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  #46  
Old 05-27-2016, 02:25 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
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Kurt, if you're ever in NYC, PHL or the poconos I'll show you what's what with this collection of amps that I have.
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  #47  
Old 05-27-2016, 02:38 PM
zhunter zhunter is offline
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Originally Posted by Fret-O'File View Post
Really? Did you end up picking up a Pure SW inverter?
Nope. Went another way.

hunter
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  #48  
Old 05-27-2016, 02:51 PM
Fret-O'File Fret-O'File is offline
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Originally Posted by dannyg1 View Post
Kurt, if you're ever in NYC, PHL or the poconos I'll show you what's what with this collection of amps that I have.
I lived all my life in NY and just moved south to the Asheville NC area.
But... I will be going up to NY at least a few times a year for work, family & friends. I'd love to see what you have going on with amps. Next time I'm heading up, I'll give you a shout. You mentioned three locations, do you split time between them?
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  #49  
Old 05-27-2016, 02:54 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
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Yeah, I do. During the summer I take trips to the beach as well. I typically have two amps with me at a time. If you give me a week's notice, I can bring a larger selection.
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  #50  
Old 05-27-2016, 02:57 PM
Fret-O'File Fret-O'File is offline
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I keep looking at the prospect of using a seperate front end and other than the TC helicon play acoustic or the Zoom r24, I don't see any affordable options around. The ones that are available seem to offer good amounts of control but everything is buried in touch screens and nested menus.

Something like the Grace Felix with a reverb section and at a cost of sub $400 doesn't seem to exist. The box I keep coming back to is the Qsc touxhmix 8. Costs more than any of my amps though and runs at 19v (if I remember correctly). Maybe a tonedextet with a vocal channel and reverbs will come out in the future.
I was eyeing that Grace Felix but at 1K I'll be eyeing it only. I'm just getting into plugging in with acoustic so if any spare thousands come along, I'd still be inclined to spend that on guitars and not gear. That being said, since I started plugging in I find myself waiting for my wife to go out so I can crank up a bit. It's a different vibe than playing unplugged. It certainly emphasizes my deficiencies in technique so makes me try to play a bit cleaner. I figure if I am going to start playing out solo fingerstyle, my technique better be solid.
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  #51  
Old 05-27-2016, 02:59 PM
Fret-O'File Fret-O'File is offline
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Originally Posted by dannyg1 View Post
Yeah, I do. During the summer I take trips to the beach as well. I typically have two amps with me at a time. If you give me a week's notice, I can bring a larger selection.
Sounds good, I should be heading up for a week in August. I'll give you a shout and if you are around and available we'll get together. What type of music do you mostly play?
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  #52  
Old 05-27-2016, 07:38 PM
Bobby1note Bobby1note is offline
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Originally Posted by dannyg1 View Post
Bobby1note, it's experience like yours that keeps me from being too reticent about recommending modified sine inverters (and which leads me to believe boxes like the Duracell 600 can be fine low to moderate use solutions).

The advantages of pure sine are dramatic on the efficiency side though , which means less battery weight for the same run time and couple that with lower power supply stress, those things lead me to recommend pure sine to people using the systems more than every once in a while.

I'm big on the sound quality issues as well .Only the most expensive OEM solutions can compete with moderately priced amps run through an inverter set. There's no comparison.
It's my understanding that amps with "lesser-quality power-supplies", may be more prone to to having issues with MSW inverters. Frankly, the solution is not very complicated; if it(the rig) makes any kind of noise whatsoever, unplug it, and go with a PSW inverter. That said however, when shopping for a MSW inverter, I'd look to a quality-built unit, and stay away from the cheap junk that's so common out there. I stay away from models with permanently attached power-cables and alligator clips,,, or the type that you can plug and charge in a vehicles' cigarette lighter. The Xantrex MSW inverters came with their own power-cables, which always worked well for my applications, (no overheating issues) When I connect the cables to the battery, I use the eyelet-style cable-ends, connected to the threaded 1/4" posts of the battery, and those posts are standard-equipment with the larger batteries. I secure the battery connections with wing-nuts. I make all connections with the inverter turned "off", then turn "on" only when I'm sure everything is a 'go".

When I put together my first battery-powered set-up, I had looked at the portable DuraCell units, but frankly, I didn't think one of those tiny batteries would be enough to get me through a gig. I may have been wrong about that,,, but as far as I was concerned, risking the possibility of running out of juice mid-show was simply not an option. Granted, the 115ah battery I bought is bulkier/heavier, but it does the job (and then some),,, plus, it can do many jobs "other than" power music gear.(camping for example, or running power-tools, running electric trolling motors (fishing) etc)

Last edited by Bobby1note; 05-27-2016 at 07:59 PM.
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  #53  
Old 06-01-2016, 05:37 PM
JLT JLT is offline
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Originally Posted by Bobby1note View Post
Granted, the 115ah battery I bought is bulkier/heavier, but it does the job (and then some),,, plus, it can do many jobs "other than" power music gear.(camping for example, or running power-tools, running electric trolling motors (fishing) etc)
Speaking of which...

Has anybody tried running small amps (like practice amps) through one of those "jump-start" battery backs you see in auto parts stores these days? Some even have a 110 v AC outlet so you don't have to use an inverter.

Here's an example, although Schumberger and Peak Power have their own models:

http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinu...5&blockType=G5

They range from about $60 for a 600 peak amp to about $90 for a 1000 peak amp, plus more if you want an air compressor ...

I'm wondering if they'd give about four or five hours with a practice amp, which is all I'd really need. And as Bobby1note mentioned, you can use it for lots of other things, like camping, re-charging electronic doodads ... and starting cars.
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  #54  
Old 06-01-2016, 08:42 PM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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Default Sizing your Portable Power

The diehard unit referenced cites "1150 peak amps for a jump start and larger capacity charging with 54 hours of 12V DC power." It definitely has an inverter if it has an AC outlet. What you really need to know is the amp-hour rating. How many amp-hours do you need? Check the input rating on your amplifier. It should be printed near the AC power connection. It may be expressed in Watts or VA. For our purposes here they can be treated the same. Lets say your amp is rated at 100 VA input. Most inverters are 90 efficient. So the DC end has to supply 100 ÷ 0.9 = 111 watts. 111 ÷ 12 VDC = 9.26 A coming from your battery. If you want to power your amp for 4 hours thats 9.26A X 4 hours = 37 A-hr. If you want to use a lead-acid deep cycle battery you don't want to run it down less than 50%. Also most inverters have a low battery supply cutoff if you run the charge down below ~11 VDC. So double that to 74 A-hr and you can be confident you'll have enough juice. Sound too big? It probably is.

The better way is to measure the actual current a battery needs to supply your amp thru your inverter. I calculated I needed no more than a 200 W inverter, so I bought it. I hooked up a 12 VDC battery and measured the DC current draw. You can't use an AC clamp-on meter for this! It cannot accurately read DC amps! So I measured ~3 ADC from the battery to power my amplifier through my inverter at normal performance volume. So 3 A X 5 hr = 15 A-hr. Doubling that so I won't run it down less than 50% means I need a 30 A-hr battery for my application. Your mileage will definitely vary, unless you're using the same amp and inverter that I am.
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  #55  
Old 06-02-2016, 11:23 AM
Bobby1note Bobby1note is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JLT View Post
Speaking of which...

Has anybody tried running small amps (like practice amps) through one of those "jump-start" battery backs you see in auto parts stores these days? Some even have a 110 v AC outlet so you don't have to use an inverter.

Here's an example, although Schumberger and Peak Power have their own models:

http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinu...5&blockType=G5

They range from about $60 for a 600 peak amp to about $90 for a 1000 peak amp, plus more if you want an air compressor ...

I'm wondering if they'd give about four or five hours with a practice amp, which is all I'd really need. And as Bobby1note mentioned, you can use it for lots of other things, like camping, re-charging electronic doodads ... and starting cars.
I believe (not 100% sure, I'd have to check), that most portable "booster battery packs" are not equipped with deep-cycle batteries which are designed for long-term continuous power-output, and capable of handling deep discharges, and repeated re-charging.

Booster-packs use "engine cranking" batteries, which are designed to put out strong bursts, over a short period of time.(30 seconds or so)

Best to go with a deep-cycle marine battery, which is specifically designed for this type of application.
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  #56  
Old 06-04-2016, 02:05 PM
MattBlue MattBlue is offline
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Anyone tried the Laney Audiohub Freestyle or the Artec PMD3-8?
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  #57  
Old 06-10-2016, 08:22 PM
firedude5015 firedude5015 is offline
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Just throwing in my 2 cents. I do some Mobile DJ work, I have tried several setups, Behringer, Alesis..all battery powered, rechargeable. .they worked but not great. Bought a Roland AC33 used for acoustic jams and such and now it is my go to portable rig. Acoustic stuff, DJ stuff, Beach weddings, public announcement situations. .all in all, I love it. Yes there are better amps out there, but NOT battery operated in my opinion.

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  #58  
Old 01-06-2017, 02:40 PM
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dogdog49 dogdog49 is offline
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Originally Posted by JohnDWilliams View Post
Sunburst Gear makes a couple different sizes.

http://sunburstgear.com/prod_speaker.html

Lots of great features and good sound. No effects however.

Amazon carries them.
The new A4BR8-8 has 16 digital effects plus an 8" woofer - wow! Check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIJfVhj-T6g
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  #59  
Old 01-08-2017, 05:59 PM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
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Congrats on the scoop Dog. There's also a 5.25" version of this on the website (but no 8" version yet).
Looks like a loudbox mini with a multi select FX, 48v phantom, notch and a battery. If it really lasts 15 hours, sounds great and weighs 16lbs (and costs $600 or so), it could be the best portable option on the market.


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Originally Posted by dogdog49 View Post
The new A4BR8-8 has 16 digital effects plus an 8" woofer - wow! Check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIJfVhj-T6g
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  #60  
Old 01-08-2017, 08:22 PM
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dogdog49 dogdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dannyg1 View Post
Congrats on the scoop Dog. There's also a 5.25" version of this on the website (but no 8" version yet).
Looks like a loudbox mini with a multi select FX, 48v phantom, notch and a battery. If it really lasts 15 hours, sounds great and weighs 16lbs (and costs $600 or so), it could be the best portable option on the market.
The A4BR8-8 should be available soon as they are in production but out of stock, they are taking orders to hold a unit now for $549.00. My pre-order form is going in on Monday.
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