Jazzy EL34 Amps

[jorgemg1984]

Amps don't make you play jazz if you don't know how to play it. But they help a lot IF you know how to play it (and some sound better for jazz that others)

[bborzell]

Amps don't make you play jazz if you don't know how to play it. But they help a lot IF you know how to play it (and some sound better for jazz that others)

And that is the point. Most of these, "which amp/tubeset is better for jazz" questions presume that there is a gold standard that hits the sweet sonic spot that all are attempting to attain.

People who can play jazz can do so with pretty much any amp and sound good to people who like to hear good jazz. Some can even do it without amps. Who wooda thunk?

[jorgemg1984]

Yes it's wrong to assume it's the amp that will give you the "jazz tone" (just defining "jazz tone" would be hard). It's more up to you then the amp, although I don't agree with "people who can play jazz can do so with pretty much any amp". That is not true in my experience as a listener and a player.

[bborzell]

Yes it's wrong to assume it's the amp that will give you the "jazz tone" (just defining "jazz tone" would be hard). It's more up to you then the amp, although I don't agree with "people who can play jazz can do so with pretty much any amp". That is not true in my experience as a listener and a player.

Which is why we were each issued our own set of ears.

[jorgemg1984]

Yes

[Jazzman301]

Aw shit our own ears...man I have been sharing.
I recently listened to a Wes album that sounded like he was playing through a bridge pickup and maybe even a solid body type instrument and the ideas and lines sounded like Wes...the tone WAS not at all in line with his other albums. So I think its the sum total of the player, the guitar, the setup, and the amp.

'Mike

[Keira Witherkay]

i had an extremely interesting chat with a electronics engineer who told me that any output valve of an all valve amp will sound pretty similar ...UNTIL it is driven hard...... thats when the changes appear ......so for jazz where we play clean and NOT driving the amp into valve distortion most amp designs will suffice ....and offer pretty similar tones............ don't forget often the speakers make a bigger difference than we realise........... so some highly effecient fender type(american sound speaker) speaker will sound cleaner at higher volume than say some (british sounding speaker) that is designed to break up earlier

so according to my learned friend the output valves only come into play "noticably" when they pushed hard ......

so basically i think any tube amp with enough headroom and a speaker that is NOT specifically designed to breakup early will suffice for a usable/good/excellent jazz tone

also your eq settings... output of your pickups...... the strings you use .. not forgetting your playing style will all influence any "jazz tone"

and if you don't believe me take your archtop and replace strings ......swop out 12's with 9's and play it through your amp you ussually get great jazz tone with ......and hear the difference now add in a speaker change and other factors like using picks/nails/playing with fingertips(fleshy bits) every change you make ..even pickup heights will change your tone in some way

so a good jazz tone is a collection of "influences" summed up to a pleasing result to the player ...... and thats why we buy so much gear and endlessly mod our pickups and speakers ...we all searching for "the perfect combination" that gives us the tone we like( and that too is a huge discussion point ..cos my tone which i adore may be hated by others and vice versa)

so NO one thing is responsible for good tone but the entire sum of multiple factors ........

sorry i wish i could have said that in 2 lines but ............ anyway longwinded but hopefully i made my point ....

peace and light
keira

[Double 07]

Okay BUT the tubes in an all tube amp are not the only thing that determines the sound. Besides speakers the surrounding circuit that the tube sits in has quite a bit to do with the tone also. That's why there are, for example, 12AX7 preamp with 6L6 power amp amplifiers that sound alot different. Because everything else being equal the designs of the circuits the tubes are in are designed differently.

For example I was in a store once and they had this neat boutique amp that had the exact same tube compliment as an AC30 and Celestion speakers. The salesmen and myself both agreed that the amp sounded great in it's own right but he said they were having trouble selling the amp because so many guys expected it to sound like an AC30 but it didn't. The amp had it's own sound, which was very cool but not AC30, on clean or overdrive. As far as output tube differences being most noticeable when pushed into distortion I suppose so but I suspect I could tell a difference even at lower volumes. I can hear a big difference (to my ears) from even different tubes of the same type but a different brand in my amps. JJ tubes being my favorite in new production tubes.

Yes speakers have a huge influence on the tone.

"So NO one thing is responsible for good tone but the sum of multiple factors....... True that statement!!!!

Peace and Love

[jorgemg1984]

Yes the amount of things that change the sound of a guitar player is endless... but then some have more influence than others.

An amp is not just an american or british speaker and 6l6 or el34. The circuit is VERY important to the sound - parts like coupling caps or the tone stack shape the amp's response.

I think some amps are intercheable between say el34 and 6l6. Those amps would be good for an A / B between those tubes. Maybe the difference is more noticeable when distortion appears but I think the difference would be audible in clean settings too.

[ES350]

The Marshall Club and Country is a pretty good clean tone with the 6550's or EL34's...even better with KT88 or 6CA7 tubes.

[Double 07]

Yes the amount of things that change the sound of a guitar player is endless... but then some have more influence than others.

An amp is not just an american or british speaker and 6l6 or el34. The circuit is VERY important to the sound - parts like coupling caps or the tone stack shape the amp's response.

I think some amps are intercheable between say el34 and 6l6. Those amps would be good for an A / B between those tubes. Maybe the difference is more noticeable when distortion appears but I think the difference would be audible in clean settings too.

Yes true! Maybe my ears are really sensitive but I can hear differences. I like 6L6 and El34 but they do have different sound characteristics to my ears.