[Dixielandjazz] portable amp

[Jon Seiger]

hi all

Some of the suggestions for portable amps have been very good. I used to use
the "mouse" amps when they were still being made.

The best solution I have found is sort of an "automotive" solution, but
works great, and is very inexpensive....   They sell these units for
starting your car if you have a dead battery. It is essentially a battery
with a handle.   THey sell them at sears, walmart, etc, and are usually
about 49 dollars or so.

Combine one of those with an inexpensive power inverter (changes DC car
battery power to AC "house outlet" power) from an auto parts place (another
39 or 49 dollars) and you have a very nice, portable, power source for under
100 dollars.

You can use that little combo to power any sound system you already have,
without the need to go buy "powerless" equipment.

I use this setup when we are playing parades on a truck, or outdoors when no
power is available.  The unit I have (not an expensive one) usually gives us
a few hours of playing time, and that can easily be augmented by bringing an
extra car battery.

Also.......If you park a car nearby , the power inverter can be plugged into
the car's cigarette lighter, and you can run a sound system off of that for
3 or 4 hours without even draining the battery significantly (the car will
still start afterwards).

hope thats helpful for someone out there :)

Jon Seiger
www.jonseigerallstars.net
www.jonseigerallstars.com.ar

----- Original Message -----
From: <Trumpetom at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2003 11:13 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] portable amp


> I use a Carvin stage mate. I bought the dual battery option. Used it on a
> couple 3-hour street gigs. One was for string bass & vocal/announce, the
other
> keyboard & banjo/announce. 4 inuts, 60 watt rating. 10" speaker plus a
horn
> speaker. It delivers loads of good quality volume; it did not run out of
battery
> power. It's a little heavy to carry around because of the batteries
inside. I
> use a small hand truck.
>
> I have also used it with an extension speaker (amp was plugged into a wall
> socket for power). Configured that way it served well outdoors for an
picnic
> event with at least 200 people. I have not checked battery life with the
extra
> speaker. <A HREF="www.carvin.com">www.carvin.com</A>
> I have no connection with that company, just a satisfied customer.
>
> Tom Loeb
> California
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