Mobile, Lightweight, Battery Powered

[APE]

Looking for a lightweight, battery powered rig for street performance. To carry heavy gear and a motorcycle battery with my spine and joint injuries won't work.

I read AX8 weighs nearly 20 lbs. Is it the transformer? The casing? Why can't they use Aircraft Al or Ti, a light transformer and a battery pack at 12lbs. Not sure if a transformer and battery charger can be coupled and built light…

Then I'd need a light cab. Where? What? ………??!?

SO………………

I need an Amp and speaker cab.

iPhone + speaker (ala JBL Xtreme) is light. But BIAS amp modeler sounded assey, IMO, and also I don't know it well, so I'd have to learn it. I know Steve Terryberry likes BIAS but I tried it and thought is sounded assey. So I'd need to find something that responds well.

SO nobody makes what I want for a portable rig, huh.

 

[chris]

the AX8 is 11.8 lbs.

 

[Pete1959]

Have you considered the following speaker for battery powered use?
I use the Roland Cube Street EX which is a 50 watt battery operated stereo amp. There are extra channels as well on it for other 1/4 inch and XLR as well as 3.5mm stereo out from any phone.

Use the 1/4" outs L/R of the AX8 into the L/R input channel of the Cube Street EX for stereo effect.
Don't expect true FRFR but you can get decent sound loud enough on a jam night at a local club or street playing.
To power the AX8, you can use something like the AC output of the Omnicharge Pro battery pack or similar.
It can power the AX8 and be good for about 4 hours of play without any AC power source. The Roland has its own 8 AA batteries which provide about 4-6 hours of use.
You can order for the Cube Street EX a cover with shoulder strap.
While I have used the AX8 and Cube Street EX together, both are always plugged in to an AC power bar.

When playing with no AC power available, I normally use my backup Tech 21 Flyrig 5 Brit plugged into the OmnichArge Pro battery pack going into the Cube running on batteries. Very tiny pedal with decent sound and 5 times smaller and 10 times lighter than the AX8.

 

[APE]

Have you considered the following speaker for battery powered use?
I use the Roland Cube Street EX which is a 50 watt battery operated stereo amp. There are extra channels as well on it for other 1/4 inch and XLR as well as 3.5mm stereo out from any phone.

Should get this?

iPhone backing tracks ---> --->
Guitar ---> --->
Mic ---> --->

---> [Roland Street Cube]

Don't expect true FRFR but you can get decent sound loud enough on a jam night at a local club or street playing.

What mic should I get? And should I get a mic for Street Cube?

Prime day for omnicharge now.

 

[Pete1959]

To answer you regarding the Cube Street EX, I can explain the following:
- This is easily the best battery powered multi-instrument unit I have ever tested and owned.
- Multiple inputs allow for audio in from smartphone, audio player in its own dedicated input.
- It has 2 separate XLR combo input channels for microphone, keyboard with one channel which has basic amp modeling. Great for acoustic.
- I also has a channel with 1/4 inch L/R line in inputs (Left doubles as mono) which is the channel I use with my AX8 and my Fly Rig 5.
- You can plug a microphone in directly but limited EQ functionality. Use a least a basic mixer or possibly a vocal processor pedal I would say.
- Any XLR based mic is fine but I never use it that way but rather as an amp to tweak my presets close enough to my JBL EON10 at my rehearsal studio, I also could use the audio in and play backing tracks as well from my iPhone or iPad. Never tried it either personally but that s possible.

This amp/mixer is a street performer's dream. I was at a outdoor cafe last year and saw a small trio of voice, jazz guitar, and small flute all plugged into a Cube Street. The sound was amazing and impressed me enough to buy one and don't regret.

Here's a link to the website for the owner's manual: ==> https://static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/CUBE_STEX_e01_W.pdf

Keep in mind it is battery powered and 25W + 25w stereo peak running on batteries or AC adapter so will never keep up to a 20 watt tube combo amp. I use it to tweak my presets at home and for the occasional party or blues jam at a local club. Lots of fun.

Omnicharge is good but expensive. There are cheaper alternatives out there, As the AX8 consumes about 30-40 watts power I think, a slightly more powerful battery pack proving 110 vac might be a better way to go. Can't speak about countries where the voltage is different as I honestly would not know.

 

[APE]

Engl Gigmaster is light. Replace the transformer with a Li battery and throw in a neodym speaker and were talking.

 

[Rex]

Engl Gigmaster is light. Replace the transformer with a Li battery and throw in a neodym speaker and were talking.

Tube amps may not be the best candidates for portable power. They're notoriously inefficient users of electricity. The 15-watt Gigmaster can consume 70 watts from the power supply.

 

[APE]

The Gigmaster 30 consumes 138 watts max. But what Voltage? Any battery replacement will have to match the transformer's voltage.

• Rated power: approx. 30 watts at 8 or 16 ohms;
• Tubes: V1: ECC 83 (12AX7) selected; V2, V3, V4, V5: EL 84 (6BQ5) matched set.
• Fuses: Mains fuse: 0.63 ATL (slow) for the 230 Volt model;1.25 ATL (slow) in the 100 and 120 Volt models.
• Power Tube Fuses (internal): 4 x 0.063 AM (63 mA medium blow)
• Important: Replace fuses only against same type and rating!
• Power Consumption: approx. 138 watts max.

http://englamps.de/wp-content/uploads/E300-OM.pdf
(I don't know much about electronics)

 

[Hubertus]

The Gigmaster 30 consumes 138 watts max. But what Voltage? Any battery replacement will have to match the transformer's voltage.
(I don't know much about electronics)

There is not one voltage of the transformer. The transformer will output voltages from about 6 volt (tube heating) to more than 400 volt.

 

[Pete1959]

All this to say I like my Cube Street EX which can run on batteries or AC power.
To run the AC on the AX8 with battery, the requirements are much less than a Gigmaster amp so any car charger pack with inverter would likely last for a gig outdoors.

 

[APE]

All this to say I like my Cube Street EX which can run on batteries or AC power.
To run the AC on the AX8 with battery, the requirements are much less than a Gigmaster amp so any car charger pack with inverter would likely last for a gig outdoors.

That might be true, Pete. But did you consider the weight? I'd like to get this down to about 20 lbs.

There is not one voltage of the transformer. The transformer will output voltages from about 6 volt (tube heating) to more than 400 volt.

Then how would it be possible to match the output of a transformer with batteries?

Here's a claimed 1/4 watt amp powered on 10 9v batteries and "one big one", but it too has a transformer.

 

[Pete1959]

Don't know what to answer. All I can provide is my idea of a highly versatile autonomous rig without the need for AC power.
The Cube wedge weighs about 18 lbs. with the optional cover. So if a 20 pound budget is what you're looking at, then the Roland is not even a consideration. Did you calculate the 20 pound amount considering guitar and pedal board including amp?

I love the Roland and don't think you can get much better or versatile (or loud) amp for the money without resorting to AC power.

For now, I decided to skip the AX8 and shave a lot of weight. Instead, I built my "busker rig" this week and decided to use my backup Tech 21 FlyRig 5 connected to an Eventide H9. Output of the FlyRig goes into the H9 and then out in stereo into the Roland. That leaves 2 channels open on the Roland should I need a sidekick to play along. Need to shave a few pounds? Skip the PedalTrain and H9.

The FlyRig 5 is tiny and has reverb and delay and can fit in my Strat soft case with the Omnicharge and power adapter. Less than 25 pounds probably.

All told, the Roland, PedalTrain, and Squire Classic Vibe Strat (with Lace Sensor Golds I might add... sweet!) in a soft case can all be unloaded and carried in one trip. The board is powered by the Omnicharge AC output to a small power bar to fire up the Tech 21 and H9 and I believe the whole thing comes in under an easily luggable 30 pounds. The only compromise is the AX8 but the Tech 21 FlyRig 5 works well and barely uses power.

If I miss all the amp models then I can easily swap in the AX8.

 

[mr_fender]

Transformer is most likely an output transformer going to the speaker, not for power. I'd guess he's using the big 6 volt battery for the tube heaters and stacking the ten 9 volt batters in series to get roughly 90V for B+. I wouldn't think he'd get a whole lot of play time on such a setup. Tube amps waste a lot of energy on heat.

 

[Rex]

Lightweight rig = solid state. There's no way around it. A solid-state gain stage weighing a few grams = a tube gain stage weighing a significant fraction of a pound. Transformers add a disproportionate amount of weight. And the inefficiency of tube amps, as pointed out by @mr_fender above, means that your requirement for batteries (a major weight factor) goes way up.

 

[APE]

Transformer is most likely an output transformer going to the speaker, not for power. I'd guess he's using the big 6 volt battery for the tube heaters and stacking the ten 9 volt batters in series to get roughly 90V for B+. I wouldn't think he'd get a whole lot of play time on such a setup. Tube amps waste a lot of energy on heat.

Cool.

Those are 9v's. I'm trying to match Li batteries to the transformer. I like how tube amps respond. Maybe I could get one of those heavy Cube EX plus a heavy Ax-8 and carry around the extra cables, but having a tube amp on the street would totally kick eveyone else in the fucking cunt and you know it.

 

[APE]

Lightweight rig = solid state. There's no way around it. A solid-state gain stage weighing a few grams = a tube gain stage weighing a significant fraction of a pound. Transformers add a disproportionate amount of weight. And the inefficiency of tube amps, as pointed out by @mr_fender above, means that your requirement for batteries (a major weight factor) goes way up.

I am aware that the power transformer is heavy - that's why I want to replace it, like I already said, with a high powered Li battery.

"Proving" a negative from empirical evidence, while ignoring what was already posted about replacing and discarding the heavy power transformer, with light, high-powered Li batteries, alas, does not win!

 

[Pete1959]

Watched the video. I like that little tube amp and for busking, it won't play as loud as the Cube Street. Not sure what you want to do with with your iPhone audio for input as well.

Also, the idea of the AX8 is to have as authentic tube sound coming out of it without tubes. The Cube is trying to reproduce that tone faithfully, (read FRFR)

The Cube has a AUX stereo input for smartphone/MP3 player, plus a stereo FRFR input channel (2 quarter inch jacks), plus a combo XLR channel for MIC/Line (say vocal or keyboard) and a guitar model channel XLR combo input however the amp models suck.

If you get your killer tone coming out of the AX8, you know it will not sound the same coming out of that Bat Amp which may be good.

I was only trying to suggest using as loud and powerful a battery amp taking into account extra feeds from audio source and possibly another player. Try to rent or borrow a Roland, battery pack, plug the iPhone in, plug the AX8. I believe you would be impressed.

 

[Rex]

I am aware that the power transformer is heavy - that's why I want to replace it, like I already said, with a high powered Li battery.

That takes care of one of the two transformers— and none of the other things I mentioned.

"Proving" a negative from empirical evidence, while ignoring what was already posted about replacing and discarding the heavy power transformer, with light, high-powered Li batteries, alas, does not win!

I wasn't proving a negative, just backing a statement with evidence.