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I play Chet Atkins style and have been learning jazz for a few years, this past year started going to jams. I used to lug around a huge music man, which had great crystalline cleans for playing chet style through my telecaster and decent but bright jazz tone.
I swapped it and got a brand new DV Mark Little Jazz. My thought was to compare it to my favorite amp, a Fender PR, and potentially return it and cough up the extra for a Tone Master PR.
But honestly, I am blown away by the Little Jazz. While a different clean, it just feels so good to have a tone for jazz that great from such a small amp and I instantly fell in love.
Ideally I would love one amp for both playing telecaster jazz, and for using my nylon solid body for fingerstyle. I particularly want the nylon tone to sound like this (he is playing my same guitar through a princeton):
The Little Jazz has a different tone for tele jazz than a PR, but still great nonetheless. It does a decent job with nylon but doesnt get this same sound from the video.
I was recommended trying a UAD 65 pedal to emulate the princeton through the LJ. But they run close to the same price of a used TMPR after returning the DVM LJ.
Would this truly emulate the TM Princeton? Worth grabbing a used one, or dishing out an extra 450 dollars to trade in the LJ and grab a TM?
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05-06-2026 08:26 AM
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The answer is not quite as simple as yes/no. The pedal alters the sound of the guitar before it goes into the amp but it doesn't alter the tone of the amp itself. Amps colour tone in their own way and the Little Jazz has it's own sound. I think of it as a softer, warmer take on the Polytone. So even if you use a modeler (which is really what the UAD 65 is), The LJ is still going to bump the mids and round the highs. You would also have to turn off the speaker emulation on the UAD65 so it doesn't clash with the speaker in the Little Jazz. So it's not going to get you to the sound of a TM Princeton. A modeler in front however, can add a bit of sparkle and if you play with the tone controls on the LJ a bit, you can probably get close enough to a Fender Blackface tone to feel good about it.
As for the UAD65 and which model to use ... there are many options that cost less than the UAD65 and I suspect you may also find some of them a lot easier to dial in. Many people here like the TC Electronic Custom 65. There is also the Boss IR-2. For your purposes, I suspect either of these would do the job well enough. And most important, the LJ with one of these modeling pedals will get you much closer to the TM Princeton than a TM Princeton on its own will ever get you to the sound of the LJ.Last edited by Jim Soloway; 05-06-2026 at 12:06 PM.
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I've got better results from Modelling pedals, when I've used FRFR "full-range, flat response" active speakers. (Or a good PA system.)
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The Dream 65 works well with my Henriksen Bud 6. Some cats say the Henriksen is a FRFR sound, so your experience might match up with mine.
Originally Posted by GuyBoden
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It's certainly a lot closer to FRFR than a Little Jazz. The LJ has a very characteristic sound (which I consider to be really very charming). But I think that really only matters if you're trying to be very specific with the sound rather than trying to get into the general vibe of something. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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The Little Jazz isn't named that for nothing. It has a strongly stamped smokey jazz darkness that can't really be dialed out via its EQ section. It works for design intent, but putting a Fendery blackface pedal in front of it won't yield a Blackface sound, at least not nearly as well as a more neutral counterpart like a Henriksen. You can dial in LJ sound on a Henriksen by turning off the tweeter and futzing with the five-band EQ. But you can't really make a Little Jazz sound as open, wideband and relatively neutral as a Henriksen.
That's not criticism of the LJ. It's just an amp with a narrower tonal design intent. I suspect the speaker is a lot of it -- it's clearly a voiced guitar speaker. A UA Dream 65 won't make a Marshall or Orange amp sound altogether '65 Deluxe Reverb either. The Henriksen amps use Eminence Beta speakers, which are mostly used in hifi and car stereo. They are not intentionally made to be non-linear like a guitar speaker usually is, hence ability to convey the UAD65 pedal's sound.
None of which is to say you can't try the UA + LJ combination. Yeah, there are some cheaper Fender Blackface pedals. The TC '65 is praised here and elsewhere, especially for the price. The UA is a step above, both in fidelity to the Fender sound and in versatility. It will certainly make your LJ sound much closer to a Fender PR, and I agree with Jim, you won't get a Tonemaster to sound like the LJ. So, UAD65 + LJ can effectively emulate but not duplicate Fender PR sound.
Phil
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Honestly today I cranked the LJ and it sounds pretty close to the PR for the nylon at least. I cant get the same tone with the tele but for jazz I really love the tone it gets still. Just needed more volume to hear it. I may just keep it and save up for a TMPR in the future, I'm falling in love with this LJ amp!
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I've owned many Princetons and Princeton clones over the years. I've owned the Tonemaster Princeton twice. I sold the first one very quickly and then bought a second one a year later just to prove that I had made the right decision the first time. Other than the weight, there really wasn't much that got me excited about it. Originally Posted by StringAddict
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The sound of the Little Jazz changes significantly with position. Tilting it brings it much closer to a Fender sound, as does elevating it. The distance from a wall or other reflecting object changes the sound. All this is, IMO, because of the rear port and its placement on the bottom of the back. I'm not sure if the UAD '65 will get a Princeton sound with it, because I've never been close to that pedal, but tilting and/or raising the LJ will absolutely get it closer than having it flat on the floor will. I almost never put mine flat on the floor, always at least tilting it up.
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I just ordered a TC 65 thanks to this thread!
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Just how dense can a forum be?
The "answer" to the problem is so obvious that I'm left gaping at the inexplicable idiocy that's afoot.
The answer is obviously to buy an EQ pedal.
Why has nobody said this????
Unbelievable.
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Because there's more than EQ in the distinction between the LJ's embedded voice and a Princeton Reverb. The LJ already has 3 bands of EQ on it. An Empress Para EQ Mk II Deluxe could certainly move the LJ closer with judicious selection of the parametric center frequencies and bandwidths. But EQ won't fully address the dynamic differences, deltas in the respective drivers' tone density, the differences in driver voicings, etc. But, have at it -- there's no harm in trying. Originally Posted by jazzyfan
I haven't used my LJ flat on the floor since the first time I put it on the floor. It's tilted-up, or chair-height, stool-height, counter-height. You can hang it from the ceiling or put it flat-on-its back Johnny Smith style, and it still won't sound like a Princeton Reverb, nor should it be expected to. It sounds quite properly like a Little Jazz. But with the UAD65 and maybe the TC65 along with some fiddling with the tone stack in the amp, it might get close enough for one's mind and sonic imagination to fill in the rest.
Phil
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Totally agree, I would look to each amp for different things. Originally Posted by StringAddict
I use and love the LJ for classic full jazz tones, and Fender BF amps (66 Deluxe Reverb) for those scooped tones. And Marshall’s and Voxes for those sounds, etc.
in the meantime, I would try a simple EQ like a GE7 in front of the LJ, you might be able to scoop out some of those low mids. More flexible than a BF type pedal. Or better yet a good parametric like the Empress.
Good luck!
EDIT: Sorry, I hadn’t gotten to the later posts that said these same things. But I stand by my suggestion!Last edited by bluejaybill; 05-07-2026 at 01:12 AM. Reason: More info
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Probably it’s because it’s not correct. No type or amount of EQ will make an LJ sound like a PR of any vintage. Originally Posted by jazzyfan
Start with cabinet design. The PR’s wide open back emits sound totally differently from the closed, ported LJ. Radiation of all frequencies from the open cab is pretty much 360 degrees, with the rear output 180 degrees out of phase from the front. Sound from the back of the speaker is reflected off every surface in the room, so there’s a natural interplay of front and back radiation and reflections that gives a fatter tone.
Tube amps have a low damping factor because of the resistance of the OT’s secondary winding (which is its output impedance). SS & class D amps have very low output impedance that gives them an inherently higher DF. This gives much tighter, better controlled bass. The low DF is another integral part of the classic sound of Twins, Princetons etc.
Ported cabs have resonant peaks because of the porting - that’s how a tuned port extends bass response. Think of the port as a jug - blow across the top and you get a tone. Change the size and shape, and you get a different pitch and tone. Stuff the port with cloth or foam and you change the sound some more. A port also adds additional position sensitivity to the overall frequency response.
That’s just a start. EQ can make an LJ sound more like a PR, especially in a recording without ambient mic’ing - a close front mic alone loses the open back’s contributions. But it won’t fool anybody in live performance. I haven’t yet heard a sim that can do it either. The laws of physics are hard to break.Last edited by nevershouldhavesoldit; 05-07-2026 at 10:36 AM. Reason: Typo
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I've used the LJ for years now. I had a Blu for a while. I could not get the Blu to sound like the LJ.
I didn't love the Blu's tone no matter how I adjusted it. Mine is, apparently, the minority opinion.
Since I understood that the Bud was good for vocals, I hypothesized that it was more or less FRFR and that I might be able to get that sound for a third the price with a powered speaker. I tried the Bose S1 and settled on the JBL Eon One Compact because of the 14 bands of parametric EQ (6 on the channels, 8 on the Master). The JBL, I think, sounded icier than the Blu which is not a compliment and indicates that my hypothesis was probably incorrect.
I tried to get the JBL to sound like the LJ with careful EQ. I could not.
Eventually, I put a Joyo American in front of the JBL and that warmed it up adequately. I also found that running Joyo>Mixer>JBL sounded even better. I've been leaving the mixer home for the gigs (because I haven't needed vocals recently) and I can get a good sound without it.
But all that said, it's heavily room-dependent, or sunspots, or something. There have been a couple of times that I couldn't find my sound and I didn't figure out why not. Nothing terrible, just not what I wanted to hear.
In contrast, the LJ pretty much sounds the same every time. The problem was overall volume and maybe just a bit of harshness on chords.
Meanwhile, chasing a small improvement over the LJ has resulted in a signal chain that is at least close to being too-complicated.
The moral of this story is that my EQ hopes and dreams were a little unrealistic.
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I play thru a mixer in my home studio whilst practicing most days, the mixer does change the sound. I use a small "Allen&Heath" mixer. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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Not really. Originally Posted by StringAddict
But... the good news is if this is for playing live, by the time you're in a different room and there's hustle and bustle going on, the difference between the amps will be the least of your worries. If you're happy with the little amp, learn to love it. Save your money and skip the pedal IMO (at least for your intended purpose)
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PS, a cheap 10 band eq will do the trick.
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