The Ultimate Guitar Amp

[MarkE]

I received an email saying that I haven't been here in a while, so I thought I would throw in my experience. I have four amps in the house, all pretty small because we (my son and I) don't play professionally at this time. The two I use for Jazz are:

Roland Jazz-Chorus 55 - My Favorite! A true stereo chorus amp. 50w total with stereo chorus off - 25W for each amp with stereo on. Not made any more. I found a like-new one and it has no hiss or any other interference problem. It has a pretty pathetic gain feature, but I don't use distortion on this amp anyway. I play clean with a little reverb and a slight amount of chorus.

Peavey Transtube 30
A nice little solid-state amp with two models on the clean channel and three on the lead. It's nice to play around with if you want to experiment with various sounds

Other amps I really like:
Roland Cube 60
Peavey Valve-King

[symodiezel]

@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

Thanx Jasper, I usually play loud anyway, neighbours dont complain either which is a bonus! I also would like that extra volume when needed, for jamming with a drummer i know, would this amp be loud enough for that do you think?

I have been using the Deluxe Reverb model on my POD XT for recording, and im slowly tweaking it to get the sound i want, but the real thing would be better.

[frisellfan19]

I use two small amplifiers a Fender Sidekick Reverb 35 and a Jay Turser Classic 25. Both amps are setup in stereo.

I get a very good jazz tone from both ampilfiers. Both amps are similar in sound, so a contrast in sound isn't really an issue. I love the sound of stereo. I don't think I could go back to one amp, but I probably could if I wanted to, but I'm really enjoying my current setup.

I never used an amp's reverb. I use a cheap Lexicon MPX-110 unit to give me the reverb I need. I use a Hall reverb setting, because I like the fuller sound it produces. Other effects that I use a TC Electronic Vintage Compression, Boss DD-6 Digital Delay, Boss TR-2 Tremolo, Boss DS-1 Distortion, and even though it's not an effect, I use an Morley volume pedal and for short little loops I use a Line 6 DL4.

[Little Jay]

Thanx Jasper, I usually play loud anyway, neighbours dont complain either which is a bonus! I also would like that extra volume when needed, for jamming with a drummer i know, would this amp be loud enough for that do you think?

I have been using the Deluxe Reverb model on my POD XT for recording, and im slowly tweaking it to get the sound i want, but the real thing would be better.

Yes, I think the Deluxe has enough power to play with a drummers, especially in jazz settings! In a matter of fact, I've used the Deluxe on jamsessions with drums, upright bass, piano and horns and I loved it. I like the blackface "pressure" with tight bottom-end it produces. But again, it stayed very clean, so to push it to that break-up point you move into volume levels that go beyond the average jazz-gig!

[bluemood]

I use two amps for jazz one is my Polytone mini brute IV and the other is my modified Fender Hot Rod Deluxe I changed the speaker to a Weber Alinco 12A150,tubes JJ's 6l6GC bias 68mv also did the reverb mod cut the treble bypass filter made the reverb less busy and warmer.

[Sharyl]

I used the AER compact 60 amp but the speaker is a bit small and it gets a bit reedy in the higher registers.

I really enjoy my Jazz Amp and just sounds great to my ears.
Plenty of punch.

Jazz Guitar Amplifier: Henriksen Jazz Amp: light, powerful, inexpensive, small, jazz guitar amplifier

Check it out.

[hot ford coupe]

I tend to be more into the vintage stuff. I found a 1965 Ampeg Gemini I with the 12 " speaker which has about the sweetest tone I've ever heard. The only amp that I think will beat it for me is a 1965 Gemini II with the 15 inch speaker.

[guitslngr]

I just got a new Henriksen 10R and really like it..it has a lot of 'tweekability'

[JorisFun]

Great, guitslngr that the Hendriksen is your fav amp. I understand the tweakabillity but I tried it a few months ago and I didn't like it one bit. Going on the great reviews this amps gets I feel I must have missed something. Reviews in Just Jazz Guitar are also very positive yet I found the amp quite flat.

[symodiezel]

Im thinking about getting a Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Vintage Reissue, it will be used only for Jazz with my Jazz Box, but i have read some reviews at Harmony Central that said it was difficult to get a good sound out of this amp with a hollow body guitar and the sound was thin.
Im really interested to hear from guys who play hollow bodies with this amp, the sound that i am after is the Wes sound, pure and simple, to me its perfect, i know he used Standel solid state amps later on, but he did use Fender amps earlier on, any info on the Deluxe Reverb from you guys who have actually heard it or used it would be terrific...............thanx in advance.

[Little Jay]

You seem to be hesitating for quite some time now about the Deluxe... understandeble, but..... if you ask opinions from different people, you' ll get different opinions that will make you hesitate even more.

Go to a musicstore, try one out with your own guitar and see what YOU think of it and if you can get YOUR tone. What other people think is irrelevant.

My irrelevant opinion: I've played it several times on jamsessions and in my teacher's studio, with different hollowbody guitars (humbuckers and single coils) and to me it didn't sound thin at all, it's a great jazzamp!

[symodiezel]

Thanx Jay, Im making do at the moment which is why I seem to be hesitating, also I have very little time to get to the city which is where the best music shops are, local ones stock cheap amps that they have deals with.
I know everyone has a different opinion, but they are all valid, and I can put together a picture until I try one for myself, the beauty of having forums like this with people who have more experience than I do, so your irrelevant opinion is actually relevant to me and thanx for it.

[apgrower]

i have a DRRI with a JBL D130F speaker i play a gibson L5CES thru it is just so warm and sweet sounding. i set the tone controls with each at about 5 depending on location, it has great volume i dont have any complaints. i never run it to break up though but i can keep up with a piano and drums without troulbe.

[Steve Herberman]

I've been very happy with my Acoustic Image Clarus and Raezer's Edge NY8 cabinet. Lots of players use these so it's nothing new but I feel the player's true sound comes through these amps. You get out what you put in....

[derek]

I've been very happy with my Acoustic Image Clarus and Raezer's Edge NY8 cabinet. Lots of players use these so it's nothing new but I feel the player's true sound comes through these amps. You get out what you put in....

Such a popular combo. Very transparent. Nice to see you posting here Steve, I really enjoy the stuff of yours I have heard. I have been very tempted buy several of your lessons on Mike's Master Classes. Good to have you here.

Btw, where did you study?

[Steve Herberman]

Such a popular combo. Very transparent. Nice to see you posting here Steve, I really enjoy the stuff of yours I have heard. I have been very tempted buy several of your lessons on Mike's Master Classes. Good to have you here.

Btw, where did you study?

Thanks Derek,

I went to Berklee and later worked my way through the George Van Eps Harmonic Mechanism books which to me was like a masters degree in chordal playing. Those books take a lot of patience which at one time in my life I had :-)

[derek]

Thanks Derek,

I went to Berklee and later worked my way through the George Van Eps Harmonic Mechanism books which to me was like a masters degree in chordal playing. Those books take a lot of patience which at one time in my life I had :-)

Well, yes, your GVE triads vids is one that I am tempted by. I play mostly solo, so the CM thing is kind of my deal at this point. I have studied a bunch with Jody Fisher, and he talks about the daunting work involved with George's stuff. I think he only made it thru one of those books.

[Steve Herberman]

Well, yes, your GVE triads vids is one that I am tempted by. I play mostly solo, so the CM thing is kind of my deal at this point. I have studied a bunch with Jody Fisher, and he talks about the daunting work involved with George's stuff. I think he only made it thru one of those books.

I have a triad-based Van Eps arrangement that was in JJG last year sometime that I'd be happy to email you or anyone interested. That arr. was also put in TAB which is what JJG requires. One of those videos you mention is me playing that arrangement.

[derek]

Sorry to hijack the thread. If you guys don't know who Steve is, check out this youtube clip. He belongs in our thread about newer guys who are making a mark on the scene.

[raimo]

Hi!
What about fender bassman?

[chanter62]

Here is my experience. Up until a couple of weeks ago i played my eastman (non cutaway) 905E archtop with benedetto floating pickup through a mid 80's fender champ. Was generally happy with the deep tone for big band comping. The amp could also nicely accomodate my semi hollow gibson es 137 for more resonant/sustain solo work and I preferred the champ tone over my fender hot rod deluxe and fender acoustasonic junior (which has a lot of crappy digital effects imo). Enter the henriksen 10r through the fireplace on Xmas morning. Plugged in the eastman and was smitten by the clarity of tone and sensitivity of the eq. The guitar has never sounded as good. On turning the volume up did encounter feed back but it is very tweakable, and I was pushing the sonic limit. After a few giddy hours of enjoying the rich quality and making stuff up, i plugged in the custom ES 137 with the gibson 1957 (??) pafs. Was much less impressed with the sound of these pups and the laminated body through the henriksen. It just didn't speak to me whereas through tubes it is really warm and gorgeously rich. Bottom line, for jazz gigs from now on i will use the eastman/henriksen combo and for more blues/rockier situations will emply the gibson/champ set up. The acoustasonic and hot rod deluxe will continue to gather dust. I have not tried my tele through the henriksen so there is much exploring to be done

[Brian O'Sullivan]

I used a Traynor bassman head with a bassmaster speaker in the 70s with my 335 - very warm sound - lots of controlled feedback and it screamed on the bridge pickup. I played at 10 on the volume knob and had the treble turned up to max. to compensate for the over-emphasis on bass tones. Those were my rocker/blues days

These days, I process my Godin LXT through an AER Compact Mobile (I occassionally get gigs where no electricity is available - e.g. festivals in provincial parks ...). I had a JC 120 for a while and loved it but it's a pig to carry. The Polytones sound great and I agree that the Roland Cube 60s are a workable option and are reasonably priced.

[hot ford coupe]

I guess it's a matter of amp/guitar compatability. Not every guitar/pickup goes great with every amp.

[nic]

I've become very happy with my Fender Princeton 65' reissue. It's an amp currently in production, 15w., one speaker (not sure what size). I'm not going for a traditional jazz tone, this amp is very clean but just a touch "hot". I play a Gibson Johnny A or an American Deluxe Telecaster through it.

I'm starting to get curious about the Egnator Rebel.

[dix_fix]

I suppose the point is moot that "if there was 1 ultimate guitar AMP" the fact that it was the ULTIMATE surley no other amps would sell.

Personally i think it is as subjective as guitars themselves. Everybody has different opinions & is after some different sound to please the inner artist