Had a beach wedding last night. During my normal mid-day equipment check, when I fired up my old Crate Limo, the channel my tracks play through was producing no bass at all. Just lots of treble. A little experimenting and I was able to get by last night's gig using the other options (RCA input for tracks) and I ran the wireless for the Officiator through the alternate input channel. I have decided it may be time to get a new amp.

The Cube Street seems to be a good option and I could power it using a 12volt 20 amp Lipo Battery that I use for powering my Ham Radio rigs. It's lightweight and would easily power the speaker for a 2-3 hour gig. So no issues worrying about AA batteries.

Any recommendations? I know both amps have been discussed. Should I consider the Bose S1 with battery? Seems that may be the most expensive though...

Thoughts and recommendations? Thanks to all for any input!

Look at the Mackie FREEPLAY Live
.....love mine for small situations..

https://mackie.com/products/FreePlay-LIVE

and using the Mixer App on my phone to control it is brilliant..

Thanks Donny! Will definitely check that one out! Looks like it has effects too? Need that for my sax. Thanks for the tip! Looks like a nice piece of gear!

I used the Roland BA330 for a couple years, and I like it a lot.. A do all (swiss knife), battery power amp.

I am now using a Marantz voice rover, with the same Swiss Knife features as the BA330... a few extras like Bluetooth and a included wireless mic.. Also media player.

Both units have a 100+ battery hour life..

I would not hesitate to get either one.. but favor the Marantz.

Is weight a factor? BA330 is 28 pounds, and Marantz is 35 pounds.

Yes that's why I bought it the FX work great on vocals.
I think you will love it. get the case also.

Hi Randy,

I just got a pair Bose S1 Pro. They were on sale ( $150 off) at the Bose store in Grapevine Texas. Maybe the sale is nation wide?

They sound great, much better than the Roland BA 330 from what from what I remember ( I owned the Ba330 for more than a year)

My wife and I spent the summer in Europe and almost all of the many street performers used the Roland Cube Street. They sounded good.


Although I would definitely recommend the Bose S1 Pro, you really
cant go wrong with the other brands your considering, especially such a good player as yourself. Good luck!

Thanks all for the tips! My Crate has done a commendable job but it is starting to scare me....no need to stress over whether the amp is going to crap out on me during a performance...

Fran - thanks also on the insight on the BA-330. I have the KC-110, but on batteries it is only 20 watts as I understand it. I am used to more power on the beach - during last night's wedding we had 20 mph wind off the Gulf, but the Crate carried the sound all the way to the condo's north of the beach. So I am hoping to stay in the 30-50 watt range. In terms of weight, my Crate is 31 pounds. I can lug it a good ways and last night had to carry it down and back up 32 beach steps....

Montuno - thanks for the insight as well on the S1 Pro! Definitely on my list to consider! And congrats on getting such a great deal on the Bose speakers - they are wonderful and very practical speakers for sure!