So I Tried a Mambo Amp

**Franz 1997** · 02-02-2013, 05:00 AM

>>I you can not say Mambo or AER is the best.>>

I'm not saying that, Kris. I'm saying that the AER is designed primarily as an acoustic amp, and the Mambo as an electric jazz guitar amp, like an improved polytone. They are all good amps for different purposes, and we are discussing small differences here., and personal taste of course.

Yes, the Mambo head is very interesting. I have one.

Chris

**kris** · 02-02-2013, 05:25 AM

Originally Posted by Franz 1997

>>I you can not say Mambo or AER is the best.>>

I'm not saying that, Kris. I'm saying that the AER is designed primarily as an acoustic amp, and the Mambo as an electric jazz guitar amp, like an improved polytone. They are all good amps for different purposes, and we are discussing small differences here., and personal taste of course.

Yes, the Mambo head is very interesting. I have one.

Chris

Chris,
Nice...I am interesting in Mambo head.is it quiet head? good for studio recordings?
jazzingly
Kris

**konstantine** · 02-02-2013, 06:11 AM

has anyone tried the Mambo with a nylon string classical guitar?

**Franz 1997** · 02-02-2013, 07:00 AM

Kris
The Mambo head makes almost NO noise. I did some recordings with a band in November with the head and a tiny 8" cabinet and it sounds very big on tape. BUT I am using a special ""low power"" head that Jon built for me ( 180W not 300W

) - this is because I only use one 8 ohm cab, and 180W is more than enough for me!!

Jorge has the regular 300W head; maybe he will comment. The 300w can be used with 2 cabs, or maybe more.

This head is the smallest and lightest head amp I have ever seen.
Chris

**jorgemg1984** · 02-02-2013, 09:32 AM

The mambo head is great and it's exactly the same amp as the mambo combo except it has different power specs... Mine has a mod to allow it to connect to most cabs. So if you like the combo you'll like the head unless you connect it to a crappy cab I guess... I never tried the usual cab suspects like Redstone or RE but Jon's cabs are excellent and have much more dispersion than Henriksen or Polytone's cabs for example (or even the jazzmaster ultralight cab). I never saw such a good sound spread from such a tiny cab... I use two small 10 wedge cabs and the sound is very 3D like. It's very quiet and if you ask for the "reverb mods" you will be able to record with no pedals probably (not me but I love pedals).

About the AER comparison when you say you can't say which is best... well I can. And you're free to disagree

They are intended for different things but in my opinion the AER is one of the most overrated and expensive pieces of gear I tried. Some years ago I was looking for a good acoustic combo to match my handmade steel acoustic because I was gigging a lot with that kind of sound and did extensive tests with several AER models and I could get a huge discount on street price but still... I was never able to find what's so unique about them that makes them cost what they cost. Fishman amps sound better and are much cheaper - got a Loudboz Performer back then and never looked back. The Mambo is really under priced considering how good it is, build quality and Jon's ability to mod the amp to your taste... If you like that old Polytone sound this is just an improved more modern version. If you don't... then it's not for you. In my personal case I was never able to get stellar sounds with acoustic amps for archtops (although usable in some cases, not the AER actually, I much prefer a Roland AC amp to use with an archtop than an AER) so I tend to go for Polytone or Fender type amps. The Mambo fills the Polytone quest and the Henriksen with improved reverb and a Barb EQ will fill the Fender quest hopefully.

**jorgemg1984** · 02-02-2013, 06:40 PM

Here it goes, first three songs

First one is a standard, second one a Jobim tune (originally called Zingaro than renamed that way becausfe of Chico's lyrics) and last one a Sassetti's tune (excellent pianist and composer from Portugal who died last year). First two tunes are slightly arranged by me with some new chords compared to the originals. Hope you like them.

PS - I am using mambo head and mambo two wedge cabs. My amp has some mods that are documented in this thread. I am using it flat with no reverb and running some pedals with guitar tone and volume on 10: volume pedal to make a small cut, dispatch master reverb and delay and para driver di to boost and eq (small cut on treble, bass and 800hz mids). The mambo's eq works very well but sometimes it's much more practical to eq everything from the pedalboard.

Recorded with a Zoom H2 and then worked with Levelator software. Not the best way to record, not the best room but better than nothing I guess. This recorder always adds lack of clarity to the bass that was not present in the amp / room. I am doing an home reording of "an arragement of "Prelude to a Kiss" Monday. Just the amp with reverb and the two cabs.

**konstantine** · 02-03-2013, 11:47 AM

You sound great, do you care to say what guitar you're using?

lookind forward for your solo "prelude".

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

Here it goes, first three songs

First one is a standard, second one a Jobim tune (originally called Zingaro than renamed that way becausfe of Chico's lyrics) and last one a Sassetti's tune (excellent pianist and composer from Portugal who died last year). First two tunes are slightly arranged by me with some new chords compared to the originals. Hope you like them.

PS - I am using mambo head and mambo two wedge cabs. My amp has some mods that are documented in this thread. I am using it flat with no reverb and running some pedals with guitar tone and volume on 10: volume pedal to make a small cut, dispatch master reverb and delay and para driver di to boost and eq (small cut on treble, bass and 800hz mids). The mambo's eq works very well but sometimes it's much more practical to eq everything from the pedalboard.

Recorded with a Zoom H2 and then worked with Levelator software. Not the best way to record, not the best room but better than nothing I guess. This recorder always adds lack of clarity to the bass that was not present in the amp / room. I am doing an home reording of "an arragement of "Prelude to a Kiss" Monday. Just the amp with reverb and the two cabs.

**jorgemg1984** · 02-03-2013, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by konstantine

You sound great, do you care to say what guitar you're using?

lookind forward for your solo "prelude".

Thanks. I forgot to mention that! Heavily modded 1965 Guild X-500 with: Bare Knucles Stormy Mondays, Bare Knuckles electronics, ebony tailpiece and bridge, John Pearse 012 jazz rounds with 014 and 018 on the first two strings and Sommer Grindycop Beast cables for leads and Spirit XXL for patches (for those who care about this stuff). I think this is my whole rig...

I hope to record Prelude tomorrow. It's a hard arrangement done by myself, each A has different chords / voicings so... I am not sure I can record it in one take

**benjazzman82** · 02-04-2013, 02:45 PM

Today I had a Mambo 8 wedge arrive on trial.
To keep this short and sweet, I am that impressed I am selling all my other amps.
They are a roland cube 40 xl, sessionette 75 and an ibanez wt80.

This thing is perfect. The tone is usable whatever its set at. Both my eastmans sounde awsome with a flat eq. The bass reaponse for such a small unit is outstanding. I will be ordering the 10 wedge though. This amp will suit all my needs and more.

Thanks for ending my amp GAS

Ben

**coolvinny** · 02-04-2013, 07:55 PM

I just went on a 2-day trip and I took my Mambo 8 Wedge as my "travel amp"...it felt odd taking my no. 1 amp as my "travel amp" but it's really not that much bigger than my ZT Lunchbox, and sounds much better. I had a headphone mod installed and it is fantastic - so much better than any headphone-out of any amp I've ever tried, including the Line6 Pods (yuck! what a POS that was) etc.

**floatingpickup** · 02-04-2013, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by coolvinny

I just went on a 2-day trip and I took my Mambo 8 Wedge as my "travel amp"...it felt odd taking my no. 1 amp as my "travel amp" but it's really not that much bigger than my ZT Lunchbox, and sounds much better. I had a headphone mod installed and it is fantastic - so much better than any headphone-out of any amp I've ever tried, including the Line6 Pods (yuck! what a POS that was) etc.

Are Mambo amps available in Canada?
Keith

**oldane** · 02-05-2013, 02:28 AM

Originally Posted by floatingpickup

Are Mambo amps available in Canada?
Keith

So far they can only be ordered directly from the maker Jon Shaw (who is in UK).

**add4** · 02-05-2013, 02:30 AM

i'm curious about these amps : on the website, it seems they have the same bright/normal/dark switch as the polytones have. it's the same philosophy.
Could they be well built polyclones?

**jorgemg1984** · 02-05-2013, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by add4

i'm curious about these amps : on the website, it seems they have the same bright/normal/dark switch as the polytones have. it's the same philosophy.
Could they be well built polyclones?

They are reminiscent of the old pre sonic-circuit Polytones but smaller, lighter, louder, well built, with better reverb and a little more open / clear sound.

**floatingpickup** · 02-05-2013, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by oldane

So far they can only be ordered directly from the maker Jon Shaw (who is in UK).

Hmmm, that's what I thought. CoolVinny posted that he has one and I thought CoolVinny was a fellow Canadian. If so, what about the voltage?
Keith

**jonmambo** · 02-05-2013, 03:29 PM

Hi,

Yes I just sent one to Vancouver a couple of weeks ago.

The amp is designed for any mains voltage / frequency. There's a selector on the back panel to switch between US/Canada mains voltage and European/rest of the world etc.

**jorgemg1984** · 02-05-2013, 09:54 PM

First five songs are with the mambo - I have a head with several mods with two wedge cabs. First one is an arrangement of a standard with a lot of reharms; Second one is just free playing so people can check out the sound trough all the guitar; (these two are recorded at home with amp's reverb, guitar volume on 8, tone on 10, bass and treble at 25% and mids at 75%);

Third song is a trio version of a standard with some reharms too; Fourth song is a Jobim tune played in a quartet; Fifth song is also in quartet, composed by a famous pianist here who died last year, Bernardo Sassetti (check him out please); (these three songs are recorded with guitar's tone and volume on 10, a volume pedal to cut the sound a little, dispatch master eq and reverb, para di small cut on bass, treble and mids 800hz, amp flat with no reverb).

All songs recorded with a 60s Guild X-500 with Stormy Monday PAFs, Bare Knuckles electronics, ebony tailpiece and bridge, 012 John Pearse Rounds with 014 and o18 on the top strings. Exception being number two, recorded with a Godin Kingpin with Half-Note P90, Bare Knuckles eletronics, ebony bridge, same strings as above.

Recordings done with a Zoom H2 and then worked out with Levelator. Not perfect but I hope the sound of the amp comes trough. The solo recordings are not perfect musically but it's not my expertise solo playing.

Hope you enjoy them,

**Philco** · 02-05-2013, 11:06 PM

Thanks for posting Jorgemg.
What I like about the sound is that there is no one frequency jumping out. Everything is even.
No boomy bass or nasal mids.
Plus there is a nice "roundness" to the higher single notes.....or depth. That could be the Guild though.

Nice clean playing man!
I am about to order a Mambo Head. Even with the international shipping the price is reasonable.
Jon should put you on commission!

Thanks for your efforts. I could never find a Polytone in my country so it's great to find out about a solid state amp with similar and arguably better attributes.

**jorgemg1984** · 02-06-2013, 06:08 AM

Hi Phil!

I agree - the sound is very even on the whole fretboard, I did the free impro clip just to show that. Of course the guitars are also very well taken care off, my luthier is out of this world.

That roundness of the higher strings and the ability to completely kill the boomy sound of archtops was what I was looking for in any "jazz amp" preamp and the mambo delivers it perfectly. The perfect sound of the high strings is what I love the most on this amps because I hate having a piercing sound there and most amps seem to be voiced to deliver that. It's not just the Guild, the Godin retains the same sweetness.

I am really glad so many people are enjoying the amp and ordering from Jon, he truly deserves it. Not only he created an excellent amp he's also a really nice guy. Yes, even with shipping it ends up being a very well priced amp - that's one of the things about Jon, he's charging very reasonable prices considering how good the amp is.

I had the same problem, always liked that old Polys sound but was never able to find something that could replicate it and be reliable. Now I have

If you want any info on the mods I asked don't hesitate, I truly recommend the reverb mod.

**benjazzman82** · 02-06-2013, 06:15 AM

Thanks JorgemG

Great clips and you sure do capture the tonal variety from the aqmp. I reqaly do appreciate your style of playing aswell very melodic and also the chord subs are fab.

Here is a short clip of an old standard recorded with a bassist friend of mine and a basic beat to hold us in. Recorded on a mobile phone so not great but its a recording of a Mambo in action so maybe it fits on this page.

What size Mambo did you get?

Ben

**jorgemg1984** · 02-06-2013, 06:50 AM

Hi Ben! Thanks for your kind words. Very nice clip you have there too, I am a sucker for Bossa. Your sound is quite more acoustic than mine any specific settings? Maybe it's just the guitar.

I am using the head with some mods and two wedge 10 cabs.

**benjazzman82** · 02-06-2013, 08:08 AM

The eq was set flat with volume and tone on 1/3rd. The guitar is a 15ich Eastman AR805ce. Its got a very loud accoustic quality even when plugfed in. The AR403 ce sounds more electric.

I am interested in the Mambo 10 wedge but withmaybe a 2x10 cab aswell. How much were your cabs if you dont mind me asking?

**jorgemg1984** · 02-06-2013, 08:36 AM

Yeah it does sound very acoustic! I have to try an Eastman one day soon...

The 2x10 setup is working incredibly for me. It's the perfect setup... they fit both in my trolley but then is gigs they sound huge because of Jon's design and the "stereo" effect. The perfect compromise between size and sound so far. Jon charged me 120£ for each cab (unloaded).

**benjazzman82** · 02-06-2013, 11:18 AM

and then its just up to you to select the right speakers yeah? I am very tempted to go down the same route.

Thanks very much J.

**jorgemg1984** · 02-06-2013, 11:37 AM

I used the speaker Jon uses, the Beta 10, I asked mine unloaded because I can buy the speakers at the same price Jon does but this way shipping was a little lower.

I would love to find some EVM-10L speakers to put in here, but they are very rare. With this power specs you're pretty mich limited to Beta speakers... they sound very good in Jon's amps though.