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  #1  
Old 08-29-2017, 09:21 AM
Marley Marley is offline
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Default Best Battery Powered little amp?

I've been through a lot of these little guys over the years but have been playing a Danelectro Honeytone for about 3 years and absolutely love it. Easily the best of the bunch that I've played so far. and for $20. The only reason I ever bought a new battery amp is because the old one stopped working. Not the Danelectro. Easily the longest one of these has worked and easily has received the most amount of playing hours by me.

Now I see this Boss mini Katana 7 watter for $99. Runs off of 6 AA batteries and/or plugs in. It gets my attention just for the extra volume at 7 watts.

Has anybody played one of the Boss mini Katana amps?

Any other recommendations for small battery powered amps?
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Old 08-29-2017, 09:52 AM
roylor4 roylor4 is offline
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You should check out the Fender Passport Mini

1 xlr and 2 1/4" inputs. 7 watts and hangs with a 10 watt tube amp. Under 8lbs

You can hear me playing and singing through one on my website, in the electric clip section here: Roy Alderman Audio clips

I have not played the Katana mini, but I have actually gigged with the PP Mini
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  #3  
Old 08-29-2017, 12:39 PM
JoeInOttawa JoeInOttawa is offline
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Default What's your budget?

If you have a larger budget, the Phil Jones Bass Briefcase runs for hours on a motorcycle battery and sounds amazing.

Joe
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Old 08-29-2017, 01:00 PM
Karma Karma is offline
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Default Vox Mini-5

I picked up a VOX Mini-5 little amp and it's a lot of fun. 5 watts, selectable @ 1.5, 3 and 5 watt output. Puts out plenty of sound and has 8 different effects, 99 rhythm patterns and 11 amp modeling styles to have a little fun with. Also dual input (guitar and mic), aux in and headphone jack. I can set up a song play list I want to focus on and run my iPod into it and just play along. If its late and I need to be quiet, I just plug in the headphones and jam away without waking sleeping family members. I got one used on Craigslist for $100. For another $10 @ Sweetwater I got a power cord to save batteries (6 AA).

Last edited by Karma; 08-29-2017 at 01:05 PM. Reason: added more info
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Old 08-29-2017, 01:48 PM
MojoRisin MojoRisin is offline
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I've always liked these small amps for some reason even though I don't use them all that often. I take them along camping and such from time to time.

I have a Danelectro Honeytone, Blackstar Fly 3 (3 watt) and Yamaha THR5 (10 watt. I have the acoustic one THR5A, but they do make one for electric).

Comparing the three I'd say the Honeytone is a toy, the Blackstar is pretty decent for the size and the Yamaha THR5 is really great for the size. I'm fairly certain the Katana mini falls somewhere in there between the latter two with 7 watts and I know it gets really good reviews. So I wouldn't hesitate to try it. I bet it can hold it's own with the THR. I'm rarely let down by Boss/Roland products.

Chappers did a halfway decent review on the thing.



And this guy does a pretty good job of explaining/demoing the Katana mini at NAMM. (although I just want to slap the interviewer for some odd reason)


Last edited by MojoRisin; 08-29-2017 at 02:01 PM.
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Old 08-29-2017, 02:57 PM
frankmcr frankmcr is offline
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I have a couple of Honeytones sitting around, they're fine, but I prefer the Danelectro Hodad amp. It's got tremolo & echo options, fun to fool around with. Maybe $10 more than the H'tone.
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Old 08-29-2017, 03:08 PM
lfoo6952 lfoo6952 is offline
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I have tried one, at Guitar Showcase in San Jose, CA. The guy in the video above is making quite a few exaggerations. It does not have great low end as he described. The volume is not great, even at 7 watts. From what I have read, watts does not always equate to volume. Notice in the video that he has the amp mic'd up, giving it a false impression that it is loud. At best, it can only be used in your bedroom. Don't expect to gig with it. He states it is not a toy. My impression was that it felt like a toy. It is made with a cheap plastic housing.

On the plus side, the price was right at $99. It is extremely portable, runs off batteries, and has great tone at the acoustic and electric settings.

I ended up buying the Roland Mobile Cube instead. Almost double the price, but has more functionality, does not feel like a toy, and has sufficient volume for my needs.

So you need to decide exactly what you want, and then pick the right amp for the job.
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Old 08-29-2017, 05:52 PM
Texsunburst59 Texsunburst59 is offline
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My son bought the Boss Katana Mini head for $99.

It's sounds amazing for it's size and records very well.

It may be one of the best sounding small battery powered amps out there.

VERY impressed with it's tone.
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  #9  
Old 08-29-2017, 09:48 PM
TheChicagoTodd TheChicagoTodd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marley View Post
I've been through a lot of these little guys over the years but have been playing a Danelectro Honeytone for about 3 years and absolutely love it. Easily the best of the bunch that I've played so far. and for $20. The only reason I ever bought a new battery amp is because the old one stopped working. Not the Danelectro. Easily the longest one of these has worked and easily has received the most amount of playing hours by me.

Now I see this Boss mini Katana 7 watter for $99. Runs off of 6 AA batteries and/or plugs in. It gets my attention just for the extra volume at 7 watts.

Has anybody played one of the Boss mini Katana amps?

Any other recommendations for small battery powered amps?
I have this amp and bought it to take to my guitar lessons. Super happy with it. I'm out of town this week, but when I get back I'll test the volume, because the amp is the loudest on the "Brown" sound setting (high gain), and it seems to me that if I had it up near one hundred percent it be too loud for me to play in my condo. I play almost exclusively on the brown sound setting and I'm very happy with the harmonics and the good tone coming from it. I bought the power supply for it but I love the fact that I can run on six double a batteries and still sound that good and that loud. And it certainly is super portable. It's a total winner in my book.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago
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  #10  
Old 09-02-2017, 12:23 PM
RwP RwP is offline
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Thumbs up

Boss Katana Mini
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  #11  
Old 09-02-2017, 04:48 PM
ManyMartinMan ManyMartinMan is offline
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Best I've ever played is the Crate Taxi Series TX50DB Limo 50W battery powered amp. They've unfortunately been discontinued. I use mine primarily plugged in as my monitor. Has effects, two channel.... great 10" speaker.
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