My parents store sells quite a few of those Cube amps Mac mentioned. Many happy customers raving about them. Even the the micro cube gets great reviews. I was surprised by them.

I have a micro cube, and while it is totally amazing for what it is, it is not really full sounding enough to play a "full band" through.

For a small area like a living room alone or with a friend or two, I might suggest monitors as well. i have M-Audio BX5A's and I play through them for practice, and they are great. with the doors closed, you can hear them out at the street.

John you might be over thinking this for a small area type system. you don't need anything big and powerful. At my house i can't even use my Kustom 10s, they just are too loud for the neighborhood. My M-Audio monitors are perfect.

I did not use the word, "MICRO" along with Cube.

Check out the Roland Cube series, John.

Like maybe the 60W one...


--Mac

John, what are the specifics of your needs again besides 'powered' and 'speaker'? Do you need a small mixer on-board or ability to use multiple sources into the powered speaker?

Mac, the cube series - aren't they aimed at the guitar amplifier market? I'm wondering if they are indeed full range. I know that they use amp simulation, so perhaps they are full range and rely on the amp simulation to emulate cabinet and speaker non-flat response that is so characteristic of guitar amps.

I didn't see any of the larger cubes that were simply powered full range speaker arrangements. There's a smaller one that is battery powered that looks more like a powered speaker - just curious.

I'm trolling this thread because I am sort of in the market for something similar - a full range self-contained thing, with multiple inputs/simple mixer (my needs, not necessarily John's) and want to have a finger on the pulse of this market. That Behringer unit looks most interesting for the price to me: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/B205D.aspx $150

-Scott

Cube is fullrange enough.

Yes, due to the fact it is a "modeling" amp, the power output stage is actually a full "twenty to twenty" (20Hz to 20KHz) arrangement, much like you'd find in a 60W HIFI amplifier.

One reason why they work so well with 88 key piano keyboards and basses, too.

--Mac

Let me try this another way. I have a full blown PA. 15" two way tops with an 1100 watt Crown. I have a pair of 15" subs with a 1500 watt Crown. That's plenty of PA for gigs. For gigs I play bass with IKMultimedia audio interface into the lappy where I use their Ampeg SVX modeling plug. Sometimes I'll use AT3. So I don't need a PA & I don't need the front end of a keyboard or guitar amp. I have all the control I need in the software. So the scenario is this: " hey John were having some friends over for a couple beers and play some tunes. All acoustic players. I think they'd be upset if I brought that PA rig over.All I want is one simple little powered pa speaker to play bass, guitar or keyboard through using the lappy as front end. One instrument. That's it.
What I'm looking for is someone who has bought one of the little pieces of crap on the market but is pleasantly surprised at how it sounds. I know I could buy a JBL pa speaker and it would be great. Don't want to spend that kind of $$$$$. If the Kustom 10" powered had a real horn I'd get that as I like the 15" from them I have.

John, with that description, I would simply then just go with a powered main speaker from Behringer - most of them let you pole mount them or they also lay nicely on their side as a floor monitor type thing. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/B212XL/

$142

But to be honest, spending another 7 bux (though losing the horn) the B250D from Behringer looks like a better deal from a flexibility standpoint.

Hey John,

Long time no talk.

About 3 years ago I purchased a Behringer Ultratone K450 FX - a 45 Watt PA / Keyboard Amp and love it.
It has 3 line inputs- I use one for my MP3 player and one for my mic. I quit the piano playing but do play a melodica over the mike.

I play in smaller to medium-sized restaurants and other venues as well as outdoors; it's plenty loud. Also very portable. The RealTracks sound great.

The unit costs about $180 nowadays so it's not all that cheap anymore. I paid around $120.

Percy

Scott the B212XL is passive (not powered).

Scott's link reveals some interesting terminology;
Specs say "Powered = No" but then say "Power Configuration = Bi-amp".
Weird
They say Passive in the name but then say "Huge power to weight ratio for a powerful yet easily transportable PA" in the features list.
hmm

John, If what you are looking for is a small amp that you can easily transport, has full range, reasonably priced, and you can play your bass through, I would second Mac's suggestion of trying one of the Cube amps. I play in a 17 piece swing band and that is what our electric bass player brings to rehearsal a Roland 60 Cube amp. (The older model with orange tolex that didn't have the big plastic bumpers). It is plenty loud, in fact when we play the hall with the "band shell" that is the amp he brings. Also, I play in acoustic jams held in various community halls and that amp is used there as well. He paid about $120.00 for his second hand and it was a good choice. Just roll a bit of the bottom end off for a nice tight sound. If the volume seems low try setting up in a corner of the room if possible. Hope this helps. DennisD

For his particular need (just jamming in a room with friends on acoustics) I still think the micro would fit.. Sure the full Cube would be better, but maybe overkill for his needs

I keep several of the smaller "student" or "entry" level amps around for the casual get-together of friends with electric/electronic instruments. Most were obtained via Thrift shops, Garage Sales and the like, a couple were resurrected from the dead by yours truly after someone managed to do something catastrophic to the little things, such as blowing outputs or the power supply. Crates and little Peaveys mostly. One little Peavey is suppposed to be a beginner's Bass amp and works well with plank basses and even keyboards for this purpose. None break the bank, keep your eyes open for deals. After having to move from the big house to the apartment, these little things do the job well enough -- and make it a lot harder for me and my rowdy friends to break the lease on a Saturday night. Another of the little Peavey amps, a guitar amp with one XLR mic input and an 8" speaker, also has provision for an internal 7AH lead acid gelcell battery. The little Crates are rather good sounding guitar amps as well, for the money and small size.

You don't always have to buy new equipment to have fun and get the job done...


--Mac