The Ultimate Guitar Amp

[Little Jay]

I am starting to think that a 5F1 with a Jensen P10R is the ultimate guitar amp!

If only all drummers and audiences would respect its maximum headroom volume....

[Madansi]

Hi guys,

Few weeks before i told you about my project of custom twin reverb based head.
Amp not finished yet, but my custom cab for it arrived !
Solid pine ( very light weight ! ), bordeaux tolex. It will fit 2*WGS G12C/S. Will make a NAD topic ( with audio samples if i can ! ) when i'll receive the head.

[Eck]

I am starting to think that a 5F1 with a Jensen P10R is the ultimate guitar amp!

If only all drummers and audiences would respect its maximum headroom volume....

I just ‘built’ two identical cabs with a Jensen C8R and a Celestion 15-8. The Jensen sound a whole lot better for jazz.


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[Little Jay]

I just ‘built’ two identical cabs with a Jensen C8R and a Celestion 15-8. The Jensen sound a whole lot better for jazz.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah! Confirmation!

[bluejaybill]

Hi guys,

Few weeks before i told you about my project of custom twin reverb based head.
Amp not finished yet, but my custom cab for it arrived !
Solid pine ( very light weight ! ), bordeaux tolex. It will fit 2*WGS G12C/S. Will make a NAD topic ( with audio samples if i can ! ) when i'll receive the head.

I have been using a Fat Jimmy Gigmaster 20 for jazz playing lately, that amp has their version of the WGS12C, with minor modifications. Those are very nice jazz speakers!

I think you'll be happy, the 12CS are said to have a little less treble. Not a bad thing for jazz.

[Madansi]

Some news about the custom amp i talked about few messages before on this thread.
I should receive it in ~10 days.

Here are some pictures, if anyone that knows a bit about amp could tell me if the build looks great or not

[one_dude]

I have not read all of the responses in this thread, but based on the several pages I have read, I think many of us share the same problem. I have somewhere between 12 and 17 guitar amps. Of that group, I chose most of them for their clean sound/jazz sound. The amps include Fender, Peavey, Yamaha, Traynor, and Crate. Some have 12 inch speakers and some have two 10 inch speakers, and some have two 12 inch speakers. Almost all of them share the same problem; they weigh 50 and 60 pounds each.

Now that was not an issue earlier in life, but since my music room is in a finished room in the basement it has become a problem. I am not 20 years old any more, but I (prior to Covid) gig more now than ever before. Hence the hauling of heavy gear is an issue. I can get the sound I want out of each of these amps in my music room, and I am sure the same is true at a gig venue. But I want to spend more of my energy playing than loading in and loading out. My current band plays 50's thru current pop and soft rock music, and I play mostly mandolin in this group. I am playing more guitar in the group as time goes on, and while we have a great PA system, I don't like the sound of my guitar plugging directly into the PA. Hence, I want the sound I get from my gear in my music room. Therein lies the problem; I need a lighter amp that does not sacrifice sound for size and weight. I know there are many options out there, and I am leaning toward a Fender product because I prefer that traditional Fender sound. So I am thinking about a Fender Princeton, a Blues Junior, or a Champion. Do these amps hold up well for live performances, and do they provide that sound I can get from a Fender Twin? No drummer, two acoustic guitars run in to the PA, harmonica, bass, and percussion.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

One_Dude

[dcrowe]

My friend and mentor, Mitch Watkins (Leonard Cohen, Lyle Lovett), gets a great jazz sound out of a DV Mark Little Jazz plugged into the PA through its XLR out. He previously had a Lunchbox and much prefers the DV. I have one and have to admit being a tube valve freak (DR 1964, 1959 Tweed Deluxe, Gibson GA-50) it has an amazing sound and reverb.

Dan

[citizenk74]

I have not read all of the responses in this thread, but based on the several pages I have read, I think many of us share the same problem. I have somewhere between 12 and 17 guitar amps. Of that group, I chose most of them for their clean sound/jazz sound. The amps include Fender, Peavey, Yamaha, Traynor, and Crate. Some have 12 inch speakers and some have two 10 inch speakers, and some have two 12 inch speakers. Almost all of them share the same problem; they weigh 50 and 60 pounds each.

Now that was not an issue earlier in life, but since my music room is in a finished room in the basement it has become a problem. I am not 20 years old any more, but I (prior to Covid) gig more now than ever before. Hence the hauling of heavy gear is an issue. I can get the sound I want out of each of these amps in my music room, and I am sure the same is true at a gig venue. But I want to spend more of my energy playing than loading in and loading out. My current band plays 50's thru current pop and soft rock music, and I play mostly mandolin in this group. I am playing more guitar in the group as time goes on, and while we have a great PA system, I don't like the sound of my guitar plugging directly into the PA. Hence, I want the sound I get from my gear in my music room. Therein lies the problem; I need a lighter amp that does not sacrifice sound for size and weight. I know there are many options out there, and I am leaning toward a Fender product because I prefer that traditional Fender sound. So I am thinking about a Fender Princeton, a Blues Junior, or a Champion. Do these amps hold up well for live performances, and do they provide that sound I can get from a Fender Twin? No drummer, two acoustic guitars run in to the PA, harmonica, bass, and percussion.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

One_Dude

[QUOTE][/QUOTE

A Princeton would do nicely. I gigged a lot with a Princeton Reverb. I used a small luggage cart to save wear and tear.
Oh, and nothing sounds like a Twin. It is the L5CES of amps.

[rpjazzguitar]

In a PA situation, I would mic a small amp.

I have the Sennheiser 609 (about $100). It has a flat face so that you can thread the cable thru the amp's handle and dangle the mic. No mic stand, saving one piece of gear to carry. Sounds fine that way. I have experimented by mic'ing it and running the mic into another guitar amp. The two amps sounded about the same FWIW.

Which amp? The smallest/lightest that sounds good to me. In my case that's the DV Mark Little Jazz. Another poster mentioned that the XLR out sounds fine too. Saves the trouble of mic'ing and would be worth checking out.

[one_dude]

Thanks for the input guys. I have been revisiting the weights of my different amps, and found that at least one of them is in the mid 30's weight wise. The amp in question will not give me the sound of my Fender Twin, but it may be good enough. It's a hybrid tube/SS amp and I recall that I was happy with the sound. For the last couple of years it's been put on the back-burner because of my Fender Twin, and has not been played. Right now it's kind of tucked into a corner of my music room, so I will dig it out and give it a try. If satisfactory sound-wise, 33 - 35 pounds is much more manageable than 60 pounds and may work for now.

Thanks again,

One_Dude

[Ray175]

Thanks for the input guys. I have been revisiting the weights of my different amps, and found that at least one of them is in the mid 30's weight wise. The amp in question will not give me the sound of my Fender Twin, but it may be good enough. It's a hybrid tube/SS amp and I recall that I was happy with the sound. For the last couple of years it's been put on the back-burner because of my Fender Twin, and has not been played. Right now it's kind of tucked into a corner of my music room, so I will dig it out and give it a try. If satisfactory sound-wise, 33 - 35 pounds is much more manageable than 60 pounds and may work for now.

Thanks again,

One_Dude

If your willing to add "one more amp" to the collection, maybe the ToneMaster either in Deluxe or Twin version would suite your needs. Incredibly light, XLR out with 3 impulse response modes, 5 levels of effective power attenuation and well reviewed on the pages of our august forum. I've played valve since 1970 - 1964 AC30 top boost, 1965 Deluxe, various Princetons..... but for the last 18 months my main amp is the TMDR, which is incredibly close to my memories of the first Deluxe - many of my friends thought it WAS a valve amp when I put a shoe box in front of the Tone Master label at the bottom front corner of the grill.....

[oneuer]

Coming from the Rock & Blues field, I am new to the Jazz genre as I have started in a little combo in our local Jazzschool in Munich, Germany.

So far, I find it very exiting as this opens a nef field for me and the more I dive into this area the more fun I have. Sure, I am still at a beginner level as far as Jazz is concerned.

Right now, I own 3 amps: 1 Fender Blues Junior III Tweed, 1 Fender Bassbreaker Mindnight Oil and a Yamaha THR10.

Basically, I am using the Bassbreaker fro Jazz sound as it has a particular setting that creates this mild and warm tone that I associate with Jazz Guitar.

Regarding the BJ, I can see that people are using this amp here also, so I am curious to understand what experienced people are recommending in that regard.

[jazzkritter]

Oneuer:

Im going to steal citizen74’s idea and welcome you to the forum)))

bass amps do make for a satisfying trad jazz sound. Think of the Polytone which in its core is a bass amp or the professionally standard Walter Woods which was a bass amp too (used by Kessel, Byrd, Ellis, Farlow, others).

Problem is amps like everything else in life are highly personal in the reasons people select (and love) them! Price, availability, sound, individual opinion, the match with your own guitar and playing style, buyer pride, and let’s not forget the tendency to follow the crowd
()! All these factor in to the responses you see here.

Amplifier opinions also drive long, obsessive discussions here that I have always felt do more to confuse than clear the question. And yes, I have been guilty of that too!

In my professional career I used to tell my staff that after making an important decision you know it was right for you if you sleep soundly at night. As to amps, you know you have the ‘right’ one if it makes you want to grab it and play. Regardless of what others think of that model.

Take care
jk

[oneuer]

jazzkritter:

thanks a lot for your warm welcome and encoraging comments! I am very much looking forward to all the exchange and learnings here!

Best
oneuer

[jim777]

Welcome Oneuer

I agree with JK, I used my bass amp for all my jazz practice for months before I changed the tubes in my old Acoustic G100T amp (my daughter took up bass so she is using the bass amp primarily now). It's a Hartke Hydrive 210, which is 250 watts into 2 of those 10" metal coned speakers. And honestly it sounds fantastic but like lots of fantastic sounding amps it's a huge combo and weighs a ton!

At some point I will either swap a guitar or something else (I still have more than enough 'super strats' lying around as extras) and get a Fender ToneMaster, either the Twin or the Super. The weight alone would make those worth it, but with all the other upsides like line outs and attenuation they really check a lot of boxes.

[Eck]

Herzlich willkommen Oneuer! (Not German but Nina Hagen’s intro to TV Glotze is unforgettable)
I played through a cheap Peavey Minx bass amp every now and then few years back and loved it. But I have a THR10C which is excellent for small rooms. The Fender Deluxe tone on it is the same on yours. You want settings?
Keep in mind that the way you play, especially the chord inversions is of greater influence than the amp you play through.


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[oneuer]

Thanks jim777!

Indeed, the Fender ToneMaster seems to be a great alternative, I have tried one in a local store last year.
Being very sceptical at the beginning, I must admit that I cannot hear a difference to the respective Tube model.
I will probbaly digger into this in more detail during the next months....

oneuer

[oneuer]

Vielen Dank Eck!

I couldn't agree more and I also tend to overrate the importance of my gear. Like many others here probably, I sometimes get lost in looking into new gear, testing, exchanging etc... to finally find out that it prevents you from actually playing and - even worse - buying a new amp does not make you a better player necessarily. Of course, all of us are on the search for the best possible tone and sometimes it is hard to find the balance between what you really need and what is only nice to have.

oneuer

[citizenk74]

Coming from the Rock & Blues field, I am new to the Jazz genre as I have started in a little combo in our local Jazzschool in Munich, Germany.

So far, I find it very exiting as this opens a nef field for me and the more I dive into this area the more fun I have. Sure, I am still at a beginner level as far as Jazz is concerned.

Right now, I own 3 amps: 1 Fender Blues Junior III Tweed, 1 Fender Bassbreaker Mindnight Oil and a Yamaha THR10.

Basically, I am using the Bassbreaker fro Jazz sound as it has a particular setting that creates this mild and warm tone that I associate with Jazz Guitar.

Regarding the BJ, I can see that people are using this amp here also, so I am curious to understand what experienced people are recommending in that regard.

[Doctor Jeff]

If your willing to add "one more amp" to the collection, maybe the ToneMaster either in Deluxe or Twin version would suite your needs. Incredibly light, XLR out with 3 impulse response modes, 5 levels of effective power attenuation and well reviewed on the pages of our august forum. I've played valve since 1970 - 1964 AC30 top boost, 1965 Deluxe, various Princetons..... but for the last 18 months my main amp is the TMDR, which is incredibly close to my memories of the first Deluxe - many of my friends thought it WAS a valve amp when I put a shoe box in front of the Tone Master label at the bottom front corner of the grill.....

You know I don't need another amp--have a Fender SCXD and Fishman Artist among others. But for some reason I've been thinking that the TM Deluxe would be perfect for my needs.

IDK we'll see if the opportunity comes up to get a new amp in the near future.

[Ed Davis]

I use an AER Compact 60-2 and a Quilter101 Mini Reverb. I use a Boss RV-6 stereo reverb unit to send my signal to each amp. I like plate reverb.

[NSJ]

The ultimate? Two channel Busarino Chameleon. End of story.

[Chris236]

For a Polytone lover?

Mambo, without question.

otherwise….Peavey SC212.

[jumpnblues]

I really don't know what to report. I don't have enough superlatives. IMHO this amp is the ultimate gig amp for jazz or anything else. The tone/sound is superb, with or without pedals. The jazz tones are as good as it gets. Warm, clean, plenty of headroom, breaks up very smoothly. Makes my Fender Tele Vintera '60s Modified and Heritage Standard Classic Eagle sound wonderful. This from a lifetime tube fanatic. And I mean fanatic.

The gig was with our top forty reunion band playing mostly '70s and '80s hits. The Tonemaster acquitted itself very, very, nicely. For features, the amp has everything it needs and nothing it doesn't. And all the features work very effectively. I set the attenuator for the room (about half way) and had all the headroom I needed...with 3 settings left. I plugged straight into the amp (for the gig) and it sounded great. I experimented during the break and it took pedals wonderfully. I liked both mic simulators just fine but slightly favored the Royer R122. I've read about some people changing out the speaker but, to my ears, that wasn't necessary at all. The amp sounded great just the way it was.

I've owned some great sounding vintage and boutique amps over the decades (Matchless, Allen, Dr. Z, Victoria, Louis Electric, Mesa Boogie, '64 Twin Reverb, among others). For pure tone, the Tonemaster is likely as good as you'll find. And, yes, it sounds very, very, close to a vintage blackface Deluxe Reverb.

Anyway, I've made some posts similar to this one so I'm really not saying anything new. Several people on this forum own Tonemasters. Do yourself a favor and try one out. My 2 cents.