Fuchs ODH in the house!!

[jzucker]

one thing that differentiates fuchs from some of the other amp makers is that he's a pretty decent player so he knows when something sounds good by playing through it, not just how it looks on a scope. He also is in close proximity to killer players of all styles including working with guys like Dave Stryker.

[arnie65]

one thing that differentiates fuchs from some of the other amp makers is that he's a pretty decent player so he knows when something sounds good by playing through it, not just how it looks on a scope. He also is in close proximity to killer players of all styles including working with guys like Dave Stryker.

Absolutely, you've got guys like Joe Bonamassa, Dwezil Zappa, and many others that he calls to test and review a lot of his stuff. Another amp maker that's a great player and makes phenomenal amps and pedals is Simon Jarrett from Kingsley Amplifiers.



Arnie...

[omphalopsychos]

I know it’s early days but any thoughts on the ODH vs the Vibrolux Reverb? I have a ‘64 I am thinking of selling and replacing with one of these to have something more versatile. I only use the Vibrolux on the normal channel anyway..

Thats an interesting question. I have no intention of replacing the VR with the Fuchs but I did just alternate between playing the VR and the Fuchs back to back to get the Fuchs to sound as close as possible through the same cabinet. Conclusion: success. This helped me get a better sense of the Fuchs tone stack as well, which I admit is a bit complicated. It has 3 band EQ (5 total with the depth and accent knobs). The EQ interacts with the 3 way position of 3 other switches. To really dial in your sound you have to use all of them.

To match the sound of the Vibrolux, I set it on EQ1 (brighter than the EQ2, which is more poly tone-ish), Mid boost bypassed (this gets a more scooped sound like blackface fender), Brite2. Bass noon, mid 2 o clock, treble 11 o clock. Depth off, accent noon.

Very very close with the same cabinet. I wouldn’t tell the difference in a mix. The added benefit of the Fuchs is that I can dial this in and then set the gain knob higher with the master vol down, letting me get the saturation and compression that I like at a lower volume than I’d get it on the VR.


Last night with my telecaster, I had the Mid boost on position 1. Perfect for thickening up single coils.


I Am very much in the black panel fender camp as far as tone goes. My settings are different from Dave’s settings above, which to me were closer to the polytone sound (or tweed if you add the gain). It goes to show how flexible this amp is. I played some solos with distortion with the band last night and the gain sound was fantastic.


Sorry to all the people who are trying to avoid buying gear. But like I said this has motivated me to sell of some stuff and I can recommend this very strongly as a giggable portable amp that sounds as good as a tube amp.

[omphalopsychos]

In addition to Dave’s demos above I found these very helpful to understand the range of sounds you can get, even for jazz.

[trailmixer]

Thats an interesting question. I have no intention of replacing the VR with the Fuchs but I did just alternate between playing the VR and the Fuchs back to back to get the Fuchs to sound as close as possible through the same cabinet. Conclusion: success. This helped me get a better sense of the Fuchs tone stack as well, which I admit is a bit complicated. It has 3 band EQ (5 total with the depth and accent knobs). The EQ interacts with the 3 way position of 3 other switches. To really dial in your sound you have to use all of them.

To match the sound of the Vibrolux, I set it on EQ1 (brighter than the EQ2, which is more poly tone-ish), Mid boost bypassed (this gets a more scooped sound like blackface fender), Brite2. Bass noon, mid 2 o clock, treble 11 o clock. Depth off, accent noon.

Very very close with the same cabinet. I wouldn’t tell the difference in a mix. The added benefit of the Fuchs is that I can dial this in and then set the gain knob higher with the master vol down, letting me get the saturation and compression that I like at a lower volume than I’d get it on the VR.


Last night with my telecaster, I had the Mid boost on position 1. Perfect for thickening up single coils.


I Am very much in the black panel fender camp as far as tone goes. My settings are different from Dave’s settings above, which to me were closer to the polytone sound (or tweed if you add the gain). It goes to show how flexible this amp is. I played some solos with distortion with the band last night and the gain sound was fantastic.


Sorry to all the people who are trying to avoid buying gear. But like I said this has motivated me to sell of some stuff and I can recommend this very strongly as a giggable portable amp that sounds as good as a tube amp.

Thanks man! Ironically, I've been considering replacing my black panel VR with a tweed 5F11 for some time now. But the idea of trading one heavy, collectible & expensive amp for another didn't sit well with me. So I'd probably use EQ2 and the mid boost. Would be cool to have both options in one box!

[omphalopsychos]

One thing that bugs me is that the rubber feet should be taller. If you place it on top of a cabinet with a handle, the based of the amp rests on the handle and gets scratched. Wonder if anyone knows the diameter/threadsize of the screws so I can look for taller feet and longer screws.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I know it’s early days but any thoughts on the ODH vs the Vibrolux Reverb? I have a ‘64 I am thinking of selling and replacing with one of these to have something more versatile. I only use the Vibrolux on the normal channel anyway..

I've had 3 VIbroluxes over about 50 years and have played through several more. So I'm very familiar with their sound and feel. I'd take my ODH over any of them. It's as warm and jazzy as my VIbroluxes, Twins and Princeton were, if you use the clean channel with gain down and master up. It lets each archtop sound like it sounds - woody, acoustic, ES electric, etc. But after that comes a whole host of additional tones from dead thunky to Dick Dale surfy to Santana to Ford to Carlton to.......

It plays like a tube amp because it is a tube amp - a pair of 12AX7s and a 6AL5 up front . Only the power output stage is not, and that's a top quality ICE class D module driven by a robust power supply. So you can't get the kind of buzzy OD that comes from clipping power tubes - but that's not what most of us want for jazz and fusion anyway. Simply put, a Quilter Tone Block 202 will give you great jazz tones and a pretty tube-like feel for half the money. But that's all a TB does without external effects, except that it gives a fairly smooth OD with gain set high. I also love the tone of my DV Mark EG250, which has a low voltage tube up front and sounds great. But it's essentially a hybrid Twin - it's a single channel amp that stays clean to the top. LIke the TB202, it was designed to take effects well, and it does. But I have't ever heard an wffect that does Dumble as well as Fuchs does - and it covers a range of Dumble tones and epsonses (SSS, ODS, etc). DIaled back, you can get edge-of-breakup like an early Tweed or even an old octal (without the power tube component, of course).

With an ODH, you do not need OD or boost pedals. The reverb is smooth enough for jazz and never weird like a DV Mark's. I've used it on 2 gigs in the week I've had it, and I really think it's all I need. I can't honestly say that I sold myTwin and Princeton because the ODH replaced them, since I sold the tube monsters first because of a herniated disc. But if I still had them, they'd be posted for sale already.

[trailmixer]

I've had 3 VIbroluxes over about 50 years and have played through several more. So I'm very familiar with their sound and feel. I'd take my ODH over any of them. It's as warm and jazzy as my VIbroluxes, Twins and Princeton were, if you use the clean channel with gain down and master up. It lets each archtop sound like it sounds - woody, acoustic, ES electric, etc. But after that comes a whole host of additional tones from dead thunky to Dick Dale surfy to Santana to Ford to Carlton to.......

It plays like a tube amp because it is a tube amp - a pair of 12AX7s and a 6AL5 up front . Only the power output stage is not, and that's a top quality ICE class D module driven by a robust power supply. So you can't get the kind of buzzy OD that comes from clipping power tubes - but that's not what most of us want for jazz and fusion anyway. Simply put, a Quilter Tone Block 202 will give you great jazz tones and a pretty tube-like feel for half the money. But that's all a TB does without external effects, except that it gives a fairly smooth OD with gain set high. I also love the tone of my DV Mark EG250, which has a low voltage tube up front and sounds great. But it's essentially a hybrid Twin - it's a single channel amp that stays clean to the top. LIke the TB202, it was designed to take effects well, and it does. But I have't ever heard an wffect that does Dumble as well as Fuchs does - and it covers a range of Dumble tones and epsonses (SSS, ODS, etc). DIaled back, you can get edge-of-breakup like an early Tweed or even an old octal (without the power tube component, of course).

With an ODH, you do not need OD or boost pedals. The reverb is smooth enough for jazz and never weird like a DV Mark's. I've used it on 2 gigs in the week I've had it, and I really think it's all I need. I can't honestly say that I sold myTwin and Princeton because the ODH replaced them, since I sold the tube monsters first because of a herniated disc. But if I still had them, they'd be posted for sale already.

Alright I'm sold! I have never been a pedal player and never will. But also never been able to emulate some of my favorite jazz tones which do involve a mid boost or light OD to fatten things up. Now to find a cab and speaker...

[jim777]

The cab and speaker version is about 23 pounds
THE ODH 112 Combo | Fuchs Audio Direct

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

But wait - there's more!!

Jim777 also let me know about a Fuchs ODH 110 cab on Reverb last week. The seller has dozens of 5 star reviews, and he told me he removed his head from the 10" cab it to put into a bigger cabinet (which I assume he had made, since they don't sell either the ODH 110 or 112 cab separately AFAIK). So I grabbed it to make an ODH110 for myself. Be aware that Fuchs discourages you from doing what I just did, stating in a Facebook response to the same question from someone else earlier in the year that it's very difficult and voids the warranty.



Undertake this at your own risk. I bought the head used, so it has no warranty. I probably would have done this even if I'd bought a new head. But a 3 year warranty is nice to have if you run into trouble. You have to remove the "rack handles" from the front panel. Despite Fuchs' warning, it's easy if you have any experience inside electronics - there's plenty of room to work. You just have to be careful, use the right tools, and don't try to force anything because one slip can ruin a board. I used a small right angle screwdriver, plus a hemostat to hold the nuts and washers. There's plenty of clearance around all the internals. I understand that Fuchs dosn't want hamfisted fools trying to get damage that they caused repaired under warranty. But I'm pretty good at this stuff and it took all of 20 minutes.

The cabinet is a vey clever design, and it's extremely well made. The opening under the rear panel that holds the head is actually a tuned port. So there's a lot more bass than I ever expected from a cab this small. It's loaded with the Celestion B10-200 that they put in the factory 110 ODH combos, and it sounds great. Admittedly, I can't pop the head in and out like I can the Quilter TB202 in the Bliock Docks. But I'll take my RevSound 8 as an external if I need more. I can even bring the RE 10, but I doubt that I'll ever need all that sound energy.

The ODH110 is an amazingly small package. Here it is next to my Block Dock 12:



The ODH110 combo is $1900 from the factory, which I think is a fair price. I have a ToneBlock 202 with a Block Dock 10TC, and the Fuchs has a bit more bass. OTOH, the Quilter head in the 12" BlockDock makes a somewhat bigger jazz sound once you get above small restaurant gig volume. If it's Dumble you're after, the ODH110 will keep up with the big boys.

If you want or need the Fuchs' bells and whistles, it's well worth the cost. For nothing but clean jazz tone and/or as a platform for all your pedals, a Quilter TB202 & BD are fine alternatives for significantly less money. These are all very lightweight combos that are a pleasure to carry around. I love my ODH110 !

[MiniMerckx.22]

I was under the belief that you should not turn on any amp within a speaker connected, especially tubes. I can't think of any purpose it would serve.

[omphalopsychos]

Played it tonight with a 6 piece jazz group with my wesmo and raezers edge open back 12 with tone tubby 4240. Gain knob was halfway up, which with the humbucker got a good edge of breakup sound. It was pretty easy to dial in. As usual the sound I liked at home had too much bass, not enough mids, and too much presence. I probably adjusted the amp about 3 times while playing between solos but then once I settled in I didn’t touch the controls.

Another good experience with it!

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

As usual the sound I liked at home had too much bass, not enough mids, and too much presence. I probably adjusted the amp about 3 times while playing between solos but then once I settled in I didn’t touch the controls.

Don’t forget the little black accent and depth pots in the middle of the panel. The depth control is an audibly active low bass control that’s flat when fully off and adds deep fat as you turn it up. It really adds body and may be the adjustment you need to go from home to gig.

The accent (AKA presence) pot has less effect through a single driver, and I leave it fully off. Through a wider range cab like a Stealth ER or a Toob Metro FRFR, it’s clearly audible. But it’s not as dramatic as the depth pot.

[omphalopsychos]

Yep! Tweaked those a bit. I wish it was easier to see their position! But I ended up with both flat.

[fuchsaudio]

It's been a long time since I've logged-in or visited. A friend sent me the link to this thread.

I wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments and to say hello, as well as answering any questions anyone may have on our products.

The ODH models have done well for us and continue to do so. The jazz realm is somewhat new territory for us, although I've felt they were perfect for guys looking for a musical, light and loud amp for jazz. It's nice that they are being noticed and appreciated.

[Navdeep_Singh]

It's been a long time since I've logged-in or visited. A friend sent me the link to this thread.

I wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments and to say hello, as well as answering any questions anyone may have on our products.

The ODH models have done well for us and continue to do so. The jazz realm is somewhat new territory for us, although I've felt they were perfect for guys looking for a musical, light and loud amp for jazz. It's nice that they are being noticed and appreciated.

Thanks for chiming in. I’m very interested in this now (and I already love all my amps, I have more amps than guitars, for whatever reason). Serious question for you, from someone who is a Plug and Play type of person (set it and forget it), who tried stuff like AxeFx and sold it because I’m not a software engineer.

There are various jazz guitar tones, from the classic 1950s Johnny Smith to brighter Metheny stuff to whatever Rosenwinkel is doing with his pedals. Right now, I am having my dream guitar made by a great Northern California luthier, it’s gonna be 8 strings (think of the benefits of the Geroge v Eps 7 string and the Lenny Breau 7 string, with the normal 6 strings, plus Low A and High A). I want a more pronounced bass sound, given the low A—my Buscarino Chamelon amp is the best I have right now-that can create the classical dark-warm-clean-pristine-clear-sparkling Johnny Smith (or pick your guitarist of choice) with the (1) the ability to create sustain without attenuating the sound—normal archtops don’t do sustain well (2) it will have an added piezo pickup, thus 2 instrument jacks-presumably your amp can handle 2 guitar instrument cables (one electric, one acoustic piezo) into 2 cabs?

What, in your professional playing opinion, would be your dialed in settings on the amp head? I know this is subjective, but yeah, I’d love to hear your views. Thank you!

[fuchsaudio]

As the amp has a single input jack, you would want an A/B box to chose the pickups I would imagine. It's tough to specify settings without knowing the instrument (which is very custom). I get people asking about dialing up a Strat or a Tele or 335, but your instrument is far from mainstream...The Buscarino rig looks interesting, but quite large and complex...

I agree on the modeling stuff. While it's come very far, it's way to complex for me to use personally. I have a friend doing that and casually said it "took over six months to get even close to where I am now, and I still have work to do." No thanks...oy

[omphalopsychos]

Thank you for taking the time to read and post here! Killer amp.

[rpjazzguitar]

I understand that the amp will deliver any sound you want and whatever it is will sound great.

How do you switch between them? If I'm comping big band Freddie Greene and the next tune is big band rock, featuring screaming guitar, is there any way to go from one setting to another?

This is why, btw, I use an ME70. I use four sounds and each one has it's own footswitch.

[fuchsaudio]

I understand that the amp will deliver any sound you want and whatever it is will sound great.

How do you switch between them? If I'm comping big band Freddie Greene and the next tune is big band rock, featuring screaming guitar, is there any way to go from one setting to another?

This is why, btw, I use an ME70. I use four sounds and each one has it's own footswitch.

You dial up a good clean tone, use the footswitch to switch to overdrive channel, and off you go. Don't forget to use the OD tone control to tune to taste, as well as the guitars volume and tone, which play a big part.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

It's been a long time since I've logged-in or visited. A friend sent me the link to this thread.

I wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments and to say hello, as well as answering any questions anyone may have on our products.

The ODH models have done well for us and continue to do so. The jazz realm is somewhat new territory for us, although I've felt they were perfect for guys looking for a musical, light and loud amp for jazz. It's nice that they are being noticed and appreciated.

Wow! It's great to have your participation and I / we thank you for joining the discussion.

FWIW, I've been gigging for over 65 years and have used a lot of different kinds of amps for jazz - B15N, Kuston 150, Boogie "Mk 0", Twin, Vibrolux, Bassman, GK MB150, Genz-Benz, Phil Jones, SWR, Henriksen, Quilter, TC etc etc. I'm typical of many on the forum - I've played everything from straight ahead jazz to fusion to blues to weddings to commercial dates to C&W etc. I've been playing solo jazz, recording dates, restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, jazz and blues festivals, and more. I was the house band leader at a local club for 15 years until they canned my trio's Thursday night jazz show in favor of Ladies Night, Movie Night, and a live podcast about guitars. We played our local Whole Foods food court from before Covid until January when WF (at least in our area) ended their live music program. So I found a new restaurant in which to play. The business keeps changing, and it's not for the better. Both musicians and their gear have to be flexible and adaptable, especially now that everything is so expensive (except, apparently, DJs and canned music).

I've never found one amp that could handle everything before the ODH. When I switched to 7 strings in '93, finding the "right" amps was even harder. My Bu 6 is fantastic - sounds great with my archtops, is easy to carry, and has been trouble free to date. But it can't hang with mic'ed horns and drums plus amplified bass and keys. My Quilter Tone Block 202 has the power, but it requires effects for decent blues and fusion tone - and I still haven't found an OD effect that doesn't suck out some tone. It's not such a big deal with a solid body. But for blues, fusion, pop etc I prefer my fully carved hollow 14" Eastman El Rey with a KA 14 pole 'bucker to my only gigging solid body (an ancient Epi Les Paul 7 string with an EMG). Even my Zen clone thins out the El Rey's gorgeous, fat tone. But the ODH lets it blossom.

So here's a million thanks for developing the ODH. It's one of the best sounding amps I've ever had or used. It does everything I've ever wanted from an amp, which is a first. It covers every gig I'll ever have (which, admittedly, is a dwindling number at my advanced age...). I can carry it easily, and it's kept up with a very loud band on 2 gigs in the last 2 weeks. I apologize for going against your advice and cobbling up an ODH 110 from a used head and cabinet. But I couldn't justify putting $2k into an unknown without being sure that it's everything I thought and hoped it would be. It is - and more!

I've already sold my Twin, Princeton, and Quilter Overdrive 202. The ToneBlock and both Block Docks (10" and 12") are next to go, now that I know I have exactly what I need. So I'll be ready to move up when you come out with the inevitable v.2 or other improved successor. The ODH is truly ideal for jazz and commercial guitarists. It sounds amazing with an archtop through great jazz cabs like the Raezers Edge 10, RevSound 8, and the fantastic 6.5" Toob Metro. I hope and believe that you'll sell many to people like us. Along with Pat Quilter, Pete Henriksen et al, you've made a truly major contribution to jazz guitar.

[marcwhy]

Several years ago I saw a buddy at a gig in Southern California (jazz pro, really cool cat), and he was playing a Fuchs amp. I was right there in front watching/listening, and was kinda confused: he had this wonderful clean jazz sound, and then he'd have a gritty sound for a blues tune, then he'd be clean again... and no pedals! On the break i asked, "Dude, how are you getting all those sounds?!" He smiled and pointed to the amp, and then to his volume knob on the guitar.

[rpjazzguitar]

You dial up a good clean tone, use the footswitch to switch to overdrive channel, and off you go. Don't forget to use the OD tone control to tune to taste, as well as the guitars volume and tone, which play a big part.

Thanks. I apologize for the ratio between expertise and question quality. <g>

More seriously, thanks for joining us.

[omphalopsychos]

added some taller rubber feet. I used some basic adhesive speaker risers. Now I can stop scratching the head against my cab handles.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

LOL, I literally have more amps than guitars at this point, and I’m very very happy with the amps. But I’m curious: for us Luddites, can anyone give a screen capture of the settings dialed in for the most pristine dark warm jazz sparkle we all love? Or describe them with clarity. Curious to see what those settings are-and if there is a sound sample (or correlates with the sound samples above). Thanks.

Hi. I’m sorry I forgot to respond to this. I love the jazz tone I get through the clean channel, with all 3 EQ pots flat, first mini-toggle on EQ2 and the others centered. Add a little reverb and it’s done.

Through the RE 10 or RevSound 8, I leave both trim pots (accent & depth) fully off. Using just the internal 10” in the ODH 110 cab, I turn the depth pot up about halfway.