Thanks all.  I came to the same conclusion and bought a Brugera V5 instead.

Hi Roger ... good call to post early since you will be away.  You sound GREAT !!  You're really fluid on the head.  I love those low riffs around 1:00 too!  The phrasing is awesome as well.  

I am no fan of the peavey amps...they sound lifeless to me (I have a classic 30). I vastly prefer Fender amps like the blues jr or the pro jr for harp. they have enough clear clean and punch to sound right..to my ears anyway. 

for guitar I like Fenders n Boogies and DR Z stuff is noce as well

Also acoustic amps have one very good feature that you don't normally find on other amps, and that is an xlr out which connects directly into a PA and allows you to use your amp as a monitor and control all  the EQ.

For the money you can't go wrong, but these are all basically guitar amps.  Since they are tube amps, they will warm up a mic, but they are limited in range.  If you are primarily a harp player, you might look into an acoustic amp, using the mic channel.  It's worth experimenting with anyway.

Yes i know, it did not work.  That's why i posted this.  The only way I could get a video to show was by inserting the "imbed" code direcly into html.  

Hi Vinny .. thanks for the feedback.  To insert a YouTube video with the link, you use the big red play button on the top menu and then cut and paste the link in the box.  When you do this, the Sonic Junction looper and other functions work with the YouTube video.

Let me know if this solves your issue ... thanks!

Mike: I found that using the "imbed" feature on YouTube and inserting the code in  html worked fine, but I was unable to get a video to work just using it's url.

Thanks again Vinny!!! :))

Okay -- here's a vid I found on you tube -- using a Bugera V5 and a 4x12 speaker cabinet -- technically a 2x12 or 4x12 gives you much more "head room" - which means a much bigger sound.  There are technical differences between volume and head room but as far as cutting through in a group this should give you what you need.  This is not even being played at full gain or full volume and it's quite a big sound.  Even a good quality 1x12 cabinet will be a big improvement over the 8 inch speaker in the amp. And there is a ample used market in speaker cabinets. 

Well I would not worry about volume until you run  a test putting that through a good speaker cabinet -- believe me five watts of that tube through a bigger speaker cabinet is going to be very loud, and most likely you can power at least two  12 inch speakers.  Of course you can mic the amp, but why mic an 8 inch speaker when you can mic a much better quality speaker array.  Remember this  is a tube amp, not a digital amp.  I think the speakers need to be at least 4 ohms minimum.  But I would definitely run some tests.  That amp way overpowers the 8 inch speaker that's built in.  Yes the speaker cabinet needs power.   Probably good to start with a 2x12 and see what it sounds like.  Bugera makes both a 2x12 and a 4x12 and they are made to use with all their amps. I have read reviews that people are getting great results with the V5 and these speaker cabinets.  And they are 200 watts.  What you can do is, if there is a guitar center in your area, you can actually take your V5 and your guitar in there, check it in, tell them you want to test speaker cabinets and they will let you do it.  You run that through a 200 watt 2x12 you are most likely going to get all the volume you need.  Remember, that speaker jack is for the internal speaker too, so it's designed for that amp to be used with larger speaker configurations.  Actually, Guitar Center usually has these in stock, if they do you can just use their stuff, but tell them you need to hear how the cabinets sound using the Bugera V5, and just grab one of their guitars.  

Mike,

Due to work responsibilities I will not be able to be at home Thursday evening so here is my "Open Mic" contribution a few days early. Sorry about he audio quality, but I thought I'd take a stab at my favorite Duke instrumental "Cookin". I look forward to hearing everyone else's contributions. Enjoy !

Thanks for your input, Vinny.  I was aware of the line out jack on the Brugera, and will check the manual for impedance matching (I think you are right about the 4 ohms).  I guess what I don't understand is the how you get volume.  That is, the Brugera (I assume) is limited because of it's max of 5 watts.  So to use it with a loud band I need to boost the volume.  I know that one option is to mic it to the PA but then I am relying on a sound man which at a jam might not be a viable option.  If I simply run the Brugera to an unpowered speaker cab will I get more volume?  Or does the speaker need to be powered?  At this point, I am just playing around, but if I were to buy something to implement this strategy I would certainly look for a good quality speaker. 

Sep 2012 Open Mic Night will be on this thread starting Thursday, Sep 27th.  

PLEASE wait until Thursday to post your video.

--- background and guidelines ---

Open Mic Night is when we will share videos of ourselves playing our favorite tunes.  They can be songs you wrote, songs you learned here or learned somewhere else.  

The point is to relax, have fun, and enjoy each others music.  This is a time to encourage and support each other.  

It's not a time for critism or constructive feedback.  We have plenty of places to do that.  Instead, this is a time to celebrate and share how far each of us has come ... and recharge for the next part of our journey.

I look forward to seeing the videos on Thursday and enjoying some great music!

Mike

You're in luck because the Bugera's have a great built in feature, which is a line out to additional speaker cabinet on the back panel.  You just have to make sure the impedance matches - for that I would check your manual.  So you do not need to change any inputs. But for the speaker cabinet I would suggest acquiring a used high quality cabinet designed for this purpose that has the right impedance.  You can power a 4x12 speaker cabinet with this amp and it will be very effective.  Check the upper right hand corner of the rear panel you will see this line out next to the power attenuator.  I think your external speaker has to be minimum 4 ohms.  Good used speaker cabinets are readily available through guitar center, as big setups usually use "heads" and "speaker cabinets" instead of combos.  This is a great feature of this brand and all these tube varieties have this capacity.  It is not a good idea to just grab any kind of pa speaker, you will not be happy and you won't save any money either because good used speaker cabinets are so readily available.  

Ad far as playing on the street here -- if you are in a city or area where there is tourist traffic, most likely you will need a permit of some kind, but it varies a great deal how this is enforced.  It is very easy to just set up in an area, say, wher there are a lot of restaurants or clubs, and just play and leave your guitar case open and you can get tips without soliciting for them, especially at night.  Lots of busking in Austin, for instance - city is sort of wide open for music.  But if you wan to play in a good spot say in Santa Monica, CA where there is a lot of competition for spots, then you have to get a permit, takes some money and effort, and you might get hassled to get a business license too.  If its a busy area, and you are not too obtrusive, like around office buildngs, business district, lunch time, you can usually get away with it without being hassled.  But every city has it's own approach.

I should also add that you can most likely find a used one in EU too.  I chose this also because of the fact it's a real amp with 10" woofer, and there are preamps you can get that will allow you to actually blend four inputs into two - so if you want to play in a group with one of these preamps you would have enough amp and speaker to handle it with the Traynor.  Also, any preamp you use with your guitar, if you utilize the gain there, you can keep your settings on the Traynor down low and extend the battery life even more.

Thank you so much Vinny!!! :))

I just went through a major project researching these, and bought and returned about everything there is from Guitar Center.  I will give you my impressions. The Street cube series is okay but it really depends on what you play.  If you are playing an electric guitar, you can get by with it.  Lasts well on batteries, but has shallow bass  If you play blues and are punching any bass these things are very week.  I had a crate 50 watt.  Battery life is not good, also when it starts to run down the bass starts to crackle - big 10" woofer.  Also, it always runs off the battery, even if it is plugged in, so if it is not fully charged, it won't play even plugged in.  I found it broke up quite a bit at any volume, but battery life was not enough anyway.  Roland AC33 - very nice little unit, but expensive, but a real acoustic amp if you need one - runs on AA's, but drops to 20 watts on batteries.  Very nice sound and has anti-feedback and looper - but again small speaker and if you need bass it does not cut it.  Also tried expensive Roland PA's which do not cut it at all on batteries.  If you do not need much battery life, there is a rechargeable PA by Samson that is very inexpensive the 40i I think it's called - 40 watts and very nice sound - big enough speaker to carry strong bass -- but battery life is probably no more than 90 minutes using an instrument and mic.  

I settled on a Traynor TVM50 - 10" woofer, and true 2" tweeter.  Great battery life, although it takes 24 hours to recharge you can use this on both channels for 6-8 hours at good volume.  It is also made in England, so getting it in the EU should be no problem, and it was an economical solution here and probably cheaper there. Mostly, the only amp with decent woofer and enough battery life on a charge to cut it. It's 50 watts and has great volume and bass support.  But if you are just playing electric and don't push the bass the Cubes are adequate.  I don't know how they are with mics though.  The Traynor is dual channel with 3 band EQ on the insrument channel and a "gain" button for pickups that don't have preamps, that's a big boost aside from the normal gain control.

The Traynor is comparable price wise too with the Street Cube; it is bigger and heavier but it depends on your needs. 

Hi Duke:

               I watched your lessons on Pee Wee Crayton's Blues After Hours and enjoyed them very mucch. I am a beginning guitarist and am very reliant on tablature. As these were the first lessons I ever viewed on Sonic Junction is their tablature and sheet music available to augment the lessons you teach. Your playing is very inspirational!

                                                                                                                                           -Thanks! Dom M. 

This is a pretty nice collection: Bluebird Blues. 

It includes "Good Morning Little School Girl," "Western Union Man," "Elevator Woman," and "Sugar Mama", which you mentioned.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/bluebird-blues-sony-mw0000361179

Hi Jerry, I just started Sonny Boy lesson two. At the end of lesson 1 you mentioned buying some Sonny Boy 1 CDs, and the only one I could find is Volume 4. You named one song other than Sugar Mama, it was Million years blues. Well, that's the only one on my CD, no Sugar Mama no Stop breakin down. Are there any songs on this volume that I should be giving more attention to than the rest. I will listen to it all,but I'm just curious. Thanks!

I'd like to see a Lesson and Backing Track for "Need My Baby"

By Walter Horton from the Album Fine Cuts

I am beginning to play out a bit - some jams and even a couple of songs here and there with a friend's band.  I have a Brugera V5 (5 watts) tube amp that I really like (and a Pignose Hog 30).  I'd like to be able to use the Brugera for louder jams, etc., and have been exploring ideas of how to do this. I really don't want to get another amp at this point, but I am thinking of finding a used powered PA speaker.  My friend is going to loan me a spare Mackie SRM 450 PA speaker to play around with.  I'm sure he will explain how to use it, but thought I'd see what people here thought.  Since my goal is to retain the gritty sound I can get from the Brugera but get more volume, would the best way to achieve this be to mic the Brugera to the Mackie?  If so, forgive my ignorance, but does this mean I run a mic from the line out jack on the Brugera and place it in front of the Mackie?  Also, at this point I don't want to buy any more mics while I experiment, so would my Shure PE585 work for the mic in front of the Mackie (I usually play through an Astatic 200)? Another alternative, I assume, is to run a cable from the Brugera to the Mackie instead of a mic.  Would this setup lose the tone that the Brugera produces?  Thanks.  Rich

Need help with your video?   I can add reverb, some warm tube, bass boost, spacial separation.  If you email me your video early, with a request of what you want, I can work on it over the weekend. 

Here's an example with modest cathedral reverb, a little warm tube and spacial separation.