The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #176

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    +1 for the Fender DRRI. I absolutely love mine and it is a very sweet sounding, very versatile, reliable gigging amp that I use multiple times a week. Don't sweat the price too much, I think it's worth every penny at full price, and you can usually pick them up for steals used. I got mine for $450 off craigslist in practically new condition, and I haven't had a problem yet aside from needing new power tubes recently, but thats routine maintenance. Combined with boxes on my pedalboard I can get pretty much all the tones I could ever need for most gigs. My midsize rig is a Digitech GSP2101 into a Mesa 50/50 to a open back Avatar G212H traditional with a vintage 30 and a g12h30, very sweet sounding rig, but this one is much more geared towards my rock type gigs, but it can pull out some useable jazz tones.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #177

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    I use this setting (thanks to Mark)
    Reverb: 4
    Master: nearly 12
    Middle: 8
    Bass: 9
    Treble: 6
    On my BJ for a nice cripsy jazz sound

  4. #178

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    Quote Originally Posted by fast eddy
    Mr. Beaumont. I'm awaiting delivery from Canada (I live in Thailand) of my Blues Junior in tweed. What do make of all this talk of the Bill'M' mods? Have you tried anything like that on your stock tolex version?

    also, I would be much obliged if you could advise me on sweet settings that you've managed to coax out of your box. My guitar is an Ephiphone FlameKat and I do have Blues Driver with the Rober Keeley mods and a CS-3 compressor - just for your information.

    Many thanks
    hey eddy.

    it should be noted that before i go into my settings, i rarely use the blues junior for straight up jazz gigs anymore, since i got a hold of a polytone. the polytone is just to easy to get the right tone out of for me to go back.

    that said, i do still use the fender, especially at home and when playing the occasional country/western swing stuff out or at a jam.

    anyway, here's how i set things for the recordings i did with the BJ

    mids: maxed
    lows: little over halfway up
    high: very low, 1 or 2

    FAT off. i also rolled a bit of tone off on the guitar. since i don't really like reverb and the BJ's reverb is horrible for jazz, it was set at 1 or off completely. a few tracks were given a little digital verb after the recording...

    that's pretty much it. i never looked too far into the billM mods, because it's sort of against my style to put 100's of dollars into an amp that (when i bought it, they've gone up in price) only cost me 350 bucks.

    one thing i have considered is running a lower gain 12A_7 tube in V1, but i've never bothered, as 15 tube watts coupled with my low gain single coil pickups (not a humbucker man) has got enough loud clean for any of the settings i play in regularly.

  5. #179

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stringsinger
    I wonder if any of you have had experience with battery operated amps
    that don't require electrical outlets? And are there some light enough to
    carry around easily?

    I bought the Fender can amp on the advice of my jazz guitar teacher - some ten years ago. Weighs 5kgs and comes with two in jacks - one for guitar and one for mike,keyboard et al. There is a distortion button which isn't too bad. Great, clear tone worth a look on Harmony Central amp reviews.

    Nowadays we have the advantage of Roland's cosm - a battery amp with modelling. Heard good reports as I have about the vox battery amp solution. There appears to be quiet a choice these days

  6. #180

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    I have a Fender "The Twin" that I've used for gigs since '88 and haven't found a better sound yet. But needless to say, the thing is HEAVY! I have a Mini Brute II that get's close but not close enough for me. But I will use it than battle with the Twin.
    We collect many amps over the years but I can't beat the tube. So I just picked up the Blues Junior with the Jensen speaker and worked it last Saturday. I was amazed! Didn't like the reverb and had to keep it under 2 but for size, weight and loudness it suited me perfectly.
    I've given two of my solid state amps to my sons. I just bought them to try to see if I could find a combination of setting that I could talk myself into using. But we all have different tastes! I'll try my POD XT Live next but I don't usually use effects unless I get called for RB gigs.

    As I've said. We all have something we hear in our minds and I hope everyone finds it.


    Randy

  7. #181

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    The best cure for the reverb is to replace the stock pan with a Ruby Reverb. It's under $40 with shipping, and greatly improves the sound...even though, anything over 3 on the dial is a little much. Must be a Fender thing.

    I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I own the BJ NOS (Jensen speaker + tweed) and I love it with my 335 -- and the Ruby Reverb.

    This fall's project will be a 1-15 speaker cab for my Band-Master VM head. The BM has a similar tonality to the Blues Jr, but more power and headroom. It's still light, and has digital effects that sound pretty good, and channel switching; but the convenience of the Junior has led me to gigging with it.

  8. #182

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    The Fender Acoustasonic Jr. does a reasonable job for my nylon string guitar--which sounds horrid and tinny through the PA direct.

  9. #183

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    Way d' go Eddy!
    I guess the Blues Junior made it to Thailand. Great you like the settings, I copied them from my guitar teacher.
    I'm making do here in my house in Spain with a Cube 30 and a vintage Höfner 45(something). I could do worse off course, but reunion with my BJ (and L4) makes going back next week a little less sour.
    Cheers, Joris

  10. #184

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    Quote Originally Posted by Brad
    I want to check out that Roland MicroCube. Have heard about it but have not seen a jazz player here play one.

    bpm
    I bought a MicroCube when it first appeared. Wasn't looking for an amp. Walked into to a music store to buy strings, walked out with a MicroCube.

    It's kinda-spoiled other amps for me. I LOVE it's sound and now, when testing larger amps, am always seeking a similar sound, but louder.

    However, I regularly use it for gigs which would usually require a louder amp. Two ways of doing so:
    1. run the Microcube's line-out to the PA, or to any larger amp which can accurately reproduce the line-out signal. I have a 30-watt bass-combo amp with a very flat/clean sound, no distortion, which does the trick.

    2. the way I prefer: put the 'cube directly in front of me, close, aimed right at me, placing it on a stool or chair.... then, mic the speaker.

    Used thus, I think of the Microcube's speaker as the 'bell of a sax'. Horn players & singers don't require amps, do they? They just require a microphone.

    Caveats:
    --I always run it via batteries. Sounds better, battery-operation creates 'sag' similar to tube rectifiers in tube amps. Plus less wires all over the place.

    --The small speaker farts out at higher volumes. Tho the amp doesn't have an 'extension speaker' jack, it's easy to have one added, or as I do, use a second cab for the amp. Mine is a small pine cab with an 8" 4-ohm bass-guitar speaker. I transfer the entire actual ''amp" (which is circuitry mounted on an L-shaped metal panel, held in place by 9 screws) to the same-sized opening on the larger cab. When finances permit, I plan to get a second M-cube to permanently mount thus, which will also allow me to use stereo M-cubes, running off effect boxes with stereo output.

    Regarding the entire Roland 'Cube' line of amps, tho all are similar, the circuitry and overall sound varies, and the M-cube remains my fave, even though it lacks footswitching capabilities, which I don't need. I had the 30-watt cube for about 3 days, returned it to Sam Ash. Lacked the warmth & 'feel' of the Micro-Cube.

    The Micro-cube is the only solid-state amp I've ever owned which I totally love. I forget it's solid-state. I forget it's even THERE. I just play and the sounds I wanna create are there in the air, floating around.

    In some ways, it's the closest thing (in electric guitaring) to acoustic guitaring. Electric SOUND, but absolutely minimalistic gear.

    Tho not playing jazz, or using the amp's cleaner 'jazz' settings, this video of the Micro-cube is a hoot...the WALKING TOUR of Ontario, Canada, via m-cube:

  11. #185

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    Hi ,
    I am new and love the site...I use Crate V-18 . It has a single 12 ...you can get it with twins...I like the single and it is warm without being muddy. It is light and easy to carry around. And as for price it was 149 dollars...It is a really great little amp for the money.

  12. #186

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    Having had it now for a couple of weeks, I have to put my two cents in for the Phil Jones Super Cub.

  13. #187
    I think I am getting a nice sound from my ES-175 and my Roland Cube 60
    Check both together here :





    (forgive the playing, check the sound)


  14. #188

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    Great tone.The sound quality on the backing track is kind of distracting though.I think you play great.Nice rendition of "sultans of Swing" too!

  15. #189

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    since my last post i upgraded from a cube 30x to a new cube 80x and love it.

  16. #190

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    Quote Originally Posted by janepaints
    I bought a MicroCube when it first appeared. Wasn't looking for an amp. Walked into to a music store to buy strings, walked out with a MicroCube.

    It's kinda-spoiled other amps for me. I LOVE it's sound and now, when testing larger amps, am always seeking a similar sound, but louder.

    However, I regularly use it for gigs which would usually require a louder amp. Two ways of doing so:
    1. run the Microcube's line-out to the PA, or to any larger amp which can accurately reproduce the line-out signal. I have a 30-watt bass-combo amp with a very flat/clean sound, no distortion, which does the trick.

    2. the way I prefer: put the 'cube directly in front of me, close, aimed right at me, placing it on a stool or chair.... then, mic the speaker.

    Used thus, I think of the Microcube's speaker as the 'bell of a sax'. Horn players & singers don't require amps, do they? They just require a microphone.

    Caveats:
    --I always run it via batteries. Sounds better, battery-operation creates 'sag' similar to tube rectifiers in tube amps. Plus less wires all over the place.

    --The small speaker farts out at higher volumes. Tho the amp doesn't have an 'extension speaker' jack, it's easy to have one added, or as I do, use a second cab for the amp. Mine is a small pine cab with an 8" 4-ohm bass-guitar speaker. I transfer the entire actual ''amp" (which is circuitry mounted on an L-shaped metal panel, held in place by 9 screws) to the same-sized opening on the larger cab. When finances permit, I plan to get a second M-cube to permanently mount thus, which will also allow me to use stereo M-cubes, running off effect boxes with stereo output.

    Regarding the entire Roland 'Cube' line of amps, tho all are similar, the circuitry and overall sound varies, and the M-cube remains my fave, even though it lacks footswitching capabilities, which I don't need. I had the 30-watt cube for about 3 days, returned it to Sam Ash. Lacked the warmth & 'feel' of the Micro-Cube.

    The Micro-cube is the only solid-state amp I've ever owned which I totally love. I forget it's solid-state. I forget it's even THERE. I just play and the sounds I wanna create are there in the air, floating around.

    In some ways, it's the closest thing (in electric guitaring) to acoustic guitaring. Electric SOUND, but absolutely minimalistic gear.

    Tho not playing jazz, or using the amp's cleaner 'jazz' settings, this video of the Micro-cube is a hoot...the WALKING TOUR of Ontario, Canada, via m-cube:
    I tried the micro cube and ended up buying the cube street as I felt it sounds a bit fuller. I agree with what you mention, and may buy a cube 60 for more punch, as I play different styles,...sometimes even twang. What I really like about these amps is the versatility (amp emulation), acoustic, multi-effects, etc.

  17. #191

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    Quote Originally Posted by derek
    Mr. B,

    Can't you get that same vibe out of say a Deluxe Reverb? Less power, less weight, one less speaker.
    dont bother its voiced for country players its quite bass light and harsh trebly middly sounding i had one and sold it my advice is the blues deluxe reissue its far far wamer in the bass and has more headroom and its cheap you can have torres rebuild it in a boutique standard for a little over two hundred quid with tube reverb chassis mouted tubes point to point wiring etc and a lot cheaper than an old original fender LOL ! I TRIED A JAZZ SUPREMA ITS VERY OVER RATED IT AND OVERPRICED WHAT A DISAPOINTMENT (it sounded one dimentional not enough bass)transistor amps sound to processed and not acoustic enough though hope this helps

  18. #192

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    Quote Originally Posted by derek
    Mr. B,

    Can't you get that same vibe out of say a Deluxe Reverb? Less power, less weight, one less speaker.
    Yes and no. I have both. The DRRI is not exactly like the TRRI less one speaker. The "vibe" is different but closer than anything else I've tried. The TRRI is cleaner but significantly heavier and significantly louder.

    I think the DRRI works just fine for most "jazz" gigs.

  19. #193

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    try a hughes a hughes and kettner edition tube 25th anniversary 20 watts 18kg very clean big bass no breakup. load very transportable great for jazz gigs extremely warm tone very cheap cheaper than fender by quite a margin!

  20. #194

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    Quote Originally Posted by nick gagg
    try a hughes a hughes and kettner edition tube 25th anniversary 20 watts 18kg very clean big bass no breakup. load very transportable great for jazz gigs extremely warm tone very cheap cheaper than fender by quite a margin!
    This is very cheap???

    "The 25th Anniversary Edition Tube is in stock now and retails for only $1799.00" and
    Web Price: £ 499.00 inc VAT


    • SRP: £ 549.00"
    • A sweet polytone is far less. A Fender Princeton Reverb is $1059 from Sweetwater and a Hot Rod Deluxe is $899. A Line6 Spider Vavle 212 is $829.

  21. #195

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    yep and its probrably better made than a fender although they can all go wrong and both amps give a good wes tone the h & k is lighter and easier to carry with more clean bass responce

  22. #196

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    I've been through three Polytone MiniBrute II's over the past 25 years or so, and have found them to me great sounding, reliable, and easy to deal with. I suppose the distortion isn't so hot, but I don't use it anyway. The reverb is weak, but it's for jazz, not surf. Though not mentioned in this article, I sure loved the sound of those old Ampeg Reverberockets!

  23. #197

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    Anyone had any experience with the Standel amps that Wes used? I hear that they were pretty cool custom made hand wired amps that all the serious players had at the time. Here's a link: Standel Musical Instrument Amplifiers

  24. #198

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    I might as well bring this thread into November. Since my last post I received the Weber California Ceramic 15" that I had ordered back in September. I spent the evening with my 335 and Band-Master VM plugged into it, and I think this combination is going to become my serious 335 amp.

    First, though, there's the little matter of my having had to return it due to their mounting it in the wrong cabinet. I guess it'll be another 6 weeks before I get [I pray] the correct one.

    It's difficult to describe amps in words, and I have found that my own home-made adjectives don't sit well with people who have very well-defined stereotypes in their heads (I was told at another forum, for example, that my Blues Jr NOS, which I described as "chimey" COULD NOT be "chimey" because, by god, Fenders aren't "chimey").

    So I'll say the Weber is responsive. When I dug in with the pick, it had snap, and when I laid back it mellowed out. Particularly gratifying was the sound of the A and D strings up around the 9-12 frets: it spoke with authority, with none of the wimping out of the other amps I own.

    The overall tone was full and rich, and my playing partner (on acoustic Martin) was quite complimentary of the way the Weber sounded. He's no pushover, by the way: he's not shy about telling me when he doesn't like what he hears.

    So another month and a half, and I hope to have the killer speaker. l have promised RandyC I'll do some measurements upon its receipt.

    The Band-Master VM head, by the way, has been very well behaved while I have experimented with different guitars and cabs. It has a typically Fender reverb, which means I like it, and it's not too heavy at 22 lb.

    More to come.

  25. #199

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    Quote Originally Posted by ffej
    I've been through three Polytone MiniBrute II's over the past 25 years or so, and have found them to me great sounding, reliable, and easy to deal with. I suppose the distortion isn't so hot, but I don't use it anyway. The reverb is weak, but it's for jazz, not surf. Though not mentioned in this article, I sure loved the sound of those old Ampeg Reverberockets!
    Oh yes !

    My '61 Reverberocket is very strong and sounds fine but I dread the day when those 7868 Sylvania tubes (in my version) are unavailable. This amplifier was always a worthy competitor of the Deluxe Reverb with one possible exception: tone control flexibility.

    A few years ago, Epiphone introduced a really fine design, similar to the Ampeg circuit but including a Fender-like tone control variation. Unhappily, the design didn't get translated into production effectively. Another design-to-cost fiasco, made in Korea from Chinese parts (erratic, inconsistent performance of Chinese tubes, selected for lowest cost, made the amplifier virtually useless).

    The infamous hum problems of the Epiphone "Galaxie 25" (which could be purchased for as little as $200 a few years ago), resulted in Gibson pulling the amplifiers from the market and discontinuing product support. This was an example of really poor decision making - start to finish. Instead of accepting responsibility for the Korean contractor's errors - the contractor that THEY had selected - they turned their back on the problem.

    (FWIW, my Uncle gave me one of these things five or six years ago. I cracked it open and made some changes and it's now the numero uno amplifier here. I'm NOT suggesting that Gibson should have done the same thing that I did, the changes required were unsuitable for production amplifiers since individual selection and matching of parts was required. At the target price, that would have been impractical. Whether we like it or not, companies are not run by quality assurance people or by engineers, they are run by bean counters.)

    This amplifier COULD have given the Fender DRRI a run for it's money - at a fraction of the cost - if the project wasn't mismanaged with almost classic ineptitude.

    RandyC
    Last edited by randyc; 11-04-2009 at 01:18 AM. Reason: correct clumsy language

  26. #200

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    I use my old Ibanez GB10 thru an 80's vintage (dreaded red knob..don't worry..don't use it) Polytone for jazz gigs. Have a HRD that I biased "hot" with Eurotubes (strongly suggest checking them out!!). Find myself using my Fishman Performer more often now for jazz. Sounds great, and I can sing thru it as well. Great PA sound. Had a Carvin AG100D but got tired of sending it back (5x) for upgrades/repairs. My point....anyone try the Fishman Performer for Jazz? I suggest giving it a try!!