MA-1 Mascot Amplifier

It gets a good sound for what it is capable of in a small package. A Strat straight into the Mascot set on 8-10 can get a jangly sound of its own. Good for adding a clarity track to a recording along with other chord parts. Loop your guitar signal and send a dry signal to the instrument input and a delay, verb or other effect through the line in, mix to taste, place a condenser mic in front of the speaker or mic it the way you would any other amp, in a nice sounding room. Something different. The speaker has a tight controlled sound, not flabby or harsh. It can hold its own when strumming chords. I don't find this as good for lead work. It has an inherent noise once turned on that has nothing to do with the volume and is present even if volume is off. Hence it gets a 9. The noise is not apparent unless you put your ear up to the speaker and once you start playing, it can't be heard. Have not tried the headphone out as a line out. No tone controls but with all the other tone control pedals Boss makes, this can be easily remedied. Depending on the battery used, the sound changes if its run down. Sounds better with a power adapter. It was not meant to emulate anyone's sound and like anything it waits for someone to make it famous. The shape of the housing, its materials and design lends to its unique sound.

I have had this since it was new back in the early 80's. Except for the yellow paint turning whitish around the edges, it still works. The case is made of the same material of any Boss pedal. Have not used this on a gig for anything other than an in-ear monitor amp back in the day when that type of monitor was none existent.  Its not a necessity.

Two inputs, one for instrument, the other line level signal. Each has its own level control. It was supposed to be a practice amp so that you could walk around with a cassette player ( fast forward 21st century- cd or ipod and whatever format you in the future will be using long after this reviewer has fossilized ) and your guitar, learning songs, either cover or your own material,  wearing headphones or through its little speaker. Has belt clip for portability for the "strolling guitarist." 9-Volt battery for power or ac adaptor. Manual explains the device well enough and unlike the typical Boss manuals, the Mascot Pocket Series manual was made of brown paper with actual pictures of the amp rather than drawings. It even has a freak brother drawing modeling the amp. Sliding plastic battery cover works if the paint doesn't gunk up the edges. It has lasted all these years although Boss could have come up with a better battery cover idea.

never had to ask help from Boss.

At the time I purchased this in the early 80's, it was for an earphone amplifier. Never used it for practice. 20+ years later it takes on a new dimension as a studio amplifier and the occasional pedal tester in the field. It's compact, bulletproof, and has a decent sound. It does lend itself to making music. It handles electric guitar signals well. For over 20 years it sat in a bag unused. Now its making up for lost time. It's a very rare item and I have never seen another like it. I have had offers to sell it but I keep the things I've collected over the years. There's nothing that I really hate other than they don't make them anymore. Two Mascots would be great to get a stereo sound. Yeah nothing is perfect but learning to use imperfection to its best advantage is a positive. Playing blues rock nowadays, this device has a compatible sound.  If you push to much through it, it will get a less than pleasing sound. But in the right measures, it can shine. Some people complain about the going price of these things but that is merely the law of supply and demand, and what the market is willing to bear. Considering what gets sold on Ebay for untold thousands, you could do a lot worse. Either you know how to get what you want out of this gadget or you don't. Like anything else, its in the eye of the beholder. If not valued for its sound, it will be valued for its collectability. If it were lost, I would be hard pressed to find another one. Of all the other amps, Marshalls, vintage Bassman, Dual Showman, and gadgets I have, its just another tool and would make do without it. But if you're into Boss pedals, the Mascot is another addition to their long line of sought after products even though it took decades to become so.

This is an older Boss product, and because of a review in vintage guitar, the prices are WAY OVERBLOWN.  It's a good little practice amp/ line driver.  Two knobs.  Line in and guitar in.  Line/phones out.  Nice little2" speaker. It does a thing...yeah, it boosts your signal, or you can walk around town with it on your belt and annoy people.  People who are paying $200 + for these things are just lemmings.  It's HYPE.  I paid $30 for one at a pawn shop about a year ago.  It's cool for that price...don't be an idiot.  If you're going to spend that money, buy a friggin boutique pedal, or

I actually recorded with this in my chain, and it fattens up my signal.  It's cool, again...for $30 I can make anything "cool"... It's a bit noisy, but it's supposed to be.  The little speaker is interesting, kinda ratty.  Distortion is crunchy and fuzzy...not super smooth sounding...it's not supposed to be.

It's a Boss.  No problems in over a year (it was made in the early 80's I think).

Boss...

Listen, if you pay over $100 for this item, you're just an idiot.  DO NOT buy into hype that some guitar playing journalist thought he would start.  It's cool if you find one cheap...otherwise save your money for lessons.

for a tiny little vintage practice amp stomp box sized amp, i dont think i coulda been more fullfilled...goes from clean tones, to large room old tube amp ambience <okay, so i threw the little 'ucker into a large brass trash can and layed it on its side!!> i found that the more i experimented, the more fun it got. throw a few effects in between your guitar and the little yellow box, and damn...surprise!!

how old did they say this thing was? i just got it yesterday..bought it used...its a dinasaur from the old dark ages..must be at least 15 years old...this one was so clean, i bet the owner treated it better than his ol' lady....why o why did boss stop makin it???

Plug it in/crank the 'lil sucker up/ and smile

no need

ive been thru a TON of amps....from my dear old matchless <NO get back..it aint for sale> to my fender twins...but my collection of minis keeps growin. cant crank up in the house...the horses go nuts...the dogs howl...this is my 7th teeny amp...pignose is gonna end up gettin dusty...the behringer is already under the bed...hehehe. i love new toys!!!