Here at Noisegate we went deep to compare 3 different battery-powered, micro, mini, portable, mobile, coffee table or whatever you’d like to call those small handy little battery powered guitar amps. These amps are great for those who need a portable guitar sound on the go. We brought in a crack team of audio and acoustic engineers and spared no expense in setting up our studio, so we could best compare the tone of these 3 popular battery powered amps. In our video we check out the Marshall MS-2, Blackstar Fly 3 and the IK Multimedia iRig Micro Amp. Which one had the best tone – watch to see our verdict!
Tech details:
Andy plugs straight into the amp, with sound recorded via an AKG C414 condenser through a Universal Audio Apollo X8 audio interface. Effectively you’re hearing the tone straight out of these amps. What do you reckon, let us know.
Marshall MS-2
Wattage: 1W
Speaker config: 1x 2”
Outputs: 1 x 1/4″ jack headphone out
Inputs: 1 x 1/4″ jack instrument input
Controls: Volume, tone, select either ‘On’ voice or ‘Overdrive’ voice
Powered: 9V battery or detachable power cable
Weight: 0.34 kg
Blackstar Fly 3
Wattage: 3W
Speaker: 3″ producing true Blackstar tones
2 channels – Clean and Overdrive
Controls: EQ -Patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature), Digital ‘tape’ delay effect (time), Gain and Volume.
MP3 / Line In for jamming along or listening to music
Emulated Line Out for ‘silent’ practice or recording
Battery 6x AA, or DC powered
Extension Cabinet: FLY 103
IK Multimedia iRig Micro Amp
Speaker: 1×4” full range
Output power: 15W (DC IN powered) or 7.5W (battery powered)
Weight: 1.26kg
Inputs: unbalanced, Hi-Z, TS 1/4” Jack.
Instrument Input Level: from 30mVpp to 6.9Vpp
Instrument Input Impedance: 1MOhms
Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20kHz +/-1.5dB
Outputs: 1/8” TRS
External Speaker Output
Connector: 1/4” TS Jack
Load impedance: from 4 to 16 Ohms
6 x 1.5V AA battery
USB Interface
Conversion: 24-bit A/D, 24-bit D/A
Sampling Rate: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz and 96 kHz
Device Connection: micro-US
