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Absolutely agree. I feel the same about my Blu 6 and OD202. I love the versatility of having both the little 10” BlockDock and the bigger 12” BlockDock HD12 for the 202 head. But I think I’d buy a Mach 3 instead if I had it to do again.
Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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05-27-2025 01:51 PM
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I've written on this subject before so please forgive the repetition.
I have used an LJ regularly for several years. I think it sounds great. I won't say that it's capable of a wide range of sounds (I really don't have an opinion on that) but it's capable of giving me my sound.
I compared it extensively against the Blu. I'm well aware how highly regarded the Blu is and I'm not suggesting that it is less than excellent. But for my application, I found the LJ warmer and I couldn't get the Blu to sound like the LJ. I did try it with the tweeter off - and every which way with regard to EQ and tweeter. I think the Blu is louder than the LJ, but the difference wasn't as dramatic as the wattage numbers might suggest (that's not a linear relationship).
I also compared the LJ to the Bose S1 and the Everse 8. I wasn't able to dial in a sound I liked with the Everse 8, but I didn't use the parametric EQ feature, just the graphic (the Everse 8 has a lot of EQ options on board).
I did like the Bose S1 a lot, but I was dissatisfied with the EQ options, which may be an unfair criticism. I suspect I'd have been more enthusiastic if I'd included an EQ box in the signal chain, but I was trying to keep things simple. As it was, if I didn't get the sound I wanted on a gig, I sometimes couldn't figure out what to adjust.
So, you have the LJ option, which is about $400 last I looked. It may not cover as much ground as the Blu, but some people do prefer it.
You also have the option of trying a powered speaker like the Bose S1 ($699 last I looked). I've written before that I don't understand why the Blu/Bud would be so much better, apart from the onboard EQ. I did not have the Bose S1 at the same time I had the Blu, so I was not able to compare them directly. The Bose S1 is a lot louder than the Blu and doesn't weigh much more.
Lots of other choices (see John A's post), but these are the ones I've tried.
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Sigh.. luddites. And I'm off topic.. still.
Fractal FM9 or maybe a ToneX into a proper FRFR if cost is less a critical metric. Joyo or Mooer if it is.
Not what the OP wants (software and all..) but current tech offers a great deal that jazz players seem hesitant to avail themselves of.
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You'll probably get all kinds of advice, most of which will champion the Henriksen Bud/Blue, Quilter amps, and the Little Jazz. Originally Posted by docdaddy
You seem to be interested in Martin Taylor's playing. Maybe you would profit by researching what amp he uses and just get that.
I can't really advise you - I tried Henriksen, Quilter, and Little Jazz amps and ended up with a Bud 6. It was a pretty close tie between the Henriksen and the Quilter Aviator Cub. There was no Bud 10 on offer at the time, so I can't compare that one. Whatever you buy, buy from someone with a solid return policy.
And regarding the input jacks on the Henriksens - they're just jacks that can accommodate either a 1/4" phone plug or an XLR plug. No special cables needed.
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I continue to be amazed that no one here has mentioned Evans amps. The Evans RE300 is a great sounding, very versatile amp. It may take a while to dial in your exact tone, however when you do it's magic. True, it's a weighs more than the Bud/Blu at 26 lbs or so, however they are in the same ballpark pricewise.
I've been using a earlier model, the JE200 for years. I love it, however I was looking for a lighter, grab and go amp that I could get close to the Evans sound. The Quilter Aviator Cub won the spot, sounds great, light weight around 22lbs as opposed to my JE200 Evans at around 36.
Don't get me wrong, every Henriksen amp I've had the chance to play through has been stellar, however I just don't think they are all that and much prefer the Evans product.
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Have you tried the Champion 25 Originally Posted by John A.
is it as good as the Champion 20 ?
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According to The Guitar Journal online from eight years ago, Martin Taylor used an AER Alpha. Don't know what he uses now. Originally Posted by dconeill
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I believe he mentioned recently on FB that he doesn't use amps anymore - just goes direct to the house system; I have seen pics of him with pedals but not sure what - tuner? eq?. Originally Posted by dconeill
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[QUOTE=pingu;1409943]Have you tried the Champion 25
is it as good as the Champion 20 ?[/QUOTED]
No, I haven’t. Sorry.
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I’d like to refer back to the op, who is just taking up finger style jazz.
Some here are recommending $1500and up amps.
Does that really make sense?
I would ask the op: does the value of your jazz guitar exceed that?
I recommended the LJ as a good starting point. For someone starting out in the jazz world. Some are recommending very expensive jazz amps, or tube amps that are too loud for many applications.Or modelers. Etc.
He's a beginner, he’s probably not gigging. I say, get your basic abilities together, get a basic amp, dont worry about the gear.
Focus on the music.
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The OP did not present himself as a beginning guitar player, just beginning with fingerstyle jazz. For amplification he certainly can start with an inexpensive Fender or Little Jazz, but something like a Henriksen Bud or Blu (or Evans or whatever that's considered expensive here) can make sense. If he's playing an electric guitar, floater or embedded pickups, effectively the amp becomes the voice of his guitar, his playing, his music. Even if the OP has an inexpensive laminated archtop but puts a splendid pickup in it, the pickup and amp are going to be larger determinants of his instrumental tone than the guitar itself. Put another way, a Korean plywood archtop with, say, a Lollar or Armstrong pickup (or two) will render the amp a vital final factor just as much as if he has an L-5 CES. So, we have an existing guitar player. He's not likely at this stage to give up guitar. He has experience with the instrument, but the OP is pushing in a new direction, for him. If he has resources for a ~$1600 amp, why not? Making a transition, it helps to have inspiring gear. If the OP wants to express electrically and hear himself electrically, then given the quality of commodity guitars available today, an amp of value equal or greater to the guitar can make total sense. He can find his tone, and upgrade the guitar later, having settled into an amp for years to come that becomes reliably familiar and tonal, and critical to his voice. Originally Posted by bluejaybill
Phil
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It's obvious when you think about it but the human ear is a natural version of a microphone. We each hear the world through a pair of unique, custom, personalised transducers. Every bespoke component has a set of infinitely variable specs - shape, size, weight, position, orientation, density, flexibility, viscosity, and then wear and tear. Plus we all have different skull sizes and shapes which colour the sound we hear through bone conduction. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
That variable is so often not taken into account.
It's impossible to hear any sound in anything but a subjective way unique to each individual. Maybe that's partly why it's so hard to discuss things like taste in music and gear choices objectively. Do people with protruding ears tend to hear the Fender tone stack differently to those with pinned back ears?
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The OP is the one asking about Henriksen amps. Originally Posted by bluejaybill
Many have suggested less expensive amps to begin.
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If docdaddy was just starting out, I’d agree with you. But he’s been playing for many years, has a ‘62 Strat and a Twin, and clearly says Originally Posted by bluejaybill
He also has a Fibonacci Joya archtop on order. So suggesting a $2k amp is not at all unreasonable. Originally Posted by docdaddy
I agree with SierraTango that Evans amps are excellent and deserve more interest than they seem to generate. I loved both my 150 and my 200, and the Evans people were every bit as fine and responsive as Quilter and Henriksen have been. But the 1x12 Evans amps are twice as big and heavy as a Blu or Bud. I don’t recall the models, since I bought them in the ‘90s when I began searching for a great small amp in earnest. But IIRC, they were both about 16x18x10” and weighed about 30 pounds. The open back 1x12 cabinets sounded wonderful - big, full, and clean at any volume. The EQ was very effective, and I’m pretty sure they both had spring reverb tanks.
At about 11x14x14,the current 200W AE200 1x8 is smaller than my Evans were and lighter at 24 pounds. That’s getting closer to a Bud 6, but it’s not tiny. The 300W 1x10 is a bit bigger and heavier than that, and it’ll probably keep up with (or even beat) a Tone Block 202 on any gig. I’m sure these are both fantastic (I’ve never heard either one) and if I needed a new amp, I’d seriously consider a 300.
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Folks around here can sure get worked up over gear. And Gibson guitars was not even part of the discussion. If that had been the case, there really would have been some fireworks.
Here's hoping that after reading this thread with it's many deeply held opinions being expressed, that the OP buys an amp that inspires his music and meets his needs.
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Never, being a 7 string player I'm sure you are familiar with Ron Eschete. I met him way back in the 80's when a pal was playing drums at Donte's with Plaz Johnson, Ron had the guitar seat. It was the first time I heard a Benedetto as well. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
I am pretty sure Evans RE series stands for Ron Eschete as he is a endorser and worked with Scott Buffington on the model. It's been a while since I heard Ron play, but he was using a 7 string built by C.B. Hill and a Evans RE200-sounded superb!
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I bought my first Evans (a JE150, IIRC) by phone from Scott. He called me a few weeks after I got it to find out how I was getting along with it. I loved the sound and feel, and the controls were all very useful. The reverb was excellent, and it was great for jazz. But I was looking to replace the '78 Boogie I'd bought new with something significantly smaller and lighter. The 150 just didn't have the oomph for blues concerts and festivals or loud horn bands in larger rooms. We discussed this a few times, and he called me back a few months after I got it to ask if I'd like to try out his idea to put a 200W chassis in the 150 cab. He thought it was "more louder" than the relatively minor 30% increase in output power would generate on its own. I told him I'd have to sell the 150 first, and he offered to swap it for the 200 at no additional charge, if I'd provide ongoing feedback about it. Originally Posted by SierraTango
I accepted, thanked him profusely, and asked what he'd do with the 150. He said that Ron Eschete wanted another one, so he'd send him mine. Ron has been one of my favorite players since I discovered him in the early '90s (I'm a long time Tommy Gumina fan). His interplay with Todd Johnson inspired my approach to using 7 strings with a bass player since the day I first heard them. And his use of an Evans was what made me try them. I even made the mistake of giving a few bass players with whom I worked copies of one of their CDs as an example of what I wanted. That was insensitive and a fool's errand. Fortunately, I now work regularly with a wonderful bass player who has a lot of Todd Johnson's greatness. I wish I came as close to Ron's as he does to Todd's
Scott was correct - the 200 was audibly louder than the 150 (also attributable to a more efficient speaker). But it still wasn't a match for my 100W Boogie and I finally sold it. Today, I'd be very happy with that original 150 and ecstatic with the 200, since I no longer play blues festivals or work with big horn bands. I and my Roland synthesizer are the horn section when I play with The Dukes of Destiny, and we mic all the amps. Being a first call sub for the Dukes is my only remaining semi-steady blues gig - I'm guitar, B-3, and horns using my '90s 7 string Epi Les Paul with a GK-3 pickup driving my original GR-20 synthesizer. If anyone in the Philly area is interested, we're at The Mermaid Inn on Germantown Avenue on July 17.
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It would have been easier if he had just made it go to "11". Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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At least it didn't get into a "which oil is better" thread. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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There's a legendary auto racing story about Zora Arkus-Duntov, who was known as the father of the Corvette because he engineered the killer 'vettes & chevy racing parts that were so successful for many years around the world. He was once asked by a reporter what magic he worked to get so much power and reliability out of the seemingly ordinary small block Chevy V8. He replied that there was nothing special, saying in Belgian-German accented English that "it's just a matter of deegreeese". When he heard this, one of the great old stock car builders and racers (Smokey Yunick, if I remember correctly) replied "I gotta get me some of that grease!" Originally Posted by Freddels
At least it didn't get into a "which oil is better" thread.
With amps as with cars, it's all a matter of degrees. Sadly, since my only discernible accent might be a hint of southern New Jersey, there's no humorous punch line.
Originally Posted by Freddels
Changing knobs can seriously affect tone. I only use amps with their original knobs.
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You are correct - RE stands for Ron Eschete. Scot is a super guy but if you get him on the phone, be prepared to visit for a while. Originally Posted by SierraTango
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While practicing this afternoon, it occurred to me that someone should post a solo fingerstyle track of a decent archtop through a Bud or Blu 6 for the OP. Since no one else did it, I tossed this together on my 16" Eastman Jazz Elite 7 string. The tweeter is on. The low and low mid pots are at noon, and the hi mid, hi, and presence pots are at 1 o'clock. The strings are JS113s, the 7th is a 0.075 Chrome, and the pickup is a set KA HW 14 pole. I tossed in a few open low As to show how clean and clear the deep bass is. There's one anchoring a strange chord at 2:07 that shows how well harmonic structure holds up even with complex chords spanning multiple octaves. I think the Bud & Blu 6s are quite fine for solo fingerstyle jazz.
Last edited by nevershouldhavesoldit; 05-28-2025 at 04:09 PM. Reason: typo
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If I had to choose only one amp, then I would probably choose the Henriksen. I have the Blu 10" and haven't tried the 6 yet. But, a Bud or Blu 6 may be in the future. I haven't tried the RE Luna200 either but I would like to try it.
I had tried the Quilter Mach3 in the past but sent it back. I just couldn't get it to sound good (most likely user error) plus it was so wide that it looked odd on top of my cab.
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If you are use to using a twin, you may never be happy with small speak, solid state amp.
Two 12s are the way guitars are meant to sound.
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I have a Twin and a Marshall JCM 800 2x12 4104 but I use a Teenybrute 1x10 for Jazz. (Sometimes a Minibrute 1x15 but that's really my double bass amp). Originally Posted by SoftwareGuy
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