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i love overdrive pedals. i currently use a Spaceman Aphelion, Dr. Scientist The Elements and an Xotic RC Booster. When i had the Polytone, if memory serves, i also had a Tech 21 Double Drive and an Xotic BB Preamp. in all cases i didn't perceive the same warmth and depth from the Polytone that i could get out of the Tech 21, Vox or even the ZT. i thought the overall sound was stale and sterile. the Polytone had an effects loop but i ran my pedals through the front like with all my amps.
Honestly, it's hard to remember anymore exact details than that. Here's a picture of the Polytone and some of my other gear from last fall. in the background is my eastman T165.
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10-25-2012 03:59 PM
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Thanks for the reply, although I am not a big of fan of sonic circuit polytones (like yours) I always thought they were a good pedal platform. But we all like different things
Just to add a different opinion here - a friend of mine has one of those TM60 and hates it, he'll get a Maambo. It's very bassy and when you cut the bass you loose all the fat - according to him, with a 335. Bernstein used the amp when he was here and he was crazy with the knob sensitivity. it was really hard for him to make it work.
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it definitely can be very bassy, but if you play with the "bite" switch on channel one depressed, it really tightens up the bottom end and allows your guitar to punch through.
the knobs definitely have a learning curve. as the manual explains they are "active" meaning with even the slightest adjustment your cutting AND adding tone. i think it's great actually. on my vox, once you hit 12 oclock on the top boost tone knobs there isn't a whole lot of tone to be added.
does your friend have humbuckers on his 335? i have the standard 57 humbuckers on my L4 and it sounds plenty articulate and tight through the trademark. however, as you mentioned..."We all like different things".
http://tech21nyc.com/products/images...s/tm60_f_b.gif
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Active controls means they can both add or cut not they have to be so sensitive... but if it's like the Para DI the sensitivity is what makes it sound good in a way.
He uses it with humbuckers, yes. I am not sure how much trial and error he did but he was really unhappy with it... and really in love with the mambo!
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Hi Gary, did you make any decisions yet in regards to the TM60? They seem like a versatile amp that can get Fender blackface cleans on channel 1. The TM30 for example does the tweed cleans, but not blackface. I'm kinda thinking of a TM60 myself.
Another option is the Tech 21 Power Engine. Which is a 60 watt power amp that you can plug any type of preamp into. For example, a Tech 21 Blonde, Boss Fender Deluxe reverb pedal, etc.
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I just purchased a Trademark 60 I'm pleased with it so far in the short time I've had it. For clean, straight ahead jazz type sounds I find it sounds a bit better than my Roland Cube 60. And on channel one you can dial in just a touch of grit. Tested with an Ibanez AS200, a Heritage 575 and an Ibanez gb 10. For jazz I'm not sure it sounds better than my Mini Brute II with reverb but it's really not bad. Sort of bassy with the archtops but the sound was fat. Very nice with the 335 copy.
I did take it to one rehearsal and for Fender clean with a strat there's no question it's a better sounding amp than the cube 60. For fusion sounds I would say it's more versatile than the Cube as well. The "classic stack" setting on the cube sounds good but it's sort or a one trick pony.
At $300 mint, I had to get it and I'm glad I did. It's not going to replace my Fender Supersonic 60 for funk/fusion but a great practice/rehearsal amp.
On a side note I used to own a Tech 21 TriAX combo amp and that was a strange amp. The lead tones were great, maybe better than this Trademark 60. But the clean channel was so low in volume compared to the other two lead channels that it was difficult to get the levels right.Last edited by vejesse; 10-29-2012 at 02:07 PM.
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one thing that works well for me with this amp is using the "punch" knob on Channel 1. the punch really engages and pronounces the mid range tones. its effect varies significantly from pickup to pickup and guitar to guitar.
with both my eastmans, i set it close to noon and leave the "drive" knob all the way down with the "bite" button depressed. depending on guitar i'll adjust bass & treble according.
on another note - i was messing with channel two last night for the first time in forever...i don't like it at all. it's like metal distortion...not my cup of tone.
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I am looking at the Trademark 60 for multiple reasons. The primary reason is that I currently play out in multiple styles (rock, small jazz ensemble, and a big band) and like the idea of having the flexibility in sound the amp offers. The second is that I am tired of carrying a 50 lbs amp.
Any more TM-60 users out there with input on the amp? Would like to hear more opinions on its flexibility for switching between jazz and rock.
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J, Murrieta,
Any more updates on the amp and how you like it? I am looking at the Trademark 60 for multiple reasons. The primary reason is that I currently play out in multiple styles (rock, small jazz ensemble, and a big band) and like the idea of having the flexibility in sound the amp offers. The second is that I am tired of carrying a 50 lbs amp.
Any more TM-60 users out there with input on the amp? Would like to hear more opinions on its flexibility for switching between jazz and rock.
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it's Saturday morning and i've been playing since the early a.m. so i dusted her off for a bit and yup! she's still got it! i recently purchased a VHT Special 12/20, so i've been in honeymoon phase with it.
Originally Posted by TheGrandWazoo
i've owned the Tech21 for over 2 years i think, and although i don't play it often, i'm always happy with my tone when i plug into it. it's an extremely versatile amp, reasonably priced, light and hecho en los EEUU. honestly, i don't think you can go wrong with it.
it loves pedals. i put them in front...i haven't liked the loop, more cables and not necessarily "better" tone. none of my pedals are tone suckers either. as i mentioned before, i NEVER use channel two so i have absolutely no insight about it. also, tech 21 includes some "tone templates" with the amp, but i'd recommend just start finding your own sound. it's a good amp to do that with. or you can A/B it with another amp you own and like. i can pretty much nail the Vox or my VHT tone with a bit of tweaking. (although i think the AC15 is about to go up for sale. between the VHT and the Tech 21 it's been made superfluous.) it likes to be played louder, kind of like a tube amp, and you can get it to break up like a tube amp too, but i prefer to play it clean and get all of my ODs and Dist. from pedals.
on another note, i am thinking about adding a Parametric EQ to my setup to help further dial in my tone. i think the Tech 21 (and/or any amp) would benefit from that. i do sometimes use an Xotic EP Booster just to fatten up the tone a bit...however i think an EQ would better fill that role.Last edited by J. Murrieta; 01-12-2013 at 02:06 PM.
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I've had a TM60 for maybe 6 years. It is now down at a friend's place in NYC getting good use. I had not played into it for a year or so when I used it a few weeks ago.
Good as ever and definitely able to dial in any sound I want.
It does have a few unusual aspects.
The midrange controls on both channels are extremely useful, but you do need to get used to them. I really did not ever use the drive channel much, but it does sound good and nails the Class A tube sound.
The bass and treble are very wide range active controls. So do note that a basic midrange change can be done by moving both the bass and treble controls in the direction opposite the midrange change you want. Then save the "Punch" control for exactly that (punch control).
The switching jack in the effects loop can get a dirty contact, at least on the older TM60 units. This can sound like an intermittent distortion and volume cut. You can fix it, or just put in a short jumper between the in/out of the loop - which is a solid and permanent fix.
This happened on mine, and is known problem on some. But many never have the issue. It is a very simple mechanical contact failure on the switching jack.
Not as loud as a Cube 80 at max clean volume. Sort of between a very loud Princeton Reverb and a Cube 80. So for many it is loud enough with a heavy handed drummer, for others they may find it marginal under such conditions.
I have a PRRI with a Weber speaker and late break-up 6V6 tubes and with these significant clean headroom boosts, it is remarkably similar to the TM60 in volume. The TM60 is still a touch louder if you need it.
The TM30 is a COMPLETELY different amp - no similarity in any way whatsoever - and not as good as many alternatives for a very small amp.
In my opinion.
ChrisLast edited by PTChristopher; 01-12-2013 at 01:44 PM.
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What are the problems with the TM30 Chris?
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Hi Jim,
My opinion is that the TM60 is a great tool and a very gig-worthy and versatile amp. Maybe slightly less clean headroom than one might expect.
The TM10 (later morphed into the TM30) is a version of the Sansamp with a small power amp and speaker stuffed into a small box. It does not have the quirky, but really useful midrange control of the TM60 and sounds very "boxy" even through a larger cabinet. I just could never manage to drive a nice balanced sound from it to any speaker at all.
I would not describe these as problems really. It is just my opinion that the TM60 is a really fine and useful amp, while the TM30 is nothing like the '60 and not as good as many small amps.
This strikes me as odd since the Para-Driver DI seems to be able to drive a great and very well controlled sound to absolutely any PA or power amp I have tried.
If my opinion sounds irresponsible and 'all over the place' on the TM30, sorry. Buy I tried to make one work for a good year and a half before selling it.
I had absolutely no reliability troubles with it at all.
Chris
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Thanks and for my purposes you probably could have stopped right after the word boxy. I'm looking right now for something light and simple as a Q&D alternative to my modeling rig. I guess I'll cross this one off the list.
Jim
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hey all. i'm mulling over a speaker swap for my TM60. i contacted Tech 21 and they said they have put in the best speaker they though works for the amp...i don't know if agree with that. i'd like to add something that will make the tone warmer on the top end. if i have one complaint about this amp, it's the top end is a little too bright/thin (without pedal tone shaping).
any ideas?
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I share you findings about the boxy sound of theTM30, nothing comparable with it's bigger brother. Originally Posted by PTChristopher
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i ended up going with another cannabis rex for this amp. it's such a great speaker. i can't think of anything sounding better, even if it would weigh less (neo).
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J.Murrieta......
I realize this an old thread and not sure if you still have your TM60, but was wondering if you still like the cannabis rex speaker in the TM 60 ?
Do you recall any modification requirement to get the speaker to fit ?
billLast edited by dhd; 12-24-2015 at 02:11 PM.
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Hi there, Originally Posted by dhd
I don't have the TM anymore. Before I sold it, I removed the cannabis. It was as easy as pie to install and remove. The front grill of the amp just pops off with a push from behind, as it sits held on with velcro only...Pretty slick actually. Then, four screws allow you to remove the speaker.
The process is very simple and requires no modification.
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I had one of these things years ago. IIRC, the speaker is a hifi speaker, and guitar speaker emulation is built into the electronics. So that's probably why the company discourages speaker swaps; it is more of a PA speaker than a guitar speaker. It would be kind of like playing your CD player through a guitar amp; it works, and you may get an interesting sound, but not what it was designed for.
I do recall the EQ as being very versatile, pushing a knob one way or the other from 12 oclock had dramatic effects. I don't remember it having a mid control, but that you could get a mid boost by reducing both the bass and treble. I recall it as being great for archtops; handled the low end really well. I was in a rock band at the time, and it did not have the headroom to handle that, so I got rid of it. It did have a direct out, so it would be usable if you had a stage monitor.
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