The Ultimate Guitar Amp

[Klatu]

I have a couple of Evans...a newer 5lb digital head and an older AE100 with a 12" deltalite speaker. These amps have unusual tone controls, including one called depth which fattens the top E string right up - a really good idea. They are not ''intuitive'' controls, but once you get the hang of them anything else seems quite limited and inflexible. Evans amps sound great with anything from an archtop to a tele. Funnily enough the digital head is the warmer of the two. I think they are great, although they are expensive and difficult to service outside the US. However I know some people find the evans tone controls difficult - it's not a ''plug straight in'' amp like the (eg) jazzamp.

I agree that the Evans is one the holy grails for jazz guitar. I've got an Acoustic Image Clarus, an Evans Eighty (120 watt version), and a Fender Super Reverb, and I would put the Evans on top of the pile along with the Super Reverb. While the Acoustic Image is incredible, it is half a notch below the sound quality and versatility of the Evans.

Not only does Evans produce a fine clean sound, but their build quality is superb. If the Evans, Clarus, and Super Reverb fell out of the back of a truck, I'd put my money on the Evans surviving over the other two.

[jzucker]

I just bought a used evans AH200. I plan to do a demo of it in the coming weeks.

[wallburg]

I bought an Evans RE200 a couple of month ago, and I'm very happy with the purchace. I find it very versatile and it's quite easy to get the sound and tone of my heroes like Barney Kessel and Tal Farlow. I use it with hollow bodies, solid bodies and acoustics (with under the saddle pick-up) and it handles them all to my satisfaction. It's not cheap though. In Denmark it costs around US$ 1800.

[Klatu]

I just bought a used evans AH200. I plan to do a demo of it in the coming weeks.

I'm sure you've read that the tone controls aren't intuitive the way most are.

Here are my settings:

Bass: 0
Body: between 2 and 5
Treble: 1 or 2
Expand: on
Depth: off

Don't be afraid to try "extreme" tone control settings.

[lpdeluxe]

I'm not at all convinced that there is such a thing as an ultimate guitar amp, based simply on my own experience. I have owned probably fifteen amplifiers (not including bass amps) and every one of them has had features that I liked, and other attributes that I didn't. Seems like, the better the tone, the heavier the weight, and when you combine great tone with light weight (Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight, my favorite) somebody will chime in that, well, it's not a **real** amp because it doesn't use vacuum tubes! My current "lpdeluxe signature sound" amp is a Fender Bandmaster VM head into a Weber California Ceramic 15 cab, but it is bulky and cumbersome to haul around. I have a Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue that does things that none of my other amps do, but it has essentially one sound that is not always appropriate to the material. Then there's a Blues Jr NOS, which is light and attractive, but only 15 watts....

Since I gig a lot on bass guitar, I have always been looking for the "ultimate bass amp" as well. I finally found it: the Mesa/Boogie Walkabout Scout 1x15, which -- with my Precision plugged into it -- sounds like what God uses when he wants to play bass. Guess what? It's 65 lb, putting it at the upper limit for this old guy, and for smaller gigs my 18 lb Genz-Benz gets the nod.

So the "ultimate guitar amp" is one that sounds as good as my Jazzmaster but somehow incorporates tubes to silence the critics, and the "ultimate bass amp" is an 18 lb device that replicates the sound of the Mesa/Boogie.

[NSJ]

I just bought a used evans AH200. I plan to do a demo of it in the coming weeks.

cool I would love to hear how that compares with a Henriksen (if you have played a Henriksen).

I have heard about Evans, but not played one. No one has convinced me why they cost SO MUCH more than Henriksen, Polytone, JazzCat, Razors Edge, etc.

For me, the two ultimate amps I have and use are my Twin 65 reissue and Henriksen Convertible. I am very very happy.

[jzucker]

cool I would love to hear how that compares with a Henriksen (if you have played a Henriksen).

I have heard about Evans, but not played one. No one has convinced me why they cost SO MUCH more than Henriksen, Polytone, JazzCat, Razors Edge, etc.

For me, the two ultimate amps I have and use are my Twin 65 reissue and Henriksen Convertible. I am very very happy.

raezer's edge doesn't make amps. The evans amps are hand made. They are worth what the market will bear. You know that. Why is a '65 twin worth $5k?

The 65 twin is cool if you can carry a 75lb amp. I have a henriksen. It's a cool amp but I wish they'd move the treble control down to 4.5k and updated the reverb. I love it though.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I have a henriksen. It's a cool amp but I wish they'd move the treble control down to 4.5k and updated the reverb. I love it though.

I've never heard anyone choose to rave about H's reverb. Not so long ago, they were selling off the previous version of their heads (without reverb). Wish I could have justified buying one. You can get better reverb (or delay) from a pedal.

[jzucker]

I've never heard anyone choose to rave about H's reverb. Not so long ago, they were selling off the previous version of their heads (without reverb). Wish I could have justified buying one. You can get better reverb (or delay) from a pedal.

agreed but I would prefer not to have to carry a pedal and power supply around if i'm jamming or rehearsing. Although, the built in reverb is good enough for a rehearsal or practicing.

[Archie]

Years ago I found that my ultimate bass rig was a Gallien-Krueger MB150 combo with two EV 15" extension speaker cabinets (and no, I wasn't playing heavy metal).

Today, I have two guitar amps, a Princeton Reverb reissue and a Tech 21 Trademark 30. If I had to choose one, it would be the Tech 21, which is half the size and weight, but sounds almost as good as the Princeton.

[Franz 1997]

cool I would love to hear how that compares with a Henriksen (if you have played a Henriksen).

It's an interesting comparison, because these 2 amps are arguably two of the top ''jazz amp'' contenders. I have had two hendriksens as well as Evans, and for me they are rather different. For me the differences are:
-Versatility; the Hendriksen has one basic, and great, dark jazz sound; you can't tweak it much or really make it sound bad. On the other hand it is possible to make an Evans sound bad at extreme settings, but also it is possible to make almost every kind of guitar/ pickup sound great by fine-tuning. In other words, Hendriksen's ''plug & play'' vs Evans versatility with all guitar types.
-Build quality. I personally had some issues with the build quality of the Hendriksens/ flimsy knobs/ reverb, and electronic teething problems of the earlier models, but in fairness they are now well built and designed. But the Evans is ( hand) built like a tank; everything is over-designed, including output wattage & headroom, Evans are seriously loud, if you care about that.
-Service & support. Here is where the Hendriksen wins; support is fantastic and could not be bettered in my direct experience.
I have not really needed Evans support, but I have heard that it is patchy. Again in fairness, that's internet hearsay, not direct experience
-Finally, a very subjective point and maybe a trivial one; I much prefer the more traditional cosmetics of the Evan combos
They are both expensive, the Evans more so, reflecting its hand-built nature and the fact that assembly is literally in house by one man!

[Bill C]

I've played through both and I'd agree with a lot of Franz's post. In my experience Evans are very responsive to support queries. There's something particularly "musical" about the Evans RE200 sound that was immediately apparent when I played through it.

[Franz 1997]

I know that I'm in danger of seeming an Evans obsessive here - but I can add another 2 bits of info regarding Evans that might be of interest. The electronics of the preamp run at an unusually high voltage for a solid state amp, with its own independent power supply, and my guess is that this gives superior headroom and clarity. It uses individual high voltage Jfet devices, not cheaper ic's ( don't ask...). Also the cabs are semi-open back, unlike most other jazz designs, which (surprisingly?) gives a richer sound, with astounding amounts of bass, and very high dynamic range which really cuts through.
There is something especially musical about the sound as Bill says; it's somehow less congested than other amps
If anyone in europe is interested, I have some circuit diagrams for the 04 amps.
Glad to hear positively about the support issue, Bill

[NSJ]

cool I would love to hear how that compares with a Henriksen (if you have played a Henriksen).

It's an interesting comparison, because these 2 amps are arguably two of the top ''jazz amp'' contenders. I have had two hendriksens as well as Evans, and for me they are rather different. For me the differences are:
-Versatility; the Hendriksen has one basic, and great, dark jazz sound; you can't tweak it much or really make it sound bad. On the other hand it is possible to make an Evans sound bad at extreme settings, but also it is possible to make almost every kind of guitar/ pickup sound great by fine-tuning. In other words, Hendriksen's ''plug & play'' vs Evans versatility with all guitar types.
-Build quality. I personally had some issues with the build quality of the Hendriksens/ flimsy knobs/ reverb, and electronic teething problems of the earlier models, but in fairness they are now well built and designed. But the Evans is ( hand) built like a tank; everything is over-designed, including output wattage & headroom, Evans are seriously loud, if you care about that.
-Service & support. Here is where the Hendriksen wins; support is fantastic and could not be bettered in my direct experience.
I have not really needed Evans support, but I have heard that it is patchy. Again in fairness, that's internet hearsay, not direct experience
-Finally, a very subjective point and maybe a trivial one; I much prefer the more traditional cosmetics of the Evan combos
They are both expensive, the Evans more so, reflecting its hand-built nature and the fact that assembly is literally in house by one man!

In my view, the Henriksen seems to be in its element most when plugged into a laminate with a set-in pup--ES 175, Sadowsky Jim Hall, etc. Both Roger and Jim Hall had some glowing responses to it. It is THE Amp for my Sadowsky Jim Hall, so this is one case where the recommendations proved true--at least for me. I also got to talk very briefly with Bobby Broom about his frequency settings , and he associated each of the 6 settings with a string--thus he had the last 3 frequencies wide open (venue was the Green Mill, guitar was a Hofner).

I'm wondering if a non arch top guitar would be better suited for utilizing the upper frequency settings --ie you might has well have them wide open because the guitar may not pick them up as well

[DanFan]

While I wait for shoulder surgery, the Roland Cube Street is my Ultimate Amplifier. My Rivera designed Fender Twin II with its monstrously heavy JBL E120 speakers is locked away in the upstairs closet while its promises of clean warm tone at transcontinental volumes tempts me to endure further injury.

[jzucker]

Just as an FYI, both Joe Pass and Pat Martino told me the *ONLY* reason they ever used polytone was weight.

[kris]

Jack,
How is your evans AH200 head?
I heard it is realy good...

[jzucker]

it is really good. Not as nice sounding as my Gries (tube amp) but more versatile than AI and Henriksen

[jzucker]

george benson has always used a tube amp or a tube amp along with a polytone in stereo. The only exception was absolute benson and the tone stunk on that one.

Joe pass used polytone because they were light. He told me he didn't care for the sound. Martino used a twin for all the classic recordings. He uses an AI amp now because it weighs less than he does.

Most of the classic wes recordings were done with a fender amp. He used standel for a while because they were light.

If you think martino's tone now is better than his tone on lean years when he was using a fender amp than you don't know tone. (That's a polite way of saying you're full of !@#$)

[NiAg]

>>> What we did like gets trumped and what we dont like, might have been premature pending on the guitar etc

And in my opinion, what we say we like can be a product of a moment.

And what a person may report as a quote can be modified over time, or fade into a view that supports what we want it to support, or be otherwise subject to human adjustment.

[ffej]

I would like to make an observation about Polytone amps and see if anyone agrees or disagrees. I've had three MiniBrute IIs, one each bought new in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. The 80s one (handle on top, foam grille cover) definitely sounded the best, just flip it on with a good archtop (or anything else) and it sounded great. The 90s one (handle on side, metal grille) sounds cold and devoid of personality compared to the first two, though I'm kind of addicted to them now and don't want to be without one. Comments? Thanks for your opinions. (Sorry, I know its off topic and I don't know where to get one on LI, but ebay always seems to have a few.)

[jorgemg1984]

Old Polytones sound much better than new ones - that's exactly what Henriksen tried to reproduce these days: the sound of the old ones.

[kawa]

Polytone Mini brute 2, Setting Test
Mini-Brute2, Serial Number P-29428
Inst : '67 ES175DN V8 T10, Belden 9778/1.5m(guitar～Sw-box), 2m(Sw-box～Amps),Amp Stand/Ultimate AMP-150
Reference Amps ; '65 Twin reverb and '66 Vibrolux Reverb(C10NS),the two amps switched by footswitch in quickly for comparsion and close match.
The both amps tilted and listen the front sound directly from about 1.5m distance posision.

Setting : Master/Max(Normal Way for Master VR Type, Equal to Without Master VR.
Tonal Color Switch/Normal(Center Posituon)
Gain/3(Use to VR)
Contour/9～11 O'Clock Position
Program/Edge Position
Treble/+1
Mid/+2
Bass/+1
Results : Excelent Jazztone by use to "Sonic Circuit"

Impression : 1E and 2B's traditional Polytone rounded tone by special Eminence.
3G,4D and 5A's 5flet area tone is thin. Dynamics and rezonant are little less, then I try the Sonic Circuit and got the good sounds .

Notice !!! : Side Handle Design !!! , Prevent for the reverb unit troubles,
As well as keeping the "Upright" (in the car etc) polytone.htm

[jorgemg1984]

[B]

Impression : 1E and 2B's traditional Polytone rounded tone by special Eminence.

These is usually where I don't like "jazz amps" - its hard to control the 1E and 2B sound and they always sound kind of compressed high mids instead if treble (they are usually also dark on the upper strings but that's manageable with the EQ)

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Old Polytones sound much better than new ones - that's exactly what Henriksen tried to reproduce these days: the sound of the old ones.

I always thought the Henriksens were producing a more "modern" jazz sound -- a cleaner, less coloured sound, sort of half way toward an acoustic amp. Anybody own both?