The Ultimate Guitar Amp

[guitaroscar]

Originally Posted by valriver40

since my last post i upgraded from a cube 30x to a new cube 80x and love it.

I moved up from a micro cube. I di have several other amps; A Fender princeton, An epi valve jnr (great for blues!), and a Strauss (Aussie brand) 30.
As for the Fender it is too bright. A local luthier says that the only way to get a decent jazz sound out of a Princeton is to unplug it.

The Cube 80 is everything I have ever wanted in an amp; fantastic jazz sound and solid state reliability.
I am not anti valves, and I am not a brand name person. If it sounds good and is reliable, and fits a few other criteria (like the boot of the car, the wife's idea of an amplifier budget...(no amp can meet that one)), then I will go for it.

[Bluesguy]

Your luthier obviously never heard a pre CBS Fender.
But you are right. The name or brand is never the issue. Sound is.

[JorisFun]

Thnx for the info on the Cube 80 I am thinking about buying one. I'll check him (¿ is an amp male?) out.

[Flat3]

Rivera Chubster. Hands down one of the best clean channels ever, IMHO.

[Tom K]

Yesterday I had my new TomKat amp in the mail. It's impressive - seems to be just what I have always been looking for. Both my jazz box and my Yamaha SA 2200 sound sweet, and the Strat-type Blade is not half bad either. - Of course it takes a lot of trying out now.

Highly recommended!

[philtownes]

BB King used to endorse these and played the model with 2 12s in it. I use the combo amp with one 15 inch Electrovoice, conservatively rated at 100 watts, with on-board compressor/limiter and some very useful tone controls. Great fat clean sound. Thank Gibson (Norlin back then, I think) for the wheels. Also use the Blues Jr when I want a lighter load.

[Scotto]

I had a 67 Blackface and I only used it for jazz. I loved it. So warm! I had to sell it because I moved to Japan and couldn't take it with me with the hopes of buying something smaller when I got to Tokyo. Nothing really had the vibe of my Super so I'm still ampless and back in the US now. I sold my Super to a buddy of mine who still has it along with another he originally had... I plan on making the purchase back from him as soon as I can!

[kawa]

Originally Posted by Scotto

I had a 67 Blackface and I only used it for jazz. I loved it. So warm! I had to sell it because I moved to Japan and couldn't take it with me with the hopes of buying something smaller when I got to Tokyo. Nothing really had the vibe of my Super so I'm still ampless and back in the US now. I sold my Super to a buddy of mine who still has it along with another he originally had... I plan on making the purchase back from him as soon as I can!

Hi scotto,I'm using '67 BFVR for 43years in direct 100V with no troubles.
I have step up transfomer,but I don't use.
Same sounds,difference is only the position of VR set value littel bit(0.5)

[Scotto]

Kawa, thanks for the information. Are you in Japan? I've been thinking about having a blackface super head made and experimenting with some speaker configurations. I'm really curious about a 15" speaker and less weight since the Super is a bit heavy. Here's an interesting link... Texas Amplification

[kawa]

Scotto, Yes from Japan. It's a one of a way,but please keep the originals.
10"has the guitar sounds meanings,then 4×10"(super)2×10"(vibrolux)
There are many of amps for compact.

[geozx12r]

i agree with scotto i played my friends 72 super reverb it was great but i have a fender ultmate chorus fenders version of the jc 120 and it sounds great

[jefchan]

For cheap, at home, acoustic amp: Ibanez 25 watt. [Condenser mike clipped to the sound hole of my classical. I don't know why, but it just does [work.]

[billkath]

I'm mainly using a Carlsbro PM12 monitor. 100 watts, 12" + horn. Fed by a POD XT Live. It's fabulous. It's light and the POD make it sound like whatever you want it to sound like. Perfect for live work.

[woyvel]

Here's an idea for exploring amp models that I've discovered (thanks to others here in the forum): Plug your modeling amps into a crystal clean solid state like a Polytone Brute. The SS amp won't color the sound (much). Lower wattage amps like the Vox VT's and Roland Cubes tend to have small speakers but decent modeling. Plugging into another amp and pumping it through a larger, better speaker will give you an idea of what you like - Fender, boutique, Vox, Marshall (God forbid for jazzers) or JC-120, etc. Also, because you're using the smaller one as a pre-amp, you don't have to crank the gain to get a good clean tone, you just turn up the SS amp volume. I like the Vox VT's because they use tubes which really do make a difference.

[BradM]

I have been using the Henriksen Jazz Amp for several years now and I love it. For me, it is the best jazz guitar sound I have found for my archtops. And... my Strat sounds really good through it as well.

[nic]

Originally Posted by guitaroscar

I moved up from a micro cube. I di have several other amps; A Fender princeton, An epi valve jnr (great for blues!), and a Strauss (Aussie brand) 30.
As for the Fender it is too bright. A local luthier says that the only way to get a decent jazz sound out of a Princeton is to unplug it.

I traded my Princeton Reissue for a Deluxe Reverb Reissue. Doesn't seem like it would be a big difference except for a few watts, but the DRRI is much sweeter. Maybe still not right for a serious jazz person, but works for me.

[82Benedetto]

Originally Posted by nic

I traded my Princeton Reissue for a Deluxe Reverb Reissue. Doesn't seem like it would be a big difference except for a few watts, but the DRRI is much sweeter. Maybe still not right for a serious jazz person, but works for me.

I have a twin reverb, and it's great for jazz. The DRRI is just the lil' brother.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by 82Benedetto

I have a twin reverb, and it's great for jazz. The DRRI is just the lil' brother.

A TRRI?

[82Benedetto]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

A TRRI?

Yup

Had to get a case with wheels to move the sucker, but it sounds great!

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by 82Benedetto

Yup

Had to get a case with wheels to move the sucker, but it sounds great!

Great: I have a question about jazz and blackface twins. I understand the appeal of the twin's big iron for a deep, clean sound, but the blackface tone stack is also known for its scooped mids. And I always think of the classic jazz guitar sound as being mid-rangy, more of a tweed sound. How do you square the circle there? Does your jazz guitar sound good with scooped mids, or are you EQing it to tweek that?

[nic]

Originally Posted by 82Benedetto

I have a twin reverb, and it's great for jazz. The DRRI is just the lil' brother.

You're right, I bought the Deluxe because I can pick it up.

[lpdeluxe]

Originally Posted by nic

You're right, I bought the Deluxe because I can pick it up.

Ditto. A friend has a wonderful sounding Super Reverb, but no thanks...you can't hear an amp you can't carry to the gig.

Right now my Band-Master + 15" speaker weigh the most (a little over 50 lb) but the DRRI is the heaviest one that travels at 42 lb.

[82Benedetto]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

Great: I have a question about jazz and blackface twins. I understand the appeal of the twin's big iron for a deep, clean sound, but the blackface tone stack is also known for its scooped mids. And I always think of the classic jazz guitar sound as being mid-rangy, more of a tweed sound. How do you square the circle there? Does your jazz guitar sound good with scooped mids, or are you EQing it to tweek that?

I have to be honest; I don't know anything about amps, electronics, or even what you mean by some of those terms All I know is what sounds good to my ear, and I can get a wide variety of clean sounds through it....from a bluesy twang to a deeper "modern" jazz tone.

I guess what I'm saying is, though my knowledge is incredibly limited in this regard, you get a clean tone from the Twin Reverb and you can get a great deal of different clean tones from the amp...it's versatile in that respect.


As for being able to pick the amp up....you guys are right; it's near impossible! But I have a solid case that I bought for 50 bucks that allows me to role it and transport it pretty effortlessly, and I keep all my gear in the back of the cab

Really though, it's a great amp and I've never been high on anything "Fender." And I like the warmth of tubes...plus I think the amp is pretty affordable used so I'd recommend checking it out if you're at all interested.

[zappafan99]

I have a 64' Fender Bassman head and a 1994(-96?) Marshall JTM 45 head. The Marshall is basically a British made version of the Fender(EL34 tubes instead of fender's 6L6s). My amps don't have master volume/gain knobs. I get variation of tone through speaker selection instead of amp selection. I have 4 single 12" cabinets with different speakers in each. One Celestion Greenback, one Eminence, one ElectroVoice and one Jensen. I don't even try out amps anymore. I have played jazz, punk, fusion, blues, country, reggae and metal without a problem in achieving a great tone or breaking down.

[goinbaroke]

I don't know about EL34s but years ago I went to steel-cased 6L6s instead of the glass tubes and they worked great in my Jazzman.
Dick C.

[nick gagg]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

Great: I have a question about jazz and blackface twins. I understand the appeal of the twin's big iron for a deep, clean sound, but the blackface tone stack is also known for its scooped mids. And I always think of the classic jazz guitar sound as being mid-rangy, more of a tweed sound. How do you square the circle there? Does your jazz guitar sound good with scooped mids, or are you EQing it to tweek that?

i have just bought a tweed deluxe reissue (not the hot rod version). it has loads of mids and a vast bass responce and makes my eastman 803 sound fantastic it ways 45llbs. Wonderfull perfect for jazz and very very load.Black face amps are scooped sounding and if that suits you they are very good but if you like wes and django you might prefer the bdri

[gingerjazz]

mr beaumont have you had any problems with your blues junior rattling at higher volume when you play certain notes i have heard that this can be cured by fitting valves with thicker glass ihad hoped to use this for drummerles gigs in the future but worry that the noise might spoil things any thoughts on this would be appreciated thanks

[theo]

Originally Posted by gingerjazz

mr beaumont have you had any problems with your blues junior rattling at higher volume when you play certain notes i have heard that this can be cured by fitting valves with thicker glass ihad hoped to use this for drummerles gigs in the future but worry that the noise might spoil things any thoughts on this would be appreciated thanks

sounds like a microphonic tube. you might want to replace the EL84s with a matched pair and the amp should be fine.

[gingerjazz]

thanks theo but what the heck is a microphonic tube bearing in mind i used to push a wheelbarrow for a living

[mpb91]

Hi there, I was wondering if any of you had any experience of Orange amps in jazz styles? In particular concerning clean headroom ect....

Thanks