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I have just sold my Henriksen amp and look for another quality amp.
I strongly prefer the sound of tube amps, when they open up and still not distort. Maybe this is, what some call the sweet spot? But I have never find something even close to this in modeller amps and I don’t want another tube amp because of maintenance etc.
With no dealers near and limited supply in the European websites, I now stumble over a mambo, which seem to be popular in here. Not many sound clips on youtube and maybe it’s a lot like a Henriksen just with a better eq and less dark?
So my question now is: Is it possible to get this ‘sweet spot’ thing with a amp like mambo and a Paradriver D.I. SansAmp or likewise?Last edited by Munk; 01-18-2014 at 08:51 AM.
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01-18-2014 08:48 AM
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you are on the right track. I get that "sweet spot" with my AI Claus 4plus and the SansAmp Paradriver DI.
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The Mambo is awesome, like a perfect / henriksen. You can throw a pedal in front to get that sound - I find the Barber Barb EQ vastly superior to any Tech 21 stuff.
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Great thanks.
I have empress para EQ, which greatly improved the Henriksen, and though it is not real tube like sound, it was a little step in this direction also. But SansAmp Paradriver and Barber is something nearer?
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Another big advantage of the mambo: it has a very nice reverb, no need for a reverb pedal (which is mandatory with the Henriksen).
About your question: the paraq is a flat eq. It does not give you any sound, just tailoring options. It's good in front of the Henriksen because the EQ is much better than the Henriksen's one (not good at all) and the booster can warm up the Henriksen too.
The Barb EQ is a fender preamp. It introduces the fender mid scoop and tone controls... with the mids on zero I can make my henriksen head sound like a fender blackface (on blackface mode).
The para di is a middle term. It is a flat eq (no mid scoop) with very usable parametric mids but not so good bass and treble controls. It also has a tube emulation sound that I personally hated - which makes it a flat eq that can in theory simulate a tube amp's gloom.
To achieve a tube sound in front of a flat ss amp I have not found better than the barb eq...
Notice: I use EV speakers which are much more guitar friendly than Eminence Betas.
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Some good explanations here. So maybe I can sell both my reverb and the paraeq, which I needed because of the Henriksen EQ. It would be money my way, if I also didn't missed a tube amp.
Anyway, the tubeamp I now have is a Tubemeister, which has a very good sweet spot at low volumes - the best I have had so far - because of the possibility to choose 1 and 5 watts.
Jorgemg: So are you saying it is better to buy mambo head and another cabinet? I can buy Palmer CAB112RGN local and maybe also find some EV.
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Do you want a combo or a cab / head setup?
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I have always had combo, but I think it could be a better idea to have cab/head.
Cause so far I have changed amps many times, and in case I had cab/head, I could just have changed one on them.
A dealer suggested me the Palmer for jazz, but he is not so near that I can try it first.
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I would suggest you talk to Jon. I know he has something similar to the BarbEQ in the works and plans to improve his tube emulation on the amp... I think in the near future he might able to build a head with very good reverb / tweed blackface mambo eqs and a clean / tube harmonics emulator. Than all you need is a good cab
Jon's cabs are excellent by the way, but closed back ported. Maybe a open back would suit you better.
EVs are great but expensive and heavy as hell
Another option would be a Quilter Micro Pro head? It's affordable and supposed to have a good fender sound.
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Yes the quilter micro pro. It seems to be a little tube like from birth, but I have not been able to find any quilter dealers in Europe. Only one, who ran away from his warranty commitments last time.
I guess a closed back make it little bit darker. I like that on the Tubemeister, so it might be combo again. As I understand the 10” and 12” combo provide same sound experience if not playing very loud. I was sure the 12” would be a better feeling because of bigger surface and the 10” mostly to prefer if moving around a lot.
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+1 ... Don't own a Mambo but I have the Barber and it is awesome. The Tech21 stuff I just can't warm up to. Already found the paradriver so so but 'blonde' really sucked IMHO. The Barber works really well with solid state amps and it is totally clean.
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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I used to use a Vox Valvetronix Tonelab into a Peavey 160watt bass head(power amp in) then into different cabs. You might be able to do something on that order w/ a tube pre and a small Class D power amp plus cab.
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Great info in this thread,
thank you Jorge and Munk!
Quilter head is not expensive,
and USD versus GBP change rates are more attractive for european customer.
But regarding all the very good reviews about Mambo Amps,
I' m pretty sure that a BarbEQ-reverb-tube emulator all in a Mambo head
would have to be considered.
I'm saving money till making my thoughts more precisely.
Christophe
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Originally Posted by FrankLearns
Has anyone teamed a Barber with an Evans amp and if so what were the results? I just purchased an RE200 and would be interested in seeing how the Barber interacts with it. The Evans has numerous tone shaping controls as part of its pre-amp and am wondering how/whether the Barber will still impart a tube-like tone to it. I guess I'm a little confused as to the modeling component of the Barber (if that's the right term) versus its frequency controls.
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10s and 12s sound quite different... of course a 10 EV (as I am lucky to have) sounds better than most 12s.
Mambos are brilliantly constructed, very nice reverb and very warm. For a Polytone sound they are perfect and the cabs are small but have excellent dispersion.
I will try it with my Barb EQ in a few hours and get back. I always use the Barb EQ with the Henriksen and the Mambo for my Poltone sounds.
The Barb EQ is the best gear purchase of 2013 to me. I cannot imagine a better pedal at this price point...
I am not sure how it would work with a Evans because I don't know it he Evans can be set to flat frequency. The Barb EQ is made to be put into a flat amp. The Barber is an analog emulation of three tone stacks and it imparts their frequency responses / tone controls. Plus it warms up a sterile amp
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I kind of like having something sterile with lots of headroom for an amp and speaker. If I'm getting high fidelity reproduction from that part of the signal chain, I'm happy. Still, and maybe paradoxically, I do like the warmth of my '81 Fender Concert. I've thought about boutique black face heads or one of the new Fender Deluxe Rvb heads. I've also considered a Barber EQ but I'm concerned that it will get in the way of the as-acoustic-as-possible EQ I like. There is another possible solution.. a Radial Firefly. Expensive but works for both live or recording. Lots of good press. As usual, there is no way to try any of this gear without buying it. Sigh.
Finally, and sort of off topic, a parametric equalizer should be standard issue to every guitar player on the planet. I see so few guitar players taking actual control of their output and they just don't know what they're missing. I'm really liking the Empress.Last edited by Spook410; 01-18-2014 at 05:22 PM.
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jorgemg; I first had a Henriksen 112 and shortly after, I changed it for a 110 with tweeter, so if it’s likewise with Mambo 10” I know what to choose.
When looking for cabinets at webshops, the single ones seem to be all 12” and none very expensive compared to other gear. But too many to choose between, which means less time to practise, which should be the real shortcut to a better sound. Well, I'm saying this after 8 different guitars and an equal number of combos in less than two years, and still looking for the ultimate.
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The Fender Concert should make the need for a boutique blackface or a DRRI unnecessary. I know those amps can have some problems but I believe it's VERY easy to turn them into blackfaces. The Radial should not be a necessity... and the barb eq is not for sure, you're just putting a fender sound into another. Originally Posted by Spook410
I agree about the parametric. I have a 2-band fully parametric eq and it's always on the board. Always. Having one and knowing how to use it would save a lot of people's time on the gear hunt.
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I did a small test with the BarbQ / Mambo. It sounded nice but for some reason I like the BarbQ MUCH more with the Henriksen... in theory it should not be that way but it is.
The Mambo is the perfect Polytone sound. Warm and open, which is so rare on those amps. Perfet eq and excellent reverb. Maybe it's so perfect I don't like putting preamps in front of it
For fender tube sound on a ss small package it's tough. The Evans has some of that vibe but still lacks something and is expensive as hell. The jazzmaster ultralight is rare and lacks control on the mids and could use a better reverb. I would like to try the Quilter...
So I went the custom route - henriksen head with a 9v out and barbeq always on top of the amp glued with velcro (and a byoc reverb 2 instead of the stock reverb). Everyone that hears this setup becomes very surprised... I like it more than almost all fender I have played (a lot).
One small detail is I use a Mambo cab with an EV. The Mambo cab is much better than the common boxy beamy directional jazz closed back cab... It has a lot of dispersion and openess. I could net get the same sound with an Henriksen combo for sure.
Kind of ironic since you just sold the Henriksen I suppose
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The Fender Concert is a fine clean blackface amp even without the minor mods that optimize it. Better with them. However, it weighs a bit more than 27 Kg. It also needs an upgraded speaker which is more than I wish to spend on something I'm not going to use much. Either that or I apply my 2X12 extension cabinet which is another 27 Kg. So, the amp never gets used. Unfortunately, the various blackface heads will likely weigh more than I'm willing to schlep as well. So, I'm looking to get the tone I want out of the pedalboard rather than the amp. Quite feasible I think.. just takes some forethought. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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http://wgs4.com/content/g12c
I bet the amp is worth 75 bucks!
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Yes. Someday I will probably upgrade the speaker. But it will always stay home. It isn't the value of the amp, it's the value of my back. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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i would recommend the ethos pedal to get a tube like sound out of any SS amp
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Jack do you think the ethos is worth the price compared to the Barb EQ?
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worth the price is a hard qualification. I think the ethos is grossly overpriced if you're only using the clean channel. Having said that, the clean channel is way better than the barbeq but you should be aware that it imparts the dumble clean signature into the sound whereas the barbeq sounds more transparent. The dumble clean sound is a stout, bumped mids, tone and the pedal captures the tube vibe perfectly. (I also have a tube based clone of the dumble preamp and the ethos is 95% accurate).
The ethos clean is more versatile than the barbeq and it sounds amazing going into an overdrive pedal too. Its overdrive channel is fantastic but I think the zendrive is slightly better.
Hope i answered the question.
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