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. :-)
Davey Stuart tenor guitar (based on his 18" mandola design).
Eastman MD-604SB with Grover 309 tuners.
Eastwood 4 string electric mandostang, 2x Airline e-mandola (4-string) one strung as an e-OM.
DSP's: Helix HX Stomp, various Zooms.
Amps: THR-10, Sony XB-20.
Bookmarks