Smallest electric traval amp, revisited.

Ok, the Bose was a bust, the 20ms or more delay is not cool, it is usable, but annoying.

So I pulled my old Marshal MS-2 off the shelf, it was another failed experiment from my guitar days.

It's a $50, 9v battery powered, 1 Amp, 2", 1lb, electric guitar amp, it has a clean and an overdrive mode, but if you drive the clean mode too hard it does what electric players want, it gets twangy and will begin to give a hint of OD.

On guitar, it would distort long before it became loud enough for the clean tones to be useful, and since I like clean, I shelved it.

On mando however, it gives me plenty of clean volume. Higher frequencies don't take as much power to sound loud.

So we have a winner.

And... it has a belt clip. :-)

Check out the marketing blurb from Marshal's website (circa 2015, it's been toned down a bit since then), is this the greatest amp ever or what?

"1 Watt of gut-wrenching power featuring: channel switching, a battery and a headphone jack that doubles as a preamp out, so you can rock while you roll.

This MS-2 black, mini half stack has bags of serious tone and is anything but a toy. It has even been used in professional recording studios; placed in a shoe box with a hole cut for a microphone. We kid you not."

Truth is the sound quality isn't terrible, although it doesn't rival the Bose or anything. The small 2" driver is well-suited for mandolin frequencies, althought some of the lows are rolled off. So as a small light travel amp it's not bad, and the price is right. :-)

I'd be tempted by the Laney Mini-ST-Lion Amplifier. Drive and Clean lots of controls and i/o. 6 AA batteries.

Most everywhere has AC so go for real gear. The Trace Elliot Elf is 1.6 lbs, the size pf a paperback book, and 130 watts into 8 ohms. Build a small box for a high-power small woofer and you have an amp that will fit in a suitcase or carryon, and can keep up with drums on stage. I used the Eminence Alphalite 6.5” 100 watt woofer, and built a shoebox-sized cab with 1/4” ply, weighs 5 lbs. whole rig weighs under 7 lbs, and I perform regularly with it. Using it a an English Country Dance retreat now, but it us also what I use onstage with my solid body for loud jazz, horns and drums etc.