The Mambo 10 Amp

**rkwestcoast** · 03-19-2013, 05:16 PM

Just back from work and my Mambo 10" wedge amp has arrived – initial impressions are all really positive – the sound has the depth, richness and clarity I was looking for!!!

I’ve mainly played my full-bodied peerless with the floating pick-up through it this evening – & it sounds great – amp really projects the woody tone of the guitar when you attack the strings but also has that sparkle & richness you want with more rubato / ballad style playing. Plus not a hint of feedback. I briefly played my ibanez artist (335 style guitar with Kent Armstrong PAF+ pick-ups) and that also sounded great.

Plus the design & look of it is great – the wedge shape is inspired. I’ve a gig this Friday (backing a singer doing mainly standards & torch songs) so I’ll have a chance to properly start to explore it. Big thanks to JonMambo

**jorgemg1984** · 03-19-2013, 07:00 PM

Great, as one of the promoters of the amp here I am always glad to know others like it too

**richard vandyne** · 03-19-2013, 08:57 PM

RKWESTCOAST_congradulations .That amp is getting a lot of press. You have to be thrilled .How long did you have to wait to get it. I hear he is really busy now. Keep us posted on your progress-especially after your gig!!!!!

**rkwestcoast** · 03-20-2013, 03:27 AM

Thanks Guys - input from the forum members i) turned me onto the amp in the first place & ii) their posts were really useful in terms of making the decision.

Amp was ordered at the end of Jan - so turnaround time was around 5 weeks? - Would probably have had the amp last week but the delivery was delayed by the St Patricks Day bank holiday.

**kris** · 03-20-2013, 06:04 AM

Originally Posted by rkwestcoast

Just back from work and my Mambo 10" wedge amp has arrived – initial impressions are all really positive – the sound has the depth, richness and clarity I was looking for!!!

I’ve mainly played my full-bodied peerless with the floating pick-up through it this evening – & it sounds great – amp really projects the woody tone of the guitar when you attack the strings but also has that sparkle & richness you want with more rubato / ballad style playing. Plus not a hint of feedback. I briefly played my ibanez artist (335 style guitar with Kent Armstrong PAF+ pick-ups) and that also sounded great.

Plus the design & look of it is great – the wedge shape is inspired. I’ve a gig this Friday (backing a singer doing mainly standards & torch songs) so I’ll have a chance to properly start to explore it. Big thanks to JonMambo

Congrats!
Is it with Eminence speaker Beta 10a?
Best
kris

**benjazzman82** · 03-20-2013, 07:08 AM

Many congratulations with your new amp.
I am currently staring out of the window waiting for the magical UPS truck to arrive with my Mambo Head.

**oldane** · 03-20-2013, 08:47 AM

My Mambo head arrived friday last week. It was worth the wait.

Inspired by Jorge's example, I choose to have Jon throw in some extras: 1) Full reverb controls (decay time, high freq reverb and low freq reverb, switch for pronounced and more subtle reverb). 2) Switchable 50% output limiter for idiot proof use with speakers that doesn't take so much power.

The head is very much spot on for use with an electric archtop for the "classic" jazz tone. With the bright/normal/deep switch set to normal and the tone stack set neutral on 12 o'clock I get a great tone with the guitars tone control set to 10 (full). That means that it ought to be a perfect amp for floating pickups with just a volume and no tone control on the guitar. In practice - with my guitars which has tone controls - I prefer to set the bass and middle flat and the treble to 3 o'clock and then roll off some treble on the guitar. That way, I have the brightness control on board the guitar.

I prefer the clean setting on the clean/harmonics switch. Even with the clean setting, the sound is warm and full, not anemic and cold like on so many other SS amps. It's not boomy.

The noise level is very low and in practice it's inaudible - significantly lower than my AI head. Whatever noise can be heard comes from the guitar and its single coil pickup.

It sounds great with my Redstone RS10ER speaker cabinet.

I couldn't care less, but my wife frowned a little at the natural wood cabinet, but hey, black paint is cheap if that's what it takes to keep it in the living room. The cabinet seems very rugged.

To sum up: As good as SS amps come, "straight out of the box" - for jazz. Most likely too dark for the rock and roll guys. That way, it's the one trick pony it was designed to be, but it does that one trick very well.

**willschmid97** · 03-20-2013, 09:01 AM

Are these amps loud enough for gigs? I'm thinking of owning one.

**StevieB** · 03-20-2013, 09:36 AM

How does this amp compare / contrast with a Henricksen Jazz Amp 10?

**jorgemg1984** · 03-20-2013, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by willschmid97

Are these amps loud enough for gigs? I'm thinking of owning one.

Loudness depends on several factors. The amp itself has plenty of power but an 8 cab is an 8 cab... Although Jon's design is brilliant, the wedge cab has a lot of dispersion. My solution was two 10 cabs... still small enough to take on a trolley to small gigs and quite loud. I have also gigged with just one 10 and it's more than enough for most applications... although when groups reach a certain size going trough the PA is always the ideal solution.

I really recommend the 10 vs the 8... a little bigger, a little heavier but much more depth to the sound to my ears.

**jorgemg1984** · 03-20-2013, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by StevieB

How does this amp compare / contrast with a Henricksen Jazz Amp 10?

I have both the Mambo and the Henriksen heads - I use them with two Mambo 10 cabs or a Dr Z 1x12 cab with an EV and used as closed back. I had the Henriksen 12 in the past with both the stock speaker and an EV.

The Mambo seems better built and using better components; has less noise; loudness seems equal; the mambo's eq is MUCH better... MUCH better; the same for reverb, specially if you ask for the "reverb mods", which make the amp's reverb really good; the mambo it's also warmer and less spikey when both amps are flat; mambo is very open to "mods" you might want like say an headphone out; mambo has an fx loop if you need; mambo is cheaper in Europe;

Comparing combo for combo I have found the Mambo's wedge cab to have a much more natural dispersion of sound - and having of course the same advantages as said above. This is my own personal opinion of course.

**kris** · 03-20-2013, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

Loudness depends on several factors. The amp itself has plenty of power but an 8 cab is an 8 cab... Although Jon's design is brilliant, the wedge cab has a lot of dispersion. My solution was two 10 cabs... still small enough to take on a trolley to small gigs and quite loud. I have also gigged with just one 10 and it's more than enough for most applications... although when groups reach a certain size going trough the PA is always the ideal solution.

I really recommend the 10 vs the 8... a little bigger, a little heavier but much more depth to the sound to my ears.

It is interesting how it work with Neodymium speakers...?

**jorgemg1984** · 03-20-2013, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by kris

It is interesting how it work with Neodymium speakers...?

Kris I am not aware of any neo speaker that reaches these wattage... anyway I have a 2x12 cab with Tornados. Although I like them I must say I've learned two things with time about Jensen neos: they have a 150hz spike that adds mud to the sound and they tend to be more prone to ear fatigue... A neo would take 1kg or 1.5kg amp of the amp, since I use a trolley to the gigs this is not so relevant anymore. I would even like to find used 10 EVs to put in the cabs which would even add more weight

**willschmid97** · 03-20-2013, 10:29 AM

I'm a little embarressed, I have very little knowlege of electronics (and I play electric guitar). If I got just one Mambo 10 for the time being, would I be able to hang with a combo and a big band without distortion? I'm playing a crummy Peavy Classic 30 right now. It's 30 watts and it's loud enough, but its noisy and not terribly warm. It sometimes distorts. I'm looking for a cleaner, "jazzier" amp without too much noise. The size of the Mambo is appealing to me too.

**jorgemg1984** · 03-20-2013, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by willschmid97

I'm a little embarressed, I have very little knowlege of electronics (and I play electric guitar). If I got just one Mambo 10 for the time being, would I be able to hang with a combo and a big band without distortion? I'm playing a crummy Peavy Classic 30 right now. It's 30 watts and it's loud enough, but its noisy and not terribly warm. It sometimes distorts. I'm looking for a cleaner, "jazzier" amp without too much noise. The size of the Mambo is appealing to me too.

It won't distort but it might sound a little boxy or harsh if you're using it really loud... a 10 cab is still a 10 cab, With my big 1x12 with an EV it fills any room!!

**jamieh** · 03-20-2013, 07:55 PM

Congratulations on your new mambo! I've had mine almost 6 months now, and I'm still over the moon with it. You really don't appreciate the amps full potential until you use it at a few different gigs imo.

There's been times where I've been skeptical about taking to louder gigs because my previous 8" amp (ZT Lunchbox) didn't really cut it and sounded boxy, but the mambo is the complete opposite and actually sounds better at gigs.

**Gabe** · 03-21-2013, 06:39 PM

Jamie did you go for the 8 or 10?

**jamieh** · 03-23-2013, 07:21 AM

I went for the 8" because I needed the portability

**kris** · 03-23-2013, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by jamieh

I went for the 8" because I needed the portability

8"---yes it is Ok for practise and small gigs.
Best
Kris

**rkwestcoast** · 03-25-2013, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by jamieh

Congratulations on your new mambo! I've had mine almost 6 months now, and I'm still over the moon with it. You really don't appreciate the amps full potential until you use it at a few different gigs imo.

There's been times where I've been skeptical about taking to louder gigs because my previous 8" amp (ZT Lunchbox) didn't really cut it and sounded boxy, but the mambo is the complete opposite and actually sounds better at gigs.

Thanks Jamieh - I used the Mambo on my Friday night gig backing a singer - doing mainly standards and torch songs. The amp was fantastic - sound dispersion & projection is great - the overall sound and tone from the amp was really impressive - controls are very responsive & I had no problems with feedback (am using a full bodied peerless monarch).

Gretta, the singer, was kind of sceptical when I was setting up (in terms I think of the size of the amp!) but commented straight away on the sound & tone when I started playing.

Overall I'm delighted with the amp - the deisgn and look is great - sound & volume are great - Jon Mambo has been a pleasure to deal with & the amp is great value for money!

**Philly112** · 03-28-2013, 08:38 AM

Well, I know that there are many threads about good looking guitars. And amps are of course just ugly boxes that are required to amplify the guitar.
This is my Mambo 10 inch wedge which I picked up yesterday.
It sounds even better than it looks. And it looks absolutely beautiful. Each cabinet is birch - not sure if solid or ply - and obviously unique due to the grain of the wood. It's one dinky looking amp.
Did I say it sounds better than it looks?

Phil