Favorite unconventional jazz amp ?

[cjm]

Originally Posted by morroben

+1 The best jazz tone comes when the amp gets out of the way.

I've considered doing without an amplifier and just having some old guy stand next to me...his job would be to listen to what I play and then loudly scat sing the same lines.

I think for rhythm it would be essential that he not have false teeth.

[Patrick2]

Two amps I've owned, but sold before I got bit by the jazz bug . . . Ampeg VT22 and Fender Vibrasonic Reverb. I do miss owning each of them . . . but I DO NOT miss carrying them to and from gigs!!!! The VT22 was a tone monster with more head room than most will ever need. The Vibrasonic, with its 100 watts and its big beautiful 15" speaker . . . . need I say more??

[Bushwackbob]

Any of you Mesa owners put in a different speaker? I have a Lonestar Special with the stock 12" Black Shadow and have wondered about replacement options...

[mtierney]

Bushwackbob:

I have a Lonestar head, but not the Lonestar cab. I also wasn't a huge fan of the Celestion speakers (I think the Lonestar classic uses C90s), and I had Celestion G12 Century Vintage speakers. They're Neodymium and about four pounds each. So with that, I got a Seismic Audio 2X12 cab for way cheap on eBay, and I think the tone is spectacular. What don't you like about the Black Shadow? Why are you thinking about replacement?

[Bushwackbob]

The most immediate answer would be that I can't leave well enough alone... That said, I would like a warmer speaker without the bottom - heavyness of the Black Shadow. It may be easier just to play with a good eq.

[jmstritt]

The Celestion C90 is a good, "All Around," choice. If you wanted to go for more of a clean sound, I would consider an Electro Voice or a JBL. Not cheap replacements though! I have a C90 in my Rocket and I think it sounds great, it doesn't have the peak in the high mids like a Greenback or Vintage 30 so it is less of an in you face sound and rounder and sweeter. Just my opinion though, we know how subjective these things can be.

[mtierney]

The Century Vintage speakers have a really even response. I wanted them so that my mids could be contained a bit better because I use a PRS Custom 24; the speakers have a really smooth and even response with very clear highs. The bass frequencies go really low into the sub bass, making the tone sound really full, but the bass isn't high enough in the speakers for them to sound boomey at all. It's not boomey so much as it's just there in the tone.

I'm happy with them.

[eddy b.]

I'd say my Roland Cube 60, bought it for $350, it lives in my car trunk it always works, consistent tone, loud enough for any gig,light enough to carry, and nobody wants to steal it.

[stevedenver]

well i love my piggy back BF 66 bandmaster-something about the closed back works nicely-while i normally use a verb tank, with my jazz guitar i go digital delay or verb to cut down on the treble and loss in too much verb

what is really weird
as its sort of a rock icon on the high gain channel


i find my 50w 1x12 jcm 800 2303 marshall combo , g 12 65 , using the low gain channel (duh)

and a bit of delay or verb-makes for a great sounding JAZZ amp with my accoustic archtop with floater-

oddly not at all boomy, very clean , and really nicely middy and sweet-still not a feather wieght -nor cheap nowadays
but im really happy with these -the marshall tone stack is very versatile and it seem interactive-there seems to be some sort of interaction among all three treb, mid bass, and presence when you change only one-

actually -all of my marshalls -using the clean channels-are surprisingly great for jazz

[krusty]

I also have a Gibson/Norlin Lab Series L5. Really sweet jazz tones!

[woyvel]

I can coax a good jazz sound out of my Vox AD30VT (echoing Mr. B's comment) but my Polytone 1x15 bass amp (Big Daddy Love Handles input) that was originally designed for upright bass players is awesomely clean. I like to use both in stereo from my Line 6 M13 with just a tad of delay for jazz sounds, sort of like Metheny used to do.

[bohemian46]

I , too, Own a Gibson/Norlin Lab Series L5... great amp.

[Al_F]

I had a Lab Series L7 in 1982. I saw one come up on CraigsList a few weeks ago listed at $150, and it was sold in hours. Great amps.

[barrymclark]

Originally Posted by eddy b.

I'd say my Roland Cube 60, bought it for $350, it lives in my car trunk it always works, consistent tone, loud enough for any gig,light enough to carry, and nobody wants to steal it.

hahaha. That is priceless and so true. I have soooo many friends trying to talk me into selling my Cube 80x. Not sell it to them but getting rid of it all together. They say that right after praising the tone i get. haha. You gotta love it.

One of my favorites was, "I LOVE THE TONE YOU GET FROM THAT GUITAR! GO TUBE!" Seemingly a contradictory statement. haha.

[Carpal55]

My "main" amp is a Trace Elliot Supertramp twin chorus. Before I bought it someone cannibalized the Celestion speakers and replaced with a mismatched set of mongrels but it still sounds awesome both with my archtop and 335 clone. I've used it for everything from solo jazz to rock gigs. I also have a Crate GT60 with a blown dirty channel that sounds great with the archtop. Back some years I used an Acoustic bass amp that I wish I still had. The Supertramp would be perfect if I was 15 years younger and could carry it more easily...

[Greg Brouelette]

I have a modified Roland micro cube which I modded to an 8" Jenson speaker in a new wooden case. I love the jazz tone I get from it.

My other main amp is a Carvin Nomad with 1x12" speaker. It's a seriously bright amp which I need to turn down quite a bit. But what a great tone. With those 2 I'm quite happy.

[oldane]

Originally Posted by oldane

.... I bought a Sansamp Paradriver DI to use as preamp into the FX return channel of the Evans.

I have also ordered a Behringer B205D powered speaker. I got curious to see how a small PA/monitor speaker would sound with the Paradriver. Its powerful (150Watts),small, light (3.5kg) and cheap.

The powered Behringer monitor/PA speaker has arrived. As expected, it's not a Twin Reverb, but that said, I am positively surprised with the sound. I can dial in almost any kind of tone with the Sansamp Paradriver DI. What has really surprised me is that I can even get a more than passable jazz tone with the guitar plugged straight into the Behringer (without the Paradriver, using the Behringers own EQ knobs and its "Instrument" setting). As expected with a 5½" speaker, the bass is a little strained. Apart from that, I can get close to the tone of my Evans amp.

I think this setup lives up to what the OP asked for - oddball (in this context), very cheap (the Behringer costs around $150), but still with good sound.

In addition the Behringer speaker can be used for everything else - a mic, the MP3 player etc.

[jazzbow]

Originally Posted by Greg Brouelette

I have a modified Roland micro cube which I modded to an 8" Jenson speaker in a new wooden case. I love the jazz tone I get from it

Now that sounds interesting.
I put a 6" car stereo speaker into mine, it doesn't do jazz but it's a shit kicking blues rock beast now.
Please explain how you wired up the speaker, I thought as the cube was a modelling amp with its tone colour already processed before its speaker it wouldn't sound good through a conventional guitar speaker, but then again I didn't really try to find out

Any pix/vids/sound clips?

[petermelton]

Here's another point for Boogie.
I gig with a Mark IIC+! For jazz gigs that equals a 75 point clean channel. I'm now looking into something that sounds similar but weighs less. Way less.
And my amp has a Black Shadow in it and I happen to like the tone personally.

[helios]

Here's a very decent player on YouTube playing an Ibanez PM120 through a Mesa .50 Caliber amplifier (El84 Powered), and getting some nice tone on "All The Things You Are":

YouTube Video

[eddy b.]

A killer rig I like to use that is True Stereo and light and portable is a Fender Passport 250 watt solid state mini PA. My Heritage H575 through this setup is just awesome it is perfect for all of the corporate events that I do. Maybe not a club gig amp but definitely perfect for the background music corporate events that pay the bills.

[HighSpeedSpoon]

#1 sleeper for me: SWR California Blonde. Great with the archtop and I even love playing my flat top through it.

Also, another vote for Mesa Boogie. Great cleans for jazz with a bit of warmth. I have the 20 pound TA-30 head (2 channels, 15/30/40 watts, and very versatile). The Matching TA-23 cab weighs in at 29 pounds with the 12" Black Shadow speaker, which I like well enough.

[fauves]

That swr is a great amp. One of the best sounding upright players I heard uses one.

I really like my new rig. It's a 66 bassman that has been converted to a 1x12 combo. It's about the cheapest way into vintage blackface tube amps. Using a Jensen neo it's pretty light too.

So far ele, acoustic flat and arch tops. Sound great thru it.

For a cheap small tube amp I really like the Kalamazoo stuff. They are very close to the same circuits as fender stuff of the same era. I have a model 2 that is pretty much a champ, put in a good quality speaker and it's still around 200 bucks. Couldn't get a tweed champ for that.

It's not big enough to stay clean at higher gig volumes but on a stand for practice or recording it's very tough to beat.

[chrisnewlin]

Some of the best clean jazz tone I've ever gotten out of an amp was from a Peavey Classic 130. It's an older, solid state behemoth.

I own a Peavey Bandit 65 that I use for gigs, and it's much the same. The amp now is around $100, but it is fantastic for the price. Of course, the gain channel sounds like farts, but who needs that?

[krusty]

I just picked up a vintage Mesa/Boogie 2:95 stereo amp tonight. It's ability to use EL34 and 6L6 simultaneously should add an interesting new flavor to my jazz and blues playing (in addition to the 20:20, 2:90 and 2:100 already in my rack )

[Norway]

I use a Fender Cyber Twin, I can make it sound as any conventional amp you ca think off...

[Retroman1969]

Originally Posted by cjm

I've considered doing without an amplifier and just having some old guy stand next to me...his job would be to listen to what I play and then loudly scat sing the same lines.

[bborzell]

Originally Posted by Retroman1969

Sounds ageist to me. Why not a person of moderate aging?

[oldane]

Originally Posted by cjm

I've considered doing without an amplifier and just having some old guy stand next to me...his job would be to listen to what I play and then loudly scat sing the same lines.

I think for rhythm it would be essential that he not have false teeth.

And if that old guy was a good jazz man, you cold play as badly as you might, he wold just correct it and sing great solo lines. The musical equivalent of the ghost writer.

As for the false teeth, if he practiced a bit, you might be able to fire your drummer and pocket his salary yourself.

[Bluedawg]

I had an early 90s Peavey Classic 20 with a dinky 10" (?) speaker that was a perfect match for my L4-CES.

The combination was magic.

Of course I was a silly person and sold the amp.