A while back I picked this amp up with the mind to do some busking and small gigs.
In the meantime I’ve been using it during my lessons with students and so here is my review.
On first opening the item and giving it a test run with a guitar and seymour duncan woody pickup I found that the volume given out would be enough to project my warblings without deafening poor passers by.
It’s a wedge shaped speaker with two inputs, one for guitar electric or acoustic and vocal.
The guitar channel comes with a really bassy gain. There is a reverb that can be assigned to either channel but not both.
The battery has a good 4 to 6 hours in it.
The guitar sound without gain is nice and crisp.
The only fault I can find is that it is quite noisy, the amp gives off a very audible white noise which from reviews I read before seems to be a common design fault.
That said it’s use is not for recording or even the bedroom, it’s for performance which when you have street level noise would not be a factor. For portability this is quite a heavy peice of kit so bear that in mind when having to carry a guitar as well.
If you’re looking for a cheap small area performance vocal and guitat amp I don’t think you can go wrong for the price.
If you’re looking for a portable battery powered amp to practice with get a pignose.
Overall I;d give it 7/10 due to the noise generated but in a performance setting you could live with that.
Check out the info below for specs:
The Hiwatt BSK15/8 Guitar Amplifier Busker Amplifier, Solidstate, 15 Watts. Compact and portable, battery or mains powered busking amp from the legendary British company. Simply plug your mic, your electro-acoustic guitar and off you go, to the streets!
The Hiwatt BSK15/8 15 Watt Guitar Combo blends pedigree with portability. Hiwatt have been making great amps since the 1960’s and the BSK15/8 Maxwatt 15 Watt Busker Amp With AC/DC is no exception.
A lightweight construction with side handles, a removable speaker cover and internal battery make this an indispensable tool for musicians on the move – the internal rechargeable battery can even be charged by a 12v car lighter socket. The 15 Watt Hiwatt speaker provides great sound powered by AC or DC operation for convenience.
The amp has two channels for simultaneous guitar and microphone inputs with separate volume and tone controls for each. You can adjust the tone of your guitar to your needs with bass, middle and treble controls, a boost switch and gain dial. A compact, highly portable guitar amp, great wherever you take it!
Features:
- 15 Watts
- 8″ Hiwatt High Performance Speaker
- AC/DC Operation
- Internal Rechargeable Battery
- DC Socket & 12v Car Charger Input
- Battery Life 2-8 Hours (Subject to Vol.)
- Microphone Channel: High/Low Input, Level & Tone Control
- Instrument Channel: High Input, Gain, 3 Band EQ
- Level Controls & Boost Switch
- Headphone Jack