Phil Jones AAD Cub AG-100

[Eddie Lang]

Hello, first time poster here.

I have an AG-100 and the amp is a perfect match with my 1933 round hole L-4 (archtop). Great acoustic sound, like others say, same as the guitar, only louder. Not so great with my 1950s ES-225T (thin body, fully hollow, single cutaway, single P-90 in the middle position). With the ES, the AG-100 is missing something tonewise. I can't quite put my finger on it. Sounds thin? I don't know. All I can say is that the sound is not "satisfying" at all.

Right now, I play the ES-225 though a borrowed Polytone Baby Brute. It sounds perfect. I wish my friend would let me have it for good but he doesn't want to sell it. I have had it for a couple months and can keep it some more, but I need to find a more permanent solution.

Tomorrow or the next day, I am going to try a Henriksen JazzAmp 110 (with reverb). If I like it, I'll order one. If not, I have a lead to buy a one or two year old Mini Brute. That might do, although I have started hearing that they all seem to break down. Anybody else has had similar experience with the Polytones of recent years?

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Some Polytone amps hang in there forever. I just read today that forum member wizard3739's MB IV needs to be replaced, after 31 years of use. And you do see lots of Polytones from the 70's and 80's still being used. On the other hand, there are some lemons out there, so it is hit and miss, but mainly hit. As far as customer service goes, Polytone is bad.

And on the other, other hand, I've heard nothing but good things about Henriksen. There are several Henriksen owners here who all love their amps.

Me? If I wanted more of a classic, dark, warm jazz tone I would go for a recent Polytone (say 90's model or newer). If I wanted a more modern, cleaner and more uncolored tone, I would get the Henriksen.

[Eddie Lang]

Me? If I wanted more of a classic, dark, warm jazz tone I would go for a recent Polytone (say 90's model or newer). If I wanted a more modern, cleaner and more uncolored tone, I would get the Henriksen.

The thing is, I really love what is coming out of the old Baby Brute (from the '70s or '80s probably, it's the one with the diamond shape pattern vinyl). I wish there was another Polytone, an old one, or that the one for sale here also had an 8" speaker. Still, reliability makes me a bit nervous.

I am looking forward to try the JazzAmp. I too hear only good comments about them but I fear that it will miss the vintage Polytone color. Then again, do newer Polytones still have that vintage tone?

Anyway, enough with that! I don't want to hijack this thread away from the original topic, the Phil Jones AG-100.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

When it comes to used Polytones, the 12" speakers are the most common, then the 15", then the 8". If the amp heads are from the same era, the sound sound be similar, just with more bottom end with the bigger speaker, of course.

[mangotango]

Just to revive this one....have just tried a Cub AG-100 using the shop's D'Angelico New Yorker, and found the sound to be unbelieveably good; however, when I looked around the back to check the controls, found that it was already past halfway!! Is it really that quiet?? The shop assistant said that "it isn't a loud 100 - not as loud as the AER Compact 60, for instance ."

NSJ said that he used it with a bassist and drummer - but sometimes I play with a big(gish) band - up to a dozen or so saxes, trumpets, etc. - and I'm bothered that it might not keep up, if it were my only amp. However, I do get currently by with a Cube 60.

Also, how does it take pedals? I do feel like the sound is a little naked without reverb, and occasionally use chorus/delay, so I would need to try all that with my own guitar, but would appreciate any comments.

[Eddie Lang]

Mangotango, I use my CUB AG-100 with my 1934 L-4 (roundhole archtop) with an L.R.Baggs M-i Active pup. Sounds amazing but indeed, it is not a loud amp. I found that using a L.R.Baggs Para DI helped in that respect. As for pedals, I can't say that I like it too much with that amp.

I also have a Henriksen JazzAmp 112 that I use with an ES-225 (thinline). That amp can give you lots of decibels and I find that it takes pedals really well.

If I had only one amp, I would have to go with the JazzAmp, but since I don't have too, I am really happy with my Phil Jones and it is a keeper as far as I am concerned.

[mangotango]

Thanks Eddie Lang. I have already tried the same guitar in the same shop with the Henriksen, and to be honest, was somewhat disappointed for the ££'s involved. Yes it was louder, but didn't produce such an immediately satisfying tone with the solid top New Yorker. Moreover, the Jazzamp 10R is £770 ($1,165), the Cub £319 ($483) over here. Quite a difference.

In fact, for less money, I could get TWO Cubs and run them out of a stereo reverb.....just thinking out loud here .

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I wish the CUB AG-100 were louder, too, but I think that's just because I'm a male guitarist.

One thing I suggest you do with the Phil Jones amps is get someone else to play through them. They seem to "project" to me, so that what you hear standing next to them will be different from what someone in the audience will hear. Another thing about them is that they're clean up to 10, and the volume knob seems to be linear; as I read in a review (and I agree with) some amps seem to get loud very quickly as you turn the volume knob, but they don't keep getting loud like that! It's as if they cheat to make you think they're louder by putting most of the volume in the first third of the knob's travel.

As for using a pair of CUBs, you could put them on the stands they sell and use them like a small PA:

[Bill C]

Thanks Eddie Lang. I have already tried the same guitar in the same shop with the Henriksen, and to be honest, was somewhat disappointed for the ££'s involved. Yes it was louder, but didn't produce such an immediately satisfying tone with the solid top New Yorker. Moreover, the Jazzamp 10R is £770 ($1,165), the Cub £319 ($483) over here. Quite a difference.

In fact, for less money, I could get TWO Cubs and run them out of a stereo reverb.....just thinking out loud here .

I think the Cub is well suited to a carved top guitar, in that it's a very hi-fi amp and suits the more refined sound of the carved guitar. I've owned a 10R and a Cub and preferred the Cub with the carved top. I've switched back to a laminate guitar now and I prefer an amp with more "character" for the laminate.

[Eddie Lang]

I think the Cub is well suited to a carved top guitar, in that it's a very hi-fi amp and suits the more refined sound of the carved guitar. I've owned a 10R and a Cub and preferred the Cub with the carved top. I've switched back to a laminate guitar now and I prefer an amp with more "character" for the laminate.

The CUB/carved and JazzAmp/laminate match ups are consistent with my observations.

As for using a pair of CUBs, you could put them on the stands they sell and use them like a small PA:

GAS, GAS, GAS...

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

The CUB/carved and JazzAmp/laminate match ups are consistent with my observations.

Ditto that. The only SS amp that springs to my mind as being able to "bond" with both carved archtops and laminates is the MiniBrute. But that could be just because it's just a recognized sound that my brain has been imprinted with it.

[mangotango]

Thanks Eddie Lang. I have already tried the same guitar in the same shop with the Henriksen, and to be honest, was somewhat disappointed for the ££'s involved. Yes it was louder, but didn't produce such an immediately satisfying tone with the solid top New Yorker. Moreover, the Jazzamp 10R is £770 ($1,165), the Cub £319 ($483) over here. Quite a difference.

In fact, for less money, I could get TWO Cubs and run them out of a stereo reverb.....just thinking out loud here .

Well, another go around with the above, but this time, instead of using the shop's guitar, I took my own guitar and a spare pair of ears (saxophonist from my band, who knows my playing well enough). Cub, Henriksen, Fishman, Fender Acoustasonic & Blues Junior all got the same runthrough. Winner by some distance was the Henriksen, surprisingly after the first try. Can only conclude that the shop's guitar.....may have needed new strings or something because mine sounded totally different. Rich, vibrant, full.....now I only need to work out how to find the £850 for the 10R-Plus that I used this time.

Back to the Vox and a good sound with a side order of backache .

[Fidelcaster]

I have bought a Cub, and I'm loving it.

I use it with my Yamaha AEX1500 ("Martin Taylor model"), that is a laminate archtop with a floating minihumbucker and a piezoelectric transducer under the bridge, and an "onboard" equalizer/preamp. In my opinion the guitar produces some very nice sounds when the two pickups are blended, from acoustic archtop sounds (50% magnetic / 50% piezolectric), good for comping, to fatter vintage electric/acoustic sounds (75% magnetic / 25% piezoelectric), (loosely) à la Johnny Smith. The very transparent, dynamic and warm sound of the Cub is an ideal match for this guitar.

How do you think a semihollow or solidbody guitar would sound if plugged in the Cub through a stompbox such as a Fulltone Fat Boost, or with such a pedal in the FX loop?

[NSJ]

I absolutely love my Cub with my Gibby Howard Roberts custom. Beautiful! Hand in glove --what a great pairing!

[masterforrest]

I'm trying to decide between ordering a CUB AG-100 or buying a Roland Cube 30X for jazz gigs. Is the smaller CUB as loud as the Roland that is twice it's size?

[Scolohofo]

the CUB AG isn't a loud amp so iguess it won't be as loud as the roland.To me the cub is about good tone a little louder than the practice level.

[Pierrot]

The CUB is a great little amp. It's relatively OK with archtops (humbuckers, P90), but IMO it really shines with piezo systems. MUCH more volume, and the treble pot becomes meaningful.
I think electric guitar amps have their treble eq centered at around 2---5 KHz, while acoustic guitar amps (and this is the first purpose for the CUB) get their treble eq at much higher frequencies, i.e 8----10KHz, in order to be able to interfere in the "sibilance" proper of acoustic guitars.
In the same way, impedance and signal levels differ from humbuckers to piezo...hence the difference in volume.

I own one CUB, and also 2 different Polytones, a pair of Roland Cube 60 and a Roland AC60, and definitively both the AC60 and the CUB work better with my Eastman er0e (Piezo) and the other amps are the ideal complement to my Jaen jamaica or my Ibanez GB15 (Humbucker).

Anyway, personal experiences are just that, personal experiences.

[tejastani]

I think a higher input signal helps. I use an ART Tube MP (cheap) to boost the input and the amp is quite a bit louder. Still clean and responsive. I have a Holy Grail Nano pedal, but reverb sort of squashes the tone of the P90 -ish single coil of my Wechter.

[kris]

small amp ...not good with loud drummer!!!

[coolvinny]

I recently bought the AG-100. I've used it with my jazz tele in the showroom and at a friend's place, at home with my Holst laminate, and in a big band rehearsal with the Holst. I've only had it for about a week.

I think it sounds great and it is certainly a high-quality product. It is dead quiet when it is on, as opposed to my ZT Lunchbox which makes an annoying hiss (it's annoying when it's otherwise quiet around you...I never notice it when playing with others).

At loud volumes with my Holst, I prefer the ZT. It cuts through better and seems to give a more immediate response. Also, it seems like the volume output of the Cub is extremely sensitive to the volume knob on the guitar...just moving it a bit on the guitar can result in the the Cub being way too quiet...which is a bit annoying when switching from comping to soloing. I also found that I had to play the Holst a bit more like an acoustic instrument when playing through the Cub...i.e. I had to go for volume when I wanted it by using a stronger pick attack. The ZT is more forgiving.

Oops, forgot to mention that I also used the Cub with my carved archtop McKerrihan which has a simple PUTW undersaddle pickup (no preamp) - it really sings through the Cub, whereas it sounds pretty lousy through the ZT.

I was originally in the market for an amp even smaller than the ZT to use at home, or alternatively to get something "better" than the ZT and then to permanently keep the ZT at home - however the Cub is going to be my home amp and the ZT the one I keep in my car. The ZT is louder and smaller, and since when I play with others there will always be a bassist, the better bass response of the Cub is not that relevant for jamming. I still like the Cub though and I will use it occasionally for jams, but not if there is a drummer. Cool product. Not a "do it all" amp but it is very good at what it does. I think between the Cub and my ZT Lunchbox, I've got all my bases covered (and no longer have to plug/unplug/etc my amp at home when I switch from practicing to jamming...which was getting annoying). I will probably pick up the $50 stand so that I can elevate the Cub, as eventually I would like to do some solo guitar "gigs" (I use that term extremely loosely since I can't fathom anybody paying to hear me for quite a few more years!) and in that scenario I'd choose the Cub since it sounds fuller and would bring out my bass lines much better.

[jazzman22]

thanks for the feedback my friend.i was considering the ag-100. but now not wuite as much.do you think the cub 2 ag 150 might be more gig friendly?mabye 200 seaters,outside gigs,clubs?

[jorgemg1984]

Has anyone here compared the volume of the AG-100 with a Roland AC-60? I never considered the Ag-100 because it has no reverb but since I am getting an EQD Dispatch Master pedal for small gigs it's solved.

I have the Roland for small gigs / jams (sometimes with drummers) but if sold it used and got an AG-100 I would not loose much money and I would get a much smaller and lighter amp... is it really unusable with a drummer?

[coolvinny]

Well...I wouldn't be so quick to write off the Cub based on my limited feedback. I played it in a big band rehearsal on virtually no sleep, with an extremely heavy-handed drummer (really more of a rocker), next to an electric piano playing through an old school Roland JC with I think 4 x 10" speakers, and it was pretty much my first time using it with my Holst and I did not play with the EQ at all.

I will use it more over the coming weeks and report back. However, it does seem to me that the amp was a bit more 'predictable' when using my Buscarino jazz tele, which sounded amazing through this amp (but when I tried my friend's USA Fender Tele through it, it did not sound nearly as good...different pups, strings and guitar construction all add up). The OP above seemed fine using it with a jazz drummer in a smallish space.

Also, with my ZT I usually roll back the tone on the amp and (a lot) on the guitar, however with the CUB I have so far left the EQ flat and have my guitar tone almost all the way open and it still sounds great. The Cub has a great sound, no doubt about it. It's simply a volume question and a matter of dialing in the right EQ for each guitar.

[jorgemg1984]

Thanks. I am finishing my gear - I know have some trolleys to cary things around and the PJ would fit one of the trolleys so I really think I am getting one. I will take one of my jazz heads and a light cab when more volume is nedded.

If anyone else has opinions on how this amps behaves with drummers don't hesitate

[kris]

You will feel not comfortable with this amp on stage.
It is good for home paractise and recordings.
It produce great sound with arch-top for studio recordings.Exelent small speakers!