I use mine regularly, not expensive, sturdy (I've had one since launch) and sounds are useable considering the main criteria is portable. They use strap pins so you can attacha guitar strap which makes them even easier to transport. I have Dunlop lok straps fitted to keep it safer when doing this.

ICBM

If you actually want something that will handle full-range music as well as guitar, you need something bigger and chunkier than most of the usual portable guitar amps.

The older Peavey Solo - not the current model which appears to be just a guitar practice amp - was great for this and was actually described as a 'portable PA system' - stretching things, but it is at least capable of taking guitar, a mic and an external input. It's also (just) possible to upgrade the speaker, which makes a big difference although it may be a challenge to get into the casing. I put a bass speaker in mine with a low-profile tweeter mounted in front of it on a bracket under the logo, although I did have to bend the back panel a bit to get the magnet to fit! Sadly I sold it to someone who really needed it one summer...