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Following my recent tube thread, I seem to be gravitating in the opposite direction, as far as a live amp goes. I'm curious about the Evans AH-200 Head and the JH-200 combo. Does anyone have experience of gigging with either of these, and cab for cab, would you get the same sound out of the head? Is there anyone in the UK or Europe here that managed to acquire one? I can't see any dealers listed outside the US. I tried sending them an email, but their reply form didn't seem to work for me. I did see a US shop selling old stock, in gaudy colours. I always thought these things weren't important, but I seem to have gone a bit conservative about this - any colour as long as it's black (or brown).
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02-18-2012 12:25 PM
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Both Franz1997 and Oldane have or had Evans amp I think. I also think Franz is in the UK and Oldane in Denmark. If they don't show up here - PM them. BTW you checked the Aerosome jazz head? It might be "sort of" an Evans and it's cheap and in the UK.
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There's a dealer in Denmark (inside the EU) who stocks Evans:
Evans (unfortunately, the website is in Danish - the prices quoted is in Danish Kroner)
I had an Evans FET500JE - a now discontinued model which I bought in 1994 directly from Evans Amps in US - had it sent over with UPS. I was my faithful amp untill last year when it began to act unpredicably and emit strange noises. I tried to find a technician knowing Evans amps in Denmark but in vain - there is none. So I ended up giving it away to my nephew who is an electronics DIY man. I bought an AI amp and a Redstone cabinet instead, which I use with a Sansamp Paradriver DI in front.
As I understand it, Evans amps have changed somewhat since I bought mine - not for the worse, just changed - and I don't know anything about their current range. They have become a lot lighter, though, due to the modern neodynium speakers. However, I can say that I was pleased with the one I had for all those years and didn't look for a new amp before it broke down. It had more sparkle in the top than say Polytone and Henriksen - not unlike Fender amps which made the tone more live - more like Kenny Burrell than Jim Hall.Last edited by oldane; 02-18-2012 at 07:12 PM.
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That's a great store - tons of archtops and jazz amps... I wish I had something like that in Portugal!
The Evans has to be really good - that's close to 1500€... the price of a boutique blackface.
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I agree with Oldane - closer to a Fender than a Polytone. I have an AH200 head and it manages to be both warm and have a bit of sparkle.
Internally, they have changed; they now use a class D ( ''digital'') power amp and the preamp board is miniaturised and ( I'm guessing) is assembled out of house. This means they will be more difficult to repair, and I don't know anyone in the UK who could repair one in any event. But still, for my money it's the best SS head I have come across so far.
I acquired it from a pro who imported it direct from Evans. Apparently there's a also a dealer in Belgium, in addition to the one given above.
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Jorge, I tried Googling ''Aerosome Jazz head'', but can't find anything. Where did you see it?
cheers
Chris
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Thanks guys - it's a trade off between: cheaper US price (£900 + tax carriage and import duty) and Danish price (£1400 plus small carriage). I need to do more research if I'm going to buy blind. I realised when I was checking out 6V6 tube amps, that I love that particular crunch sound, but it's too flakey for a clean, for me. My ideal clean is really a piano sort of sound - that sort of "iron in the soul" - clang! I'm thinking Pat Martino or Adam Rogers. When I saw AR he had this solid state pre into a (actually I seem to remember he had two) Fender Amps. I kind of get that sound out of a SD Twin pre + H&K SS combo (the other way 'round) so I feel the Evans should deliver that - more power, less honkey than the Clarus, and lighter and possibly warmer than a JC120, tho' since I'm not sure where I can try these out, this is hypothetical.
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Chris I must be crazy - it's Ameson. Sorry! :/ Anyway here's the link... They made an youtube video with an UK player - sounded relly good, like an Henriksen with natural highs and not boomy.
MAJ Electronic
There's another thread on the subject already going on ("New Jazz Amp"). They are probably quite different from the EVans but they cost around 350£ and I assume you cold try one since it's in the UK... I wouldn't pay 1400£ for an amp I never tried - payed 1 / 3 of that for my jazzmaster ultralight without trying it first but I actually love it
Chris as a side note - wouldn't a competent tech with the proper schematic be able to repair any problem with the Evans?
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I have an Evans RE200 (1x10" combo) that I bought new back around the 2007-2008 timeframe. It is my 3rd Evans (sold the others) and for me the best yet. Small, light (~24lbs) and a great sound. The previous ones were good also, but I wanted a smaller & lighter package. The new RE200 gets me in that sub-25lb category, which is great. It have great sparkle & punch & I have not found it lacking for power.
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I looked at the YouTube clips. The "Sound-Pure" clips have a Joe Pass quality - light strings? There was a "Song is You" clip which has a sort of Tal Farlow sound. A nervous Autumn Leaves has that quality. Desafinado - a bit Kenny Burrellish. Alone Together - a bit Pat Martino Footprints. No good putting in John Abercrombie (who uses or used them) + Evans: Hey - it's a Bill thing! So it dials in the whole 60's sound. I'd like to check the amp out to see it isn't boxy like the old Polytone I had, and can be a bit more electric. It needs saying that everybody has a different idea of what constitutes a good guitar sound. It seems a lot of the archtop guys seem to prefer a lot of top end string EQ, as a sort of "homage to the acoustic guitar". For me, that's for Django. But then he went electric. He gave up the caravan and moved to a hotel. Give up tubes and move to transistors..
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Chris as a side note - wouldn't a competent tech with the proper schematic be able to repair any problem with the Evans?
You're right - although schematics can be hard to get- but the very recent models with the class D amp and miniaturised preamp look like a computer motherboard - which it is, sort of! - and would be difficult to repair without very specialised miniature tools. I'm not saying newer Evans amps should be avoided because of this, but I think ease of repair is always a factor in buying any amp. OTH, Evans have been very reliable for me and others I know.
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OK, Ameson! I talked to Roy S about these amps and he is very positive about them - they seem like a very good deal. Ameson has a good reputation in the UK for really solid construction- his hardwired valve amps look like HiWatts inside. If these amps are of the same standard, they should be very reliable. I'd have a reservation about ( only) 90w, though - when SS amps clip on attack transients, it's NOT a nice sound.....whereas tubes just soak the transients up....
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Jack Zucker had the AH-200 head for a while and I think he was really positive about it - which is saying something. He may have posted on here about it. The head is all the same electronics from their combos, but removed and stuffed into a small box. There's no difference in the electronics, head alone versus combo.
Originally Posted by VitalSigns
I gather that the tone circuitry and controls are unique and take same getting used to. But once you've got the hang of them, you can get a much wider variety of tones than you can with other amps.
Here's Jack's quick review from Usenet :
sheetsofsound View profile More options Apr 12 2011, 9:04 pm
Just picked up an Evans AH200 head. Really nice sounding amp. Comparing it to my Markbass LMII the Evans is more colored. The markbass sounds a little flatter like a clarus but the evans is extremely versatile and the tone controls are placed perfectly. I think the evans amp gets the closest to the el hombre pat martino sound of any amp other than a vintage fender. The tone controls are perfectly placed. What a pleasure. I was able to plug in my semi-hollow and dial in a big fat bottom end that wasn't boomy at louder
volumes. Then, when I plugged in my Heritage 550 it was too boomy. Voila, I dialed the bass down until it sounded like body-talk era george benson. Plugged in my tele and goosed the treble for some funk rhythm and it's right there. No limited 10k treble control placement like on most of the other jazz amps...
Plus, it's incredibly loud, extremely light weight and very portable. With my other SS amps, I have to carry around a reverb pedal and some sort of preamp. With the evans I could easily carry my NY8, the evans and a single guitar.
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I've got both an Evans and an AI Clarus and can tell you that they sound very different with the Evans having more sounds to choose from. The controls on the Evans are very interactive. You can dial in a dark Polytone style sound, or you can go with a brighter Tal Farlow chirp. The "body" control is the most interesting feature of the Evans amp in that it allows one to not only change the level of the mids but rather the character of the mids. It's hard to describe the effect of the "body" knob, so I'll refer you to a SoundPure video which goes through the tonal options in detail.
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Schematics can be a problem with Evans. For some reason they don't seem too keen to part with them, and they don't seem to be available on the internet. I e-mailed them about a schematic for my old amp, but they didn't answer. I read in another post here about ½ year ago that another person got the answer that they didn't have schematics for those old amps anymore. Originally Posted by Franz 1997
Missing schematics plus the fact that they are somewhat special, makes me think they could be difficult to repair for a technician who is not familiar with them.
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Might be worth mentioning that I have a set of schematics for Evans amps made around 2003/4, while they still used analogue technology, if anyone is stuck.
I also have one of their short-lived tube preamps, using 2 12AT7s, which really rounds out the treble notes. No schematic for that, though - I'm interested if anyone has one.
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One of the things about the internet is how you end up finding stuff on search engines by accident. I came across this when I was looking for info on the Evans amp:
http://paulvernonchester.com/FrankEvans.htm
Frank Evans was a good player. I hadn't heard his name for many years. Jazz obituaries are rarely reported in the press. When I lived in Bristol in my 20's, I went to one of his masterclasses after seeing him on TV. His style was modern, but nearer to Barney Kessel than Louis Stewart. I saw him turn down the offer of teaching this gorgeous woman, because she wasn't good enough, so he was obviously a serious musician! I went to check him out at his only gig listing, a residency at a big Bristol hotel. A bit scruffy, in my plimsoles and jeans, the Maitre-D of the hotel intercepted me and said "I'm sorry sir, but you would have to dine at the restaurant to appreciate the music". I was pretty poor at the time, so I never got to see him play again! End of digression - I do this a lot, er, you may have noticed..
I've emailed Evans amps and have been trying to find a European dealer - will report back soon.
Jamie
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Yes - working in those really small designs must be hard... Originally Posted by Franz 1997
Yes, Ameson, don't know what I was thinking I have traded some e-mails with Roy but he didn't have the info on the tone stack, I will try again. It does seem like a good deal and youtube clip sounds great, I am glad to know they have a good reputation in the UK. I am in the process of finishing my gear, let's see if there's space for one of those. I would also wish a little more power specially because my two cabs can handle 200w but my Fender M80 has 90w and it has been more the enought for me - to my ears louder than the more powerful Henriksen for example.
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The older Evans amps with the tube preamp are great sounding amps, much coveted by steel players...I think they stopped making them sometime in the late 70's.
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My RE200 that I bought new in the 2007 timeframe has a tube pre-amp, I don't think they are offering that option anymore. I guess they've done the tube pre-amp on and off over the years. Originally Posted by ES350
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I suspect that a small company like Evans, with a relatively small customer base and a small niche market, needs to prevent the technical details of their innovations from getting 'out there'. Hence the scarcity of schematics. Originally Posted by oldane
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I see that you can still get the tube preamp models in some Canadian and US shops -eg:Evans Amp Page It's a bit difficult this, buying blind. Generally with obsolete gear you expect a discount, whereas the tube pre amp versions are going for 2-300 dollars more. In what sense is an obsolete amp which has been in customer use in a shop for several years - new?
I looked at a load of John Abercrombie clips, as I'd seen him mentioned as an Evans user. As a touring artist, he always hires, and it's either a couple of Fenders or JC120's. Maybe he uses the Evans for NY gigs. I suppose the relevant thing here is that he takes his little Boss multi-effects and gets his sound mainly from that and of course the guitar and the way he plays. If I could find something in a shop here in the UK that would be great. Something I found in an ad, which I wasn't aware of, was that Peavey used to make a knock-off version of the JC120: Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 Amp, 100w, with pedal, just been serviced - Hobgoblin Music Anybody know of a Evans copy? (Polytone? Henricksen?..)
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Well I have read John saying he used Polytones and he is also quoted on the Henriksen website so... I think he is a fan of stereo setups - one solid state and one tube. He uses the Boss ME you mentioned and also a GE-7 EQ / boost.
I am not sure that Peavey is a copy of the JC-120... I think Peavey had their own path on solid state amps.
I have said this to you - you seem to be overthinking and overusing the internet. You have talked about tons of amps - AI, 6l6, 6v6, now Evans... these are all very different amps. Relax and make a rational purchase, otherwise you might regret it. And don't buy an amp because Abercrombie uses it...
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It's become increasingly difficult to find the tube pre-amp version of the Evans. Occasionally one becomes available on the Pedal Steel Guitar Forum, but even that's a rare event these days. I own the older, somewhat larger Evans head (the AE-200), and have owned the newer smaller AH-200 (non-tube version). If you can deal with the larger size and weight, the older heads to my ear are somewhat sweeter sounding, and if they have an actual reverb tank (like mine), I think they sound fantastic. I originally bought the smaller AH-200 head to replace my AE-200, but ended up selling it in favor of keeping the older version.
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Jorge - I mention John Abercrombie, as he's the only player amongst the Evans players I recognise, also all the YouTube clips are swing based archtop guys - I want to hear that the Evans isn't just like the Polytone.I have said this to you - you seem to be overthinking and overusing the internet. You have talked about tons of amps - AI, 6l6, 6v6, now Evans... these are all very different amps. Relax and make a rational purchase, otherwise you might regret it. And don't buy an amp because Abercrombie uses it...
As far as trying out amps goes, I've researched the amps on the internet and then gone out to shops to try the available ones within a 100 mile radius - this isn't an armchair search. It's just that it seems Jazz guitar amps exist in a sort of black market. With the Evans, it's not just a case of taking the plunge on one amp - now there's a choice of two designs, with and without tube pre, and the only way for me to try them without going over to the US, is to import blind from the manufacturer new or a get "new" one from a US shop. Like a Russian kid wanting jeans or a Bruce Springsteen LP in the soviet days! I haven't given up, but I think I'll probably have to go for a second little H&K combo, and a little tube amp (see my other thread on "6V6 amp for recording") for studio/rehearsal use.
Jamie
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I don't know if anyone following this thread has tried the AER Cheeky D 12 combo, which I think must be relatively new, as I can't find any reviews. I'd not considered AER as I thought they only made acoustic amps. It seems to be a hybrid - similar in spec to the older JE200 with tube pre, tho' I think the tube on the AER is for the O/D channel. Might be a chance for me to try something similar to the Evans, without buying blind, as I see it's a German company.
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