why are no small portable amp tops being made (anymore)?

**Helgo** · 07-05-2012, 05:26 PM

Hi guys.

Who has an idea on why extremely sexy amps like the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight and the Henriksen Convertible are being discontinued?

I would imagine that there´s a very good market for those good sounding, high-powered, light-weight amps... !?!?!

Are there any alternatives (besides looking for something 2nd hand)?

What about maybe using a small bass top? There seems to be plenty of good stuff for electric bass....

Just wondering...

Cheers,
Helgo

**GodinFan** · 07-05-2012, 05:42 PM

There's still the Acoustic Image heads.

The hassle with a separate amp head and cab is the lugging. OTOH, if you play guitar in different venues, or play bass as well, the single small head with different cabs can be more cost effective.

**Tom Karol** · 07-05-2012, 06:20 PM

A keyboard player I know just got this:
Shuttle Series | GENZ BENZ.
It's a bass amp, but it sounds good with his electronic keyboard.
I haven't tried it with my guitar yet, but I plan to do so.
A very cool thing is that the head is detachable!

**jorgemg1984** · 07-05-2012, 06:47 PM

Well I don't want to be mean but those are precisely my two amps

They were discontinued for different reasons I think. The jazzmaster ultralight was discontinued because of sales I assume; Fender is a big company and if things don't sell they stop making them. They also did a few errors: bad name (The Ultralight would have been perfect), bad distribution (hard to find), expensive, lack of explanation you could use the head with cabs above 2 ohms, expensive, unnecessary OD channel... A single-channel The Ultralight on the 800 dollars price range would have been killer.

The Henriksen was discontinued due to problems with fitting the amp in such a small package according to someone here on the forum... I asked them once and they were vague about it.

I disagree with the assesment that is less practical to carry an head and a cab. I always need to bring a "gear bag" with cables, some pedals, sheet music, music stands, guitar stands, etc.. to my gigs. These heads fit there just nicely.

AI should sound quite different from those two amps. Evans is also an alternative but it's very expensive new. In my experience bass / keyboard amps just don't work well... Bass players have much more things to choose from and it's a mistery to me why guitar amp makers avoid these amps.

Since you're in Germany check Ameson jazz amp or Mambo jazz amp (they will release a head soon). They are both Polytone inspired I believe and UK based so lower shipping and no VAT / fees.

http://www.majelectronic.co.uk/

http://www.mambo-amp.co.uk/contact.html

**lpdeluxe** · 07-05-2012, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

The jazzmaster ultralight was discontinued because of sales I assume; Fender is a big company and if things don't sell they stop making them. They also did a few errors: bad name (The Ultralight would have been perfect), bad distribution (hard to find), expensive, lack of explanation you could use the head with cabs above 2 ohms, expensive, unnecessary OD channel... A single-channel The Ultralight on the 800 dollars price range would have been killer.

That's a pretty good call. When I talked to the local Fender dealer about ordering one, he had never heard of it. They tried too hard for an "all-in-one" amp and, maybe, missed the boat. I love mine.

**jorgemg1984** · 07-05-2012, 07:09 PM

Yes it was hard to find back then. And it had some noise / reliability issues also... It's almolst like they did it just to say "we tried making a jazz amp"

They really should have called it The Ultralight. I did a recent jazz gig that needed some covers in the end; with my Godin Kinpin and no adjustments on eq it sounded pretty nice for pop / rock (no OD used).

Best amp I have ever played except some really nice old tube Fenders

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 07-05-2012, 07:33 PM

Phil Jones makes a number of small bass amp heads, like the M-500:

Small but mighty -- 750W.

Bass Amps ? Phil Jones Pure Sound Professional Bass Guitar Amplifiers | Phil Jones Pure Sound

**jorgemg1984** · 07-05-2012, 07:34 PM

I just remembered Quilter also released an head recently

MicroPro 200 Amplifier Head - Quilter Labs

**Keira Witherkay** · 07-06-2012, 01:51 AM

don't forget the ZT lunchbox's , they small as a compact head as light and rated at 200W but lets say 120W usable, as i think it's overrated and if you add an external cab you have a fat sounding amp that also has an internal speaker for small gigs and rehearsing

i had the luxury of the local ZT distributor in Jozi offer me the oppotunity to gig both the original lunchbox and the acoustic one for a few weeks before i decided, and i opted for the slightly more expensive but fully featured acoustic lunchbox , i found the original a bit harsh sounding when A/B'd and the lack of features was limiting ..but the acoustic lunchbox offers 2 independant channels /phantom power/DI out /speaker out /gain ,bass treble and reverb ( not best reverb but usable reverb for live work) per channel and a feedback destroyer all in a tiny box ...

and the high power output ......means just add a 2x12 cab and you have a huge sound

i use it regularly at my gigs with my archtop and my 335 and great sound in fact gigged with it last night and it drew attention from people in audience

so yes i would say add the ZT despite it being a full combo amp in it's own right .......to your list of amp heads.....

and lets NOT FORGET "value for money" the acoustic lunchbox is dirt cheap in comparison to others ( under $400) and in my mind can do the gig and sound very natural clean......again this recommendation is for the 'Acoustic lunchbox" i never liked the original much when compared .......

**oldane** · 07-06-2012, 04:30 AM

Originally Posted by GodinFan

There's still the Acoustic Image heads.

I use the AI head with a Redstone speaker, but other speakers would likely have worked just as well. The AI head has a couple of very useful features. One is the adjustable low cut filter which helps remove boominess in certain rooms. Another is the combo jack/RTL input providing phantom power (in the RTL, not the 5mm jack) which is useful when using the head with condensor microphones and other gear which can be phanton powered. A third one is two identical clean input channels (there's also a one channel version which is a little cheaper).

The AI head has various effect such as different kinds of reverb, delay, flanger, chorus. However, they are not tweakable other than the amount of effect blended into the sound, so apart from the reverb which will do in a pinch, I would prefer separate pedals for effects.

It's designed as neutral amp for acoustic instruments and as such the tone controls (the center frequencies to be excact) are not optimal for magnetic PUs. Some - me included - leave the AIs controls flat and put some kind of preamp pedal (I use a Sansamp Paradriver DI which can be phantom powered from the AI head) in front of it to shape the sound. Others are satisfied with it is it is.

Provided you don't expect to be able to control everything from the AI head, it's very versatile, can be used for many applications, and can serve as an excellent center of a flexible module system.

AI also sells the head as part of integrated combo amps. These are good for acoustic instruments and other "hi-fi" applications, but IMHO less suited to guitars with magnetic PUs. But the head (identical to the Clarus head except for the grey paint) can easily be removed from the combo and can then be used with almost any other speaker which can handle the output it provides. Reazers Edge and Redstone speakers are frequently used with AI heads, but others will no doubt work well too.

**Bill C** · 07-06-2012, 07:22 AM

Evans AH200

**pingu** · 07-06-2012, 07:43 AM

i had the luxury of the local ZT distributor in Jozi offer me the oppotunity to gig both the original lunchbox and the acoustic one for a few weeks before i decided, and i opted for the slightly more expensive but fully featured acoustic lunchbox , i found the original a bit harsh sounding when A/B'd and the lack of features was limiting ..but the acoustic lunchbox offers 2 independant channels /phantom power/DI out /speaker out /gain ,bass treble and reverb ( not best reverb but usable reverb for live work) per channel and a feedback destroyer all in a tiny box ...

Hi,
Thats a really good idea ,to use the lunchbox as a head !

Did you find the acoustic lunchbox any quieter than the original lunchbox
when playing clean not distorted ........
I've heard that's the case , but thought it unlikely as they've got the same power amp in 'em

**hans halmackenreuter** · 07-06-2012, 07:43 AM

if you live in germany than check out "reußenzehn archtube" Reußenzehn Archtop-Tube

**jorgemg1984** · 07-06-2012, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by Bill C

Evans AH200

Bill that head costs 1158$ plus shipping, VAT and fees... it would cost near a boutique tube head after all that! (even if it sounds great)

You're in UK right? Have you checked Mambo or Amesone?

**monkmiles** · 07-06-2012, 08:52 AM

There's plenty of bass amps, like the GK MB200 and that whole line. I know a bassist who plays out of a tiny Euphonic Audio head: Euphonic Audio

But I agree not many guitar amps like this. Maybe they just haven't sold as well as combos and the manufacturers have to make cuts.

That said, I'm happy with a light combo like my Jazzamp 110...though I just need to find more time to use it more.

**Tom Karol** · 07-06-2012, 09:15 AM

Hmm ... I have a Henriksen JazzAmp112 (32 lbs) that I just just love for Jazz. And I have a ZT Club (22 lbs) that's great for Rock. But most of my live performances are in a Jazz/Pop duo format, and I just don't need much volume. I probably could replace the 112 with a 110, but I'm not ready to do that. The ZT Lunchbox doesn't have the sound I want, but a ZT Lunchbox Acoustic (12 lbs - see a pattern here?) might be just the right amp for 80% of my gigs!

**Franz 1997** · 07-06-2012, 12:49 PM

I have been using Mambo amps recently: the 8" model has full eq, switchable midrange, effects loop and DI out, useable reverb, a real 180w rms output, weighs about 15lb and goes over the shoulder in a small shopping bag. It's hardly bigger than the lunch box overall, but very different tonally and headroom-wise.
The 10" model, which is about 20lb, has the same spec but larger cab, is louder, and could handle almost any gig in my opinion.

**kris** · 07-06-2012, 01:44 PM

I dream about small jazz tube combo...:-)

**hans halmackenreuter** · 07-06-2012, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by kris

I dream about small jazz tube combo...:-)

me too!

something like the rivera clubster 25 with the 10" speaker, but this will have to wait untill I earn some real money

**jorgemg1984** · 07-06-2012, 05:28 PM

Tube-Tone Amplifiers

Check this one guys seems great... Princeton size, 37w, 6l6, 12 speaker.. with a neo should be really light.

**hans halmackenreuter** · 07-06-2012, 05:43 PM

too bad that it's impossible to have closed cabs with combo's, since I love my 2 closed cabs with 10" speakers, but the idea of a small tube combo is realy atracting me. so what ever you choose it seems like you have to compromise