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I really like playing Strat, the neck fits my short fingers just fine. But the chirpy quacky sound isn't what I want to get for jazz. Can you recommend a reasonably priced amp that isn't heavy? I know a Twin Reverb would sound great but I'm not going to lift it.
Solid state would be okay and for context, I play unaccompanied so no need to compete with a drummer or bass at this point. .
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02-01-2014 02:25 AM
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PS. . .I tried a Roland Cube 30 and didn't like the sterility of the sound.
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Have you tried a Fender Blues Junior? One of my old teachers had one for lessons and it sounded pretty good.
What's your budget?
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Many used Fender BJ's and Peavey Classic 30's. The C30 may be more than you need, and a Twin is way more weight, expense, cost, tube cost, space.
The C30 is economical and has a rich clean tone with plenty of mids if you need it and very versatile tone (and controls), plus reverb. In mine, I put an Eminence Neo speaker to lower the weight, and it still sounds warm. This amp sounds great. And ..... it sounds great with any guitar I put thru it, especially my Strats. I wish I had bought one sooner.
Try one, can't hurt.
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I can only tell you about my experience with both a tele and a strat on my own amps. Both sound great for jazz on my Henriksen 110. For my taste obviously.
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A blues junior and a strat is one of the least jazzy setups I can imagine.
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I played a few gigs with my strat (stock pickups, 11 gauge strings, wound G) and my polytone mega brute. Sounded great to me.
I haven't played any jazz gigs in a while - I was playing with an archtop for a few years but I think if I were to play a jazz gig again I would play with my strat and polytone. I learned how to play lines on my strat and just got comfortable with articulation/dynamics etc on it.
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Another vote for the Peavey classic 30. As mentioned it's versatile, great clean tone. Upgrading the speaker is really worth it. I use an Eminence Greenback. I use it with strats, archtops, tele, Les Paul and dig it.
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A second on the Henriksen, only I would go with the 112 for a little better bottom end. I use this amp with a 17" archtop, a semi-hollow, a chambered guitar without F-holes, and a Strat, and it works very well in all cases. It also takes pedals well if that is needed.
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Ever consider changing the pup? Seymour Duncan offers single coil sized humbuckers.
That should fatten up your tone.
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Just for fun, I tried my hardtail strat into the Polytone Mini Brute III. Without too much tweaking, I got a decent Jazz sound out of the neck PU. 15 inch speaker and pretty warm+wooly. Worth trying if you can test drive before buying. Pretty easy to find in the $200-300 range. Look for a basic model w/o distortion or reverb circuitry.
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I've played jazz on my strat through a Polytone and a DRRI and gotten good jazz tones through both - obviously different versions of a jazz tone.
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Henriksen Jazzamp. It's the only amp left for me. Everything I've ever plugged into it sounds jazzy.
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I've played jazz on a strat on through many different amps. I've currently got a Princeton Reverb, which works great for me, as does pretty much any Fender. Around the house, I use a Roland MicrCube, usually on the Vox setting (the blackface model sounds pretty bad, IMO). Peavey Classic 30 is good. Some of the other Roland Cubes work. I was never able to get an acceptable sound out of a Roland JC120 and a Strat (or any other guitar for that matter).
John
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Some interesting possibilities here but many of them are above my price range, and some I don't like that much. But still some choices to consider when I go to GC to try out the amps. The Pro Jr has a perfect weight as does the Vox AD30VT but no one mentioned those and I'm pretty sure the PJr wouldn't sound good as a jazz amp.
Don't like Rolands and don't like heavy amps and can't afford expensive amps. Tried a Blues Jr and it wasn't the sound I wanted. Thanks for your responses, maybe a few more will come in and spark my imagination.
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quilter or gries 35
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What he said!
Originally Posted by teleboli
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Originally Posted by lareplus
I have a strat and play it occasionally for jazz too. Before the amp, like others said, I would first change to heavier strings and block the tremolo. Afterwards, you may like the convenience of a Fender Super Champ X2 head coupled to a light closed back cab (it has its own dedicated closed back cab too). I heard good things about VHT amps here too but never tried them. Both should be in stock at GC.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+1 to checking out VHT special 6. I have an ultra that is very nice. $250-ish new and lots of deals on used. Comes in 1x12 or head version.
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I love the Pro Jr for jazz if it only had more clean headroom. I have one in mint condition that I am selling because it starts to break up by a volume of 4 to 5. If I could figure out how to keep it clean to at least 7 it would be my perfect jazz amp. If you Mic your amp then it might work for you. If interested in a used Pro Jr go to the Worcester, MA craigslist where you can see pics of the one I am selling. Best of luck with your search. Originally Posted by lareplus
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Well, I have a buddy who just got a Pro Jr, which I heard today and it doesn't sound like what I'm thinking of for jazz but I concede that with a different speaker and maybe different tubes it might sound fuller and deeper. I don't know what combination might achieve that though.
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You might be surprised. If you keep the gain low, bass up, treble down, neck+middle pickup with the tones rolled pretty dark, you can get a good jazz tone while still maintaining an identifiable strat character. You might get a little grit if you dig in, but I think it works. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Hi, I'm a new member (first post!) and a complete newbie to jazz. So you can pretty much ignore everything I say.
But if it's any help, like you I have a strat. The pickups are EMGs. The strings are D'Addario Chrome 10s. The bridge is floating. I play it through a Princeton Chorus and with the right settings it sounds like jazz to me.
The Princeton Chorus is a very clean solid state with a lovely chorus.
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Cool...how much does a Princeton Chorus weigh? I have heard of them but I don't think they make them any more.
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I can carry it with one hand. I'm no good at judging weights, but the manual says this: Originally Posted by lareplus
Weight: 38 lbs. (17.2 kg)
Height: 17-1/2” (44 cm)
Width: 22-3/8” (57 cm)
Depth: 10-3/16” (26 cm)
It's a 2x10. 51 Watts RMS. There's a larger 2x12 Ultra Chorus if you want more power, but they're harder to find.
Yes, it's long out of production, but I see them come up on ebay and gumtree often enough that with a little patience you could find one. That means you might not get to try before you buy, and I can't say for sure that you'd like the sound, but the going rate seems to be about $250, so it's not necessarily a big risk.
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