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| The Classic Pignose Amp |
Most electric guitar amplifiers need to be plugged into a
wall outlet to work: this means that to play through an amp you need to be (a)
close to a wall, or (b) able to carry your wall with you wherever you go. Most
walls are too big and heavy to make this practical.
Fortunately there are some very good, and quite powerful,
battery-powered guitar amplifiers out there. Years ago there was really only
one name in battery-powered amps, and that was the Pignose portable amplifier. These classic little units, with
their brown leather trim and chrome pig-snout volume control, were solid and
dependable, and some players even used them as a recording amp (Frank Zappa,
for example). But they were a little heavy, and absolutely devoured batteries,
so if you were playing for any length of time you still needed to be near an
outlet to plug in the adapter.
The Marshall Battery-Powered Full Stack
More recently, companies from Fender to Marshall to Orange
have begun making their own little practice battery-powered amplifiers. The
Marshall MS2 Micro Guitar Amplifier is especially appealing, since it looks
exactly like a tiny Marshall combo amp, and packs a serious punch. These later
models were much easier on battery life, too. I myself played a few record
store shows with a miniature Marshall clipped to my lapel, and the result was
pretty excellent. At least I thought so.
Modern battery-powered amps come in any number of varieties
and designs. Many even have features that used to be available only on
fancy-pants plug-in models. If you're playing in your apartment, or (if you're
lucky) backstage before a show, you don't need to drag a full-sized amp around.
You can even take these little guys down to the park and let the birds hear
your heavenly guitar stylings. So cut yourself loose from the extension cord,
and for heaven's sake put down that wall! These battery powered amps may be
just what you need.
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| The Marshall Battery Stack! |
Battery
Powered Amps: The Roland Mobile Cube
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| Roland Cube Battery-Powered Amp |
With a sparkling a 5-Star Amazon rating, Roland's rock-steady reputation only improves with this little marvel. Punchy, loud, and truly versatile. Electric and acoustic guitar, keyboards, computer audio, MP3 or CD playback, mini-PA, field recorder playback -- you can even do karaoke through this amp. Fits into your backpack and runs on batteries -- what more could you want?
Battery Powered Amps: The Original Pignose Amplifier
The
Pignose is a true original, the first portable, battery-powered guitar amp ever
put into popular distribution. These remarkably powerful little amps were first
released in the mid-1970's, and you can get the same legendary quality and tone
today. The "Legendary 7-100," as it's known, is one of those few
products that remains unchanged and as good as it ever was.
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| An original Pignose, complete with snout |
Pignose amp specs and features
The Pignose weighs about 6 pounds, uses 6 AA batteries, and
pumps out 5 watts of clean or distorted power. If you happen to be near an
outlets, there's an adapter included. Plus the Pignose looks cool. What more is
there? Fire up your recording studio, rehearsal hall, dressing room, dorm room,
backyard or street corner with Pignose tone. The Pignose has a rough, bluesy
sound not unlike a Marshall -- it's the opposite of the hyper-processed,
digital distortion sound of so many modern amps, battery powered and otherwise.
While it's short on features and not terribly versatile, the Pignose has that
raw 70's sound that plenty of players spend plenty of cash to get.
Battery Powered Amps: Danelectro Honeytone N-10 Guitar Mini Amp
This little monster looks cool and plays loud, and if you
can get those two things down, then you've pretty much got rock and roll aced.
It's tiny, even in the company of the battery powered amps here, but you'll be
surprised by how bright and loud this amp is. It has an excellent 4.3 Star
rating on Amazon, and best of all, it costs less than your average guitar
strap.
The HoneyTone amp also sports a real leather handle, belt
clip, headphone jack, and serious overdrive. Powered by one -- yes, one --
9-volt battery (included). Best of all -- CHECK OUT THAT PRICE! This is a real
winner for Danelectro. Even though it has some limitations, this amp is among
the best options for beginners and cash-strapped players.
Battery Powered Amps: The Marshall Line
I played one of these amps for a long time -- when my band
did in-store performances (without big amps or a drum set), we would clip these
little Marshall Stack amps onto our coats and just rock out. Surprisingly loud,
or I guess not surprisingly, if you have ever played through a full-sized
Marshall stack, or stood in front of one while someone else did...
Marshall Battery Amps
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| Tiny Marshall Power! |
Marshall has taken the lead in developing serious
battery-powered guitar amps. They offer a good variety of amps with some
impressive specs. The features and flexibility of standard Marshall amps are
reflected in the numbers.
Battery Powered Amps: TheOrange Amplifiers Micro Crush
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath rocked Orange amps back in the
day, and as far as I'm concerned that's all you need to know. But let's add in
the fact that this amp has a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Amazon, a built-in
tuner, headphone out, and the most brutal overdrive in rock, and you can't ask
for much more in a battery amp.
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| The Orange Micro-Crush
The Tone King compares battery amps in a side-by-side
shootout, and the results may surprise you...
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So there you go, Gas Music fans -- the best-rated battery
amps, all in one place. Rock out, cord free, forever.
Before you go, have a look at the best electronic rock and roll drum sets.
Before you go, have a look at the best electronic rock and roll drum sets.
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