The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Page 18 of 21 FirstFirst ... 81617181920 ... LastLast
Posts 426 to 450 of 504
  1. #426

    User Info Menu

    My new jazz guitar amp. 2000 watts. Fender/Vox/Marshall. Most reasonable cabinet choices.

    The Ultimate Guitar Amp-yamaha-front-jpgThe Ultimate Guitar Amp-yamaha-back-jpgThe Ultimate Guitar Amp-iridium-jpg

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #427

    User Info Menu

    Another thought ....
    (I know no one plays them for jazz)
    but I used to use an old Marshall 50 head (plexi I think)
    into a single Marshall 4x12 resident in a commercial rehearsal rooms

    and it sounded GREAT clean , really beautiful
    (and cranked too btw)

    I just think a good amp is a good amp
    and Marshall were designed similar to a Fender Bassman

    But who wants to drag a half stack around ?

  4. #428

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by pingu
    Another thought ....
    (I know no one plays them for jazz)
    but I used to use an old Marshall 50 head (plexi I think)
    into a single Marshall 4x12 resident in a commercial rehearsal rooms

    and it sounded GREAT clean , really beautiful
    (and cranked too btw)

    I just think a good amp is a good amp
    and Marshall were designed similar to a Fender Bassman

    But who wants to drag a half stack around ?
    I have an identical rig. '72 Plexi w/2-EL34 Mullards and a squarefront half-stack basketweave cab w/4-12" Celestions. Heavy? You bet! The head weighs as much as the cab (or so it seems), but at least has wheels. The thing about the half-stacks is, they're beamy as all get out. I dealt with that by running a Scholz Power Soak between the head and cab to bring the volume down and mic-ing through FOH. With my trio MJ-12 I used my 100 watt '73 Plexi w/master volume mod to power the 4-10" speakers of my Peavy Classic 50 for the stage right feed. Looked sharp, sounded great indoors or out. The gold lame jackets, shades and berets completed the picture; and up close you could carry on a conversation in a normal tone of voice. Impractical for the typically cramped jazz environment, of course, but there it is. With everything correctly dialed in, it's pure velvet.

    And yes, I hauled those rigs single handedly up and down stairs, indoors and out; winter, spring, summer and fall, packed in my Subaru Justy, wherever there was money and room.

    I was a lot younger then.

  5. #429

    User Info Menu

    I've a Fender Musicmaster Bass, first model without the little switch on the right. Dirk says the Champ has the simplest Fender valve circuit, but that one has 2 tone controls, whereas the Musicmaster has only one, called... ...Tone! It's got problems at the moment, so now I play through an all-purpose amp that someone built herself, without a casing, and only a volume control, connected to a 15" speaker that's hanging off a nail in the wall. Sounds great! I hide both when not playing, because they'd have a fit where I live if they saw an open valve circuit that you can fry an egg on after 30m of action. I already blew 4 fuses too...

  6. #430

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Zina
    I've a Fender Musicmaster Bass, first model without the little switch on the right. Dirk says the Champ has the simplest Fender valve circuit, but that one has 2 tone controls, whereas the Musicmaster has only one, called... ...Tone! It's got problems at the moment, so now I play through an all-purpose amp that someone built herself, without a casing, and only a volume control, connected to a 15" speaker that's hanging off a nail in the wall. Sounds great! I hide both when not playing, because they'd have a fit where I live if they saw an open valve circuit that you can fry an egg on after 30m of action. I already blew 4 fuses too...
    Musicmaster Bass Amps were designed as student bass amps. They sound terrible with any bass, however. They sound amazing with most guitars. I own a second generation MM with 2 6V6 tubes and a single 12ax7. It has the same two knobs you described...Volume and Tone. The previous owner had it modded somehow, to improve its guitar tone. All I did was replace the original speaker with a CRex and add fresh tubes. It is a killer amp, especially when a reverb and EQ pedal is added.

  7. #431

    User Info Menu

    I was wrong. THIS is the ultimate guitar amp. Fast, and dynamic with an indescribably warmth yet pristine highs.

    The Ultimate Guitar Amp-aa5534d6-576d-4038-88de-922b6b6ddac1-jpg

  8. #432

    User Info Menu

    It is a nice amp but not powerful enough for most gigs.

  9. #433

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Bastian
    It is a nice amp but not powerful enough for most gigs.
    Use a mic...

    The Ultimate Guitar Amp-50850341-e132-4c0d-a6f2-0e9d28021744-jpeg

  10. #434

    User Info Menu

    The Ultimate Guitar Amp-d3f6aee0-44a5-48c0-8342-e41e99e02627-jpg


    Those SF and BF champs are perfect tone machines, they sound so pure and honest like no other amp I know. I‘ve swapped the speaker for the fantastic Warehouse G8C and the little 5 Watter opened up in every discipline. And LOUD! Sounds more like a 10“ speaker (recently there’s also an alnico version of this speaker available). In combination with my new purchased Sole Mate jr. I’ve finally found the tone I was looking for!

  11. #435

    User Info Menu

    Sequel amps are great.

  12. #436

    User Info Menu

    Hot Rod Deluxe clean channel.

    Shame it's a low quality and tube amp.

    But that clean is just SICK!

  13. #437

    User Info Menu

    I play through a very early Boogie Mark IVa combo, with the EVM 12 in it. They are supposed to have amazing lead channel sounds for rock, but I honestly I have only every heard 2 or 3 minutes of that lol. The clean channel is beautiful in the 45 watt mode, the reverb is great, and it takes all kinds of pedals very well up front or through the loop. She's heavy, but she doesn't move too much I have another 1x12 EVM in a Boogie Thiele cab, so if I needed to I could definitely rattle windows, but I don't get into that too much since I can get that sound at a much lower volume anyway.
    Last edited by jim777; 03-15-2020 at 11:50 AM.

  14. #438

    User Info Menu

    i had a SF Vibrochamp
    didnt like it ....

    papery sound
    maybe it it was a duff one

    sold it anyway

  15. #439

    User Info Menu

    My favourite amp these days is: NO amp!

    I've been using a Tech21 Fly Rig (with a Sans Amp) on and off for a couple of years now. And I've decided I like it better than my fender tube amps. I even had one gig last year when I had both my Vibrolux and the Fly Rig available. We made an A/B test during soundcheck and I voted for the Fly Rig into a DI-Box and PA. I wish I had brought it on some ocassions where I had a hard time getting a good tone and comfortable playing situation because either the amp couldn't keep up producing a clean tone with a loud band or was blasting my ears as it was on the piano directly on ear heights playing a t levels to fill the club.
    I used just the Sans Amp part, reverb and the boost so far, but I have a new band coming where the distortion and delay will come in handy – it's a funk band and they are also using a silent stage and in-ear monitoring.
    Good monitoring is crucial but isn't it anyway?

    Pros
    • Weights virtually nothing and fits into the gigbag (I can use public transportation or even my bike to get to local gigs and rehearsals)
    • Affordable
    • Sounds a lot like a good twin reverb and is very tweakable with efficient EQ
    • Good, natural reverb (I like it better than spring reverb)
    • Great boost to get the solos just above the band or add a little grit
    • Built in decent distortion and delay
    • Can be as loud or quiet as needed – if the club has an appropriate PA
    • Sound engineers love it and they love me for not polluting the stage sound with a loud amp

    Cons
    • Sounds a tad more compressed than a good tube amp (if you will more like a "produced" tone)
    • Is pretty unusable when there is no decent PA and monitoring – in this case bringing an amp is the more pragmatic and practical solution
    • You got to get used to hear the guitar from the monitors


    Next step towards a silent stage will be in-ear monitoring – I'm looking forward to try how that will work out for me. Due to Corona there will be no gigs in the near future, but we'll have a rehearsal coming and I will try it there.

  16. #440

    User Info Menu

    My Reeves Custom 50 gets me all that I need. Massive headroom for a superb clean tone. Takes pedals really well, in front or in the tube buffered fx loop.

  17. #441

    User Info Menu

    I love my vox ac30. perfect for jazz because the controls are tremendous.

  18. #442

    User Info Menu

    Could it be the BAM 200? We’ll see.

  19. #443

    User Info Menu

    Here in my 50's I've decided to focus all my efforts (and equipment) on finally getting good a jazz. In that vain, I had to decide what equipment (amps, guitars, pedals) I was keeping, what I was selling, and what I needed to acquire. Fortunately, I amassed enough gear over the years that I ended up with a really nice jazz kit with plenty of money left over to live on while I'm out of work due to Covid. For example, I sold 2/3 of my Strats (no man should be completely Stratless, IMHO) and a Les Paul. I ended up buying a 1973 ES-175 I found in mint condition (well, as mint as a 1973 guitar can be). Jazz guitar in hand I had to decide what to do for amplification.

    Out was my Line 6 Helix. Of all the things that it can do, getting a good clean jazz tone isn't one of them. While I was finally able to dial in something half decent, I decided the Helix was a big waste if I was just using is reverb for effects, so I sold it on eBay. Also gone, my Mesa Boogie Mark V 25. Cool amp, but could not get a good jazz tone to save my life out of it. Regardless, what a super waste of a mega gain monster to use it to play jazz. My Fender Custom Shop '64 Vibroverb htat I've owned for years now oozes jazz tone quite easily. However, it has two volume levels: 1. Piss off the wife and 2. Call the police. It also weights 45 lbs and did I mention that I'm my 50's? After researching and researching (no music stores open currently due to Covid) I pulled the trigger on a Henriksen Bud Head and Ray cabinet.

    The Bud Head sounds good at any volume, has a headphone jack that, unlike the Line 6 Helix's) actually works really great. It has two channels, one of which has Bluetooth, so I can pump in backing tracks or lessons, etc. It has two speaker outs as well as a DI out. This thing can do it all and it weighs less than 5 lbs! The 9x9x9 cabinet weights 10 lbs! It even has an effects loop, so I can run my Strymon Flint Reverb, one of the few pedals that I am keeping. The built-in reverb is not bad, but I'm a complete reverb snob since it's pretty much the only effect that I have run for years now. I sold my Hall of Fame Reverb pedal because the Strymon makes the 3 reverb sounds that I use the most and does all 3 really well.

    Anyway, I can play into my headphones, into my little cab low or pretty darn loud (it's rated @250w and my Tube Screamer is one of the other effects that I'm keeping). Finally, I can play into my computer or a PA using the DI. I'm keeping the '64 Vibroverb, but it will never see a gig or move from its current spot. This little amp meets all of my needs very nicely. How does it sound? Well, it's got an excellent eq section and preserves the tone of my ES-175 just fine. What more could I really want? Now, that I have my equipment sorted I just need to practice practice practice...

  20. #444

    User Info Menu

    I don‘t like any kind of emulation when it comes to amplifiers. I‘m a tube guy. The interaction between your picking and the tubes, especially the dynamic, imperfect reaction from the tubes (without latency) is what I love on tube amps.

  21. #445

    User Info Menu

    So many choices, so little time....
    My latest rig. It's small, it's loud, it's light-ish, and it's just plain ancient. The cab is 17"x17"x15 3/4" and the CH30 head is, well, smaller. And heavier. @1950 or thereabouts - funny how much things have changed, yet ... not changed.
    Last edited by Hammertone; 07-01-2020 at 05:35 PM.

  22. #446

    User Info Menu

    The comment above about there being no perfect amp is spot on. They're really just there's no such thing. That, of course, doesn't stop gearheads from trying.

    I have a number of amps that I like and one of the things I've noticed is they tend to sound better with one guitar versus another. Exception to that seems to be my tweed Deluxe clone which seems to sound at least pretty good if not very good with every guitar I have. I do have a Mission Amps Humbucker mod in it which allows me to plug into the bright channel and use the normal channel volume control to roll off some bass, which is helpful with my archtop, but I prefer the regular channel with solid bodies. This one could be and probably will be the only amp I own eventually.

    I have a Polytone Baby Brute which sounds really excellent with my archtop, but I don't care for it with solid bodies. It's a good amp but could not be my only amp.

    I have an AI Clarus 2r and RE 12" cab, which sounds very good and seems to be tweakable to work pretty well with all of my guitars. It sounds better than the other amps with my nylon strings and piezo steel strings, but I like the sound of the tweed Deluxe with electric steel strings a bit better. I also have a Redstone 8" cab and for some reason I just don't quite care for it with that amp. I think I just prefer the bigger bass response of 12" speakers. The portability is outstanding, though, and it's plenty loud for onstage use at club volumes. Feedback seems to be less of a problem than with the 12" cabinet. This one could also be my only amp given its versatility. One trick that I have found with it is to turn the master volume up pretty high and use the preamp gain control to regulate volume; it makes the amp sound warmer and fatter. This one will probably go along with the cabs to make room in the house. I just have too much stuff and need to start thinning down the herds.

    The amp that I have had the longest- nearly 40 years- is a silverface Fender Pro Reverb. The stock speakers are long gone and it has two JBLs in it. With those that it must weigh close to 80 pounds. It hasn't left my living room in years. I don't think I could even pick it up anymore. To think I used to gig with that thing, tossing it in the back of my car, lugging it up and down to my second floor apartments, etc. Ah, youth! Having 2x12 inch speakers in an amplifier really provides an extra dimension that you just can't get any other way. It's a great sounding amp with electrics, although it's pretty awful to my ears with the piezo-equipped guitars. Oddly enough, I just don't use it as much as the tweed Deluxe and this one will have to go one of these days.

    I also have a Roland Cube 60, one of the black COSM ones. It is a stupidly reliable amp, very versatile, and the sound is about 95% there. Just enough of a difference that it tends to end up being the backup amp rather than the main amp. But I have played a lot of gigs with that amp and not having to think about or fuss with it at all during the course of the evening was really nice. If somebody really only wanted to have one amp but cover a lot of different musical styles, this one would merit serious interest.

    And I have an Egnater Rebel 30 combo. What an interesting idea. It marries California and British tube amps into one package with a lot of tonal flexibility. It's very versatile, reliable and a good sounding amp but I think better for rock than for jazz. Or maybe not for the jazz I play; if I played fusion or was trying to play in a more modern approach like Scofield, Rosenwinkle or Hekselman, it might do me very well. In fact I think this amp would be very suitable for someone trying to play in the Scofield vein, in particular, if you want to be able to get cleans and also that Vox AC-30 breakup. But I don't and it mostly sits in a corner and is also one of the amps that will be going one of these days. It's also a pretty nice looking amp and a very reasonable weight for a 12 inch tube amp.

    But ultimately I think the one that I will keep will be the tweed Deluxe. In part that's because I built it from a kit, sort of a solder by numbers situation since I don't actually understand amp design. Looking at it, I'm not even sure where the pre-amp section ends and the power amp section begins which is pretty basic knowledge to have. But the "hey, I built that" feeling probably biases (no pun intended) my attitude about it.

  23. #447

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    Could it be the BAM 200? We’ll see.
    have you got one now ?
    i really like mine ....
    its great as a totally clean sound

    what do/would you use for a
    bit of hair/ crunch with yours ?

    i’m using an american sound clone
    and it’s ok ....
    (but I am not blown away by it)
    (i wouldn’t ever get rid of the American sound tho it’s already been so useful as a pre-amp for DI’ing etc)

    ps maybe a quilter Overdrive 202 or Toneblock 202 would be better as they have some crunch type sounds built in
    (and reverb)

    they’re a lot of dough of course !

  24. #448

    User Info Menu

    Walter Woods 100wt through an SPX-90 to a Mesa Theil cabinet with a Delta Pro 12” (Was an EVM 12L but too heavy)
    Funny now that stuffs all near “vintage”.
    The sound of velvet dynamite, IMO naturally.

    ‘74 SF Princeton Reverb with modifications (trans, tone stack), Bendix 5992s, with a 12” Delta Pro in it.
    Nice little sit home and enjoy amp.
    (Happily I got the 5992s when they were 100$/pair, can you imagine!)

  25. #449

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by pingu
    have you got one now ?
    i really like mine ....
    its great as a totally clean sound

    what do/would you use for a
    bit of hair/ crunch with yours ?

    i’m using an american sound clone
    and it’s ok ....
    (but I am not blown away by it)
    (i wouldn’t ever get rid of the American sound tho it’s already been so useful as a pre-amp for DI’ing etc)

    ps maybe a quilter Overdrive 202 or Toneblock 202 would be better as they have some crunch type sounds built in
    (and reverb)

    they’re a lot of dough of course !
    Yeah is good. I've just been plugging my sans amp into it. Sounds pretty good! But I really like the basic sound.
    Last edited by christianm77; 07-20-2020 at 06:15 PM.

  26. #450

    User Info Menu

    Imagine BAM200 with an on-board reverb. I've actually suggested this to the manufacturer. I know all about DV Marks and Quilters, but no matter how light they are, they're still bulky compared to the BAM or some other micro bass amps. If a project I'm aware of works out, things may change. And I hope there are other similar projects I'm not aware of.