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I apologize if this has been flogged to death before. I'm in the market for a new amp. It has to be light weight. I don't play rock so I don't care or need screaming distortion.....preferably not! I cannot find any of these amps in any stores near me, so I have not been able to try them out. I am definitely not interested in, and will NOT buy, heavy tube amps of the past or present. I'm sold on modern digital technology based on what I've seen, heard, and read.
I have several candidates, but four on the short list are:
Acoustic Image Coda S4 (head and cabinet package): The Acoustic Image Coda has a ton of "rated" power and both 10" and 5" speakers, but still very portable. 20 lbs.
Henriksen Jazzamp 110: The Henriksen seems like a "purist" amp....minimal bells and whistles, all business, all jazz. A very nice feature, though, is a 5 band EQ. 23 lbs.
JazzKat TomKat II /v2.0: The JazzKat has a lot of interesting features for the money. It does have a switched tube channel but still maintains its light weight.
20 lbs in this new version.
AER Compact 60/2 (new version): lowest rated power of the four at 60w, but may not matter....some sources say what mostly matters for high volume, if needed, is speaker efficiency. Has 4 onboard effects. Only 16.5 lbs.
It's nice that there are so many interesting options out there.
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02-29-2012 12:08 PM
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Acoustic Image: Very transparent tone, an attempt to add almost no color to the natural sound of the guitar. Almost more like a small PA or acoustic amp than a "guitar" amp. Sounds amazing with carved, solid wood instruments.
Henriksen: Still colors the amp like a guitar amp, although it gives a relatively flat response with a very advanced EQ so it's very "dail-inable"--with a little practice. I own a henriksen head that I use with a redstone speaker cab, and it is the best amp I've ever owned.
Jazzcat: No experience, but I beleive it's a similar concept--still a guitar amp that adds some coloration, delivers a modern, dry tone.
Polytone: I also own one of these--a bit more coloration in the midrange. A very dry tone as well, very "modern." Polytone amps either work forever or break down every two weeks.
AER: Really better for an acoustic guitar IMHO. Played an archtop through one and was nt impressed...kind of a tinny, honky midrange no matter how I twisted the knobs.
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Comrade, you're stressing light weight, so I'd also suggest you check out some ZT models: Lunchbox (9.5 lbs) perhaps with the extension cab (7 lbs) or the 1x12" Club (22 lbs).
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I think you should not consider the AER because it's clearly aimed at acoustic guitars.
I have no experience with AI or Jazzkat but AI's EQ doesn't seem to be very good for electric archtops and their power ratings limit your speaker choice a lot. About Jazzkat there is very little info on these amps, even around here...
I had an Henriksen and honestly with: 1) a new speaker (EV, 200€) 2) a good EQ pedal like Para DI, Barb EQ, Shape EQ etc.. (around 200€) and 3) a reverb pedal (say 150€) you have a great amp that is probably not worth the final price. To me the stock speaker is not very guitaristic and the EQ, despite all the bla bla bla on the website, does not fit electric archtops very well. The bass mids part are fine for some tweaking bot not for shaping and the treble part is unusable, you turn the knobs and the first two strings sound the same (in my experience). The reverb is also unusable for me. I sold mine but since I now have an EV in a cab and both my pedalboards have an EQ and a Reverb pedal I wouldn't mind getting an used and cheap head.
This is my personal opinion, lots of people love the Henriksen as it is stock. Henriksen have two dealers in Italy, it might be worth the trip...
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It's highly reccomended you read the bit on EQ at Henriksen's site before you try one...it's not like a traditional "Low, Mid, High" EQ.
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Is it correct that Polytone amps have been out of production for many years? Despite their reputation, that would be a deal breaker for me. Since I have
Yes, I have my eye on the Lunchbox Club, which is now their biggest product with a 12 inch speaker. Haven't played it yet but there is one at a nearby store and I will check it out. They do have minimal features, though.
I'm getting the feeling here that AER are more acoustic-oriented and that sort of confirms what I've read about them. They are well thought of in the acoustic world.
Yes, Henriksen has a different concept of EQ which is very interesting when you read it. Very curious to hear it in person. Seems promising.
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If you haven't considered one, you might also check out the line of Evans amps (including the AH200 head). The RE200 is a 10" combo, the JE200 is a 12" combo, the SE200 is a 15" combo. And as mentioned, they have a head version (I have an older version of the head the AE-200). They come up for sale occasionally here or on the Pedal Steel Guitar Forum. A youtube search will turn up some nice demos, particularly of the RE200.
Evans Custom Amplifiers - Home
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I have an older Tomkat that can give a fairly transparent sound on an acoustic guitar and works well enough for me with the archtop I have ( Eastman 805 ) and provides a decent nylon sound through a Godin. It is fairly light which I really like about it. It's the older model that has 3 band EQ on it along with an Alexsis chip for effects ( primarily used for reverb ) and has 2 channels, one of them being via xlr. It does have a mini tube in the preamp of one channel that can be adjusted for the tube quality sound. My biggest issue with it is that in playing in a group ( upright bass, drums,vocals ) it's a bit too directional and so I use an additional cabinet with it. The newer model I think has 5 band EQ still with the mini tube and effects chip. I use a Para DI through the xlr port that powers it although the minitube is in the other channel ( not as important for me ) I think it's hard to really tell just by description on anything that is so subjective. It's worth a road trip with your guitar to A-B these amps. I'm surprised there isn't a shop in the SF area!
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There are (at least) two very good cabinet brands around which will do the trick: Raezers Edge and Redstone. The AI cabinets are not voiced for magnetic PUs and one is better off with the AI head alone and one of these two cabinets. Also true about the the AI EQ. I set mine flat and use a Sansamp ParaDriver DI instead to shape the tone.
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
(Jorge, of course you know this already, since we have written posts about it earlier, but the OP may not have seen those earlier post about this subject, so I would just mention it again)
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I have used my AER for all my background gigs and a lot of concerts since 2002 and I think it does a great job, never let me down on 1000+ gigs. It can be too small if the drummer and the crowd is loud but mostly it is ok for jazz gigs.
I guess it is aimed at acoustic guitars and a bit mid rangy, but that might be a tone you like (it fits me quite well anyway) I've said it often but already: I'd replace it in instantly if it broke down.
Jens
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"Yes, Henriksen has a different concept of EQ which is very interesting when you read it. Very curious to hear it in person. Seems promising"]
It's much better on paper than on real life imo. The controls flat with a "tone stack" pedal works much better but give it a try!
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I got the idea Originally Posted by oldane
It's true you have RE and Redstone but that's a limitation imo... you cannot use more guitaristic speakers like an EV or Neos, which suit me better than the Betas.
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I used small Alpha Aer-was good with my arch-top guitar.
Now I have AER Compact XL-not so good...:-)
I prefer with my arch-top Peavey Classic-30 with Tonker speaker/heavy/.
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+1 - excellent build quality imo Originally Posted by bmw2002
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Oldane: thanks for the suggestions. When you combine the head and cabinet(s) you describe, about how much weight is that to drag around? Originally Posted by oldane
Thanks,
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I'm not olddane, but I put my henriksen head in a shoulder bag (10 lbs or so) and carry a 17lb. speaker cab.
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That sounds pretty reasonable. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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I see several Henriksen Jazzamp heads on GBASE, but I don't see them listed on the Henriksen site. Does anyone know if they're being produced in limited editions or are the ones being sold simply old stock?
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AER C60
Jim Mullen uses one at the mo cos its light
he said the sound is 'OK'
I use one cos its the lightest amp I've got
that will keep up with a Jazz band in flow .............
I think the sound is 'OK' too
I played a Cube80 at a Jam session which I liked a lot
its too heavy/big for me , hey I like small amps ...........
However It makes me interested in a Cube 40 22lbs and they're cheap man !
Don't know if it would have enough power tho maybe yes
anyone here use one for playing out at volume ?
Roland should make a Cube80 with a 10"
that would probably do it
So I can't recommend the AER C60 purely on sound terms
they are a bit too boxy for me
but they are Light/small/and loud enough and I still got people
saying they like my sound so......... its OK for now I guess
I see you've already got a Cube60 so maybe you don't dig
that cube sound so much
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Pingu.....my Roland Cube 60 is dying! I lack the skills to fix it, don't want to even pull it apart and try; and it's uneconomic to pay a professional tech to fix it. So that's why I'm in the market for another amp. That being said, I loved the Cube 60; the new Cube 80 XL? is too heavy for me and the Cube 40 sounds good but lacks enough power for a wider variety of situations. And, I don't want to buy a used amp unless it's almost new....I want the newest technology if possible.
Klatu: here's a link to the current Henriksen offerings (assuming this Forum allows such links):
Henriksen Guitar Amplifier: compact, solid state, small, inexpensive, powerful guitar amplifier
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25lbs for a Redstone RS-10ER cabinet + 4lbs for the AI amp head. I think the Raezers Edge cabinets are in the same range. Add to that the weigth of cables, preamp pedal (if you use one) and whatever you choose to bring. Originally Posted by Section Player
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I read somewhere that they had problems with their supplier who was making the "boxes" for the head...so they're currently not making them. Originally Posted by Klatu
I hope they do again eventually. I like henriksen's sound, and the ability to use different cabs depending on situations is really cool...
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I also taled to them about the head recently because with a cab with an EV and an EQ pedal always on my board I wouldn't mind having one. At first they told me they were making a new head - upgraded circuit, smaller enclosure and (maybe) a new reverb. Last time I talked to them they just told me they wanted to do combos...
It would be weird if it was a problem with the head enclosure right? It must be easy to find an alternative suplier specially in the US... it's not exactly hard to make the enclosure.
Maybe they don't have the time do re-design the amp right now, maybe it was harder then they expected? I know the board is assembled elsewhere and maybe it was not easy for them to get the new design right yet? Since many jazzers already have cabs like RS and RE small heads are a must for a "jazz amp" maker.
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I have an AI/RE combo, a Polytone Minibrute II, and a Fishman Loudbox Artist. Day-to-day, I use the Fishman. It has a tweeter knob that is easy to adjust. It gets loud, sounds full and warm, and lot of connection jacks, and is super light. I am very impressed. And, with GC coupons, and stuff, is way less than the $399 price. Haven't tried a Henriksen, but think I would love it.
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Jens.....which AER model are you using? Originally Posted by JensL
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