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I recently acquired an Acoustic Image head. Currently I am using a Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight head/cab setup. I would like to use the AI head with the Fender speaker, but the speaker is only rated for up to 250w @ 2ohms, whereas the AI head outputs 500w @ 2ohms. I have read that this could be okay, but I wanted to see what you fine ladies and gents have to say about this. So, am I looking at creating a rift in the space-time continuum by pairing these two bastard children or will there continue to be harmony in our galaxy?
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02-13-2012 06:29 PM
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Be careful with that because Fender was not very accurate when rating that amp. I asked Jensen about that speaker and they told me it's a regular 2 ohms Neo (100w average, 200w peak)... When I asked Fender about power ratings they told me 200w, not 250w.
Power Ratings measuring also vary brand from brand but if the 500w on the AI are right beware you are loading a 100w speaker. I think if you don't turn the amp too loud you won't run into problems.
How do you compare the JMUL with the AI? I LOVE the JMUL.
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I will let you all know my impressions when it arrives! I also like the JMUL, but I desire a more transparent sound through my amp. And it doesn't hurt that I'm reducing my gear weight by 2-3 pounds, so that my amp/cab will weigh in at roughly 22 lbs.! If I added another ultralight speaker we are talking 400w into two 12" cabs totaling < 40 lbs. A Fender twin weighs 65 lbs. and has 85w.
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Oh you're still waiting for it. Yes the JMUL head could be a little smaller and lighter but the cab is perfect. And I understand that for those who desire a fully transparent sound is not the best route.
Let me know when you get the AI!
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What sort of problems? Do you think I could replace the JMUL cab speaker with a 4 ohm Neo? Or any other speaker for that matter? Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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I just cracked open the cab and it seems like the speaker simply connects to the two wires. Is it really that easy to change the speaker?!
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Yes it is. Don't do that - the worst it can happen is you blow the speaker... then you can buy a new one!
People who like AI tend to go the Redstone / Razeres Edge cabs route...
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Well, If that happened I would probably rather just try a new speaker in the Fender cab, seeing as how it is already pretty durable and lightweight. Not to mention, much nicer on my bank account Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
Yes it is. Don't do that - the worst it can happen is you blow the speaker... then you can buy a new one! People who like AI tend to go the Redstone / Razeres Edge cabs route....
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Ha Ha true. i also like that cabinet (although most people seem to hate it). But if you choose say a 4 ohm speaker that's safer to use with the AI it will reduce the JMUL power (altough it's also probably better to use it at 4 ohms). And I think the AI also draws a lot of power at 4 ohms (their power rating serious limit speaker choices). I think it will be fine, just don't use the amp too high (why would you need 500w anyway?)
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So, if I were to replace the speaker for the Acoustic Image head, what would be a good match for the Clarus' 400w @ 4 ohms? I have been looking at the Jensen Tornado, which has two different ratings listed on their site, one being "musical power" which is higher. I think it comes in a 8 or 16 ohm version, both of which seem to carry the same watt rating. If I am going by the lower number, or "Rated Power" the 16 ohm would seem to be a better choice, but if I am looking at "Musical Power" the 8 ohm would be a better match. I am about to go back to playing classical guitar this electricity stuff is too confusing
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The Tornado and the regular Neo have the same rating - 100w rated and 200w musical. If you read a little on the subject there are several ways of measuring power and every brand seems to do as they please... You are saying replacing the speaker on the jmul cabinet to use with the AI head right? Just wait for the AI to arrive and see how it goes with the cabinet stock...
I have the regular neo on the jmul cab and a 2x12 with the Tornados. I like both, the Tornado has more extended highs, is fllatter on the mids and it's a little duller on the bass.Last edited by jorgemg1984; 02-14-2012 at 09:08 AM.
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I'm one of them. I use a Redstone RS-10ER cabinet. It works beautifully. Weighs only 25 pounds. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
People who like AI tend to go the Redstone / Razeres Edge cabs route...
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Do you know what speaker the 10ER has? Originally Posted by oldane
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Here's what an amp builder told me once when discussing power ratings like that: "You're never going to be playing at 250W unless you have the amp turned all the way up (which won't happen at a jazz gig), so don't even worry about it!"
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I don't know for sure. But given the power rating and the impedance, an educated guess would be an Eminence Beta (10"). I have no idea what the tweeter is. Whatever, it's a good sounding and very rugged speaker. Originally Posted by histind
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I think Stan (RS) uses custom versions of the Eminence Beta - e-mail him, he is a great guy.
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I just received the AI Clarus amp today. So far, I haven't really noticed anything out of the ordinary with my JMUL cabinet. My initial impressions are that this combination can get extremely loud. Just as Marcwhy mentioned, I can't imagine ever using this much volume. I do notice that the AI and JMUL cab are pretty dark-sounding. It's actually hard to get a bright sound, and that is a little disconcerting to me. I like a bright sound, at least compared to what most people regard as the "jazz guitar sound." As far as tonal quality, the guitar sounds very clear without any noticeable distortion. Pretty much what I expected in that regard. I'd really appreciate any comments regarding the relative warmth/brightness of the amp. So, what do you folks think? Thanks for all the comments thus far.
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The AI is actually designed and marketed for acoustic instruments which means that is is very neutral and behaves much like a PA amp - more than a guitar amp. Some people like Pat Martino actually goes for that dark sound it provides with a magnetic PU, but if you are after a more live say Fenderish tone, you may want to use some kind of tone shaping unit in front of the AI head. Some use a digital multieffects unit like a Line 6 Pod. For my part, I use this unit in front of my AI head: Originally Posted by histind
TECH 21 - SansAmp Para Driver DI
but these are also great (I'd go for the blonde for jazz):
TECH 21 - CHARACTER SERIES
They are analog, not digital, and IMHO opinion they sound much better than the digital units if you can live without all the extra effects the digital units provide. They can brighten up the sound to your hearts desire and can really "push out the tone" from the speaker cabinet so to speak. I have written quite a lot about them on this forum lately and somebody may be tired of me repeating myself - but do a search and you will find more information or feel free to PM me with questions.
BTW check out the low pass filter on your AI. It's really useful to remove room dependent bass boom, which sometimes can be hard to control with other amps.
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I think the treble control on the AI is very high (10k) making it hard ti dial the upper register of the guitar.
I think I will mod one of my amps with on those low cut filters. Seems very useful.
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Thanks for the PM Oldane, I will take a look at that ParaDriver. I took some time today to A/B the Clarus with my practice amp, a Cube 40xl. I have to say, that Cube does a fine job and holds its own against the AI/JMUL combo. I can get a pretty accurate reproduction of the sound I like on the AI, except that the AI is more even-sounding across the range of the guitar (with a LOT more power, of course). The comparison was probably stacked against the AI, though, because I was going for non-ear-damaging volumes in a relatively small room. I'd love to get the AI in a loud, open space. I should also mention that I'm testing both with a T.C. Electronics Hall of Fame reverb pedal, so as not to skew my impressions with the Roland reverb.
All in all, I think the test spoke more about the value in the Roland than it did the potential of the AI. I think the Clarus is great, but I'd like to try it in some more settings (physical spaces, speaker cabs). I didn't include the JMUL head in the comparison, but I may do that sometime this weekend.
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I'll add that the bass is 60Hz and the mid is 650Hz. For a guitar with a magnetic PU a bass at maybe 100Hz, a mid at 1-1.2kHz and a high at 3-5kHz would have been better. But again, magnetic PUs is not what the AI amp is designed for in the first place. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Yeah - I agree. My Shape EQ has these specs:
Low Rollover Freq 75 Hz
Mid Freq Center Range 75 Hz to 5.6 Khz (Fixed Mids = 400 hz)
High Rollover Freq 5.6K
It works great for magnetic pickups.
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I never heard about the Shape EQ but just checked it out. It seems to do much the same as my Sansamp Paradriver DI - especially with the adjustable mid center frequency. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Yes specs are very similar except for the high end - in the Para DI the treble is at 3.2k and because of that the mid frequency range stops at 3.2k. I wounder how different is the effect of having the treble at 3.2k or 5.6k. The Shape EQ is a great tool - I bought it used for a great price. You can dial-out almost anything you want.
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I wanted to give my updated impressions on the Jensen Tornado that I installed in my Fender JMUL cabinet, replacing the original 2 ohm Neo. Well...wow, what a difference. Like night and day, the Tornado sounds about a million times better. Better balance and more defined/present high frequencies were the qualities that I particularly noticed. The AI Clarus head ran much cooler as well, not that it was running that hot with the 2 ohm Neo, but still noticeably cooler. I will probably do a little more extensive testing when I get the change, but these initial impressions were pretty conclusive to me. I have yet to try the new speaker with the JMUL head, but I am a little wary again due to the mismatch: roughly 62 watts into a 100 watt speaker. Is this even advisable?
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