Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
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Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: USD 12 USED
Submitted 11/05/2009
at 02:56pm
by Tim
Features
:
9
pretty simple little amp volume tone gain with a headphone out and a 2 inch speaker. battery powered or can use a wallwart.
not a whole lot to say about the features i gave it a 9 because it has every thing a amp this size needs.
Sound Quality
:
8
wow this is a hard one to answer if you use it as a head phone amp its great. if you play through the 2 inch speaker turned down playing clean ok when turned up it goes to crap. i installed a 1/4 jack and hooked it to a 1 10 cab i had laying around sounds great through that. (i highly recomend trying that)
now all that being said we are talking about a 20 dollar amp its not gonna hold up next to the cheapest tube amp but i do like it a lot better than say a fender frontman 15. great for practice.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
no problems yet.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
never delt with them
Overall Rating
:
9
if you want a good little practics amp like me and you dont need a lot of effects or bs its great but like i said the internal speaker leaves room for improvement.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: USD 20
Submitted 08/02/2009
at 07:21pm
by Midnight's Pale Glow
Features
:
8
I just got one of these brand new (2009) after borrowing one from my mom (who uses it clean to amplify a harmonica), and playing it for awhile. It has a great classic rock/blues tone, with distortion adjustable via a small knob. It has the basic volume/power knob and a tone knob. Just take it easy on the volume level for playing clean, otherwise it WILL distort.
Sound Quality
:
10
I've been playing my hot-rodded MIM Strat (outfitted with Lace Sensor Hot Golds) through this thing and the combination of that guitar and this amp sounds great. Once upon a time, as a teenager starting out playing, I once loved to play with the distortion up on max, but now in my 20's I find myself not using nearly that amount of distortion or just playing clean altogether, and this little amp suits me well for my current playing habits. Like I said before though, when playing clean, just watch the volume level because it WILL distort if too high. I compensate for this by having the amp volume (clean) up to max, but having the guitar's volume up midway, so when you want distortion, just max out the guitar's volume knob and BAM! A little trick for alternating between clean and dirty without a pedal or turning the distortion knob on the amp.
Reliability
:
8
I wouldn't use this amp for gigs (maybe for solo sidewalk busking) or playing in a band since it's a small, low-powered amp, but for playing around the house, excellent. I currently find myself using this amp more than my "land-line" Fender amp (aka one you plug into an electrical outlet).
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Haven't had to deal with customer support, so can't say.
Overall Rating
:
9
If this amp were lost, stolen or broken, I would easily be compelled to replace it (about $20 at Guitar Center you can't really go wrong). I find it a great amp for a compact, 9v powered machine. Just be sure to watch your volume levels or find a way to compensate to avoid clean channel distortion, and it's very solid.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: Euros 33
Submitted 06/18/2009
at 12:00pm
by fws
Features
:
8
Simple 1W solid state amp, with only 2 inch speaker as its main feature. It has volume, tone and overdrive knobs, headphone out, 9V battery PP3 and 9V centre negative AC to DC adaptor connectors. It has retro styled plastic chassis, metal belt clip, and tiny leather handle. Available in aqua, burgundy or yellow colour, but it seems aqua is the most popular one. Overall its rather light, but there are no loose parts, and whole amp feels solid. 1W of power is just right for practicing at home, perfect for people who live in flats. Despite small speaker sound character limitations a separate overdrive knob actualy adds a bit versatility when compared to other portable amps. It is definitly made for blues and old rock, so when you are moving around those styles, it seems like best option in its range.
Sound Quality
:
9
Im using it with single coil pickups only, primarily for blues and old rock. 2 inch speaker construction allows it for a very boxy and noisy sound. Normaly you wouldnt like that, but this amp makes it his trademark for those who search for it. It sounds like an old tape or radio recording, which make even clean settings charactericaly distorted. Suprisingly playing with knobs gives a lot of interesing sounds, but keep in mind it will always be a noisy box. It also adds some kind of echo, which makes it even more characteristic. Perfect for playing with slide. Headphone out has no speaker emulation, but since we talk about already distorted sound it isnt much of issue. The only problem I found is actualy powering it with adaptor. Since its made for usage with standard 9V effect adaptors it lack grounding, and so when used that way it produces typical hum which disappears when strings or some metal parts of guitar are touched. Overall its very hard to rate sound quality of this thing as either 1 or 10 would be true. Its designed to reproduce a certain poor quality sounds, and it does it well. If you are looking for them, its 10.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Cant say anything about it. Feels solid, but still its just a molded plastic. Dont throw it around, and it should be fine.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Havent dealt with them. I like their image, but their website could be better.
Overall Rating
:
10
Normaly Im practicing on 5W tube Peavey NanoValve amp, but its way too lound for using it in flat, so 1W solid state does the job. Not that it was the main reason I obtained it for. It is for that very characteristic, full of noises sound. There is nothing like it, and I must say of all the gear I owned or used, this small thing gave me the most fun. If something would happen to it I will definitly get another one. And its cheap too.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: USD 20
Submitted 04/07/2008
at 11:41pm
by cvp
Email: cvplummer<at>verizon dot net
Features
:
8
I don't know anything about this amp. BUT! I bought this as a birthday present for the singer/guitarist in my band.. When she saw it she absolutley adored it.. My girlfriend saw it, and she said that it looks so cute she wishes she had one. So, I guess chicks dig the design of this amp. So, if you got a lady guitarist in your life, get this.. It DOES look "cute", and it looks alot better than the clear non-descript Dean Markley amp and the cigarette box amp, and a hell of alot cheaper then those Marshall and Fender mini-amps, and does the same job..
Sound Quality
:
8
What do you really want in an amp like this? To be able to play in a band with it? Hell, no.. But if you were in your bedroom or watching TV it sure beats using electricty noodling around, or coming up with new song ideas..
Reliability
:
No Opinion
For the $20 price tag, how could you go wrong? if it dies, just buy another one.. If you can't afford to, then get a better job or don't buy a few six packs...
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Who knows.. I have never had, or known of Dano equipment to stop working unless you mistreat it, which it is on you, buddy..
Overall Rating
:
10
nice price for a neat present or just to noodle around on.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: USD 30
Submitted 09/24/2007
at 02:41pm
by isaac lee
Email: eyeofset<at>netzero dot net
Features
:
10
Probably this year. It is extremely versatile in the styles I play. I play mostly a mix of classic metal(Deep Purple, etc.) and black metal and it can sound from prestine clean to crunch to near screech with the tweak of the volume and gain knobs. the features i wish it had would be echo/reverb thats featured on the headphone amp but other than that it does its job well.
Sound Quality
:
10
The distortion is pretty brutal for a small practice amp. the guitar I am using is the Dean Vendetta Xm( the cheapo model everyone talks bad about)and pretty soon a Titan guitar. As far as being noisy it produces alot of feedback on high volume and gain settings but it does not bother me too much.
Reliability
:
10
I can highly depend on this amp for to go playing situations and for practice, as opposed to the Dean Markley mini amp that broke down two weeks after I bought it.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never dealt with them but seems to be very reliable nevertheless.
Overall Rating
:
10
if stolen, I would buy another one in a heartbeat. It shines in comparison to the Dean markley and johnson mini amps i have had in the past year or so. i have owned 2 dean markleys, a johnson mini amp and a marshall ms 4(the double mini stack) and only the marshall can compare in value and reliability to the dano mini amp. A fantastic deal.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 08/30/2007
at 05:37pm
by Rohan
Features
:
8
For a mini amp the fact there is any echo is pretty cool, the distortion has a gain adjustment (seperate from the volume control), which is nice at this price! There is also a dedicated Line out, so you can use it as a preamp to a bigger system if you like the tone that much, or you could plug it into your hifi/computer speakers like I have been...
Oh, can't forget my favourite thing: I got a branded 'Danelectro' battery and headphones included in the price! I haven't found an electrical item with the 'batteries included' sticker EVER! Not counting things including posh rechargeables like mobiles...
Sound Quality
:
8
Personally I love it! Considering I paid just shy of ??20 for it I ain't complaining. You get a lovely vintage distortion, which sounds great banging out White Stripes and Led Zeppelin, and if you stick the tone control(s) down and switch to the neck pick-up then Kyuss sounds as good as you're gonna get without overdriving a decent quality (??200+) Bass amp!
However, if you play mostly Offspring/ACDC kinda sounds then don't come near, I like to have a bit of a punky fun session every now and then, so I'm planning on buying a mini Marshall, as that's your best option for that kinda sound.
The echo is a nice touch, and if you're like me and get the urge to sound like you're playing in a big, empty barn once in a while it's just what you've been looking for! The clean channel is cool too, tho I'd save the battery and turn it off for that!
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Well I've only had it 3 weeks or so, but so far it seems fairly sturdy, obviously it is only made of plastic and so kicking it would be bad... having said that, kicking ??2000 worth of amp ain't gonna domuch good either! (specially if you kick the speaker...). As it's only meant to be a practice amp, no I wouldn't gig with it, unless I couldn'tget the sound I wanted any other way, in which case I reckon it would do the job fine.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
N/A
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for 5 years or so now, my last amp I purchased was an epiphone valve juinor, which got a pathetic amount of play before I had to move to the land of no electricity :'( Can't wait to get to Uni and a power socket! I've been playing my Ibanez JS100 through the honeytone, and it's making me fall back in love with it...
I'm giving it a 10/10 because for what you're paying you get a whole lotta amp! ??20 gets you a perfectly use-able practice amp, which goes to reasonable volume levels (full volume made my ears hurt a bit), and good battery life (haven't played for extended periods of time yet, still getting used to the electric after nearly 6 months enforced acoustic only!)
If it vanished from my life I would go straight back to the eBay shop I got it from and get another! Although like I said above I do intend to get a mini Marshall so I can play a wider variety of sounds.
Simply put: If you want a vintage distortion sound for under ??20 buy this amp now!
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: GBP 9.00 USED
Submitted 06/12/2007
at 01:07pm
by mofo
Features
:
9
Everything you'd reasonably expect in a micro-amp- On-off/volume, tone and drive. Frankly, if you're expecting much more from a product that is just a cheap cheerful travel companion then you've probably forgotten to take the medication again eh?
It'll take a 9 volt battery (buy rechargeables) has a "big" in jack for your guitar lead and a "little" out jack for your headphones. I've taken it abroad with my home-made travel guitar and regularly sit on the sofa and plug my Washburn W165 into it for a bit of tv watching noodling. Perfect. It's a 9 easily because it has everything its competitors have yet I can't quite get excited enough about a micro-amp in order to stretch to a 10.
Sound Quality
:
9
The sound I completely love. I'm surprised to see some of the comments here but I suppose, like design, colour etc, sound is a subjective thing and there is no single "right" sound out there. Suffice to say I play this thing cleanly about 25% of the time and with varying amounts of overdrive the rest. The overdrive is where it really shines for me. My fave setting twinned with my Seymour Duncan humbuckers on my Washburn Idol is about half volume, tone backed off to about 75% and overdrive hovering around halfway. This delivers superb Black Keys/ Wolfmother style warm dirty blues tones. If you're unsure how this wounds then check out the Black Keys on youtube. The sound has warmth, strength and some interesting break up to the tone as well as being responsive to the hard/softness of your play. Love it. With my self-made mahogany single coil guitar I need to work things harder with more volume and close-to-maximum overdrive to get back into dirty blues land. At maximum volume it can rattle a bit- they all can. If it ever annoys me enough then I'll put some dabs of glue on various parts to solve it.
Reliability
:
7
The previous owner managed (somehow) to snap the "E" off of the Honeytone label. The thing has had a hard life and, being plastic is quite scratched up. Short of making it out of metal or kryptonite I consider that all par for the course.
My one big gripe with the thing is the 9 volt battery compartment. It seems too large for the UK batteries I'm putting into it. Consequently the thing rattles around and generally makes poor contact with the + and - contact points. I've been wedging some card behind the base of the 9 volt to remedy this but recently took the thing apart and pulled forward the contact points for a more permanent fix. It's fine now but this small annoyance loses my "Honeyton" a few points.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never dealt with them, therefore unfair to comment.
Overall Rating
:
8
I grabbed an ebay bargain of a Marshall MS2 micro amp recently which I'm going to pull apart and mount inside my travel guitar for an all in one solution. As you can probably guess, I prefer the Danelectro offering to the Marshall and so the little MS2 is the one going under the knife. As I said before, these things are subjective, but I personally love the overdriven sound of the honeytone, particularly with humbuckers. Clean it's, well, clean and will do for such a small little thing. If you want to do any sort of public playing then you need to get yourself a bigger practice amp starting at about 15 watts. Considering the Honeyton(e) is A. not designed for gigging and B. a tiny fraction of that wattage then I think it's a real little champ and does all you could ask of it
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 03/28/2007
at 12:42pm
by jimbilly
Features
:
5
Pretty simple amp, sounds pretty wimpy as is.
But, I took the back cover off, drilled a 3/8" hole in the lower side of the amp, installed a 1/4" speaker jack (with internal speaker defeat, so that the internal speaker is 'unhooked' when an external speaker is plugged in). Now it's got a REAL feature (that it should have come with originally), I can plug it into any 8ohm guitar cabinet! The jack-part is about $5 at radio shack, I soldered the existing speaker wires to the new speaker jack, and added two 3" wires from the speaker jack to the existing speaker, -easy-easy mod.
Sound Quality
:
6
Pretty good clean tones, takes pedals well. Not so good distortion. Volume is adequate for practice, and pretty loud for a battery powered amp. Running this through a V30 in a closed back cab makes all the difference.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
I haven't had if very long, so I can't really speak about it's reliability.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
n/a
Overall Rating
:
6
I've been playing about 20 years, I own about 5 tube amps (a couple real neat-o vintage amps), and 15 guitars. I typically go for a clean to slightly warm Fender type tone, and then add a distortion pedal, and often a delay, -no other effects.
I highly recommend this easy mod, it sounds like a real amp now! All you need is a soldering iron (plus flux and solder), a phillips screwdriver, and a 3/8" drill bit.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 03/17/2007
at 03:00pm
by Killer Muldoon
Features
:
9
Bought this amp broken in a pawn shop for $2. Took it home and replaced the 9V battery clips with a nice snap connector, and after some Dremel tool work it went easily back together.
I play harp, and this thing has some very nice tone and distortion control for my old Shure bullet mic. Really loud for the 2W or so it puts out. It has Volume, Tone, and ODrive knobs that give a surprising amount of variation in the tone.
Sound Quality
:
8
I've just started breaking the surface with this thing.. I haven't found preferred settings yet, but have found several nice combinations. LOUD for its size.
Reliability
:
8
Well, i bought it broken. Based on what I saw, I think a lot of the "broken" examples of this amp are not the electronics, but a really poorly executed battery compartment.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
8
I've been playing harp for a couple years, and play through a variety of amps old and new. I read some reviews of this thing and happened to see it for $20 at the pawn shop, and when it tested bad, offered them $2. For the $35 or so it would take to get a new one, I would replace it, I think.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $35
Submitted 07/05/2006
at 02:43pm
by Ry
Features
:
9
To be honest. I was shocked at how reliable this amp was. Yeah its a little scratchy but so are some of the more expensive models out there so I won't complain. The overdrive option is really cool because it actually sounds like one. Plus I connected a pedal or two to it and it took it with no problem. For a mini amp it sure took its share of beating. I went from alternative to metal then blues to hardcore and it took it all. Danelectro you guys got my vote on this one.
Sound Quality
:
10
I used my epiphone les paul jr and it was an awesome combination. It can really throw down the rock especially if you hook it up with pedals. And it was surprisingly less noisy than some acutal amps. It was very versatile. And it worked well at maximum volume with excellent quality. And the overdrive really blended well with the range of tone.
Reliability
:
10
It was definetly something I could rely on. I would take it to a gig if my amp blew out. And to this day it hasn't broken down.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing guitar for twelve years now. Guitarwise I own-
epiphone les paul jr
carlo robelli semi-hollow
pedals-FAB-flange/metal-the original crybaby wah-Danelectro-frenchtoast
Amp-crate
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $20.00
Submitted 02/26/2006
at 04:18pm
by Richard Lawrence
Features
:
7
Features are typical of a battery powered "toy" travel amp. Included are On/Volume, Tone, and O.Drive controls. I have a "mini amp fetich" so I had to buy it. The box stated that it is "louder than other battery amps," and it is. The choice of the engineers to place the 1/4" input on the top of the unit was foolish. The amp tends to fall over all too often. I think I will mod this and make the present input jack a "speaker out" jack and add a new input jack on the back toward the bottom of the unit.
Sound Quality
:
6
This little amp sounds like a little plastic amp. Frankly, you can't be too critical, after all it is basically a toy or novelty.
The available clean volume is quite good compared to other 9 volt circuits. The overdrive is pretty awful and I avoid it. I play blues, soul, funk, and twang...so that nasty transistor distortion is pure evil.
The case or its contents tend to vibrate at certain frequencies. I suggest opening up the case and hot gluing the pc board and battery leads to avoid noise.
Reliability
:
10
This thing is build pretty well but I wish it were made of more substantial materials. Maybe MDF or pressboard would improve it overall, but likely increase the cost. I have owned several portable battery amps including the $50. Fender Mini Twin which sounded awful....but looked great. It would be nice to take this circuit and put it in the Fender....Then you might have something!
Customer Support
:
10
No comment. Never dealt with them.
Overall Rating
:
8
I would rate this pretty high considering what it is and what it is intended for. It's a great thing to have in your gig back or case...especially when traveling. If you need something on the road to get your "guit" fix, it is perfect. The volume is exceptional compared to other mini amps. If you are able, I suggest adding a speaker out jack. I hooked up a 8" Jensen Vintage and the amp sounded suprisingly robust. I also copied the circuit and I am planning to duplicate it on a breadboard, play with some mods, and build a custom version. (I know what you're thinking...."get a life") Hey, we all need a hobbie.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $35
Submitted 01/20/2006
at 05:50pm
by John Stockard
Features
:
5
For what I want it for, it is sufficient.
Sound Quality
:
5
For what I want it for it is sufficient.
Reliability
:
1
I have found the Honeytone amp extremely unreliable.. and Danelectro also very unreliable. I have purchased two of these little amps and within two weeks both have stopped working. I have tried in vane to get anyone connected with Danelectro to commumicate with me about them and I got no responses what so ever... The few humans that I did talk to kept telling me to contact other people... and I never got any satisfaction what so ever. I am highly suspicious of the Danelectro company now. The amp was great for the price, the sound quality, and the size, but if it only works a few hours, it is not worth buying. I might change my opinion of them if Danelectro would send me one that works... and keeps working. I have know others who have had them work for them for years.. and have had other friends who said that they have had the same experience as I... with the Honeytone and with Danelectro. What gives with this company?
Customer Support
:
1
Danelectro is impossible to deal with, if you have a problem with one of their products... at least, I have tried unsuccessfully for quite a while to get some one in the company to stand behind the little Honeytone amp that I bought from them ...that stopped working within two weeks. The few humans that I did speak with shuttled me off to other humans... and no one could give me any real information. The outfit must be full of mentally challenged people.
Overall Rating
:
1
If the Honeytone amp worked... I would give it a 10 for what it is and what it can do... but since in my experience they are extremely unreliable and the company is extremely unwilling to stand behind the product... I would give it a zero.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US Between 30 and 40 dollars
Submitted 07/24/2005
at 01:33pm
by Adrian Dupree
Features
:
10
I really don't know when the amp was made, but I am guessing that it was manufactured in the mid-nineties. Anyway I like to play blues and some modern rock, and this amp seems okay with me. Its made of plastic, but I really dont mind because I know that I will never have an impulse to damage it. It has 3 nobs: tone, overdrive and of course the volume control. It doesn't have any built-in effects other than overdrive, but I have never known any other mini amps with other effects.It comes with a battery compartment (battery power supply), and an AC adapter. It also has a belt clip at the back. Very versatile indeed!
Sound Quality
:
9
I have a silvertone guitar with normal pickups (the ones with the coiled pickups). It suits my type of music pretty well (which is blues and rock and Jazz ect.). I almost always use my headphones with the amp because I hate to diminish the battery power. I remember the first time I played my guitar through this amp and I remember being suprised at how loud this amp could go. On the box it says louder than most mini amps, well it is.
The tone works pretty well, it has a wide range.
The only thing bad about the amp is the distortion. Im not talking about how much distortion, Im talking about the quality of it.
When you have the gain up high and the volume down low, you have a very buzzy and rough sound. But if you turn the volume up, you will hear a more mettalic sound. In addition,it can distort esily
The amp still sounds great as it is, but I can't give it a 10.
Reliability
:
10
I really wouldn't use it in a perfromance, because its just not loud enough for one, and it distorts too easily. I would use it for private purposes, or for travelling. I bought this so that I could travel with it.
Customer Support
:
9
I got a one year warranty. Not bad.
Overall Rating
:
10
I am an advanced guitar player and I have been playing for 3 years.
I also own a Pearl River Classical guitar,a silevertone elctrical guitar, SmartIIIs Silvertone amp, and an Ibanez DE7 (delay echo pedal).
If this gadget were stolen or lost, I would definetly buy another one because of the low price and I need an amp for travelling.
What I like about the amp:
1 It is cheap and has a high enough quality.
2 It is loud and has plenty of distortion (quantity wise)
3 It has two different power supplies
4 It has a belt clip.
5 It has never broken down
6 It is perfect for travelling
What I dislike about it:
The overdrive and the fact that it buzzes at low volume levels.
I compared this to marshall mini amps. I bought this one because of the cost. (Its a lot cheaper than the Marshall amp).
I cant really wish it had more or better feature, but I would wish it had better distortion.
IF YOU NOTICE THAT THE AMP SOUNDS MORE FUZZY OVERTIME, ITS LIKELY BECUASE OF THE POWER SUPPLY. Not all amps sound exactly the same, some sound better than others.
Get the amp, its worth it!
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 03/31/2005
at 03:09pm
by Doug C.
Email: dm8t3p202<at>sneakemail dot com
Features
:
8
Not sure when it was made, but I've had it for several years. I guess I'd be classified as a classic rock or maybe folk-rock kinda guy, and the HoneyTone is okay for that. I think it would work for "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)." It might even fly for "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" if nobody had paid big money to hear you play it. Fuzzzzzzzzz.
Its best feature might be its portability. Mine (in its original box) shares space in a small nylon bag with a metronome, Rocktek Flanger, 10' cable, Rogue toolkit, and a bunch of miscellaneous small stuff.
It has enough power for around the house (haven't tried it with headphones yet), probably enough to scare the dog and/or cat, but not enough to annoy our nearest neighbor, even with the windows open.
Sound Quality
:
8
Okay for its size and price. I use it when I want something a little louder and/or grittier than the usual sound of my old Yamaha FG-230 twelve-string. (The Yamaha came with a DeArmond pickup across the sound hole.) I've also tried it with a Johnson JS-050-? "Mini Strat."
When cranked up, yeah, it does kinda sound "like a bee in a tin," but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I've run the flanger through it, which was kinda fun. The Munchkins go to Woodstock. 8-D
Next scheduled experiment: PAiA Hot Lyx Sustain and the HoneyTone.
Reliability
:
8
I don't think I'd gig with it. (I wouldn't want to have to try and make money as a busker, but it might work for that.) It's great for wearing around the house on the belt clip, though.
No electrical/mechanical problems noted, even though I let my younger stepson use it a couple of years ago. (He and his brother think all volume knobs should be set at pain threshold.)
I think it's still on the same battery I installed after the supplied one croaked.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Not needed yet, but then again, my inquiry to Danelectro about a Nifty Fifty amp on 02/28/05 received a "canned" reply that said "Currently our exciting product line up no longer includes guitars, amps or accessories at this time" and "We can't answer email questions at this time."
Alrighty, then.
Overall Rating
:
8
I've had that Yamaha for close to thirty years now, and never had an amp until the Honeytone. I'm now getting into guitar (and bass) more and more, but don't think of myself as an "active musician" (yet). I did try a few open mic nights 12-15 years ago, and might do that again some day.
"Anything else you'd like to share?"
Thanks, Ham, for the tip on the line-out circuit. In rummaging through the parts drawer at RadShack, I noticed they had two types of switched ?" jacks. I went for the normally-open one, their 274-312B. I hope I guessed right. If it ends up sounding like a Howler monkey being beaten with a clown's *right* shoe (or more likely, like one that's asleep), I'll know I got it wrong.
Yeah, I'd probably get another if this one were lost or stolen.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: 29 (euro)
Submitted 02/16/2005
at 01:34am
by Michael
Features
:
8
mini practice amp, volume, tone gain control, headphone jack, that's it. what do i want for ? 29,-?
i use it at home.
Sound Quality
:
10
i play fender mex telecaster, fat mex strat (stock pickups), ibanez pf 200 (old les paul copy) with gibson 498t in bridge and dimarzio the fred in neck position, ibanez artcore 75t semiaccoustic with (nice) "duncan designed" pickups.
i play a lot of styles. this thing has a lot of sounds from twangy clean to overdrive, surprisingly versatile.
considering size and prize the possibilities are amazing, therefore the 10
Reliability
:
8
i have another mini amp from the eighties - it's CRAP. you just have to look at it sharply to make it fall to the floor and break
this one is much tighter. i wouldn't drop it though - it's plastic.
gigging with this thing? well, maybe for busking - it would certainly do the job but you'd need some replacement batteries!
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
no idea about danelectro
it's new, so no repair was necessary so far.
i have a warranty - but the ebay shop i bought it from is so chaotic i wouldn't want to deal with them again
Overall Rating
:
10
i play for 32 years
my electric axes are listed above. i also have a classic yamaha, a hohner arbor precicion bass, a fender mandolin and a noname banjo.
i have a old accoustic 50w amp which is stored under my desk. i only play at home with my vox pathfinder.
other gear i use: pod II, behringer bass-vamp, boss 1180cd digi studio, boss dr.rhythm 676
if it were lost i'd buy this thing again, i love it! it has nice warm sounds, no 12" sound of course!
what should i hate about a 29 euro thingy that sounds sweet???! it's not a marshall but then it doesn't get me thrown out of my flat!
i can compare it to a crap mini amp by a company named "guide". it's like day and night though the guide was double the price of the honeytone ten years ago!
top buy, nice for playing a few licks now and then.
i'm happy with it as it is
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 12/13/2004
at 01:24pm
by kozmo
Features
:
8
Sound Quality
:
8
sounds pretty buzzy if played trough the little speaker at too high a volume, but plugged through a bigger speaker with a discman to car cassette adapter plugged in the headphone outlet and played in a normal stereo system tape deck , or plain headphones, i was really impressed... especially for a thing this inexpensive...
but who cares... i dont think it was made to be all out on the sound with that little speaker anyways... and you can still get pretty good tone out of it also so....
Reliability
:
No Opinion
didnt own it long it long enough... 3 weeks...
it seems to be a little fragile though... i wouldnt throw down the stairs it or drop it too often
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
BATTERY POWER: 9.6V REFILLABLE
this thing drains out 9V batteries within about 3 hours so if you dont want to spend a fortune on these and are not the type to play with it through the AC adapter, i suggest getting rechargeable 9.6V batteries that work just as regular duracells...
why 9.6V? cause regular rechargeable 9V only have 8.4V or somn` but the 9.6 works at 9, 9.1 ...
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $35
Submitted 08/04/2004
at 09:15am
by Bob
Email: kimball<at>msn dot com
Features
:
6
Features? Hah. Actually, what's there is very useful. Vol, Tone, Gain. Lacked an ext speaker output which I added. That would have been worth paying for. Uses up 9v batteries quick, works great on an ac adapter. I don't use it for a headphone amp but it's serviceable.
Sound Quality
:
5
If you don't add an external speaker jack you won't know what sound this thing makes. It's raunchy as hell with the little 3" factory speaker buzzing away in that plastic case. I added an external speaker jack (cheap part at Radio Shack). I've driven PA cabs with this and it sounds amazingly good. I also have small speaker I made with a heavy duty fullrange car speaker and that's great for jams with your acoustic friends. Another suggestion - try this with your Tube Screamer... you will find a whole extra range of tones by backing the gain/dist down on the Honeytone and playing with the TS. With the stock speaker, this is a 4 or 5 (hate that tinny buzzing) but with an external speaker you can get 7 or 8.
Reliability
:
4
Not a brick house. Occasionally used since 1998. the battery power connection stopped working, but should be easy to fix. Don't drop them, they're not made to take the shock. The battery compartment has a cheapy foam shim to hold the battery against the terminals... this is pretty poor design. But hey, for $30, whaddaya expect?
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Who knows?
Overall Rating
:
7
If you need a battery powered amp and don't need something crankin' like a Crate Taxi, this is surprisingly loud and satisfying through a decent speaker. Definitely add the external speaker jack. If anyone has a schematic that they'd like to share, email me.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30-40
Submitted 04/06/2004
at 12:20pm
by purplecat-nyc
Features
:
9
Volume, tone, and overdrive. It's not like they're going to fit treble, bass, and midrange controls on an amp this size! The overdrive control is a nice touch not usually found on this size amps, and is useful for switching between clean and distorted sounds.
Sound Quality
:
9
It varies a bit, but most of the time I get a really nice raw but warm distortion out of it. Sometimes it sounds cheap and spitty, but usually not. You're not going to get jazz tones, and the distortion's probably not intense enough for metal, but I play punk, blues/R&B-based stuff, and psychedelia, so it's just right for that.
I mainly use it with a Gibson SG or '62 Melody Maker, but also have a Tele and a Danelectro DC-59 reissue. A little bit of reverb or slapback echo does wonders.
I also play baritone guitar through it, but it can't really reproduce the lowest bass notes. It doesn't fry out with them, though. For baritone, it sounds a lot better with a cleaner sound.
I use it for practicing in my apartment, especially in the wee hours, and travel.
Reliability
:
4
I've had a couple of these that died, either mysteriously or after being dropped a couple times. Amps in this class generally don't have much longevity.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
N/A
Overall Rating
:
9
I've owned several battery "baby amps" (Marshall, Fender, Rok-Bug) and this one is definitely the best. I'm on my third one now.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30
Submitted 02/23/2004
at 12:12am
by Ham
Features
:
7
OK, this is really a follow up to Chippy the Monkey who gave some bad advice to that Victor guy. Sure you could just get a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter, however this would just create a bigger headphone socket and NOT a line out. If you want a line out, buy a $1 mono Sw Jack from Rat Shack, (they look like the normal mono jacks but have 3 solder tabs and a switch touching the tip) then do the following:
1.) Open the back of the amp, and solder a 2" wire from the black wire's (-ve) tab on the speaker to the sleeve tab on the jack. (leave the black wire connected)
2.) Unsolder the red wire (+ve) from the speaker and connect it to the tip's tab on the jack.
3.) Solder a 2" wire from the Switch's tab on the jack to the red wire's tab on the speaker
4.) Drill a hole (around 10mm) straight through the back of the amp where it says made in China CE, push the jack through and screw on the nut/washer.
Then you will have a proper 8 Ohm line out, capable of driving a 4x12 cabinet to volumes louder than a Howler monkey being beaten by a clown's left shoe.
Sound Quality
:
10
It is a $30 excellent practice amp. You can get some fantastic tones from this baby, some are worth recording.
For $30, fuck me!
With the line out mod, well you have a much louder practice amp with some good tones, none really worth recording, but $30, fuck me!
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Seems tough enough
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
>a?
Overall Rating
:
10
I recommend every one do the line out mod, it is easy, doesn't alter the looks of the amp and gives it a bit more versitility.
This is the best $30 amp Ive seen.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 01/27/2004
at 05:12pm
by Ralph Gonzalez
Features
:
No Opinion
Sound Quality
:
No Opinion
Reliability
:
8
Just a quick followup on my review below. My Honeytone had (apparently) blown out after a few years and a couple of falls. Last night I opened it up and saw a point where the circuit board trace was cracked, right next to the connector for external 9V DC power input. (I think it was left hanging from the external power supply once after a fall.) A touch of solder and it's back in operation! Looking at the circuit and knowing a little about these IC power amp chips, I think it should be hard to actually blow out.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29
Submitted 01/22/2004
at 05:44am
by Ralph Gonzalez
Features
:
7
Seriously, this is a really nice mini practice amp. Only one channel and no bass control, but why would you want one with a 2" (3"?) speaker? The best thing about it is the overdrive. Turn it up a little and it subtly brightens your sound, turn it up more and you get a real nice blazing distortion.
Sound Quality
:
7
The clean sound is limited -- you can't get any kind of bass out of such a tiny speaker. Sounds ok on the bridge humbucker, but don't expect to get a full acoustic sound out of it. Like said above, the overdrive is very effective and goes from subtle to a nice distortion tone. Only thing is be careful not to overdrive the input or you get a hashy clipping sound: turn your guitar's vol knob down if you have humbuckers and turn the amp's vol knob up to compensate. Also, I prefer using a 9V wall adapter with it.
Reliability
:
5
I had to stick a shim in the battery compartment to make sure the battery touched the contacts. More reliable to use a wall adapter. Amp finally stopped working after 4 years and a few drops. But for $30 bucks you can replace it instead of servicing it. I ended up buying a Guitar Research/Mega VL-10 from Sam Ash instead, for $10 more. The VL10 has actual bass and goes a lot louder. It's decent clean, but the overdrive on the Honeytone was much much better.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
8
I've been playing about 5 years and used it with various single-coil and humbucker guitars and was always happy with it. I wish Danelectro made a wall-powered version with a 5" speaker and maybe 5 watts power. But if you want a tiny, battery-powered practice amp, this is as good as it gets.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $1,000
Submitted 10/15/2003
at 11:50am
by John Fodding
Features
:
No Opinion
Sound Quality
:
10
I've been playing for 30 years. I've played through Bogner, Dr. Z, Blackface, Matchless, Marshall, Mesa, etc... NOTHING touches the tone of this amp. It's so versatile that you can spend weeks dialing in a different tones and never hear the same sound twice. One watt gives you miles of clean headroom(think polytone), but once you turn up the gain, it's over! It screams like a banshee in the dead of winter. If I were dying alone on a cold mountain, this would be the amp I used to serenade myself to deaths door. I use it in the studio, live, and as a friend for my guitar to confide in. If Jesus were alive, he would use this amp.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
10
If it were stolen or lost, I would die. If there was a way I could legally marry this amp, I would. There are things I'd like to share about this amp, but they're too personal, so I won't mention them here.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: $60 (Loonies)
Submitted 06/23/2003
at 01:51pm
by Chippy the Monkey
Email: michaeljohn222 at msn<dot>com
Features
:
8
OLD BLUES! Actually, I'm just writing this in response to that Victor guy who posted one saying he wants to find a way to use it line out. Go to Radioshack, buy an adaptor which changes any 1/8 inch to a quarter inch, plug 1/8 inch into headphone jack and then run that into a patch cord and into the PA. Unless of course you don't want to spend a whole $4 on the adaptor.
Sound Quality
:
10
I have a PRS Santana SE, one of the fantastic originals, not the new, sucky version, and I get a tone kind of like Brian May's when he used that little half watt Deacy. It's goin on my next record, somehow.
Reliability
:
9
Unless a fat guy sits on it and it goes up his butt (something that's never been said about an amp before), it should be fine.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I DON"T KNOW, leave me alone
Overall Rating
:
10
I play and it sounds like a bat eating a rat. Marshall Valvestate, PRS, and I record through a toaster that I wired with plutonium. My duck is named Norman.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: SGD (50)
Submitted 06/02/2003
at 11:51am
by Victor
Features
:
6
Features? For this price? Tone and gain controls are a bonus already. Headphone line out comes in pretty handy but can be quite a mess with all the cables esp if you're using a 9V adaptor. I use it in my congested campus hostel accomodation where noise pollution is a serious issue and even then sometimes my neighbours get to groove along with me.
Sound Quality
:
10
All the nu-metal/punk/emo/rapcore/craprock/metalheadz out there are not going to like this amp at all because it sounds like crap for anything other than real downhome blues. Think Muddy Waters / Elmore James / Hound Dog Taylor slide with lots of cheapo transistor crunch, recording hiss and compression. No creamy tube distortion ala SRV or sweet singing tone like BB King, just some damned grouchy sounding "Woke up this morning still stuck in the cotton fields" kinda growl. It's gonna take some serious mojo to get a decent sound out of this guy but once you nail it it's there. I play a Gibson BluesHawk and with tone all up, just a few degrees on the gain and volume as the surroundings permit. Ahhhh...slide heaven.
Yeah yeah I know playing a Gibson guitar through a SGD$50 amp yadda yadda blah blah blah...at least I know how to get the tone I want while the rest of the gearheads go through their mesa-boogies and marshalls.
Reliability
:
8
I'm seriously considering bringing this to my next jam session and miking it up and if it goes well who knows? It could see some real gigging action...but all that's a huge if. Had to spray the pots once but apart from that this guy's pretty tough. Been dropped a couple of times with no scratches to show for it. I sure wouldn't do that with a tube 2x12 combo.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
zilch
Overall Rating
:
9
Been playing blues for 6-7 yrs using a Gibson BluesHawk and a Cort ES335 copy as my blues axes. Amp-wise I'm stuck on a tweed Pro Junior which does an excellent job for blues (can get some good biting slide tone too but not as primitive as described above). I love the fact that this little thing is so simple and yet can still churn out decent (to my ears) tone. The Marshall mini-stacks seemed to be less value for money vibe and dollar wise. One thing I wish it had was a line out so I can hook it up to a larger speaker or something. Probably the folks down at Danelectro never expected anyone to find gig-able tone out of this little bugger. Maybe I'll get down to it once I obtain the knowhow.
If your lifelong ambition is to play like Steve Vai or Malmsteen or Satch and your dream axe is a flourescent glow-in-the-dark Ibanez with a Floyd Rose then you'd do best to pass on this one. And good luck on your next tapping solo extravaganza.
For those of you who play some serious metal(slide) on metal(strings) stuff you'd want to give this guy a go. You might just be surprised...shocked even.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29.95
Submitted 04/01/2003
at 07:59am
by Eric
Features
:
8
Just 3 knobs w/ a mini headphone out that I think can be also used as a line out if you use a mini to 1/4" adaptor. Great for outdoor playing in the park, street begging etc. Plenty of punch w/ Radio Shack 9v adaptor.
Sound Quality
:
9
Been using it w/ my Aguave blue "tequilacaster" loaded w/ graphtech nut & saddles, SD Hotrails w/ push/pull to split the rails. I mostly play old Led Zepp, ZZ Top, Classic Rock styles & it really gives me exactly what the Dr ordered. Can actually get that controlled feedback thing going nicely. Been playing since 1970's and have been through Twin Reverbs, Boogies, SF Champs. Never had such fun for so little $$$
Reliability
:
9
Have not taken it to gig but I'm certain it would not really cut it even if miked to the PA. Only had it for a few days but I'm certain it will last longer than $30 bucks in my pocket would otherwise.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Haven't had any experience w/ the Danelectro folks so I really can't comment here.
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
Been playing for 26 yrs I also have a Line 6 Spyder 112 & a SF Champ that needs to be worked on. If the Honeytone was lost or stolen I'd get my lazy ass back down to Guitar Center & get another one quick. Real no brainer!!
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 01/29/2003
at 08:20am
by ucnick
Features
:
No Opinion
I hope this isn't too technical, but I want to put in my two cent's worth. I'm a guitarist for over 30 years, in a band, and am also an electrical engineer (day job) and attempted to "fix" this amp at my cousin's request (he had bought one for his son to use for practice) because he said it was "cutting out". It was doing this because it had drained the battery and it would emit sound, battery voltage would drop, and it would die until battery voltage came back. Anyway I looked over the circuit and decided I'd designed better audio circuitry back in college. This thing pulls MUCHO current - I used a regulated Rasdio Shack 9V 300 mA wall adapter which put out over 11V when not connected, it drooped to a little over 7 volts, indicating large current draw (I will measure it at some point and get back on this). The internal circuitry only has about 3V of headroom at 7V supply, so if you use humbuckers it will quickly cause the input preamp to clip, and NOT musically - that's what the famous "buzzing" is, folks! If you want some more headroom and a better sound (albeit with the chance of damging the little power amp IC inside!) do what I'm gonne do - get a big (500mA to 1A) regulated 12V adapter from Radio Shack, the circuitry will run at 12V and the higher current capability of the adapter will keep the voltage from drooping (which incidentally is called "sag" tube amps, however it acts as sort of a compressor for tube amps due to their soft clip characteristics but causes hard clipping in solid-state amps). Single-coils sound better because they have lower output and will not drive the preamp to hard clip as easily. Sucker's case buzzes like a bee as well, maybe some hot glue...Anyway, that's my two cent's worth...
Sound Quality
:
No Opinion
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29.99
Submitted 12/04/2002
at 03:07am
by PKT
Features
:
8
I'm a simple man. Light Distortion and Clean are the only two sounds I need. Because it is so light it falls over easily, but I just prop it up against something. I can't really think of any other features I would need in a practice amp. The AC adapter is worth it for $10 because the amp seems to be louder when plugged into the wall, and you'll otherwise go through $10 worth of 9V batteries pretty quickly.
Sound Quality
:
7
I play rock/folk/country/blues with a Les Paul. The clean sound isn't the cleanest, but it's acceptable. If you have both the gain and the volume up it buzzes loudly, so I would advise playing with the volume on your guitar all the way up and the volume on the amp pretty low to minimize the droning buzz. The distortion is a nice mellow honey sound that suits me well. If you're into punk or hard rock/metal you might not care for it. It is plenty loud for just practicing in my house -- if I really want to blast it I can hook it up to my home stereo system via the headphone jack. I also don't mind hooking it up directly to my computer to record stuff for posterity. Since I don't play in a band or live, this is the only amp I really need. I give it a 7 because of the buzzing, and I have no frame of reference because I have never tried any other similar kind of amp.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
I've only had it for a couple weeks and it hasn't broken yet. Since it is plastic I would be careful travelling with it. I kept the box for such purposes.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I've never dealt with the company. I don't own any other Danelectro products. They gave me a warranty card, but I can't find a serial number anywhere, so I haven't sent it in.
Overall Rating
:
9
Seriously, for such a minor, inexpensive product I don't think the quality differs too much from brand to brand. For what it's worth, though, I have heard great things about a similar product from VOX at about the same price. I bought this one because they didn't carry the VOX at my local guitar store and I didn't think it was worth the wait and the shipping cost to order one online. A buddy of mine had a Fender (or Squire) mini amp that I last heard about 7 years ago, but it was very tinny if I remember correctly. I was impressed by the sound quality from this thing.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29.99
Submitted 12/02/2002
at 09:09am
by Richard King
Features
:
9
Small, about 4.5" wide, 5" tall, and 2 3/4" deep with a Leather Strap Handle that looks cool, but is useless to use. Aqua colored with Chrome colored Grill and 3 Chrome colored Knobs that control Volume/Off, Tone, and Gain. It also has a Red LED Power Indicator, a 1/4" Input Jack, an 1/8" Headphone Jack, a Belt Clip, and a Handy Little Booklet with suggested amp settings.
Runs on 9 volts via a battery, or through its Power Adapter Jack, to produce 1 Watt of high shrieking power to drive the 3" Speaker.
Oh yeah, a 9-volt Battery came with it too.
(See my review of the battery in the Effects Section for more details about the power it provided.)
Sound Quality
:
7
Sounds great and crappy all at the same time. The handy little booklet gives some setting suggestions. When you follow them, you'll notice the distinct difference in the different sounds this amp is capable of producing. But some of the sounds are just the same sounds from a different page with the controls just slightly different, so it is not as versatile as one might think. I noticed that this amp works best with 'strat' style single coil pickups. It is ok with P-90 pickups, but it doesn't sound so good when used with humbuckers. For the most part it has a very tinny and plastic sound. The plastic casing makes as much noise as the speaker does. These sounds tend to clash with the sound of the humbuckers but not the single coils. The small speaker just breaks apart and starts to crackle and shriek when overdriven. Feedback and hum is excessive especially when the speaker falls over. It was not really designed to be used as a tabletop amp because the guitar cord plugs into the top and topples it over. You can get a clean sound out if it, but it tends to be a bit thin. If overdrive is what you like, well this has plenty of it. When the battery gets low and you're playing hard, the sound will start to cut out. This also makes the power light dim.
Reliability
:
7
Not very reliable. It consumes batteries like a fish drinks water. You're much better off with a power adapter. As its power gets low, the sound cuts in and out on you. As I stated earlier, it's not designed to be used in its upright position without falling over and humming, but if you are going to use a power adapter with it, then you are going to have to use it as a table top model. You can't very well walk around with it hooked to your belt and plugged into the wall with a six foot power cord holding you back.
I do not use the headphone feature because the headphone jack was poorly installed. The jack came loose from the circuit board and caused the amp to not function at all. I disassembled it (voiding the warranty I'm sure) and reattached it properly. It was upon reassemble that I discovered why it was broken in the first place. There is simply not enough room to assemble the unit without pushing the jack to one side. Once in place it fits fine. When I attempt to use the headphone jack, simply pushing on it can cause the sound to cut out, so I just leave it alone.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I've never dealt with the company, but other seem to have nice things to say about them. I don't remember what the warranty was.
Overall Rating
:
7
List price: $39.00. I paid $29.00 at Guitar Center.
I originally bought this amp so I could test some homemade harmonica pickups/mics. At best it can only be used as a remote speaker for that type of application because a harmonica plays louder naturally than this amp can be turned up to without massive feedback.
I have since tested it with various guitars in order to try to appreciate this little wonder. Although you can get some interesting sound out of it, I would only use it in the most desperate of situations but then again I'd most likely be playing an acoustic guitar in those settings.
It is so cool looking and unique sounding that I try very hard to find a place for it in my array of equipment. I could always use it as a practice amp but my Pockit Rockit sounds so much better. I've been thing of cannibalizing it in putting in into a homemade travel guitar.
It's to cute to give it a poor overall rating, but trust me, it's not that good overall either.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30
Submitted 06/17/2002
at 07:05pm
by Anonymous
Features
:
5
Features? In a 30 dollar battery-powered amp? come on...volume, tone, gain. Headphone jack, ac jack.
Sound Quality
:
7
I play several old 60's "sears catalog" type electric guitars and also have an old kay acoustic with a soundhole pickup. I bought this thing hoping to do some street busking with it...I doubt that's gonna happen, instead of "Honeytone" they should call this "Chainsaw tone". Doesn't have much to offer by way of clean sounds and I was rather disappointed when I first got this (but it was cheap so I wasn't too troubled...). After I tinkered around with it a bit though, I discovered that, while too nasty for the average street busker, this little monster does crank out some good sounds. It definitely is treble heavy, I use my neck/bass pickups on all of my guitars and still get a lot of high end and not much low. Heavier strings and tuning down a bit will give you a bit more bottom. This thing is capable of some nasty, MEAN, sustaining distortion. Not death metal type stuff, just wicked balls out overdriven blues or rock or whatever. Easy to get that snarling "Hound Dog Taylor" sound and worth the price for that alone. Like I say, for a tiny, plastic amp, this thing is LOUD. Seriously. A bit noisy with these old single coils but nothing out of the ordinary. Oh, this is great for getting that dirty, overdriven harmonica sound too. I'm thinking of using this for recording some harp as I've always found it hard to get
a good overdriven blues harp sound without also getting a lot of unwanted noise and/or feedback. This does the job very well. I'm giving this fairly high marks in this category. It seems a little unfair to compare a $30 battery-powered amp to fenders and marshalls but on the other hand it can nail some good sounds at volume levels that won't have the neighbors calling the cops (again...).
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Haven't had it long enough to tell.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
8
I've been playing for about 10 years, have a few old tube amps. This doesn't really compare with those in terms of overall sound yet there are some sounds I can get out of this little beast that I can't get out of the old tube amps. I wish it had less high end bite but it's only a 4 inch speaker. If this were lost or stolen, I'd definitely consider getting another, if only for the good harmonica sounds I can get out of it. great art deco looks too.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30.00
Submitted 04/29/2002
at 02:07am
by Mr. Z
Email: zeuscervas58<at>yahoo dot com
Features
:
10
3 knobs: volume, tone and gain. A plug for a 9 volt adapter which I never use, a 4" speaker, a tiny leather handle, a cream colored plastic enclosure and probably some cheap PC board and miniature transformer inside. Solid state. More than enough features for a $30 practice amp.
Sound Quality
:
8
I couldn't believe how good this thing sounds!
I'm no slouch when it comes to treating myself to mondo expensive gear to get good tone. I've got a $4000+ tweed 1960 Fender Bassman and a 1969 50 watt Marshall, I have no idea how much that thing is worth now.
For 30 bucks this little POS Danelectro can dish out some GOOD tone. Where it shines is in the overdrive department. Playing my '58 reissue Historic Les Paul, I can get some raunchy rock 'n roll sounds out of this thing. Depending on how you set the gain, it's perfect for playing along to Cream, early Jeff Beck and even Elmore James records. And I can ape those sounds fairly well, considering it's coming out of a cheap solid state amp with a tiny 4" speaker. It's a low-fi sound for sure, but that's what makes it fun. It's pretty loud for such a tiny thing.
The only stipulation is it can lose some top end if you crank the volume and gain all the way.
Reliability
:
4
It's plastic, don't drop it!
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
10
For what it's worth this thing rules. It's not very versatile but for that swampy, overdriven, low-fi sound, it's hard to beat!
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $9.99
Submitted 03/31/2002
at 06:23pm
by dan
Features
:
5
Brand new Mini Amp from Danelectro. Features? No, not really. It has an On/Off/Volume wheel, tone, and overdrive wheels. Top also has jack and a red LED. Side has 1/8" jack and a 9V DC jack, but runs with 9V batteries as well. Cool looking White, Maroon, and Silver Looks. And last but not least, a tilt back stand.
Same as Amp in Bag, but without the bag
Sound Quality
:
5
After 15 minutes of trying, I finally found a setting that was not distorted. DO NOT BUY THIS AMP FOR A CLEAN SOUND! It does not suit my usual sparkly clean sound, but is great for distortion. On/Volume wheel is equal to distortion gain. Tone knob doesn't doesn't do much, just adds a tad of treble. Rattles a bit a higher volume.
Reliability
:
10
Solid plastic. Will not break unless abused
Customer Support
:
10
Never talked personally, but they seem to be quick about e-mail. Nice Website
Overall Rating
:
7
It does what I bought it for: stay in my case so I can play my strat anywhere
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29.95
Submitted 03/22/2002
at 03:50pm
by Dan P
Features
:
9
? 1 input, 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 gain, headphone out, 9V adapter, 3 inch speacker, in a vintage styled amp. Size about 5 x 5 inches, by 3 inches deep.
? Rated a 9 due to problems with the 9V jack not properly aligned with the "amp" casing. Other than that a ten.
Sound Quality
:
8
? With a little playing around, you can acheive a wide variety of sounds and tones. Comes with a little guide for help in getting different sounds.
? Sounds good clean, and can get you a nice "Crazy Horse" sound.
Reliability
:
8
? Dependable for what it's intenetions are: practice amp for travelling.
? Also great for the new musician, who needs to learn guitar before spending monry on bigger, better equipment.
? Have had the amp for about 3 weeks, has held up thus far.
Customer Support
:
5
? No need to call (yet) hopefully, there won't be.
Overall Rating
:
10
? Get it for traveling, practicing and/or learning.
? Don't record off/from it ...unless you'd like to try something new.
? Worth replacing, for it's cost, what it was designed for and it's convenience.
? Personally, I love it. I can get every tone I want from it, with knob adjustments on my guitar (Gibson Les Paul - 57 reissue - used)
? Usually play through a Roland 30W Chorus/EQ Combo.
? Great price and great versatility.
? Just get one, to have one ...even just to look at the cute little bugger.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: 350 (Mexican Pesos)
Submitted 03/13/2002
at 04:48pm
by Pedro Arizmendi
Email: magris at uole<dot>com
Features
:
9
This amp is great for playing everywhere,but eats batteries.However the look and sound are great.With other effects included ,this could cover my expectations on a windy afternoon
Sound Quality
:
9
I use a home made spanish guitar with steel strings,and a Innuendo.This is enough for me for practising too.The clean sound has no color but it gives a good volume output; the gain has not a good distortion,so I use it just a little to add character.
Reliability
:
10
I have been using it for a year,and it hasn`t failed.You can run it with batteries or an adaptor without a problem.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No support needed
Overall Rating
:
10
I wouldn't hesitate in buying another if stolen.The cool look and a great sound at this price is hard to find.Besides I like the retro look of the aqua color.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $25.99
Submitted 03/03/2002
at 02:42am
by Martin Neff
Features
:
10
Year 2000, Danelectro Honeytone Battery Amp. Red in Color. When I bought this amp I was living in a Studio Apt. I have odd hours, I wanted a amp I could practice on, and with paperthin walls wouldn't disturb anyone. This single channel amp solid state amp was just what I was looking for. It really doesn't sound bad and the looks of it made me want it, even if I never used it either. It's a straight ahead amp. I do use a power adaptor, so battery usage doesn't matter. It looks Cool and sounds very good for a small plastic amp
Sound Quality
:
10
I play a lot of styles. I wish I could get a tad more volume on the clean setting. I use single coil guitars, I own a bevy of Fender and Danelectro guitars. I like the tone of it for practice, but some players won't really like the sound...I do, great for 3 am playing. The distorion is actually quite good, For a joke I took it to a gig, set it on a table and miked it for a blues number, it sounded killer over the PA. The distortion is not heavy metal style, but more of a small amp cranked all the way. No Reverb...DUH!! LOL
Reliability
:
10
I've had mine over a year. I actually did gig with it for a Eric Clapton song. It's never given me any trouble. This amp is so cute the looks give it a 10 for me
Customer Support
:
10
1 year warranty. Dealt with Danelectro with another matter, fast and friendly response. Amp has never failed me.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing 28 years, I needed a tiny amp for the studio apt I was living in. It fit the bill, was made well, works great, and the tone was really good for a small plastic amp. I bought it mainly becase I had Danelectro Guitars and was impressed with them, HAD to get an amp. I would replace in a heartbeat if I lost it
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30
Submitted 01/01/2002
at 08:58pm
by Kalaab
Features
:
6
Tone, Volume, and Gain. I've also got a Little Smokey Amp, which runs off 9v battery, and the Honeytone is, needless to say, much more dynamic. I'd give this one a higher marking, but I find the top-mounted jack to be very inconvenient, and a little unwieldy when playing while the amp is sitting on a table or something.
Sound Quality
:
7
I run either a Strat or an Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe through a Dan Echo and an Ibanez Tube Screamer Turbo. The little amp's overdrive is very convincing for a solid-state, especially for a 9v practice amp. It'll kick out plenty of jams at a good level of volume.
Reliability
:
5
It's plastic, so it's delicate. If it broke, I'd probably just plunk down another $30 for a new one. I wouldn't go around abusing it, and
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never dealt with Dano.
Overall Rating
:
8
I've been playing for 8 years, and a lot of times I find practice amps that are either way too expensive, or sound crappy or feel cheap. This is a pretty good little amp. Given, Danelectro isn't known for their top-end gear, but hey, for $30, just try to find a better amp.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: 54 ($, DANELECTRO + cable + microphone)
Submitted 12/19/2001
at 05:57am
by Robert, www.mp3.com/blueharp
Email: redharp at email<dot>com
Features
:
6
It should have internal batteries with option to add them.
I mean c'mon, o bought 8.4 V battery ( REFILL 1000x times )
and i hardly get whe same sound and LIFE out of that DANELECTRO,
as i get it when i use an ADAPTER.
I am asking for suggestions. Is it possible to open it and
add something inside or to use 2 8.4V Refilling bateries at the same time ( PARARELL CONECTION ) for more POWER?
What i figured out is that if i used PLUG with plastic casing, MONO,
Honeytone danelectro worked OK and long enough,
but anytime i used STEREO JACK or FULL METAL COVERED MONO JACK with
8.4 V battery ( for refilling )
or 9 V batery ( standard, not extra powered ),
It went to dying out and passing out just after a few minutes.
I knew i payed to much for this:
54$ for Danelectro + cable + micphone?
all right, i did it in turkey and they know how to SET up the price.
Sound Quality
:
7
I don't like the noise which comes out when you set it to high at
tone and gain.
It's not easy to set maximum and to avoid having feedback.
What i don't like is a lot of feedback at some settings,
The problem is also that
IT DOESNT HAVE STANDARD GUITAR CABLE OUT,
the connection for headphones is hardly usefull.
When i conected my danelectro honeytone to the mixtable
i got 2 maximum blasts out of big speakers, ( main speakers )
and i desided not to use that feature anymore.
2nd problem is that it's almost impossible to MIKE this amp
on stage to get a sound in the main sound system from that
green box. I think the power is soo low that mike just cant
"get it" and deliver it to PA.
Reliability
:
4
I think i had only 2 times of " ALL RIGHT " use at jam session
from this AMP. And i tried like 6 or 9 times to use it.
WHat i like taht it's small and noisy enough to be usefull in small places. Does it have tubes? I don't think so, i mean that noise at higher gain, it sais there are transistors and not tubes in it.
I like it with AC/DC adapter but with bateries it's a waste or
your time,
well, good advice:
USE :. MIKE, MONO CABLE WITH PLASTC ON ANYTHING which is not used for transmition of sound, even on the conector,
don't use FULL METAL BODIES JACKS AND DONT USE STEREO CONNECTORS,
caouse it takes power from your bateries.
About bateries: Refillable bateries at "8.4 V "aren't good to use,
i mean they behave like very good nonrefillable ones after they go in dying part of thir life,
Just use HIgh QUALITY bateries or try to get somehing like a
little heavier SOURCE of energy ( Mini CAR ACCUMULATOR with enough capacity and correct voltage (9 V + some more would be all right (0.3V)
Customer Support
:
10
Question to you costumer support,
how can i solve the problem with using 8.4 V batteries ( refillable)
and what transmittable source of energy do you suggest,
how long last's the waranty, and
what cables ( MONO; STEREO, what microphone, ( IMPEDANCE ( OHMS),
and what type of specter should the mic have? like is the :CARDIOID type OK ? I know it's not cause it makes a lot of FEEDBACK if i coup it with my hands, when i'd like to play couped ( HARMONICA! ).
I hope you will be as i signed:
redharp@email.com
blueharp@email.si
Overall Rating
:
6
I have it 12-7=5 months.
I'd buy Something else, like messa boogie or soemthing like that,
or an amp with internal batteries, working for 5 hours,
I like the shape and hard sound at all settings almost to max,
used with low cost hadphones, cause they don't make feedback that much.
I chosed this one, cause i got the info on the net that it is
ne of the best at mini amps.
Internal batteries and option to add them some more,
BIgger output and not a headphone output,
STEREO AND MON JACK COMPATIBILITY WITHOUT EXTRA LOOS OF POWER ON battery with stereo JACKS
Well, i think on one jam i heard it all right and
people in a diameter of 2 to 3 meters heard it :-)
Oh, the PAINT!
It's getting aaway on the edges.
Why don't you make nonpainted ones?
and the knobs are sometimes hard to turn around
and there should be some mars on the knobs and on the case
so users could write down their settings.
Take care,
RObert
Oh, my first recording, which i published on that page
www.mp3.com/blueharp
was recorded thru this amp. I like it's sound.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $25
Submitted 10/11/2001
at 03:01pm
by Anonymous
Features
:
9
I bought this amp brand new for only $25. It has volume, gain, and overdrive. It's small, plastic, and runs off a 9 volt battery (or adapter). It looks retro (the catalog says it's aqua but it's more of a mint green).
Sound Quality
:
10
I have a cheap strat copy (chinese) and an Epi LP custom. It sounds pretty cool on both of them (for what it is). If I paid more for it, the rating would be lower. But for the price, it sounds awesome. Like others have said, it doesn't have much clean headroom - but I just use while I'm sitting in the living room - it's plenty loud for that. If I need volume, I can hook my guitar up to a "real" amp. It gets a decent bluesy sound with the gain turned down.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Don't know for sure since I just got it. I hear the batteries don't last long - we'll see.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Don't know.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've only been playing for a few months (still learning and have a long way to go). That's one reason I'm buying this type of amp. If I lost it, I'd get another one (it's only $25!). Awesome amp for the price.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $35.00
Submitted 10/06/2001
at 09:18am
by Vince.
Email: sauceydog_2000 at yahoo<dot>com
Features
:
10
Mine was made in 2001. It's versatile. It's loud as heck, and suits my playing style. Unfortunately, there's no reverb, no efx loop, no line out for a mixing board, and only one tone control. Only has a 3" speaker. Has a belt clip for street/sidewalk gigs.I have the old greenish colored one.
Sound Quality
:
10
I was immediately disappointed; When I first got it home I set it on the floor next to my Mesa Boogie Rectifier combo & 4x12. It was a tough call, but I'd have to say the Mesa's a little louder and sounds better, plus it has more channels. The Dano gets real distorted, and screams, yodels, and wails. It can also clean up nicely for jazz and Fender stuff.
Reliability
:
10
I gig with this amp often. That is, in my livingroom in front of the mirror. It's actually a few steps up from air guitar, which I admit, I indulge in on a regular basis. It has held up quite well, although I recommend that if you gig with it as often as I do, you should consider buying the DC power supply. Also, stock up on extra tubes just incase. Hasn't broke down yet.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
N/A
Overall Rating
:
10
It's a cool little combo amp that won't break your back carrying it around town, and even has a nice leather carry strap for this purpose. It fits in the trunk of your car, or pickup, or van with enough room left over for all that McDonald's garbage that accumulates between gigs. I'd definately buy one again, as it's the coolest battery-powered combo ever!
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 08/08/2001
at 11:30am
by Mr. Strumlin'
Features
:
5
This is the mini amp that runs on the 9 volt batteries.It has volume tone and a gain(?)knob.I do not use the gain knob to get a distortion(I HATE that word!!)sound because of the size of the speaker,I mean c,mon,distortion??Please.I use it for one specific purpose,and that's it.It's not a versitile little amp but it sounds perfect for how Iuse it.
Sound Quality
:
9
This is how it's put to use:I have an old beater acoustic that is tuned for slide(open G) and I put a Woody pick-up in the hole.I plug into the honey tone and I can get a cool sound for delta style slide playing that kinda sounds like a dirty acoustic guitar sound of popular blues records from the 40's and 50's kind of vibe,ya know??Do ya know the kind of tone I'm talking about?That dirty acoustic tone from an early Muddy Waters record should give ya an idea.I do some street buskin' and I saw alot of buskers that never get heard over constant traffic and pedestrian chatter and OTHER buskers too.This amp has solved the problem for me and I have people lookin' across the street and over the cars, to see where the slide is comin' from!!
Reliability
:
10
The battery don't last that long.I can get about 3 hours of good solid sound and then,it's time to break out the spare battery out of the guitar case.The LED kinda tells ya too because it starts to blink in and out and the sound is very DEAD!Other than that, it has been kicked and dropped and scrapped!Mine still works so far.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never spoke to 'em.
Overall Rating
:
10
I'm not a "beginner" and I've got other great gear that is more "Pro" kind a quality,but I was bored one day,got the Honeytone,went buskin' for fun and I made some good cash.I met some cool people and other cool buskers/musicians.It's a simple little amp that is fun to play slide through and sounds good.Others walking by notice the tone and I got good reactions and compliments on the sound of that thing.I can only hope that all the "bad" aspects of street busking(drunks,bad playing etc...)DO NOT start playing into amps.Imagine walkin' down the Ave and hearing a bunch of Black Sabbath riffs played on acoustic guitars into little amps?!?!Ya gotta think about how this amp should be used to get the maximum TONE from it's tiny little speaker.If it's tweeked right,I seemed to have found a use for it that compliments its structure and size.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 07/27/2001
at 06:33pm
by John Culp
Email: johnculp<at>chartertn dot net
Features
:
10
I have a 2001 Honeytone. It's a perfect little amp for taking along on trips, playing in the bedroom or back of the office at low volume, can be played with headphones if so desired, runs for hours on a 9V battery or constantly with a "wall wart," and it sounds really good. What more could I ask for? I end up using it as much or more than my bigger amps because it's so handy.
Sound Quality
:
10
I've read some of the earlier comments about the amp's alleged lack of different tones. Either Danelectro's heard the criticisms and fixed the problems, the amps are variable in quality, or somebody's impossible to please. Or maybe they haven't gotten the hang of adjusting a volume and gain knob that interact. Mine's got a sweet clean tone that's not 100% clean; it really sounds tubelike. With the gain turned up the distortion increases smoothly till it makes a crunchy, metal distortion. I usually run mine somewhere in the middle. Sounds great for blues. For what it is, a 1 watt solid state miniamp in a plastic cabinet with a 2 1/2" speaker, it's incredible! It has no right to sound this good!
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Obviously it's not a gig amp. (It'd be kind of cool to set it up where it could be seen and mike it through the PA, though.) I've had no problems with it though it's taken a 4 foot fall to the floor.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
N/A
Overall Rating
:
10
I can't stick this little amp in my shirt pocket, and I can't drive a 4x12 cab with it. Who cares? For its market niche, a little portable amp, it's perfect. Actually, with the AC adapter I'd be perfectly happy with it as my sole amp for home practice use.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $40.00
Submitted 07/24/2001
at 06:39pm
by Anonymous
Features
:
9
To reiterate, this is NOT the little amp that comes with the Danelectro 50's style gig bag, it's the little table topper that comes in Bergundy, Aqua, and Yellow colors. I have the Aqua and Yellow ones. For whut it is, it's cool.
Sound Quality
:
10
Well, yeah, I mean a Mesa-Boogie it AIN'T, right? But it gets me some ok sounds for screwing around. For those of you who can't get the clean sound, here's how: with the back of the amp facing you, (the input jack on the left), set the controls like this: O.D.-9:00, Tone-12:00, Volume-12:00. I find this gets a good clean sound with most of my guitars. Doesn't put out much volume, but if you need more volume, simply go to your local place of employment, earn 5 times the cost of this amp, and buy a louder amp, see? Oh- and if the sound dies, replace the battery! If it's still dead, exchange it, duh! I think it beats all other 9-volt amps.
Reliability
:
10
I've had two for 4 months now. Niether has failed me.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
N/A
Overall Rating
:
10
These amp's. are cool. If you want a tiny battery-powered amp to noodle around with, get one of these!
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 06/06/2001
at 10:11am
by Anonymous
Features
:
5
1 watt, retro styling, volume, tone, and drive contols, single 1/4" input with headphone jack, runs on a 9V battery.
Sound Quality
:
2
I tried the amp out with a U.S. made Fender Stratocaster. An audible clean sound was impossible to attain as tweaking the volume past the 1 or 2 position produced a pronounced, cold distortion. Distortion was harsh and something in the amp was buzzing and rattling at higher volumes.
Reliability
:
1
During that first test drive, the amp began to break up and cut out repeatedly. I stuck it back in the box and took it back to Guitar Center the following day. I had the extra satisfaction on ripping the Goth loser sales guy a new one when he ignored me rather than refund my $.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No info
Overall Rating
:
1
A piece of crap. I have been very satisfied with Dano's effect pedals over the years, but the Honeytone was a disaster.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30 approx.
Submitted 04/18/2001
at 11:14am
by Anonymous
Features
:
8
This is a plastic cased mini amp, which runs on a single 9 volt battery or an AC adaptor (not included). It has a single 2 1/2 inch speaker inside, as well as a headphone jack for private practice. On top, there is a single input for guitar and three knobs, labeled on/off/vol., tone, and drive. You can use the vol. and drive knobs to adjust the distortion and overall volume. There is only one channel. There's also a red LED to indicate power on, which also tells you when the battery is getting low (it dims out when you hit a chord). The whole package is wrapped up in a cool retro styled case, and looks something like a '50's table radio. There's even a real leather strap handle (which is too small to use), and a belt clip (which you can use). Mine is painted (yes, painted, not just molded in color) in a really cool seafoam green, just like a '57 Nash Rambler. too much! Rating reflects this "coolness" vibe as well as actual features, and is only in comparison with other mini amps.
Sound Quality
:
7
I usually play either a Les Paul or a Telecaster, although I have several guitars. There's not very much clean headroom in this amp. By the time you have it loud enough to hear it, there's already some distortion present. Cranked way up, there's plenty of gain and distortion on tap. It's also pretty loud for 1 watt. Given the lack of clean headroom and the miniscule speaker, it really sounds pretty good. You can clip it to you belt and dance around the yard playing ZZ Top riffs while the neighbors wonder if you've gone crazy. You can get cool controlled feedback with it too. Battery life is short and will depend on how loud you play. When the battery goes, the amp starts cutting in and out without warning, so I recommend getting an AC adaptor if you plan on using it a lot.
Just the other day, I discovered an even better use for the amp. It works really well for slide. I plugged my acoustic/electric into it and cracked the vol. knob until it just began to break up, just enough to balance with the unamplified guitar level. Whoa mama! Instant delta blues territory. The amp adds just the right amount of punch, sustain and "grit" for wicked slide work. Perfect for channeling Robert Johnson or Elmore James. Blended with an acoustic guitar, it adds a bluesy, low-tech feel to slide guitar. Because of this, I'll have to rate it a little higher than I would otherwise.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
I got the amp as a gift for Christmas. I don't really have enough hours on it to judge reliability. Several of the reviewers below have had their amps die on them, so I guess there are some concerns.
Mine is working so far, so I can't make a judgement here.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I haven't dealt with the company, personally, but they seem pretty cool. They sent a cute little "owners manual" with the amp, which showed several sample settings, which sound pretty similar. I think there was a warranty card, too, but I can't remember. If mine dies, I'll probably just get another, or maybe not. Heck, it's only $30.
Overall Rating
:
8
I've been playing for 34 years and should be a lot better than I probably am. I am embarrassed to admit how much I probably have spent on gear over the years. I got this amp as a Christmas gift. As such, it's sort of cool, in a low-tech, 78 rpm kind of way. I guess that this amp would be useful if I traveled around a lot, wanted to practice, and didn't want to lug an amp everywhere. Maybe it's best use for me is as a "tone boost" for playing acoustic slide. If you have an acoustic with a pickup, give it a try. Even when I'm not using it, it looks kind of cool just sitting on the tv, sort of like some art deco knickknack. I guess that might make it worth 30 bucks.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $35.00
Submitted 03/15/2001
at 05:25pm
by Vince
Email: sauceydog_2000 at yahoo<dot>com
Features
:
9
Whelp, I've been scoping this little sucker out for a week or two and finally sold the horse to buy it. Read all the features in the previous reviews. For a battery amp, I'll give it a 9, and that's in comparison to others in its class.
Sound Quality
:
10
I play this little amp through my Mexican Tele (Tequilacastor). I have, or have had, the Epiphone Mini-Tweed, the Fender Mini-Twin, and the Marshall Micro-Amp. They all have their good and bad points, but I think the Fender one's the worst, because it gives radio stations and squeels at high-gain settings. The Marshall's good if you want balls-out battery-powered distortion. The Epiphone is one of the top two best (in tweed or black), because it gives good clean and dirty sounds. The Danelectro then, compared to the Epiphone (EP-1 model), is a bit mellower (not as bright or brittle), and a tad louder. I like both, but the Dano has a bit smoother sound. By this I mean on low or high gain. The Dano is not much larger than half the size of the Epi also, so it fits in my case. The Dano, however, is super-freakin' at high gain settings, compared to the Epi; you get alot of that ssshhhiiihhhkkk sound , where the Epi is probally the quietest of the whole lot. I think I prefer the Dano though, 'cause I don't use alot of high gain, prefering to get some Jazz bits and cleaner stuff from it. I think it does this well. But, if you think that a 9- volt battery is ever gonna give you any real volume, you can just plan on going the next step right now, for a Fender Frontman 15. But, that's also around $100. For what I use it for, I'm glad I bought it! I bought the cream-colored one, perhaps I'll also get the retro-green!
Reliability
:
10
Pretty reliable I think, but what- are you gonna play out with the damned thing? Marshall Micro's break the input jack way too easily when they fall off the table, and they can't be easilt fixed. These seem MUCH more hardy. And, like the other reviewers say, "if you break it, just buy anither".
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
10
I'm in a Pop-Rock type band, doing mostly covers in clubs on the weekends. My bass player and I get together once a week to work on writing new originals. So, for this particular occasion I bring my cheap Mexican Tele with a tweed gig-bag to his house, but I don't want to be lugging a combo amp also. Since we do not write songs using much volume, I looked into this little amp because it was small enough to fit in my gig-bag's main pouch, and I figured it would be loud enough for chewing on some chord structures. This little amp is worth every penny I paid. Infact, I'm going to buy all three colors! I have Strats and Les Pauls, and play seriously, but for a bitchin' little practice amp, the Dano can't be beat!
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29
Submitted 12/30/2000
at 11:14am
by Steve
Email: SSsteve140 at aol<dot>com
Features
:
8
Great mini amp. I bought it a Guitar Center a couple months ago. It's got a volume control, tone (doesn't make a difference in your sound), and an overdrive control. It's pretty loud and you can use its headphone jack for when you don't want people to hear you screwing up when you practice. I use it at school in lunch and when my friends come to my period, I can unplug it to play for them. The knobs on have dots that don't even seem to stand for level they are at. One great feature I found was the red light when you turn it on. This is great for seeing if you turned it off when you are done playing and take your guitar jack out. Also, when the amp is crapping out, you can tell because of the light.
Sound Quality
:
7
The overdrive really doesn't do death metal distortion, but it gives a great rock sound. The clean channel only works if you pick softly at medium volumes. Even fingerpicking with the amp cranked all the way up to the max produces a distortion-tinged sound. Still don't know if tone even makes a difference in the sound. In the manual it gives you settings for the amp, but most of them really aren't different from one another.
Reliability
:
8
Works great except when the battery is really low. When you plug in with the headphone, it still works. But when you play it w/o the jack, it has a constant popping sound. The volume will go from low to high, then a pop. The volume will shut off and it will repeat the volume rise. Just change your battery. This also happened when the battery was slightly out of place when some idiot knocked it over. I was amazed that it still worked. The plastic case really protects it well.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
8
Pretty good amp. Wish it had a clean setting that worked. It looks vintage. If you break it somehow (it is incredibly sturdy), just buy a new one. They are worth it.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $9
Submitted 12/26/2000
at 02:26am
by Anonymous
Features
:
No Opinion
Sound Quality
:
9
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
10
I paid nine dollars for this brandspankin new at the guitar center in denver and it`s worth it.The stange thing was is they had a bunch of green ones on a table marked sale , then they had a bunch more for $29 ,go figure. I just bought a new Dano U3 at this same guitarcenter for $119 and they had two more for the same price with out a flaw on them. Guitar center isnt the greatest music store but when they want to get rid of somthing they sure sell it cheap.For nine dollars this is quite possibly the best mini amp in the world.Don`t ever hardly use it but it makes me smile just looking at it.That woth nine bucks
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30
Submitted 10/09/2000
at 07:36pm
by haljordan
Email: haljordan<at>haljordan dot com
Features
:
8
bunch of stuff: tone, volume, gain, headphone port, a useless leather handle, and belt clip. what really sucks is that there is no official clean channel. its clean until you turn the volume knob up halfway and it crackles and its all "vintage" distortion from there.
Sound Quality
:
8
going straight through the speaker it sucks. it sounds all muffled and overall really bad. what more can you expect from a plastic amp that size? anyway, listening to it through headphones sounds good. i also hooked up these ghetto-rigged computer speakers i housed in a cardboard box through the headphone port and it sounds pretty decent. also the presets in the instruction manual all sound the same- just the same crappy distortion, it just depends on how muffled you want it to sound.
Reliability
:
8
no problems yet, everytime i think i did something to screw it up it still plays as good as ever (which never was very good). i dont think it will last too long, but its holdin up.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
never had to deal with them
Overall Rating
:
9
overall, for 30$, its a pretty good buy. its really really cheap, but its also portable. i should have spent a little more to get a practice amp. for now its holding me off pretty well until i get a marshall.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $40.00
Submitted 06/18/2000
at 05:23pm
by Mike.J
Email: none
Features
:
4
This amp was a 1998. It has controls for volume, tone, and distortion. Very Simple. I Mainley bought it because none of my amps with distortion fit in my backpack at school.
Sound Quality
:
10
This amp sounds the same wih any guitar. It sounds great with headphones but loud and crazy without. This amp sounds like a lawnmower when you run a bass through it. Which i Think is cool.
Reliability
:
10
It was 2 years before this thing blew up. I used it at school religiously as a hallway musician. the thing that killed it was the lack of a channel button control, I blew all the knobs and circuts up from overuse, which was well over what I payed for it in use.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Who needs customer support on this cheap, simple little thing.
Overall Rating
:
10
It' kicks ass. i remember playing Cheech and Chongs "Earache in my Eye" on this thing with my Jag-stang and had all my friends and lady friends lauging along with me while I did it. It's dead no so I'll have to get another one.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30
Submitted 05/28/2000
at 01:24pm
by Anonymous
Features
:
5
This is a mini-amp, suitable only for practicing. It can be powered with a 9-volt or an AC adapter. I got it because I practice at school and I didn't want to lug a real amp up and down three flights of stairs to the practice room every day. It is surprisingly loud for its size, has one channel with variable overdrive, a headphone jack, and a beltclip (for all those times when you need to walk around while practicing). It would be better if it had dedicated clean and lead channels. I practice rock, blues, and jazz, and it sounds about the same for all of them, regardless of setting (it comes with a booklet that shows a dozen possible settings--but in reality you get two choices: loud and distorted or soft and slightly overdriven.
Sound Quality
:
8
It has volume, tone, and overdrive knobs which control its single channel. It can be surprisingly loud and crunchy for its size, and has a decent overdrive tone. The plastic casing tends to rattle at high volumes, and it's almost impossible to get a truly "clean" sound out of it. The speaker, though loud, is crappy, and you can get way better sound if you use it with headphones. Practically any other instrument will drown it out, so don't plan on jamming with this puppy. It's a practice amp only.
Reliability
:
8
So far, no problems other than the rattling.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never dealt with them.
Overall Rating
:
8
I've played for years and I think this amp is a pretty good bargain if all you want is a super-portable practice amp. I toss it in my bag and use it with my Strat whenever I practice. What it lacks in tone and power it makes up for in portability, price, and convenience. Most low-end practice amps are $100 and sound bad, whereas this little guy is 1/3 the cost and sounds about the same, and its easy to carry around. I haven't tried the other mini-amps (Marshall and Fender make minis), but this one is probably as good as those, and it's cheaper.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: 45 (Canadian)
Submitted 05/25/2000
at 11:00pm
by Anonymous
Features
:
10
This amp came from the year 1998 and i found it very very useful in all the styles of music i play. I play funk jazz and rock or anything in between. It works wonderful to practice late at night with or without headphones when you're worried that somebodies gonna scream at you for playing so late. I like how much the tone changes from one end of the tone nob to the other. i usually set it dead center. the drive on it is quite beutiful up to about halfway then it gets kinda gross. Mostly i use it as a preamp going into my larger also solid state amp. I hate solid state but can't afford a new amp so if i use the honeytone as a pre-amp and set the overdrive just barely on and when you play loudley you get that very sweet tube-like overdrive.
I have also used it on a Fender Rhodes keyboard and it sound pretty good for practicing and stuff too.
Sound Quality
:
9
I play with a really old Dano Silvertone i think its about a '62 with two single coil dimarzio pickups.(the same pickups as on the new Rickenbackers). It gives me the really trebely sound i want for funk and the really warm sound i need for Jazz. The distortion is good at low levels but i'm not a huge fan of huge distortion of any kind so don't care to much about my oppinion.
of course alone it still sounds small but better than any amp in its catagory that i've ever heard.
Reliability
:
9
It is very dependable. since it is so light quite often i walk away with my guitar and i come to the end of my chord and it comes crashing down off the top of my other amps. On time it broke and i emailed Danelectro and they said send it back and we'll send you a new one. Fortunately i took it apart and was able to fix it myself. its farlely simple inside and a real no brainer to fix most of the time.
Customer Support
:
10
Like i said above they said send it back and we'll give you a new one. They said the same thing when i thought my Daddy-O overdrive pedal died.(the power supply quit)
Overall Rating
:
10
very good for its price and size and very fun to play woth late at night. I've got alot better at guitar because of its ability to use headphones late at night.
Rock On Toronto
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $34.52
Submitted 04/29/2000
at 03:00am
by Brett
Email: mrriggs at teleport<dot>com
Features
:
8
This is a $30 amp, you can't expect too much. I spent all my money on my guitar(Dano U2) so I needed a dirt cheap amp for starters. Of all the worthless little amps this is the best I've heard, that is after some extensive modifications. After replacing the crappy speaker it will get really loud without breaking up too much. I clip it on my belt and walk around the house and yard playing. I do wish it had a pre-amp out. I was surprised how nice it is when I started working on it. The front grill is held on with screws instead of glue. Even though its made out of yellow plastic they painted it yellow to get a better looking finish.
Sound Quality
:
7
I play my Dano U2 through it. I play surf music so this amp isn't ideal cause it doesn't have a reverb. I like most people didn't like the speaker so I replaced it. Now it has good low end and I can turn it up and still have a clean tone if I want. For more details check out http://www.teleport.com/~mrriggs/guitars/pocket/ . With the overdrive all the way down I can turn the volume all the way up and have no distortion at all. I can crank up the overdrive and it stays musical if the cords are kept simple. For the price it sounds great.
Reliability
:
7
Gig, are you kidding? With the AC adapter or auxiliary battery I built I can exceed the recommended 300mA. If your not carefull it could blow out the circuit. I ran it through an ammeter and it gets obnoxious before it pulls more than 300mA. Be carefull if you like it obnoxious. I haven't broken it yet.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Check out my web page http://www.teleport.com/~mrriggs/guitars/pocket , you'll see I have definitely voided the warranty.
Overall Rating
:
7
For a $30 dollar amp it is great. I bought it just to have something until I got a good amp. I now have a good amp so I don't use it much any more. I got a 1970 Sano tube amp with reverb and tremolo. Obviously the honeytone doesn't sound a hundredth as good as a tube amp but it only cost me $34.52. I don't think I would get another one if I lost it. I would probably get a Dano estudio because it has a pre-amp out and echo effect.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US Free
Submitted 03/18/2000
at 11:17am
by Tim Schulz
Features
:
1
I don't know what year this was made in. It's a fairly worthless little amp, all hype and no substance. There is no "cool vintage tone" anywhere in this amp. Sorry. Single channel, volume tone and drive controls. No power at all. Maybe if you tried to drive a bigger cabinet you'd get something useful, but even into headphones it sounds like junk.
Sound Quality
:
1
Tried it out with a Peavey Ractor and my PRSs. Yech.
Reliability
:
2
No. Nope. Are you kidding?
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No reason to work with 'em on this. What could they do?
Overall Rating
:
1
Playing for thirty years now. Save some money and buy a Pignose or a Rockman.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $27.00
Submitted 03/17/2000
at 10:14am
by James
Email: jazzjames at sc<dot>freei<dot>net
Features
:
8
Basic mini amp with a volume, tone, and overdrive knobs. It has an input, ac adaptor, and headphone jacks. It is a really hip looking aqua colored cabinet with a 2 or so inch speaker. few nice extras like a belt clip and a useless but neat authentic leather handle.
Sound Quality
:
9
I play a Carvin H2. I am a college student who does some practicing on campus. Unfortunately, each room has a piano in it and usually there is a pianist on each side of me. An unamplified electric is not going to cut it. As much as i wish for a TUBE amp small enough for my backpack (thats also loaded with books...)it has not materialized yet. So i was seeking an amp that will allow me to play CLEANLY (I'm a jazz guitar performance major...No metal distortion please!) that would also meet the size requirement and be just loud enough for me to be able to hear myself. This is the most versatile mini amp that I've ever seen! It cleans up nicely and alows me to play at a reasonable volume. Try this with a mini marshall, fender, etc! Danelectro tried to make that overdrive KNOB do something. The tone knob is not the most amazing eq I've heard, but for $28.00 it changes my sound appreciably. I'd like to hear this amp through a better quality, slightly larger speaker! The headphone out sounds pretty good!
Reliability
:
10
I've had it three weeks. It has lived in my backpack. No sweat so far, but buy an AC adaptor: batteries go quick! Having taken a peek inside, i noticed that the pots and jacks are all mounted to the circuit board...Not the best quality construction...But for the price I'll buy another if it breaks and or use my warranty!
Customer Support
:
10
Sent them an e-mail asking for a schematic because I build small amps as a hobbie. They e-mailed within 24 hours with an address to send the amp to in case of failure. No schematic but I was just curious anyway. I was impressed with how responsive they were to my inquiry.
Overall Rating
:
9
I take this piece of gear seriously because it has made my life much easier. Compared to the other products in it's price range, the Honeytone is a great bargain. It still distorts a little too easily (manufacturers seem to think that EVERYONE is interested in distortion! I cannot trust most reviews of amplifiers because most people reviewing them spend so little time rating the clean tone. Soon i'll have to build something that is just like it that WILL NOT DISTORT! This reveiw is for freeks like me who are interested in playing clean only!) But I have found it serviceable for my needs. For what it is, it is top notch. It also looks really cool.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29
Submitted 03/03/2000
at 04:46pm
by Horatio S. Neptune III
Email: sido12345 at aol<dot>com
Features
:
7
These things are so cheap that by now everyone must have one sitting under the coffee table, gathering dust. Got mine in '99. Reddish color like the seats of a cheap rental car. Played it for a day and finally got the joke: this thing is a cheapo toy, not an instrument, but fun. Features are adequate for its purpose, which is to have fun.
Sound Quality
:
7
I play horribly and have for 30 years. this toy is worse than me, screechy and tinny. but it's a toy, right? Not an instrument. Just have fun with it.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
If it fails me, I'll never notice since I don't care enough about it to know where I left it last.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Who cares?
Overall Rating
:
7
I own a cute Crate VC508 that is a nice little tube amp for $150. I run the Crate through a decent Marshall practice amp called ValveState 15-R. Together, they have a very, very nice sound (though I've played guitar and bass for 30 years, I am a terrible player. I am more of an audiophile than a musician. I know good sound, whether live or audio/hifi. the baby Crate/baby marshall combo is excellent sound in a $325 package, even better than a Fender Blues/Pro jr. This Danelectro toy cannot be compared favorably or unfavorably with any other product. It's a nice toy.Go get one, but don't feel obliged to put another battery in it when the stock battery wears out.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29
Submitted 12/17/1999
at 10:01am
by Paul
Email: maringelli<at>hotmail dot com
Features
:
7
Hey, for a mini battery powered amp it's the best one around! Three knobs volume, tone, and gain help to change the sound. It comes in "cool" retro colors!
Sound Quality
:
10
I'm not a guitarist but a drummer. I bought the honey tone amp to have something in my home whenever a guitarist came over! If you like the semi-clean sound for guitar ala "surf", "rockabilly" or "country blues" this works great! If you are looking to blast lots of distortation you're fooling yourself & you're gonna destroy this thing.
Reliability
:
10
Depend on this! I've had this over a year with no problem whatsoever.
Customer Support
:
1
It comes with a warranty but I never had to use it.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for over 30 years and have heard the standard for guitar sounds come and go. This is the sound of Danelectro! Great for apartment level volume. Comes in great looking retro-design packaging with a matching instruction booklet! Also a Danelectro battery included. What more could you want for the price?
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29.99 (I think)
Submitted 09/14/1999
at 12:56pm
by Josh Casada
Email: smallstepforman<at>hotmail dot com
Features
:
7
There are three shiny little knobs on this thing; volume, tone, and gain, though possibly not in that order. There is a 1/8 headphone out, which I realize is the size that most headphones are now, but I still prefer the old 1/4's. The best feature is the sick green color.
Sound Quality
:
9
My main guitar is a tele with EMG lace-sensor type pickups. I also play a lot of harp through this thing, which is actually what I got it for. I play Hohner Special 20's (the only ones they still hand-make, #%$*&!) with a Shure mike.
I admit it; I love trashy sounds, and this thing provides plenty of them. My only complaint in this area is that if you crank it all the way, especially when using a battery (versus ac adapter) it cuts out when you play hard.
Reliability
:
2
OK, this is where things get nasty. I bought one of these on a Sunday. It wasn't working by Tuesday. I took it back by the store and exchanged it. This one has lasted longer (about 5 months) but it busted yesterday. It doesn't work with battery or ac power now. The little power light doesn't even come on. It's probably fixable, but should I have to put up with this kind of stuff from a solid-state amp? Some of you are thinking "Oh, he just abuses his gear." My friends, I have several other amps and an ancient tube organ, and I have had no problems whatsoever with any of these, at least not that I couldn't fix easily. This could be part of a string of luck I've had lately, though, which inlcuded the totaling of my car and getting framed by the cops (I got off with a security tape), but I doubt it.
Customer Support
:
10
Kudos to Musicians Friend for replacing this piece o' shite with no questions. I doubt Danelectro would be so helpful. The rating is for MF.
Overall Rating
:
4
I have been playing for about five years or so now. In the way of amps, I own a Epiphone Pathfinder (great amp), and some misc. Peavey bass amp, which I use as a slave. I'm a lefty, and poor, so I've been limited to Fender's Mexican offerings. And a bunch of other recording and harp shite, but do you really want to hear about that?
If I had it to do over again, I would have spent a little more money and gotten a pignose. I assume that they're more reliable, because I see some ancient ones in pawn shops occasionaly. On the other hand, I probably got my thirty bucks out of it.
I apalergizz fer my atrousush spelin 'n gramer.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30.00
Submitted 09/11/1999
at 10:42pm
by andy
Email: andes<at>chorus dot net
Features
:
8
This is a 9 volt powered practice amp. It is pretty versatile considering the $30 price tag. I only use it for practice, and I find it very suitable for stashing under my car seat and running out during lunch breaks and practicing on.
Sound Quality
:
8
I use a variety of guitars with this tiny practice amp. It works well with single coil and humbucking pickups. You can approximate many different tones with this toy/tool, but I would never use it for anything other than personal practice or very casual band practices.
Reliability
:
8
I've dropped it many times, takes a lickin' & keeps on tickin"! Gotta keep a fresh battery in it though!
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No idea.
Overall Rating
:
9
This little mini amp is best suited for personal practice, especially in situations that demand portabilitiy. It is certainly no "holy grail" of tone, but I've seen no equal for the price and size (about as big as a walkman).
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $35
Submitted 08/21/1999
at 01:08pm
by Aprille
Email: Avril9 at aol<dot>com
Features
:
4
Three knobbies, if I remember correctly: volume, gain [i think], and tone. Turning up the gain is the only way to get much sound out, but it also adds terrible distortion that one just can't ignore. My stepmum bought this thing for me so I wouldn't have to lug my practice amp on the bus to visit her. I wish it had at least a minimal amount of clean tone.
Sound Quality
:
2
I use this amp with my crap [Yamaha] guitar that I travel with. I suppose it works all right at really low volume, but anything audible is pretty distorted, tinny, and terrible. The only fun thing to do is wrap the cord around yourself, loop the amp onto your butt pocket, and stroll around the house, playing broken Led Zeppelin...
Reliability
:
3
This thing broke the 2nd time I used it... and I freaked out. I eventually realized that the metal plates that touch the battery were skewed, and armed with needlenose pliers, I fixed it. This thing also eats batteries, and I do recommend a power supply adapter you can plug into an outlet.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
huh.... I hate dealing with companies, I fix it myself! grr!
Overall Rating
:
2
I've been playing 2 years with a crappy travel Yamaha I keep in the car and a wonderful Strat I use for gigs, band practice, and such. I also use a ZOOM GFX-707 processor, which kicks ass, but sounds terrible with the mini amp. I suppose this amp is suitable for a mini amp if you want to run around the back yard, but I wouldn't recommend it for even a practice amp... its worth it to go out and spend $100. for a useable 15W amp... You will thank me.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $39.95
Submitted 08/16/1999
at 11:51am
by B. McNutt
Features
:
6
This was a new out of the box 98 model. Canary yellow with volume tone and OD. Simple and tiny. Even had a belt clip. It was powered by an AC adapter or the 9Volt retro battery (very cool)
Sound Quality
:
8
I couldn't believe it! How can this much sound come out of such a little box and SOUND THIS GOOD??? I was chunk-chunkin some ZZTop in no time. The sound was clean too, until you turned the knob a lil too far (hey, even chipmunks get a sore throat if pushed too far, right?) No apparent distortion on the clean channel.
Reliability
:
1
Boo, hiss!! One hour after I started plinking with this thing, it sputted, crackled, and died. Knock knock...no answer. I knew this was too good to be true! So, anyway, I took it back, got the bucks back and opted for a real amp. end of story.
Customer Support
:
1
Didn't even go there...
Overall Rating
:
6
Only been playing for about four months now, but I know what I like when it comes to tone. This little monster sounded great, but it was fragile and broke quick....sad, because I was enjoying getting those SOUNDS! A magic little box...too bad mine died.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29
Submitted 06/16/1999
at 06:04am
by Bill
Email: burkeb<at>mediaone dot net
Features
:
9
I bought this amp when I bought my new guitar (a Yamaha AEX502 semi-hollowbody.) I got it primarily so I wouldn't have to lug the big amps around... I figured I could throw it in the gig bag and take it to the beach or anywhere else I felt like bringing the electric. It's a pretty basic setup -- On/off/volume; tone; gain. It runs off a 9V battery or AC adapter, and has a headphone jack. Considering it's only got a 2-inch speaker, it's got plenty of power and a wide range of sounds. I was pleasantly surprised when I first plugged in and gave it a run-through. Keeping in mind it's a tiny speaker and runs off batteries, it serves its intended purpose perfectly. It's convenient, super easy to take with you, and it looks fantastic. Everyone I show it to falls in love with those Danelectro retro looks.
Sound Quality
:
8
I'm running a Yamaha AEX502 with two P90s through it. I play anything from blues to straight-up rock, to classical fingerpicking. The HoneyTone isn't ideally set up for the fingerpicking, but if you back off a bit it doesn't sound laughable. Other than that, however, it's capable of giving a great dirty blues sound. The booklet that comes with the amp isn't all that useful, but with a little experimentation you can figure out how to get any number of sounds on your own. It is possible to get a somewhat clean sound, but it seems to be at its best when it's got some growl. And let's face it -- you can't expect thundering bottom end from a 2-inch speaker. Over all though it sounds better than I expected. I've seen other mini-amps, and they sounded terrible. This is the best of that bunch I've seen so far.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
I don't know how reliable it is -- I haven't thrown it across the room. Yet. Would I gig with it? Be reasonable. No.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
You want support for a $29 amp with a 2-inch speaker? If it breaks just go get another one.
Overall Rating
:
9
I'm a bass player who recently decided to put more time into guitar. I've been messing around for about 10 years, and the Yamaha AEX502 I got is the first serious guitar I've owned. The HoneyTone was just sort of an accessory I threw in at the time, and I couldn't be happier with it. You can't exactly crank it up to 11 and flail away on it, but if you back off a bit and use a little common sense, it more than holds its own. Plus it just looks realy cool.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $35
Submitted 04/28/1999
at 02:20pm
by Mike
Email: MWParker<at>msn dot com
Features
:
7
I bought this amp new and have had it for about two months. The amp is not versatile enough for all styles, but is good for blues, quiet practice, and beginning guitarists (like me). The HoneyTone is very simple and staightfoward - One channel, gain, tone, and master volume knobs. Built in speaker and headphone out. The unit will run on a 9 volt battery or has an input for an AC adapter. This is a real slick looking amp. It looks like, and has been mistaken for, a 50's portable transistor radio. Note to anyone who might mail order this amp: The yellow color advertised is actually a dark cream color and definitely looks cool. I use this amp in my living room and it is loud enough to be pleasing yet doesn't get abusive. I own a bigger amp, but still play the HoneyTone alot because it is so convenient and gets a good tone. Yes, I wish it had reverb, but I imagine that would be too complicated and too expensive.
Sound Quality
:
8
I am currently running a Yamaha AEX502(semi-hollow body with P-90's) though the amp. Look for my review of that guitar comming soon (It's one hell of a guitar). I am learning blues, but also have an affection for heavy metal and punk, ie. L7, Ramones, Black Sabbath. Actually, I like all styles of music except for country. O.K., here's the deal. I've pretty much given up on getting a good "clean" sound with this amp. Everthing seems very flat sounding, and not enough presence for jazz. This should be expected with an amp and speaker of this size. However, if your into distorted blues and heavier sounds then I think this amp is a pleasant surprise. Use the gain knob and your guitar's contols to dial in anything from soft clipping distortion to all out raunch. Use the amp's tone knob to vary the tone of the distortion. You can get anything from early Pete Townsend spank, to Eric Clapton creamy lead, to L7 rhythm. I was able to nail the L7 "Andre" sound. This amp can also get a good George Thoroughgood "squawk". Bottom line is you need to experiment alot with this amp's controls and your guitar's input. This amp will respond well to varied picking attack. The headphone out is very nice, and here's the good part: You can get a good "clean" sound with headphones, and the distortion is alot smoother(that can be good or bad depending on your tastes). I'm rating this amp high because of it's low price and surprising sound.
Reliability
:
10
I've never run this amp more than a couple of hours in one sitting. It doesn't seem to go through batteries too fast. Here's something important: Throw away the supplied Danelectro battery, it looks cool but is half-dead and isn't worth a crap. This amp needs a good quality alkaline battery or the AC adaptor. I've only had one problem with the amp and it was the loose fitting battery cover, which rattled when the amp was turned up. A piece of duct tape over the cover took care of that problem, and nobody's any the wiser. This amp gets even grungier when the battery starts too give out, but the sound will start to cut out with high volumes in this situation. When this happens it's time for a new battery. Also, I forgot to mention turning the amps volume up results in even more distortion.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I haven't had a problem with the amp, so I haven't dealt with the company. I imagine customer service is dreadful, although Danelectro does have a pretty cool web site.
Overall Rating
:
9
As I said, I'm a beginning guitarist, and this is a cheap amp. It is easily replaceable. All headphone sounds are good and speaker sounds are good WHEN THE AMP IS DISTORTED AND DRIVEN. Don't be afraid to crank this baby up, that's what is was meant for. I didn't like this amp too much when I first got it. That's because I was trying to get a "clean blues" sound when the amp is for "dirty blues". This amp also has a belt clip for street playing. I did not compare this amp to other mini amps, but would like to try a Pignose. Note: The Pignose costs twice as much. Overall this is an excellent beginner's amp, and one that might put a smile on the face of a more experienced player. I have no intention of getting rid of my HoneyTone.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: CDN $25
Submitted 03/25/1999
at 08:46pm
by Ronald Reagan
Email: vogonpuke at hotmail<dot>com
Features
:
1
I got this thing because it was cheap & I'd always heard about those pignose things. Plus it looks kind of funky; but I've got to tell you, it really is a piece of shit. once you dial in a bit of distortion or turn the master volume up, the speaker gets really harsh & brittle and loses it, but what's more the SUPERCHINCY plastic battery cover on the back (that isn't screwed on: it just clips in loosely which allows it to....) vibrates so much you may as well be playing through a snare drum. it drives me nuts.
I just flipped through all these other reviews and I am mystified. maybe playing through the headphone jack redeems the thing, I've only had it a couple hours. But I definitely wouldn't buy it again. The only thing I can see it being good for is maybe recording it close miked and balls out for a REALLY fucked up original sound. it would probably sound huge then. Or maybe for some ugly harmonica stuff. Maybe if I sing through it my voice will sound good.
so lets see; if I stuff some kleenex (or better still, crumple up the stupid manual that came with the thing-what a load of crap: "warm jazz" "woodstock fuzz" "sparkle clean" & about 10 other totally inappropriate bullshit marketing 'vintage' hype slogans- except maybe "send the cats under the bed", that sounds about right) under the battery cover (preferably used) and wrap some duct tape around it to hold the thing together while I play through it, maybe it would sound ok. Is THAT vintage enough for you? maybe if they put in a speaker that cost 5 cents more in the thing it could handle the dinky 1/2 watt or so this baby puts out.
Allright, allright, maybe I'm being a little too harsh for a $20 mutated transistor radio, but their whole vintage marketing propaganda makes me sick. It's still a piece of crap and don't try to pretend it has " all the sounds of a full marshall stack combined with the tone of an old black face la ta da ta da.. etc." come on.
Sound Quality
:
No Opinion
???????????????
Reliability
:
No Opinion
oh, YEAH, baby!!
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No idea; maybe I'll call them just for a joke.
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
see above.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30
Submitted 02/12/1999
at 11:34pm
by Anonymous
Features
:
10
Volume, tone, overdrive controls and a headphone jack. Hard to believe it's only 1 watt- this is a surprisingly loud amp. I don't really use the overdrive control- I think it sounds better with a stompbox.
Sound Quality
:
9
I use several different guitars with this amp- all with humbuckers. It does seem to cut out a bit at higher volumes if you're playing powerchords. The tone isn't exactly stellar, but what do you expect from a such a tiny speaker? The tone is fine for what this is. The one tone problem I've encountered with this amp, and with the Dan-Echo pedal, is that when the battery starts to get a little weak, the tone completely falls apart. Be sure and carry a supply of 9-volts if you don't buy the adapter.
I'm currently playing in a duo-guitar project. This amp is plenty loud enough to practice with another guitarist if you're both using practice amps. Plus it fits in your backpack! That's my favorite part.
Reliability
:
7
I had to make an alteration to the battery connector after about a week. One of the terminals wouldn't connect to the battery properly, so I had to make a small metal shim to restore the connection. This just seems to be a design flaw more than anything. Also, throw the Danelectro battery away as soon as you buy the amp and put in a Duracell. The Dano batteries don't last very long and they leak. My battery leaked inside the amp after 2 days.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No idea. The warranty is for 1 year.
Overall Rating
:
10
Despite the problem with the battery and connector (which were easily fixed), I still give this thing a 10. It's loud, small, light. Until technology gives us Marshall-stack sound and volume in a box this size, this is the next best thing. I hate lugging gear around so this amp is perfect.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $25
Submitted 02/09/1999
at 11:51am
by PsycoMage
Email: ilovejen<at>budsmokers dot tzo dot net
Features
:
9
This is the best mini amp ever. It is powered by a 9-Volt battery, so you can go anywhere with it, and it also has an AC Adapter port, but the adapter didn't come with mine.
It has dials for volume, tone, and overdrive. It has a port for headphones, which makes it sound even better.
Sound Quality
:
9
Very nice sound on average, but feedback kicks in every once in awhile. It sounds the best with headphones on, a whole different distortion sound.
Reliability
:
10
When I put this on my glass table and start playing, I don't realize it, but it slowly starts moving towards the edge. It has fallen off tables galore. I've dropped it, kicked it, everything.. Altough I've only played it for a few months, it still keeps playing.
Overall Rating
:
10
This came with my first electric guitar, and I am definately a beginner, so I'd recommend it for a starter.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $29.99
Submitted 01/28/1999
at 06:42am
by Ronnie
Email: stonicus at hotmail<dot>com
Features
:
10
I think the overdrive and tones you can get out of such a small amp is great.The amp comes with a small book giving you ideas on how to set the overdrive and tone to match certain sounds.The only feature I don't care for is the input being on the top, but I can live with it.
Sound Quality
:
10
You can get many different types of sounds for all styles of playing. Anything from Rock, Jazz, blues, country and even a few metal sounds.
Reliability
:
9
It is a reliable little jam amp. I've had only one problem with it. When you crank it up loud, it will start to cut out when you play power chords. For most of the time, it is great.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I haven't had any problems to talk to them
Overall Rating
:
10
I think for the money and the size, it's a really cool little amp. No matter what your style is !!!
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 12/31/1998
at 01:02am
by Rico Reyes
Email: turboflier at hotmail<dot>com
Features
:
9
This thing is pretty handy for its size and price... i use it lot because my other amp is either too loud or you can't hear it... Im not into that whole retro crap but the styling is still kind'of cool and i got a kick out of the little "vintage powersource" 9-volt battery it came with.
Sound Quality
:
9
This amp is pretty great for its size and pricing. with the speaker its allright but with the headphones its just great. you can usualy find the sound you want pretty easily and its got some good distortion and still maintains tonality at the same time, i usualy keep it clean because i have it hooked up to a Boss ME-30. Its great for just messing around with though because it won't piss off the neighbors like those giant marshal stacks, well, with one watt, this thing doesn't have a chance to piss them off...
Reliability
:
10
Well, once I wanted to test out its clairity at high volume and i had it turned all the way up and it was going alright, but then the power indicator LED would start to go out when I hit a power chord and the damn thing started to smell and smoke, but it still works fine, i think the AC adapter i used for it was giving it too much current when I did that... But it still sounds fine... so, even after that little test I give it a good rating.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never had to deal with them, has a 1 year warranty though...
Overall Rating
:
10
Overall I would buy this thing again if it broke or i lost it, what wouldn't be too hard to do, just because its great because it fits in my guitar bag and i can take it everywhere. I don't really see anything bad about it, besides the speaker being so weak, but you can't fit anything bigger in it without defeating the purpose.... but thats what headphones are for.
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $39.95
Submitted 12/23/1998
at 06:48pm
by Brad Hunt
Email: Luvspung at aol<dot>com
Features
:
7
This thing just came out and I bought one after just hearing some guy playing on it. Tone, volume, and overdrive controls. The controls are a little scratchy but can make a big difference. I think it is 1 watt and like a 2 inch speaker.
Sound Quality
:
10
I play on this with either my Lone Star Strat or an old Ovation solid-body (Buy one they kick ass!!!) It is loud for as little as it is, and puts out plenty of useful sounds for as small as it is. Even though the speaker is small it has some bass in it.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Made of plastic. Enough said. Has a 1 year warranty.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Don;t know never dealt with them
Overall Rating
:
8
I bought this because I needed something to play in my room with and because it looked cool, the aqua green color is good looking. And the sounds are pretty good
Product: Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp
Price Paid: US $30
Submitted 12/16/1998
at 12:42am
by Greg
Email: vauxhall1976<at>hotmail dot com
Features
:
10
You may well be saying "He gave this little box a TEN?? What the HELL is going on here?!" But wait! Though the Danelectro HoneyTone Mini Amp features only three knobs (off/volume, tone, and overdrive), one input jack and a headphone jack, it's incredible just how much it can do. It's like a poor man's SansAmp. It fakes a nice, sweet Fender tone, a very pleasant clean blues tone that gets a little gritty when you dig in, a big Marshall plexi sound, and all sorts of extremely usable clean and dirty tones in-between coasting on a wave of ONE watt of raw power courtesy of a solitary 9-volt battery... Read on!
Sound Quality
:
8
Indeed, this is an impressive little amp! I like to play 70s glam (Viva T.Rex!), rockabilly, punk rock, and I also sometimes borrow some things from blues and folk genres, and the HoneyTone really holds up well for everything I need it to do.
It's not to say that it's perfect, mind you. The built-in speaker is pretty much worthless. It's very hard to get a usable sound out of it for recording, but it has a headphone jack which would probably work for that. And it wouldn't cut it for live performances - but then that would be stupid. It's a one-watt amp for chrissakes! It's just a little practice amp! And I mean little! (not quite 6"x6") But boy does it get loud! It seems louder than the other mini amps I've come across by Fender and Marshall, and it sounds quite a lot better than the them to boot.
My former main practice amp was one of those marvelous little Pignose amps, and though it sounds better than the Dano, the HoneyTone is far more versatile. And who needs a speaker on a mini amp when you've got a headphone jack? Through the speaker, the sound quality is maybe a 3. Through the headphone jack, it's pushing 8 or 9. It really sounds excellent. The thin, tinny quality disappears, and what remains is a very convincing, solid tone on almost any setting. It's very difficult to dial in a bad sound on this thing, and the booklet has some very helpful sample settings to get you going.
The only trouble is that on the one I've got, sometimes it goes a little blinky when you push it too hard (amp volume and overdrive and guitar volume turned all the way up), and you can also get some harsh feedback at those levels. But if you just turn it down a little, it's a beautiful thing.
Reliability
:
7
The knobs seem solid enough, but the plastic housing and plastic grill don't exactly inspire confidence. It's very lightweight and crushable, but it can withstand a little knocking around. If it breaks, buy another! It's only $30!
I can't quote an exact number, but it seems to last quite a long time on its one 9-volt battery (by the way, they include one of those swanky Dano Vintage Power Source 9-volts, as they do with their pedals).
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I've never had to contact them about anything.
Overall Rating
:
10
The HoneyTone is a winner through and through. Not only does it have those handsome good looks that we've all come to expect from Danelectro, but it sounds fantastic, too! And it's cheap! But it really is the styling that gets me every time - lots of chrome, real leather handle, and a choice of three posh colours: aqua, burgandy, and yellow.
My little Pignose amp is getting a lot less use since the HoneyTone came into my life. The low quality of the speaker is disappointing, but the versatility of tones that the thing can achieve through a pair of headphones is so impressive that it makes everything alright.
If you need a mini-amp for playing alone in your room, there's really no debate - the Danelectro HoneyTone has the competition beat by a mile, and I don't mean maybe.
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