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[Steve C.]

Hello Streb/FR18 users:
I looked for what I thought was a previous mic/amp thread and could not find.
Would very much appreciate any help on your satisfaction or lack of with Roland or other battery powered, low wattage mini-amps, like the Roland Micro Cube, Roland Acoustic Combo Amp and similar.
Thanks,  Steve

[Lester]

Bit confused? The Streb has a built in amp and speaker so not sure why you would want another small battery amp

[Steve C.]

Lester, loud as the Streb is, and even with that nice stereo L/R thing going, I find that when I turn it up to "Pokerwork" power, i.e. about 7 or 8, it gets a little distorted and loses any nice bass balance.
At our local shop, I played it through a Behringer 10w amp that had an 8" speaker, the smallest thing they had, and it was too cool for skool.  I loved it, 70 going on 17!  I only had it turned up to 3 or so, so am figuring a pretty small amp might do the job.  Though the Behringer was a "keyboard" amp and the guy said "made for" keyboards including "accordions".
Shop folks said, though, that the speaker size might be key too:  the mini-amps have 4 or 5" (?) but apparently electronics work miracles, so figured I would summon the wisdom of the Forum, see what the Roland people use.

[hspeek]

Hi,

I have a Roland Mobile Cube, which supposedly is suitable for keyboard, ac./el. guitars, mic and a whole lot of other purposes.
It's stereo, so you can even run a mic for your vocals/announcements on one channel and your instrument on the other channel.
Or run a stereo instrument (keyboard) through both...
Lasts quite long on a set of batteries too (they claim 15 hours), but you can also get an optional power supply.

However, being a Roland product, cheap it is not. I paid 149 Euros for it, but I would say it's portability and battery life make it
worth it if you plan to use it away from a power socket.

Disclaimer: I haven't used it with a Streb, so haven't a clue how that would sound. Should be loud enough though...

Rgds.,

Han.

[Steve C.]

Hello Han--is that the one with 2-4" speakers?

[hspeek]

Hi Steve,

Yup. It says "4 inch custom speaker x2" on the box.

Rgds.,

Han.

[Walleye]

I wonder if Steve R., Streb's "Father" would have any suggestions?

[Helena Handcart]

...At our local shop, I played it through a Behringer 10w amp that had an 8" speaker, the smallest thing they had, and it was too cool for skool.  I loved it, 70 going on 17!  I only had it turned up to 3 or so, so am figuring a pretty small amp might do the job...

Purely in the interests of science you understand, I once played my Streb through a fender guitar amp, discarded by #1 son.  Sooooooooooooo much fun!

[Sage Herb]

Hi Steve,

Yup. It says "4 inch custom speaker x2" on the box.

Rgds.,

Han.

I don't own a Streb and you would need to check its output(s) before making a purchase. But I do use one of these Roland Mobile Cubes to amplify my moothies if I'm in a loud session. They're a nominal 5 watts, but subjectively quite loud for that and have the usual Roland build quality.
Hope this is of some help.
Cheers
Steve

[JD]

Another vote for Roland build quality but it comes at a price. I use a Micro Cube Bass as a practice and rehearsal amp for bass guitar. It has four 4" speakers and produces enough volume to keep up with a melodeon/fiddle/guitar group in rehearsal. It runs happily on AA rechargeables but you have to take them out to charge them.

I have heard buskers using the Street Cube (two 4" speakers) and the volume it puts out for a 5 Watt amp is astonishing.

Most portable amps seem to be aimed at guitar players and you will need something that accepts a line level input i.e. a keyboard amp. Try the Samson Expedition Express although that may have more facilities/power than you need.

As always, if possible, try before you buy.

[streb]

The Line Out sockets are line output level and not guitar output level so you need a keyboard amp rather than a guitar amp. I use a Roland KC60, not cheap or battery powered but very good sound quality. Be careful using a guitar amp as the output from the eMelodeon is much higher than that of a guitar. It would be easy to overload a gutar amp and damage the speakers. A guitar amp with a "Line In" auxilliary would be OK too.

[Steve C.]

I guess that's why the Behringer sounded good, besides the 8" speaker.  It's a line input. Actually has 2.
When you connect your Streb to the KC60, do you just run a mono line from the R/mono line out to the amp or is there some other optimal way? 
For example, if you have two channels on the amp, can you run a mono line from the R/mono and L/stereo line outs to each channel, and does this accomplish anything useful?  (I think Hans' Roland portable can run stereo as it has one speaker for each input)  But for most single speaker amps, does it do anything?
There is also a sweet Roland Street Cube with 2-6.5" that has batteries....(costs almost as much as your KC60 tho)

[streb]

I use a normal mono jack-to-jack guitar lead from R/MONO to one of the kbd inputs on the amp. Pointless using two channels as they are mixed in the amp anyway as it only has one speaker. If you have a mono amp the use the mono output. I included the two stereo output options for running into separate channels of a desk or recording audio to a PC or Zoom etc.

Guitar amps also tend to emphasise the midrange and colour the sound in a "squawky" way. This is another reason why you should use a keyboard amp.

The Behringer is probably a good buy. When I bought my kbd amp they had just sold the last Behringer and "only" had the Roland. The Behringer I considered had some fancy digital effects that I did not want.

[Steve C.]

Steve, you are correct about Behringer, at least in the US.  Same thing with the mixer you had recommended.  Prices on Behringer are excellent.  Roland, not so much.  The Roland do seem more HD, especially like the metal grill.

[ACE]

Maplins do a portable sound system. Ion Block Rocker, it handled the Roland FR18's range quite easily. Look up Maplins B class stuff, sometimes they have one going cheap. I paid about £60 for mine. They used to do one called the Tailgater which I think was an earlier model. They come with all sorts of Bluetooth connections for ipads etc. It might even be that the  Strebb  could be blue toothed with a gizmo and take away having leads littering about. http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/ion-block-rocker-bluetooth-portable-pa-system-n66nk

[Michael Driscoll]

Still waiting for my Streb. - I look forward to learning more in due course.

[Steve C.]

Ace, I had not seen the Ions, but there are a bunch of them, all price ranges, thanks.  Some do have a ¼" input, will explore...

[oggiesnr]

I've heard a variety of instruments played through one on these and I was very impressed.  Cheaper than the Street Cube which is an added bonus https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/samson-xp106-wireless-portable-pa#product-details.

If money is no object then the best street sound I've heard is with the AER acoustic amps but you're talking £800 plus.

[EricJamesWhite]

I use a Roland Micro Cube RX for my FR18 - brilliant! And battery life seems to be forever 

[BJG]

I'm quite interested in the Mackie Freeplay. Maybe a bit too bulky though.