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I'm in the market for a new jazz amp because I'm not a fan of my fender twin's sound any more. I can't decide between these 2 amps, I wondering what your suggestions would be. I play a 52' gibson es 150 if that helps. I also play a wide range of gigs from small jazz combo's and musicals.
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07-25-2012 08:06 PM
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I have a Wholetone. IMO, it's a great jazz amp, but do be advised that it's pretty much a one trick pony, apparently being designed and built specifically as a *jazz* amp. That being said, it does that one trick very well, IMO, but I wouldn't want it to be my only amp. It's very clean, no matter however loud, and it also doesn't seem to like pedals in front at all. Personally, I would probably be looking for something more versatile when playing in a musical, for instance. Of course, YMMV.
Originally Posted by maxmulloes
There have been some grumblings here about the amp, a few guys apparently not liking them so much, and, in all honesty, the gain and volume knobs do not behave predictably so I get their possible frustration. Once you get it, though, it's fine. Really fine, IMHO. For the record, the other amps I use for jazz, depending on usage, are a Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight, a Cube 30, an AI Corus+, and a Tone King Meteor tube amp. These all sound rather different, but in its own way, I certainly enjoy playing through the Wholetone—a lot.
I hope this helps. Besides this info, I have no experience with the ZT amp.
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Thank you for the reply, it sounds like a great amp. I think I'm leaning more towards the zt club, but hopefully someone gives me some input on the amp before I make my decision. I can't really test either out because no stores have either of them in my area.
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I second the Wholetone. My Imperial sounds fantastic (to my ears) though it, and it's got enough power for a good-sized room. I keep everything pretty much straight up and add a touch of reverb and it sounds great! It has a chorus (or something) that is pretty much meh (I don't use it). I do agree that it's only for jazz (but I do play my upright bass through it, it's 80 pounds lighter than my B-15 - sounds really good for jazz bass, too). I've never regretted the purchase and I'm not jonesin' for another amp.
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I really only play jazz anyways...how much is an imperial?
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A Peerless Imperial runs about 2K new, less used if you can find them. There's a thread running about the Imperials now, I believe 2bornot2bop started it. He seems to have gotten a great deal on an Imperial and he seems to be really enjoying it.
If you only play jazz, I think your 150 would sound great through the Wholetone, but again, it's just my opinion. I think the Wholetone is a sleeper and ooglybong is correct in that the vol/gain is a bit unusual and a lot of folks don't get it right off and believe that it has no power. Or maybe because it's Ibanez that it doesn't get a lot of love. I can tell you that pretty much everyone I've talked with who owns one or actually has played through one thinks it's a hell of a deal for a $400 solid state amp.
Whatever you purchase, try to find a retailer that will let you return it in a week or so if you are unhappy.
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The WT80 sounded very artificial to my ears...
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Yeah, the Wholetone is a GREAT deal for the money. (IMHO, I'd say it's worth quite a bit more actually.) FWIW, I waited for a 15%-off sale at MF and picked mine up for about $325 total online. No one—I mean no one—stocks these amps locally (but they'll be "happy to order one for you"). Stock a JAZZ amp?! Ha. Of course, mine came with MF's 45-day return policy, so that's the way I had to go, but at least I felt safe in exploring the amp. However, after a little while playing it (and figuring out how to dial it in), there was no way that the WT was going back. Originally Posted by ah.clem
I'd also keep in mind that it presents (to my ears, that is) a somewhat, um, almost "idealized" solid-state tone (jorgemg terms it "artificial"), certainly not quite the same response I get from, say, my Tone King tube combo.
But I would not be expecting (or necessarily wanting) that very same tube quality in a SS amp (right?). Also, according to the Ibanez site, there's some kind of limiting being added in somehow, hence it's remarkably even attack (IMO), a quality I really do enjoy exploring. (Really, though, wouldn't a solid-state Polytone sound odd at first to a Deluxe or Twin Reverb tube user?) And, then again, the Wholetone sounds different from my Jazzmaster Ultralight, either of which sound really different from the AI Corus+. Eh, in the end, I tend to play through whichever amp, depending on the application or my mood.
"Or maybe because it's Ibanez that it doesn't get a lot of love." HA! Can any good come out of Ibanez?
(Just kidding, of course.)
Larry
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Well it seems I need to be more specific
I didn't expected the WT to sound like a Twin - I expected it to sound in the Polytone area. I have a jazzmaster ultralight and an henriksen head - I've had Peavey Bandits, Fender M80, Henriksen combo and tried lots of other ss stuff in the past. I've also tried old and new Polytones.
So given this... I think the amp is very artificial. I can't think of a better word... It sounds like what non-jazzers think jazz should sound like - I tested it for 1 hour in a big and empty music store with my archtop. It also does not like overdrive pedals which is weird - all my ss amps sounded fine with a TS or a RAT.
Of course this is my opinion and lots of people think differently. I also think the same about Roland Cubes and they get excellent reviews here all the time
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Hmmm... interesting. <chuckle> Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Sorry, I didn't mean to offend anyone. Just my opinion...
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How do they compare volume-wise? If I brought one to a jam and you brought the other who is going to win the volume shootout?
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The guy with the Marshall .......
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I slit his speaker cones! Originally Posted by pingu
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No worries, I was just playin'. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Good to know Originally Posted by ah.clem
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I have a ZT Club. It's a good but not great Jazz amp. I use my Henriksen JazzAmp 112 with my archtop for Jazz and my ZT Club with my Tele and a Carl Martin Quattro for Rock. I brought the ZT Club to a Jazz Duo gig once, and my horn-player partner who was used to hearing me play through the Henriksen said of the Club, "That one sounds good, but the other one sounded sweeter."
Having said all that, the ZT Club is amazingly powerful (i.e., loud) for its size and weight.
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I'm going to try the zt club since I got one for a steel at $300, thank you guys for all the help. I play a strat with a cc pickup too so it might end up working for both of my guitars in the end. Thank you for all the help
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Sorry for hijacking the thread, I am quite in the search for a nice jazz amp, something smaller than my Twin.
I love warm tone, not punchy or crystal like sound. What would be the best? Despite what the OP mentioned.Last edited by JPMike; 07-26-2012 at 08:15 PM.
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Peerless is a brand of archtop, I thought the same thing when I read that post too lol I tried to look it up and everything
Last edited by maxmulloes; 07-26-2012 at 08:22 PM.
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Haha, I know, cause I own a Peerless. Originally Posted by maxmulloes
And I was like, "does peerless makes amps too?".
I edited my post, cause it was too stupid to let it as it is.
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henriksens seem to be some of the best from what I heard, but they are pretty expensive
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Henriksens have a much more natural sound than a WT (imo). But still don't like the eq, stock speaker and the reverb. All fixable with external pedals and a new speaker but with huge final price... with all that is an awesome amp (I have an head and all the tools I mentioned).
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Players have said their ZT Lunchboxes get surprisingly hot. How about the Club?
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It gets fairly warm - I usually turn it off between sets - but not as hot as I recall the Lunchbox getting when I tested it. The back plate seem to act as a heat sink of sorts.
Max: make sure you get it 6-12 inches off the floor when you test it. (I always put it on an upside-down plastic milk crate.)
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