Iām planning to start busking and realised that I need a battery operated amp.
I did plenty of research, tried hard to stay within budget (didnāt happen ) and found out the vox Mini Go series.
I initially went for the mini go 10, but the music store owner warned me that a 10-watt amp wouldnāt do the trick for the streets with an electric guitar plus a mic plugged in.
He advised me to level up the game with the 50-watt model and Iād like your input:
Will 50 watts do the trick for street performances and small gigs (eg coffee shops etc)?
Is there any other option that doesnāt exceed the already extended budget of 300ā¬?
Will the built-in effects (including a looper) support my journey? Is it better / more affordable to buy separate pedals? (Note that there is a foot switch available with an additional 50ā¬)
Any advice with the whole battery thing? This one does not use separate batteries but a power bank. Is that a pro or a con?
Hi Helen,
I have no idea about those amplifiers, ā¦ but before you forget I want to point out an equally important thing, ā¦ check if there is a camera on your phone, right? because of course you have to record this,ā¦and if itās recorded well,ā¦thennnnā¦
How great that you are going to do this, super cool, and a very good step in your music careerā¦
Greetings,Rogier
Helen- I have a Roland KC-110 PA that can run on batteries. I think itās 10W and the advice you were given by the store is true. You need a lot of power in open air. This amp runs on normal batteries but it will chew them up so you wonāt get a lot of playing time- especially at full volume. You donāt say whether youāre going to play electric or acoustic which will make a difference. Since youāre looking for pedals, Iāll assume electric. My recommendation is to buy something you can plug a rechargeable power brick into. If itās 12V, you could use a motorcycle battery that can be recharged by a car battery charger. Didnāt the store recommend something?
I think the PA is a good choice over a āguitarā amp because PAs usually have a mixer and you can plug several instruments into them. The one I have has a mic input and two instrument inputs. This may be something else to consider in case you find a friend that wants to busk with you.
A 50W amp at 12V requires roughly a 4 amp power source which is pretty hefty. I looked up a motorcycly battery and theyāre rated at 10amphour. If you were drawing all 4 amps youād get less than three hours out of this type of battery. Amps donāt draw as much power if they arenāt āamplifyingā anything so itāll likely last a lot longer. These batteries are heavy and cost up wards of $100 (youāll have to do the currency conversion). If you go this route, youāll also need a cable made up. I would hope some commercial amp company would have a ārigā for exactly what you need.
Hope any of this helped. Good luck with your performances.
My Roland Street Cube can be powered by 6 AA batteries or similar battery pack.
I did a 3h busking session and I could go more than loud enough in a shopping street with people. It still had battery power left.
It has an excellent clean sound and 2 combo plugins, both serving jacks as xlr for mics. (The vox only does jacks). It has seperate delay/reverb controls for your vocal and guitar channel and it also has some other effect/amp models. I use it as a little PA as well.
The built in distortions are meh but so are those on that Vox, all too brittle and edgy.
I use this amp all the time for practicing the electrig guitar songs from my solo gig set.
If you are going to amplify vocals with a standard mic and electro-acoustic guitar, Iād seriously consider a (secondhand) Roland product. Their clean sounds and often built in delay/verbs get me real far!
Thank you! I generally think that Roland is the most popular amp for buskers, but it exceeds my financial capabilities at the moment. I play the electric, btw, I donāt know if that changes stuff a bit. Either way, Iāll do a bit more research!
) and found out the vox Mini Go series.
