Zinky Smokey micro-amp

[Jet-Jaguar]

So, as I posted elsewhere on the forum, I bought a Zinky Smokey micro-amp.  It was only about 31 dollars.  I ordered it from Amazon, and it was "fulfilled" by  Harmon Music.  The reason I mention that last bit is that I ordered it last Friday afternoon, and boom, it was in my box on Monday.

So, yeah, plugged it in, and it works.  There is no volume or tone control, you control those with your guitar; it's just got an input and an output if you want to connect it to a larger speaker. But it's really really small, and has it's own speaker. I wish it took AA's instead of a 9-volt, because I have a AA charger, but I'll get a 9-volt later. It's loud enough to practice in your car.  I'm thinking that you could probably busk with it, if you were into that. 

These mini-amps come three varieties, one that is housed in a re-purposed cigarette package, another that is in a polycarbonate housing, and a cheaper one in the cigarette package, but without the speaker, so it can be used as an amp head.  Mine looks like this, except in green:

This picture of the cigarette package gives you the sense of scale:

So far, I've just tried it in my car with a guitar that has a hot P-rails humbucker.  I wasn't able to get a particularly clean sound, even when I split the P-Rails to the "strat" rail, but I don't think it's really meant to have a particularly clean sound. It's just a nice little gritty amp.  I like it.

 

[thearmofbarlow]

They're based on LM386 chips. Definitely not the cleanest amp around. These things get mega fun when hooked up to a 4x12. It won't be very loud, but it'll do the best Iommi impression it can muster.

 

[AutoBat]

I have a Danelectro Bacon & Eggs pedal that is a micro-amp when left to itself or a no-knob distortion pedal if ran with an output.

I got it on sale for 15 bucks.  It's decent for tooling around the house.  Add a 9volt and put it in your pocket and you can jam in the back yard without offending the neighbors (at least by volume standards).

 

[Cagey]

Add a 9volt and put it in your pocket and you can jam in the back yard without offending the neighbors (at least by volume standards).

I used to do that years ago with a wireless Nady unit. Crank the Marshall up in the basement, then go outside and wander around the deck and yard with the cats while grinding away. I had a brick house, so you could just hear it outside. Not obnoxious at all, and didn't aggravate the neighbors. Only problem was the damn transmitter pack ate batteries like they were free.

 

[sixstringsamurai]

So, as I posted elsewhere on the forum, I bought a Zinky Smokey micro-amp.  It was only about 31 dollars.  I ordered it from Amazon, and it was "fulfilled" by  Harmon Music.  The reason I mention that last bit is that I ordered it last Friday afternoon, and boom, it was in my box on Monday.

So, yeah, plugged it in, and it works.  There is no volume or tone control, you control those with your guitar; it's just got an input and an output if you want to connect it to a larger speaker. But it's really really small, and has it's own speaker. I wish it took AA's instead of a 9-volt, because I have a AA charger, but I'll get a 9-volt later. It's loud enough to practice in your car.  I'm thinking that you could probably busk with it, if you were into that. 

These mini-amps come three varieties, one that is housed in a re-purposed cigarette package, another that is in a polycarbonate housing, and a cheaper one in the cigarette package, but without the speaker, so it can be used as an amp head.  Mine looks like this, except in green:

This picture of the cigarette package gives you the sense of scale:

So far, I've just tried it in my car with a guitar that has a hot P-rails humbucker.  I wasn't able to get a particularly clean sound, even when I split the P-Rails to the "strat" rail, but I don't think it's really meant to have a particularly clean sound. It's just a nice little gritty amp.  I like it.

yeah good luck with that, Dirt is kinda it's thing.
The way these are designed they break up the more Vol you roll in off the guitar.
I have had one of these since they came out, I use it on the bench just to test wiring.

 

[ErnestHeywards]

So, as I posted elsewhere on the forum, I bought a Zinky Smokey micro-amp.  It was only about 31 dollars.  I ordered it from Amazon, and it was "fulfilled" by  Harmon Music.  The reason I mention that last bit is that I ordered it last Friday afternoon, and boom, it was in my box on Monday.

So, yeah, plugged it in, and it works.  There is no volume or tone control, you control those with your guitar; it's just got an input and an output if you want to connect it to a larger speaker. But it's really really small, and has it's own speaker. I wish it took AA's instead of a 9-volt, because I have a AA charger, but I'll get a 9-volt later. It's loud enough to practice in your car.  I'm thinking that you could probably busk with it, if you were into that. 

These mini-amps come three varieties, one that is housed in a re-purposed ecigs package, another that is in a polycarbonate housing, and a cheaper one in the cigarette package, but without the speaker, so it can be used as an amp head.  Mine looks like this, except in green:

This picture of the cigarette package gives you the sense of scale:

So far, I've just tried it in my car with a guitar that has a hot P-rails humbucker.  I wasn't able to get a particularly clean sound, even when I split the P-Rails to the "strat" rail, but I don't think it's really meant to have a particularly clean sound. It's just a nice little gritty amp.  I like it.

Amp looks really pretty effective..I have been searching for one such amp for a while and will get it soon..

 

[Jet-Jaguar]

btw: I recently bought a strap made specifically for this amp:

I had tried to buy it a while ago directly from the Zinky web store, but google payments (the google version of paypal) wanted a digital copy of my driver's license, and that creeped me out.  I later found this other store selling them on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=291199554467

The amp has a channel for a guitar cable to go from the guitar's output jack directly to the zinky amp, making it a "just put the guitar on and play it" affair.  Pretty convenient.

 

[Cagey]

That looks like a nice piece. 3" wide? Spreads the weight out so you can last longer. Nothing worse than a fiddle that tears up your shoulder, as there's not much you can do in the midst of a performance but suffer.

Personally, I like the Franklin straps. Nothing fancy, just a wide, high-quality piece of leather.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I received my first Jeri Designs strap the other day. They're a little pricey, but it's an absolutely gorgeous bit of leather and the adjustment system is much, much better than on most straps. It uses a buckle, so that the strap stays the same width for its whole length. This one is a gift (hence not minding that it's expensive), but I will definitely buying more.

 

[Cagey]

Those are some nice-looking pieces. I'm a little leery of buckles, though. I accidentally spanked one of my VIPs (that transparent blood red on black Korina I show here all the time) with a buckle not long after I finished it and put a nice dent in the thing. Pissed me off. I'm still a bit butt-hurt about it. Damn lacquer. If it had been poly, it probably wouldn't have been affected, but lacquer chips so easy you're almost afraid to look at it.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I didn't think of that, but then again, nearly all my straps have Dunlop Straplocks on the end, so if I'm waving my strap around then I'm gonna cause damage whatever.

 

[Jet-Jaguar]

I'm surprised at how comfortable this cotton strap is. I originally bought it because it was on sale, and ending up just really liking it.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81HcZa8DJNL._SL1500_.jpg

Is there really any benefit to leather over cotton other than the looks?

 

[Cagey]

Is there really any benefit to leather over cotton other than the looks?

In my experience, leather generally spreads the weight more evenly, so there's less shoulder fatigue. But, there seems to be a fine line between a leather strap that's robust enough to distribute the load and how supple it is. Some are stiffer than others, so they tend to dig in on the edges and get uncomfortable fairly fast. Others are too soft, and don't distribute the weight evenly. The good ones that are just right are pretty dear. Look up Franklin, though. Very high quality/utility all around at a reasonable price.

Cloth or woven straps almost always distort under stress and concentrate the weight in a thin line across your shoulder, so they seem thinner than they actually are. On a light weight guitar like an acoustic, that's rarely a problem. On an electric? Fuhgeddaboudit.

The exception would be the seatbelt straps, but I can't remember who makes 'em. Google is probably your friend there. Anyway, they use seatbelt material to make their straps, as it's very strong and doesn't distort. If I were a stupid vegan brain-dead tree-hugging peta chick-type, that'd be the stuff I'd want to use  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I think you're thinking of the DiMarzio ClipLock straps, Cagey. And yes, those are great, just as good as leather. They're very slippery though, so if you've got a guitar that likes to indulge in a bit of neck dive, they won't do anything to prevent it. The other advantage they have, though, is that you actually screw the strap itself into the guitar. It's really, really secure, and if you do want to detach the strap there are parachute clips a couple of inches from the screws. And of course, parachute clips are strong enough to hang your own body from, thousands of feet in the air.

 

[Cagey]

Similar to the DiMarzio parts, but stronger as they're actual seat belt straps, designed to hold back human bodies under heavy impact. Pretty reasonably priced, too. See here.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Those straps are nicer looking than the DiMarzio ones too - something about the DMZ ones is really 80s. I'm not sure if the DMZ ones use the cheapest nylon webbing available - they are definitely a step above the normal cheap straps.

I've got one DMZ strap on my first build, as it suits the overall aesthetic. The rest are leather. But I did use the DMZ ones for about 10 years at one point, and never had any trouble with the material. Let's face it, when a strap fails, it's always to do with how it's attached to the guitar. I've never seen the actual fabric fail, even on the cheapest straps.

Er, and I do have a Smokey cigarette packet amp somewhere, too.

EDIT: Indeed, DMZ are using car seatbelt material:

We chose automotive seatbelt material for its comfort, strength and durability