henriksen jazzamp vs AI Claris

[docbop]

I searched but didn't find a previous thread.

Can someone compare the sound of the Henriksen Jazzamp with the AI Claris?
Which has a warmer sound?
Better built-in reverb?
Tone circuits?
????

Any comments welcome.

[kris]

Heads amps?
AI Cla is great!

[docbop]

Heads amps?
AI Cla is great!

Henriksen doesn't make heads any more so it will be an amp. The Claris I will probably get a RE cabinet for.

[Bosko]

Try contacting Sound Island Music . They sell both amps (and many others) and have been very helpful when I had questions. No - I don't work there.

Jazz guitar amp specialists: Sound Island

[mr. beaumont]

Henriksen adds more color to the sound. AI is more transparent.

I've heard folks say Henriksen is superior for laminate guitars, AI is superior for solid wood.

They're both top notch stuff.

[jorgemg1984]

I am pretty sure someone has compared them in the past here on the forum. I had the Henriksen and it's in the Polytone dark side although it has a more open complex sound; I didn't like the EQ at all. The AI seems to be neutral and transparent and the tone controls are not good for electric guitars, they are more suited to acoustic instruments (some people use an external eq like the para di for that). I guess it depends what type of sound you're after, they should sound quite different. The Henriksen should color the sound more but should also be more guitar oriented.

[Jazz_175]

.......The AI seems to be neutral and transparent and the tone controls are not good for electric guitars, they are more suited to acoustic instruments (some people use an external eq like the para di for that). I guess it depends what type of sound you're after, they should sound quite different. The Henriksen should color the sound more but should also be more guitar oriented.

After almost one year of using the Henriksen JazzAmp my impression is that to some extent it is also not very well suited for electrical guitars.
What I mean is: for example if you plug a Gibson 335 into the JazzAmp you can certainly get a warm jazz tone but you lose some tonal expressivity that a 335 can give you with other amps.

[oldane]

I am pretty sure someone has compared them in the past here on the forum. I had the Henriksen and it's in the Polytone dark side although it has a more open complex sound; I didn't like the EQ at all. The AI seems to be neutral and transparent and the tone controls are not good for electric guitars, they are more aimed at acoustic instruments (some people use an external eq like the para di for that). I guess it depends what type of sound you're after, they should sound quite different. The Henriksen should color the sound more but should also be more guitar oriented.

Exactly. I like my AI head but I use a Sansamp Paradriver DI preamp pedal in front of it. As written, the center frequencies of the tone controls on the AI heads are not optimal for magnetic PUs (which the amp was never designed for in the first place), so some kind of external EQ is beneficial if the amp is used for that.

Also be aware that the AI speaker cabinets (like the one that comes with the Corus+) are also more directed towards acoustic instruments and PA like neutral sound reproduction. IMHO the AI heads works better with, say, a Raezers Edge or Redstone speaker than with AIs own cabinets when an electric guitar (magnetic PU) is plugged in.

OTOH, given the neutral nature of the AI amp, it can be used for many purposes and is thus more versatile than a dedicated guitar amp. It is very well suited as a center part of a customized amplification system put together for your exact purpose and taste (EQ/Preamp in front and speaker cabinet at the output).

In short, the Henriksen is more of a stand alone guitar amp while the AI head is better seen as a part of a module system you put together yourself.

[jorgemg1984]

After almost one year of using the Henriksen JazzAmp my impression is that to some extent it is also not very well suited for electrical guitars.
What I mean is: for example if you plug a Gibson 335 into the JazzAmp you can certainly get a warm jazz tone but you lose some tonal expressivity that a 335 can give you with other amps.

Couldn't agree more but I assume that compared to AI it should be more guitaristic (but compared to say a Fender tube amp of course not). Henriksen should re-design the EQ, the reverb and consider a good neo speaker...

[iim7V7IM7]

I concur with the other posters in that the Henriksen's that I have played sound like improved Polytones (ex-Mega Brute owner here).

The AI has less euphonic addition to its tone. It does however have a very powerful EQ to shape your sound. I have a AI Clarus 2R Series III head with a Raezer's Edge Nighthawk 10ER cabinet. The bass control shapes <250 Hz +/- 15 dB, the mid control shapes between 300 -2,000 Hz +/- 15 dB and the treble control influences content>1,000 Hz +/- 25 dB. These are very powerful in shaping your tone if desired.

That being said, if you are looking for "warm", I am guessing that a Henriksen or an Evans will be a better fit. Michael at Sound Island Music would be a great guy to speak with.

[NSJ]

Henriksen no longer makes heads??? So the Convertible is toast?? When did this happen???

[jorgemg1984]

I concur with the other posters in that the Henriksen's that I have played sound like improved Polytones (ex-Mega Brute owner here).

The AI has less euphonic addition to its tone. It does however have a very powerful EQ to shape your sound. I have a AI Clarus 2R Series III head with a Raezer's Edge Nighthawk 10ER cabinet. The bass control shapes <250 Hz +/- 15 dB, the mid control shapes between 300 -2,000 Hz +/- 15 dB and the treble control influences content>1,000 Hz +/- 25 dB. These are very powerful in shaping your tone if desired.

That being said, if you are looking for "warm", I am guessing that a Henriksen or an Evans will be a better fit. Michael at Sound Island Music would be a great guy to speak with.

I think the common complaint with AI is not the lack of "power" of the eq (that was my complaint with the henriksen actually) but the actual placement of the frequencies for an electric guitar.

[jorgemg1984]

Henriksen no longer makes heads??? So the Convertible is toast?? When did this happen???

I have heard several versions of this story... they were suppose to lauch a new version of the amp with the new head and then just quit them! Not sure what is going to happen but I would really like grab a used head in Europe as a backup (and also a sonic alternative) to my JMUL

[iim7V7IM7]

Hi,

An electric guitar has a frequency range of 82 Hz (open low E) to a high E on the 24th fret of 1,320 Hz (~660 Hz at the 12th Fret). Most notes are between 100-1,000 Hz on a 6 string guitar.

This is the frequency response of my 10" eminence delta 10a in my raezer's edge cabinet.



So The bass control covers <250 Hz, the mid 300-2,000 Hz and the treble >1,000 Hz. The Treble control really controls more of the harmonic content. You can see that the frequency response is fairly flat in the range of interest. The mid control and the bass control both influence in the area that we care about.

What were you thinking? Should the bass mid and treble deal only within the frequency response of the instrument?

Curious,

Bob

I think the common complaint with AI is not the lack of "power" of the eq (that was my complaint with the henriksen actually) but the actual placement of the frequencies for an electric guitar.

[jorgemg1984]

I am just refering to the common complaint on the forum about the EQ of the AI (well documented on the forum) for the use with electric guitars.

The EQ section of an amp is tricky: the 10k on the Henriksen are useless; on my jazzmaster ultralight the treble is at 10k and it's very effective (wider Q I guess)

[Tom Karol]

Just musing here: Wider Q ... Tone shaping capability (adding bite or punch for example); Narrower Q ... Tone taming capability (tuning out boominess for example)? Aside from the potentially much greater cost, why doesn't someone put 3 bands of parametric (center frequency, sweep, and boost/cut) or semi-parametric (just variable center frequency and boost/cut with a fixed width) in a guitar amp? I had a thing called an, "IVP," (Instrument Voicing Preamp) from a now defunct company called, "Intersound," a long time ago that had 4 bands of semi-parametric EQ. It was very effective - probably another piece of gear I shouldn't have sold! So, I'm just wondering: Is it prohibitively expensive, or do manufacturers just think guitarists aren't smart enough to use such sophisticated controls properly?

[jorgemg1984]

It's actually a very interesting subject Tom - the problem with a too powerfull EQ is that it might take or add what you want but also mess with things you didn't want it to mess; a limited EQ might solve small problems but leave intact things you would want to change... it's a tough balance. The best thing I ever tried on that regard is the Frome Shape EQ, very powerful but you always remain your sound's integrity.

I think lots of amp makers devote time and marketing to tons of stuff and then just add a regular EQ... Henriksen had a great idea but executed it poorly. I think one of the reasons is as you mentioned is amp makers being afraid of scaring customers with a hard-to dial EQ (most amps are bought by non-pro gigs that just something that works I guess). Jazz amp makers tend to see archtops as acoustic guitars and design the EQ that way I guess.

Something like a ParaEQ where you can choose center frequency band and Q size on an amp would be brilliant

[docbop]

Just want to say thanks to all great comments to think about.

Thanks