Henriksen JazzAmp 110 vs 112

**Eddie Lang** · 02-28-2010, 02:40 PM

I got a Henriksen 112 a couple weeks ago, the one without reverb. When I got home and checked something on their website, I noticed that the 12 now had reverb, so I called the store where I got it and told them that I might prefer with reverb. Anyway, after discussion about the 10 and 12, it was decided between them and me that they would order a JazzAmp 10 and if I preferred it, I could do the switch. So, it's really all up to me.

The owner of the store left a message yesterday saying the 10 was in and I could try it whenever I want.

Here is the question now. What should I do? I kinda like the 112 so I am not sure whether I want a 10 anymore, especially since the 12 can also handle a bass (and I play bass, oh, about once or twice a year -- and I already have a Behringer BX108 Thunderbird 15W combo). I know I will try it and compare them myself, but I'd like to get the opinion of people here who know these two amps. Any pros and cons, other that the more favorable weight of the 10?

Thank you.

**iim7V7IM7** · 02-28-2010, 03:07 PM

An open E string is 82.4 Hz so either of the speakers with adequately produce ample bass. The 12" will produce doun to the mid-40s and the 10" to the mid 50s (Hz). The 12" will be more efficient and louder. So the 12" will have more headroom for a given wattage. Go try the amp and see for yourself. Easiest and best way to make a decision.

Good luck

**Tom Karol** · 02-28-2010, 07:33 PM

I have a JazzAmp 112 (with reverb) and a Tweetey (outboard tweeter). I never tried the 110, but I knew I preferred a 12" speaker. The 112 does sound good with a bass as well (and handles it with ease). But, I guess you'll have to try both to decide for yourself. Sorry, that's the best I can do for you.

**Tom Karol** · 02-28-2010, 09:36 PM

OK, go here: https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guita...henriksen.html

**Eddie Lang** · 03-01-2010, 06:26 PM

Thanks for the link, Tom.

I played the two amps side by side for an hour and a half today. It was a tough call but I decided to stay with the 112 w/out reverb instead of the 10 w/ reverb. It was not a blind test, so it might be a placebo effect, but the 12 sounded fuller to me.

I'll try to take an ElectroHarmonix Holy Grail for a spin later this week. I might actually prefer it to the reverb function in the JazzAmp 10 anyway. (Tom, you are right in the other thread: the reverb on the Henriksen is fine up to 9 or maybe even 10, but not beyond that point.)

**Jake Hanlon** · 03-01-2010, 11:23 PM

I have the 112 ER with the Reverb

This is perhaps the worst reverb on any amplifier I've owned. But also the best amp I've owned. I don't use the reverb, I use a separate box for verb.

**NSJ** · 03-01-2010, 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by Jake Hanlon

I have the 112 ER with the Reverb

This is perhaps the worst reverb on any amplifier I've owned. But also the best amp I've owned. I don't use the reverb, I use a separate box for verb.

Interesting-squares with my experience and what I've heard elsewhere. Both your guitars, from what you have said in the past, are laminates. Jim Hall swears by the amp and plays a plywood laminate. I bought mine from a guy on CL who said he didn't really work well with his L5, so that's why he was selling it. It works wonderfully with my laminates--a full, complex, beautiful, clean, robust honest/transparent sound. Henriksen sent one to my guitar teacher, asking for his input. My teacher is a long time Polytone user, whose main guitars are all solid tonewood guitars--all floating pickups. He still prefers his Polytone.

**Eddie Lang** · 03-02-2010, 01:14 AM

Originally Posted by NSJ

Interesting-squares with my experience and what I've heard elsewhere. Both your guitars, from what you have said in the past, are laminates. Jim Hall swears by the amp and plays a plywood laminate. I bought mine from a guy on CL who said he didn't really work well with his L5, so that's why he was selling it. It works wonderfully with my laminates--a full, complex, beautiful, clean, robust honest/transparent sound. Henriksen sent one to my guitar teacher, asking for his input. My teacher is a long time Polytone user, whose main guitars are all solid tonewood guitars--all floating pickups. He still prefers his Polytone.

I bought my Henriksen to go with my ES-225 (laminate), but I'll try to find some time in the next couple days to play with my (roundhole archtop) L-4 (solid) which I usually play through a Phil Jones Pure Sound CUB AG-100 and with a L.R. Baggs M1 Active pup.

I have played both these guitars through a (borrowed) vintage Polytone Baby Brute for a while and they both sounded fine with it. I think I prefer the ES-225 through the JazzAmp over the BB even though I really LOVED the BB a lot.

**Harleyboy** · 12-14-2010, 05:18 PM

I really like my 112 and Sadowski Jimmie Bruno combination, but my Gibson 330L and the 112 is a match made in heaven.

I tried the 110 with the Sadowski, nice but not as full as the 112 no matter how I set it.

**mangotango** · 12-15-2010, 09:54 AM

Perceived wisdom seems to be that the JazzAmp best suits a laminated guitar and sounds better with a 12" speaker that a 10.

However, I am more than happy with my D'Angelico NYL-5 (pressed spruce top) through my reverbless Jazzamp 10. I add outboard reverb from an old Alesis Microverb (see? Don't ever throw away anything unless you have no storage spage at all!) and I am very pleased with the sound, even more so since changing back to TI Benson strings. I tried the same guitar through a Polytone with 12" once (borrowed one, for a lesson with Jonathan Kreisberg - just thought I'd mention that

) and prefer the sound that I have now by far.

Mind you, I'm not (necessarily) a real traditionalist - I use effects (chorus, wah, POG octaver) with the modern quartet I'm in, though when playing with the big band I don't even use reverb nowadays.

And for those who say that it's a waste to cover up the natural sound of that sort of guitar with all that junk -

. This guitar covers a lot of bases, and the amp does the business for all of my jazz gigs.

**gkorm** · 12-19-2010, 10:51 PM

I ended up ordering a used 112 (no reverb). This is the older model with a cooling fan. I hadn't thought about the effect of the fan's noise on quieter gigs. Hope it works out. I will inquire if there is a way to fix/upgrade the older model to work without the fan. Not holding my breath on that though. Wish me luck! Maybe I will like it fine as is. I did save a good bit (at least to far).

**Eddie Lang** · 12-19-2010, 11:35 PM

gkorm, the fan is very present, especially when I am not playing, but I forget about it as soon as I start playing, even at living room levels (really quiet), so it's not that bad IMHO.

**gkorm** · 12-22-2010, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by Eddie Lang

gkorm, the fan is very present, especially when I am not playing, but I forget about it as soon as I start playing, even at living room levels (really quiet), so it's not that bad IMHO.

Thanks Eddie,

Got my used 112 yesterday. For my own taste, I found the fan way too noisy. However, though it will end up bringing the cost up much closer to a new unit, I am going to send this used 112 to Henriksen for a replacement chassis ($200) that will have some kind of heat sink instead of a fan. The amp will end up being like the current model -- though I forgot to ask if the chassis includes the new reverb (I actually don't plan to use their reverb even if it is included). I can tell from my test run, even though I didn't like the fan, this will be a wonderful amp for me.

... one possibility though, if someone in the NY area wanted to trade for the 110, I might consider it. I imagine I would be trading the deeper bass response for a slightly more portable amp. Just a thought, not entirely sure I would want to do it.

**Tom Karol** · 12-22-2010, 11:17 AM

I would suggest staying with the 112 doing the replacement chassis thing over trading for the 110. If you do get reverb in the upgrade, it's OK set at 9:00 O'Clock for Jazz but that's about it.

**gkorm** · 12-22-2010, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Tom Karol

I would suggest staying with the 112 doing the replacement chassis thing over trading for the 110. If you do get reverb in the upgrade, it's OK set at 9:00 O'Clock for Jazz but that's about it.

Thanks Tom!

I did order an Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano. Hope that will do the trick. Acutally the amp did sound fine without reverb, though I normally like to dial in a bit. The upgrade is needed only because I value the silence during pauses in the music (indeed I want silence as part of the music).

**Tom Karol** · 10-20-2012, 06:13 PM

I had a chance to compare the two extensively in my own living room this afternoon. The difference is pretty much exactly as Henriksen describes it on their website. They're both good!

**monkmiles** · 10-20-2012, 09:32 PM

They are both great jazz amps! Tom and I can both testify as we got to try them next to each today. The Henriksen writeup is right on.

**AlsoRan** · 10-20-2012, 09:34 PM

I had a chance to listen to Clint Strong and another fellow playing Jazz songs at the Arlington Guitar Show today. Both of them had Henriksen Jazz Amps, one slightly larger than the other and both were single speaker.

I was very impressed with the "bell-like," chimey tone of the highs and the warmth of the lows ( One player always kept a walking bass, rhythm comp going while the other would solo). But of course, a large part of tone is in the player.

I am sure I heard a little reverb in both amps. I am going to check out your link Tom. I have read others complain about these amps on the forum but they sounded great to me in these players hands!

**AlsoRan** · 10-20-2012, 10:02 PM

Clint from the Dallas 2012 International Guitar Festival. It looks like he was using that Henriksen on this one as well.

**mikeSF** · 10-21-2012, 10:46 PM

Some years ago, Bud sent me both combos to try side by side, so I had an opportunity to really do some critical comparisons of both amps. As I play 7 string, I ended up keeping the Jazzamp 12 for the better response in the bottom few notes. It is noticeable vs the 10" model. However, as the mids and highs are extremely comparable between the two amps, if you are playing 6 string, I highly recommend the 10 for the better portability. I also have the prototype of the Tweetey which I use most of the time...I suppose I should upgrade to the ER model one of these days. Peter is a real stand up guy...and I still miss wonderful Bud Henriksen.

**Tom Karol** · 10-22-2012, 09:24 AM

Mike, I agree with you to some extent, but with some variance:

Peter Henriksen is great to deal with directly.

Again, the description on the new website is spot on.

I've had a 112 for 3 years. I used to have a Tweetey but sold it when I sold my A/E hybrid guitar. I just got the 110 on Saturday. Here's my initial comparative assessment:

My 6-string fully hollow archtop (Eastman AR403CE with roundwound 12's) sounds significantly better with the 112 - just gorgeous really - it makes 12's sound like 13's! However, my semi-hollow (Crafter SEG480, a 335 clone, with roundwound 11's plain 3rd) sounds somewhat better with the 110 - slightly more compressed and focused as the new website notes. My 'Tele' (Hamer T-51 with roundwound 11's plain 3rd and Bill Lawrence pickups) sounds jazzier with the 112, but noticeably better for light rock styles (e.g., supporting a singer/songwriter) with the 110.

So yeah, I'm keeping both, but if I could only have one it would be the 112.

**mikeSF** · 10-22-2012, 04:59 PM

that's great info Tom. I have 2 or 3 amps in my teaching studio where i have rock and blues students as well. Sometimes when a student plugs an overdrive pedal into my Henriksen, I do a doubletake on how well that amp can do pedals. Don't tell peter i am using his amp that way, haha. It stays clean when I play through it.

**AlsoRan** · 10-22-2012, 08:57 PM

If I may, one more video.

This video did a good job of capturing what I heard live. Good to know I have a Henrikson dealer on 40 minutes or so away in Carrollton, Texas.

**Tom Karol** · 11-18-2012, 10:24 AM

I ordered an Eminence Rajin Cajun to replace the Beta 10A in my new/used JazzAmp 110. (The 112 will stay stock.) This is the same speaker Henriksen uses in the BluesAmp 110, which is otherwise identical to the 'JazzAmp' version. It's 3 db more efficient and has a more aggressive upper-midrange. I suspect (hope) that it will make the amp not better or worse but different for Jazz and more effective for pop/rock-oriented styles. Will report when installed and broken in.

**Jake Hanlon** · 11-18-2012, 11:18 AM

been using the 112ER fir 4 years now, probably the best piece of gear i've bought with my own money and easily the best bang for buck.

I keep saying i'm going to buy a second one, I should just do that.