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At church I plug in my Epiphone Emperor Regent (floating p/u) to a Roland AC60. That may be the cleanest sound I've ever heard from an amp. However, it's almost too clean. Someone also mentioned the Fender Deluxe Reverb which is a really nice amp, all types of sound, including some tremolo like Wes did on some stuff.
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02-08-2008 04:06 PM
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Hi All,
I'm a newbee too. Hooked on here because I'm looking for that perfect amp (I like the words earlier on about the journey and the destination). I have two questions rigth away:
Is a Blues Junior loud enough for a big band setting?
Has anyone ever tried a Jazzkat, Tomkat or Phatkat? (my back already likes the sound of their weigth ;-)
Oh, my gear is: Gibson L4 CES, Hofner 557 (1958), Epi Emeror Regent, Epi Sheraton II. Now I play through a JC 77 and a Cube 30 and an old Polytone at rehersals (pity they will ot sell it to me)
Cheers,
Joris
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I have had the 110 watt JazzKat for about a year now, and absolutely love it. It is 23lbs, and it is hard not to get a good sound out of it. I carry it weekly to my solo gig, and have used it in ensembles also.
I wanted the Acoustic Image/Raezor's Edge combo, but didn't want to spend that much $. This was the compromise. I am very happy. I tried Polytones, Roland Cube 60's, Rivera, and Evans. All nice amps, but I liked the JazzKat best.
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My Amps:135 watts Fender Vibrosonic reverb(build 1972-1974?)
My Guitar:Westone(1979)
effects:I use reverb and vibrato(Tremolo)from my amp.
I'm happy with my old equipment.
Saludos
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Hi,
I'm using a Yamaha T100C. This all tube amp is designed by Soldano for Yahama and was build in the US. It has two switchable channels with seperate controls for gain, volume, tone and reverb. This results in an amp with a total off 11 tubes (7 ECC83 and 4 6L6GC). Even the "line out" and "send and return" circuits are tube driven. Although there's only one 12 inch speaker, this amp has got massive headroom and covers all styles from jazz to metal. In fact it's so loud that at the latest gig I played with my funkband the PA technician turned my channel off.
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hi boys,
in the late 60"s i bought a fender telecaster deluxe and a dual
showman amp.They both still sound great together,but new valves have
always been a pain to get,thankfully i haven"t had to buy many,but you
CAN get a full sound with this rig.
cheers yorg.
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Trace Elliot - Super Tramp Twin.
Very clean sound, and bought only by 150€ to a friend as new!
It's a great amp.
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New Fender Product Super Champ XD
I just tried one out @ Sam Ash yesterday. I am looking for a practice AMP. This is a tube AMP that also has Solid State technology on one channel with effects. My purpose is to get a classic tone... I am leaning towards the Cube 30 however.
Tony
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My search for a great sounding jazz amp led me to the Carr Rambler a 1-12" 35 lb tube (6l6) amp with reverb, tem, and triode (15W) and pentode (25W) switch. It is as warm and wonderful as a Fender twin but you can carry it with one hand while carrying your guitar and gig bag. I bought it several years ago on 48th St in NYC (I believe it was Manny's - same side of the Street as Sam Ash's guitars). I knew they had a variety of boutique amps and I went there with my main guitar (Gibson 336) at a late morning hour during the week and I was able to try out different amps while not being rushed or interrupted.
I also have
-the Twin and use that for larger venues;
-a Mesa Boogie F-50 purchased to back-up the Twin (had some bad experience with the Twin blowing tubes at a regular gig on stage which vibrated)- you can get some warm and very clean tones out of it but it is not as warm as a Fender;
Polytone Minibrute IV with a 15" - nice, light, reliable but "dry" sounding to me. It gets used for gigs in small venues as a bass amp or for a Yamaha P120 piano. This can produce classic, warm jazz tones with a fat jazz box;
-Fender blues Jr - very nice tone -use it for practice.
-a couple of other solid state amps - nothing to write about.
I know a player who has a mid-1960's Fender Princeton Reverb; it is small (1-12") amp with a very sweet tone. If I came across a good deal on one, I would buy it.
It seems that "jazz tone" means alot of different things these days. I am biased towards tube amps; solid state amps such as the JC-120 (I have tried one out) seem too sterile. I have heard the raves about the Roland Cube 60 but I haven't heard one yet. One of these days solid state engineering will put all tube amps and us tube bigots out to pasture. It is remarkeable that it hasn't happened already.
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My search for a jazz amp led me to the Carr Rambler a 1-12" 35 lb tube (6l6) amp with reverb, trem, and triode (15W) and pentode (25W) switch. It is as warm and wonderful as a Fender twin but you can carry it with one hand while carrying your guitar and gig bag. I bought it several years ago on 48th St in NYC (I believe it was Manny's - same side of the Street as Sam Ash's guitars). I knew they had a variety of boutique amps and I went there with my main guitar (Gibson 336) at a late morning hour during the week and I was able to try out different amps while not being rushed or interrupted.
I also have
-the Twin and use that for larger venues;
-a Mesa Boogie F-50 purchased to back-up the Twin (had some bad experience with the Twin blowing tubes at a regular gig on stage which vibrated)- you can get some warm and very clean tones out of it but it is not as warm as a Fender;
Polytone Minibrute IV with a 15" - nice, light, reliable but "dry" sounding to me. It gets used for gigs in small venues as a bass amp or for a Yamaha P120 piano. This can produce classic, warm jazz tones with a fat jazz box;
-Fender blues Jr - very nice tone -use it for practice.
-a couple of other solid state amps - nothing to write about.
I know a player who has a mid-1960's Fender Princeton Reverb; it is small (1-12") amp with a very sweet tone. If I came across a good deal on one, I would buy it.
It seems that "jazz tone" means alot of different things these days. I am biased towards tube amps; solid state amps such as the JC-120 (I have tried one out) seem too sterile. I have heard the raves about the Roland Cube 60 but I haven't heard one yet. One of these days solid state engineering will put all tube amps and us tube bigots out to pasture. It is remarkeable that it hasn't happened already.
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I am new to the forum and have been playing guitar since '66. After playing through a lot of amps over the years, I have settled on the following:
I use a Roland Cube 30 for everyday playing. I like it very much, especially the JC Clean channel. It is very light weight and has plenty of output.
I also have a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue but am usually too lazy to carry this around. If I ever play a gig again ;-) I will probably bring both of them along.
I play a Hofner Archtop through these and sometimes my Godin Exit 22. I am very happy with the sounds that I've been getting.
Cheers,
Bill
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I prefer prefer either a Fender Blues Junior or Blues Deluxe. I did a gig on Friday night were I had to play everyting from rock, country, blues and some jazz. I took a Les Paul with P90's and a 65 Tele.
I used the Tele for 90% of the job. Rolling back the tone control, I was able to get a nice jazz sound and this was through a Fender Blues Junior. I normally use a Blues Deluxe because it is around 40 watts as opposed to Junior which is a very loud 15 watts.
To say one amp is better than any other is a very subjective statement. One of the best amps I have is a Peavey Classic 50 with 4X10. In comparison, Peaveys were not considered very good. I have played some questionable Fenders.
Believe it or not, Epiphone is producing some nice tube amps. You say,"Yes buth they are made it China". So is everything in your house as well as the clothes you have on your back.
I have four Epiphone guitars. I wouldn't part with any of them. Also have three Fenders, two Danelectros and some I can't find at the moment.
Bottom line, your equipment produces about 10% of your sound, the rest comes from your heart.
Have a good day.
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I have been playing for about 30yrs. and have went through a great many amps on the way. They all had there place for what I was playing at the time. I have had everything from a Two Rock, Fuchs, (moded) `68 Silver Face Twin Reverb, `68 Silver Face Princeton Reverb, Mesa Mk.III, Bogner Shiva 112, GK 250, Polytones.... What I personally am into right now are Polytones for straight forward Jazz and a Princeton Reverb for Fusion and Blues (also a Tone King). I have read several peoples opinions on that the Poly`s color the sound---yes I do agree. They are a warmer non-analytical amp. The Acoustic Image and AER great amps but very non inviting. Having a transparent sound in playback (LP, CD, Reel to Reel) is what you want but for me not while recording. To me the AI is awesome for Upright and acoustics (though a little bassy) along with the AER sound awesome for acoustic. I am never been real clear on what your guitar is really supposed to sound like? I believe it is all subjective to whom is behind the strings and what they like to hear. I go out and hear people playing Strats & Teles and love their sound so I go home and want to buy one of them. But when I pick one up it is not the sound that I like to hear while playing regardless of the amp.
I have 2 Gibson L5 Wes Montgomery`s, L5 CES with Alnico V pickups, Super 400 with a Charlie Christian pickup, Byrdland, ES355 & a ES350 they are all strung extremely heavy (355 & 350 w/13`s the rest with 15`s). For the most part I like these guitars through most anything that I play through. If you are playing a turd of a guitar and you buy a great amp you now have a polished turd, but still a turd none the less.
Guys like Wes Montgomery were also always looking for the perfect amp. Towards the end, Wes went between a Fender Tweed Deluxe (tube) and a Standel Custom (solid state) but he was always on the journey. He always had this somewhat grainy bit to his sound which I thought was awesome. There are a lot of great amps out there and it is part of the fun on the journey to try them all out. A lot also has to do with budget but there are great amps in every range.
Just remember that most of all the sound is invariably in the hands of the player!
Last edited by mr.l5; 03-03-2008 at 11:53 AM.
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This is right up there worth debating if the chicken of the egg came first, but...
I have a '65 bandmaster I put in a 2x10 cabinet w/ ceramic jensens. I think this is what I consider the best. I have a blonde blues jr. But haven't given it a workout as of yet. It would probably work fine for times I don't need the power of my blackface. I also have a polytone mini brute 2. The poly is great because it's 100W in a tiny package, but It doesn't sing like my blackface (of course), but the main problem I have with it is that it is VERY muddy no matter how I tweak the EQ. My archtop is way too boomy in the low strings.
I also have an old '57 reissue strat with texas special pickups and a "blender" wiring (which I love! find out more about it at acme guitar works).
Even the strat is muddy through the polytone. My vote is for fender blackface amps. They were mostly designed to have good clean headroom and give that beautiful glassy tone that really is touch sensitive. My archtop (a samick L5 copy, you'd be surprised how great that thing sounds) through the bandmaster is pure butter!
BCLast edited by bob3dsf; 03-11-2008 at 05:18 PM.
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03-11-2008, 11:04 PM #65Jazzarian Guest
Originally Posted by mr.l5
Interesting, I've got a blonde Gibson Super V CES (Super 400 neck on an L5) from 1991 with some of the most incredible maple flame you've ever seen,.........on the back. The nicely yellowed spruce top isn't quite as spectacular. My ES175 has flame like that all around, Gibson cardboard top and all. I've got a GB10 too, as well as 5 various solidbody guitars.
My Boogie Formula Preamp and TC Electronics G Major sound just great with the Super V. So much so it's hard to listen to a guitar plugged into an amp these days. If Wes were around, he'd know what I'm talking about. No hiss, real hi-fi stereo sound, no microphones, nice nice tubes!
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Do you know the different amplifiers polytone makes this days?For example,i found on one website an amp from polyone calling spacesonics but i cannot find it anyway else,isn't strange?
Last edited by Scolohofo; 03-23-2008 at 01:53 PM.
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I found one on eBay for 300 bucks. Its a studio model that's not pretty, its heavy, but there is nothing that sounds like this. Super clean, really sounds like Wes.
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I recently picked up a Crate Vintage Club amp, the VC5212 (50 watts, 2x12). Two channels, all tube (4 12AX7s and 4 EL84s), reverb. I got it from a local chain that specializes in used equipment - it was under US$200 because it's a little beat up. Luckily, I bought an extended warranty, because it needed some work. I love the clean channel - it's really giving me the sound I was looking for.
It has the typical drawbacks of a tube amp -- it's big, it's heavy, it hums. There's no headphone jack and no line out either (although you can kluge a line out using the effects loop jack) -- but I think it's pretty good for the price.Last edited by Dirk; 06-08-2018 at 09:35 AM.
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I play an Eastman archtop: Jazzkat or Aer compact 60 are the perfect amps (the first for traditional jazz, the second is more gypsy-jazz oriented)
Ciao
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I have had a Roland but SO heavy. I now have a Polytone Mini Brute 2 and just love that thing. Bought on Ebay, got the reverb fixed and it sounds so clean and pure. Just love it.
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Hi all, new to the forum, had a great time reading the article on jazz guitar amps.
i recently went from a ibanez TB15w to a hughes and kettner attax tour reverb 100W and well it's no surprise but it rocks.
didn't find to many people talking about H&K amps in jazz but i can say that this amp is definitely worth it for jazz, not a lot of headroom, sounds clips easily but i love it and it got that round and warm tone i've been looking for for quite some time. anybody tried H&K?
i use an old 75 hondo II LP copy with dimarzio pups.
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How strange,i bough me a L5 clone from samick and it doesn't sound right trough my roland cube60(i can hear the amp is digital),at the other hand i found the guitar sound so good with my HH and the eminence lil' budy inside f it. Originally Posted by L4CES
Last edited by Scolohofo; 05-19-2008 at 12:13 PM.
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Hi Guys.
It is funny, but no one mentioned The Lab Series From Norlin Music. I use those amps( a modified L5 with 1x15´´Speaker, instead 2x 12´´Celestions Speaker and a L9 with a 1x15´´JBL Speaker ) since 25 Years. For Jazz I play a blond Gibson L4 Custom ( build by Roger Hutchinson ) and for Blues and Classic Rock I use a Charvel Guitar. The Amp sounds always very natural and I got real big tone. When I play Classic Guitar for bigger Audience, I give the signal over mixer in this amp and it sounds alright too. It´s a shame that the factory ( at that time Norlin- Music was a part of the Gibson-Company )stop the building in the early 80´s. I´ve to mention that this amp is a transistory amp, but it sounds really like a tube amp. Rich tone and very warm.
All the best
Frank
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I have a Polytone Mini-Brute 2 and love that thing with my archtops. Had a Roland 120 but as others have said, too heavy, too much hiss, too much, too much. That Evans sounds pretty cool, too. Will get up on it and see what happens if the PT gives me some trouble at some point. Right now it is love, sweet love.
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I am surprised that the Gibson EH 150 or EH -185 didn't make the list.
There's a EH -185 on Ebay right now also.
I love the charlie Christian swing era tones !
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I use a JazzKat Custom Tweed together with an Ibanez GB-10. As I live in Sweden I think I am one of very few Swedes that have a JazzKat. I also have a rare Roland combo named ST100 that I use sometimes, but its very heavy to carry. Sometimes I use a small Roland MicroCube, that I run through the ST100 or the JazzKat (this is fun as you can change the character very easy and fast). Btw, this is my first post - hi everybodey!
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I want to check out that Roland MicroCube. Have heard about it but have not seen a jazz player here play one.
bpm
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The MicroCube is just a small 2W amp for practice. But its versitile with Cosm technologies and different amp modelings. It has a line in and line out (for phones too). You can even run it on batteries. It costs about USD 150 and is a smart and cheap way to test new sounds through an existing compo (use the return jack on the combo or the main in if you have it).
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I use a Peavey Classic 30!!
Last edited by Chito; 07-31-2008 at 03:49 PM.
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I ordered an amp kit from Weber. It arrived today and I'm curious as hell.
For now, it's only a buch of plastic bags with all the parts but soon a (hopefully) beautifull amp will be born out of it.
I ordered the 5f6a tweed bassman kit. I've no idea whether this will be a nice amp for jazz or not, but they do offer other kits that might be more fitted to playing jazz.
Maybe a nice suggestion if you're looking for a nice amp without totaly emptying your wallet...
M
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A few years ago I decided to upgrade my gigging rig, so I went out and speant a bunch of bread on an Acoustic Image Clarus I head, a Raezor's Edge Stealth 12, and a Raezor's Edge Jack Grassel Signature 12 inch cabinets.
I love them, but I still find myself using my tried and true 12 inch Polytone Mini-Brute II. I guess you can't really replace a classic amp like that!
MW
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No worries. An amp is the electronic device that creates the power and takes the signal coming out of your guitar and increases it. Can be solid state, or tube driven. Usually there is some sort of eq controls present bass, midrange, treble. There may be other knobs like level (aka volume) and gain, which can produce distortion. Some amps have built in effects like reverb. Originally Posted by planningtobuyaguitar
The speaker is the device that takes the signal from your guitar, which goes in to the amp, which amplifies it, and the speaker turns it into sound. There is a magnet with a cone (varying types of thick paper construction) that produces this sound. Different types of speakers can carry different amounts of power, and specialize in reproducing different types of sounds or music. Hope this is what you were looking for.
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I lean more towards fusion and I tend to agree with everyone about the JC120 (I used one in the early 80's) but lately I've found that Peavey Bandits and StudioPro amps work pretty well. They're plentiful (cheap), loud with a crisp clean sound, lightweight, and reliable. The distortion channel is cheesy, but I seldom use it. I run a telecaster and an Ibanez 7 string through them. They lack the 'cool' factor, but I can live with that.
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anyone care to comment on how they set theyre amps for a jazz tone, as in how you bass mid and treble knobs are set?
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Your experience sounds so much like mine. I've been playing guitar since 1964. My first amp was a '63 Fender Deluxe. In 1969 I bought a Twin Reverb with factory JBLs. At the time I was playing a Strat. I switched to an ES 175D (which I still own) in 1970 and it is so sweet thru a Twin. I had several Twins among numerous amps over the years (a Pevey that blew up on stage, Fender Super Six, Gibson L5, a 30 watt Crate). I currently have a '65 reissue Twin that I love. However, it is just way too heavy to lug around now at age 58. A few months ago I bought a '65 Deluxe Reverb new and I think it sounds great for jazz. The Twin will always be the preferred sound but the DRRI is close. I just wish it had a mid range knob. I understand it can be modified as it has mid but it is permanently set at 8. In any event, the DRRI sounds very good with the 175 as well as my ES 335. I pretty much play just jazz and a bit of R&B / Blues these days. Originally Posted by Neal7
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Originally Posted by yanksfanwhm
Hello:
The Jazz tone that like me in my amp(a old tube amp Vibrosonic reverb of fender) is:
bright switch=desactivated(no bright)
treble = 1 or nothing ( sometimes betwen 1 or 2,dependient of the ambient,the room,the hall).
middle = 4 or 5
bass = 5 or 6.
reverb= 3 (spring reverb that tend to sound brightnes)
Saludos
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Hi Neal, Can you explain what 'headroom' is? For an amp, I mean. Originally Posted by Neal7
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I am not Neal, but headroom is the amount of volume you have with the clean tone of an amp before it starts to break up. Originally Posted by JorisFun
This is the reason why you tend to see jazz amps having huge amounts of watts. Higher power gives you more clean volume (headroom) before amp or speaker break up.
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I use either
Modified Fender HR Deluxe 112.
Fender Deluxe 112 Plus from the mid '90s
Roland Supercube 60
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I have a Schertler 'David' for my archtop. It's great for acoustic archtop styles. Considering a Henrikson JazzAmp or JazKat for more electric archtop sounds... I suppose the ultimate jazzamp would be one that covers all the styles you want to play, but, on reflection, all my jazz guitar heroes sound like themselves no matter what amp they find themselves playing through. Maybe we should spend more time digging for our inner sound...???
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I'v checked out JC 120s and I really like them, would get one if I can find it cheap. but I defnitely prefer my mid 80s mesa boogie Mark III, like what Al Dimeola just started using.
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I can never make up my mind for too long. I'll use a setting for day or months or minutes. It just kind of depends on what and where I'm playing. Lately, on my TRRI I have set bass just right of 9, treble just under 7 and mid at 5. On the DRRI its bass 9 and treble at about 6 and 1/2. Originally Posted by Fernando
Hello:
The Jazz tone that like me in my amp(a old tube amp Vibrosonic reverb of fender) is:
bright switch=desactivated(no bright)
treble = 1 or nothing ( sometimes betwen 1 or 2,dependient of the ambient,the room,the hall).
middle = 4 or 5
bass = 5 or 6.
reverb= 3 (spring reverb that tend to sound brightnes)
Saludos
I am able to vary the tone on the guitars pretty good so I can get a very nice round jazz tone with the 175. The 335 is a little brighter but still mellow.
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i have a 65' Twin Verb, and I must say, I couldn't be happier. I'm mainly a Jazz guitarist, but I also play in a cover band, so I need a versatile amp that will sound great no matter what style of music your playing. I'm extremely happy with my twin, and I know a lot of other jazz guitarists (including my gtr teacher) who adore the twin.
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Hi Andi, There is no doubt about the quality of the Twin. But my back protests. I tried the '65 reissue Deluxe Reverb and loved it, pity I has no stand-by switch. In the end I went for the Blues Junior (my back won). I've seen on Harmony central that some replaced the speaker with a Celestion. At this time I'm still happy with the original speaker but has any one ideas on this?
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Got a great deal on a closeout-a Crate Palomino 30watt(V-32 model) tube amp with el84's, celestion speaker. Was 350 USD a couple of months back. Good looking with great sound. They're not making them anymore, and you rarely find them on ebay. What a steal............Benny,
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i play thru a peavy classic 30 via a boss me-50. am looking for a solid state with a good clean channel.
Last edited by valriver40; 08-26-2008 at 10:56 AM.
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Hi,
A question about the JC120...If you plug into both channels, does it output to the two speakers independently (it's got 2 seperate amps inside, right?)? By which I mean, if I go out of my outboard stereo reverb, or my effects board L and R into channels 1 and 2, will I actually get real stereo output, or just the same thing coming through both speakers?
I have, incidientally, an old Polytone Minibrute 4, which is amazing even though it looks like it may have survived the last mass extinction, and a Henriksen Jazz Amp 10, which is beautiful too, and very portabe, but maybe not quite as flexible. I had a JC-120 provided once on a tour this year though, and it blew me away. It just sounded very, very full - really unbelievably so - so I'm thinking it might be worth a shot, and I think if they're built like people say, almost any second hand one would do...
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Hi, i am thinking about getting a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue, it will mainly be for practice at home/recording and some live playing with a drummer, the sound i want is that Wes Montgomery sound, when its just starting to break up, i was thinking that the Deluxe is 22 watts into 8 Ohms, ideal for what i want, am i right? and can i get the sound im after on it? any advice from anyone who has played it would be great.
I play an Epi ES 175 with flat 14's.
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@symodiezel:
My guitar teacher has a 22watts Deluxe and I played his a lot.
It's a very good amp with a very sweet tone, Wes is definately in there. Breakup happens only when the volume is already pretty loud though, so it might be too loud in your situation. I think the Fender Blues Junior breaks up earlier, so you might want to try that one too and see which one suits your needs better.
Good luck!
Jasper
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Hi there guys - only recently got into jazz and then only the foothills - inkspots and glenn miller but its getting to be fun
As for amps - Ive had a life threatening change recently - chucked out everything except the modified epiphone valve juniors- and no-one seems to have mentioned it:
simulation - do check out guitar rig 3, perhaps run on a netbook when they get up to 2.4Ghz and 40 gig flash hdrives (the netbook wwwdisabled and running nothing else - no antiv, nothing) -and then into a Roland KC150
synthasis - I've got a godin xtsa and thats great into a roland GR33 and then into the roland KC150: but recently a roland GK3 on an old solid into a GR20 - the GK3 and GR20 together cost £250 on ebay. try a slow number on 'breathy sax' - its like being a whole 6 piece band - and just wallow in the sound
these sounds are fantastic and so cheap - i cant tell the difference except the sound is better than all the previous amps, better than its ever been- but then my ears are abit duff these days
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Roland Cube 30 speaker choices?
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