Busking - Pick up & Amp

[Fret-O'File]

I just moved to the Asheville, NC area and there are so many street musicians, a lot of which are pretty good. Anyway, I thought I might get out there do some playing. I mostly play solo fingerstyle guitar and have never needed to plug in. I could use recommendations for pick ups and if anyone has any experience with battery powered acoustic amps that would be very helpful.
I'll most likely be using an Eastman E-20OM for this endeavor.
Thanks!

[Atalkingsausage]

Hey Kurt, I am also in the Asheville area, and have been contemplating this same question in the back of my mind. Thanks for asking, I'll definitely be checking back on this thread.

Btw, Welcome to the jungle haha..

[Zhoken]

Originally Posted by Fret-O'File

I just moved to the Asheville, NC area and there are so many street musicians, a lot of which are pretty good. Anyway, I thought I might get out there do some playing. I mostly play solo fingerstyle guitar and have never needed to plug in. I could use recommendations for pick ups and if anyone has any experience with battery powered acoustic amps that would be very helpful.
I'll most likely be using an Eastman E-20OM for this endeavor.
Thanks!

Heya Fret!

I've been busking every week for about 4 years now and after trying out a few different amps and pickups I've settled on the K&K pure mini and Roland AC-33 battery powered amp. A great combo for a good acoustic sound.

The amp has a really nice tone and is pretty light as well! Runs on 8 AA batteries and lasts about 8 hours.

If you've got the budget look into AER Compact Mobile but at 1500$+ but that is way beyond my means, while the AC-33 is about 399$ .

Other options are:

Roland Cube Street or Cube Street Ex (both of which sound less natural to my ears when I A/B'd them with the AC-33, but to each there own!)

Traynor TVM10 or TVM50 - These are pretty heavy as they have an internal rechargeable battery (Like the AER), which some like. I prefer rechargeable AA's because those internal batteries always die off (after a year or two depending on how often you recharge them) and cost about 50$ to replace.

Vox Mini's - Some like these... One of my busking partners uses one and I found the sound quality to be somewhat lacking, especially at high volumes.

As for pickups, you'll probably find a lot of +1's for the K&K Pure Mini here on this board and I'm definitely one of those. I prefer it by far over the piezo pickup's I've uses (Fishman Sonitone, Infinity Matrix)


Have fun out there busking!

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by Zhoken

Heya Fret!

I've been busking every week for about 4 years now and after trying out a few different amps and pickups I've settled on the K&K pure mini and Roland AC-33 battery powered amp. A great combo for a good acoustic sound.

The amp has a really nice tone and is pretty light as well! Runs on 8 AA batteries and lasts about 8 hours.

If you've got the budget look into AER Compact Mobile but at 1500$+ but that is way beyond my means, while the AC-33 is about 399$ .

Other options are:
Roland Cube Street or Cube Street Ex (both of which sound less natural to my ears when I A/B'd them with the AC-33, but to each there own!)

Traynor TVM10 or TVM50 - These are pretty heavy as they have an internal rechargeable battery (Like the AER), which some like. I prefer rechargeable AA's because those internal batteries always die off (after a year or two depending on how often you recharge them) and cost about 50$ to replace.

As for pickups, you'll probably find a lot of +1's for the K&K Pure Mini here on this board and I'm definitely one of those. I prefer it by far over the piezo pickup's I've uses (Fishman Sonitone, Infinity Matrix)


Have fun out there busking!

Thanks so much for the recommendations Zhoken!
I was eyeing the Roland AC-33 and have heard so much about the K&K.
Are the K&K just about the most natural sounding of the pick ups or are the ones with the actual mics better?

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by Atalkingsausage

Hey Kurt, I am also in the Asheville area, and have been contemplating this same question in the back of my mind. Thanks for asking, I'll definitely be checking back on this thread.

Btw, Welcome to the jungle haha..

Haha, thanks ATS. We love it here so far, we are in Marshall about 20 min. outside Asheville.
What type of music do you play? I've been thinking about hooking up with another guitar player for this and maybe some coffee house gigs.
I'll let you know what I decide to go with and my thoughts on the gear once i get it.

[Atalkingsausage]

Originally Posted by Fret-O'File

Haha, thanks ATS. We love it here so far, we are in Marshall about 20 min. outside Asheville.
What type of music do you play? I've been thinking about hooking up with another guitar player for this and maybe some coffee house gigs.
I'll let you know what I decide to go with and my thoughts on the gear once i get it.

I do a lot of finger style, classic rock, folk, and I'm working on my blue grass skills for the last year or so. If you ever want to jam, just PM me! I'm a Weaverville local myself!

[Zhoken]

Originally Posted by Fret-O'File

Are the K&K just about the most natural sounding of the pick ups or are the ones with the actual mics better?

I'm far from an expert in the area of pickups, so I'm sure you will get better advice from some of the board member's here (Aside from the fact that the subject is a rather subjective one). The K&K is definitely (to my ears) one of the more natural sounding pickups - Which you can also get with an internal mic to blend both sources.

Factors to consider are also setting and context (Large venues on stage/with a band vs solo/small venue) as apparently the K&K is prone to feedback issues in some context. Though I've never had an issue and there are plenty of board members who seem manage to K&K in all kinds of situations.

With that I'll leave the more knowledgeable folks here to chime in

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by Zhoken

I'm far from an expert in the area of pickups, so I'm sure you will get better advice from some of the board member's here (Aside from the fact that the subject is a rather subjective one). The K&K is definitely (to my ears) one of the more natural sounding pickups - Which you can also get with an internal mic to blend both sources.

Factors to consider are also setting and context (Large venues on stage/with a band vs solo/small venue) as apparently the K&K is prone to feedback issues in some context. Though I've never had an issue and there are plenty of board members who seem manage to K&K in all kinds of situations.

With that I'll leave the more knowledgeable folks here to chime in

That's great, thanks so much. That is a huge help. I think my days of playing to large venues with big crowds are over or never really happened, either way street gigs and small venues where there is more staff than audience is most likely in my future. Good to know the K&K is suitable for that.

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by Atalkingsausage

I do a lot of finger style, classic rock, folk, and I'm working on my blue grass skills for the last year or so. If you ever want to jam, just PM me! I'm a Weaverville local myself!

When we decided to move down here I thought about learning some bluegrass but haven't had a chance yet to delve into it.
I plan to spend the next couple of weeks getting my technique back in order as with the move I went about a month without much playing time. After that i would love to get together and jam.
Send me a PM with some songs that you play fingerstyle or other style so I can maybe start to learn some.

[rmsstrider]

I use the K&K Pure Mini and the Roland AC33 amp as well. I think you would like this combo.
Note that you will step down to 20 watts on battery power.

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by rmsstrider

I use the K&K Pure Mini and the Roland AC33 amp as well. I think you would like this combo.
Note that you will step down to 20 watts on battery power.

Thanks, I think i am going to definitely pick up the Roland!

[dannyg1]

If you're a dynamic singer, the AC33 probably won't be a good choice for you. I actually prefer my Vox mini5 rhythm to the AC33 as it doesn't tend to duck the guitar channel when I sing loudly.

Ive been writing a detailed primer on what works for the portable musician and what doesn't. Maybe I'll post a bunch of it tonight.

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

If you're a dynamic singer, the AC33 probably won't be a good choice for you. I actually prefer my Vox mini5 rhythm to the AC33 as it doesn't tend to duck the guitar channel when I sing loudly.

Ive been writing a detailed primer on what works for the portable musician and what doesn't. Maybe I'll post a bunch of it tonight.

I don't sing at all so wont be an issue. Just going to use it for solo finger-style guitar. Thank you!!

[Mandobart]

I've spent some time looking at a portable battery powered rig myself. Nothing I tried in my price range did a good job amplifying instruments and vocals. So I used a different approach and put together a portable inverter to power my AC powered acoustic amp. For under $200 I have a fairly lightweight (under 10 lbs) 200 watt power supply that lets me use the same rig that I play with at regular gigs.

I purchased a Cotek SK200-112 Pure Sine Wave inverter rated at 200 W continuous duty for about $127 from Amazon (they have since gone up about $20). It is powered by a Power Patrol 12 VDC, 12 amp-hr sealed AGM battery which cost about $40 with shipping.

The whole system fits in a shoebox. Total cost so far about $170 USD. I haven't built a rack to carry it around in yet. I plan to add a voltmeter and maybe ammeter that can be switched on or off (no need to constantly draw power to check parameters). The inverter works great to power my Carvin, though depending on volume the battery may not last beyond 3 hours without needing recharge. Longer playing time is a matter of getting a higher amp-hour rated battery, which will weigh more.

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

I've spent some time looking at a portable battery powered rig myself. Nothing I tried in my price range did a good job amplifying instruments and vocals. So I used a different approach and put together a portable inverter to power my AC powered acoustic amp. For under $200 I have a fairly lightweight (under 10 lbs) 200 watt power supply that lets me use the same rig that I play with at regular gigs.

I purchased a Cotek SK200-112 Pure Sine Wave inverter rated at 200 W continuous duty for about $127 from Amazon (they have since gone up about $20). It is powered by a Power Patrol 12 VDC, 12 amp-hr sealed AGM battery which cost about $40 with shipping.

The whole system fits in a shoebox. Total cost so far about $170 USD. I haven't built a rack to carry it around in yet. I plan to add a voltmeter and maybe ammeter that can be switched on or off (no need to constantly draw power to check parameters). The inverter works great to power my Carvin, though depending on volume the battery may not last beyond 3 hours without needing recharge. Longer playing time is a matter of getting a higher amp-hour rated battery, which will weigh more.

Hi, thanks for the thoughts. I've been reading up on this and found your thread on the mandolincafe. You did follow up saying that the 12amp battery might not be adequate for your needs. Do you still feel that way or is it working fine? Would you recommend stepping up the the 18amp battery?