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My luthier mentioned that there is a local guitarist who has an Emrad amp that he'd like to sell. The guitarist had studied under Johnny years ago.
The amp is an early solid state amp that was made in Boulder, Colorado, near Johnny's store at the time.
You can read about the amp here: Johnny Smith | Vintage Guitar® magazine
Frankly, I don't need an amp. I probably have too many: a Henriksen, a Deluxe Reverb, and an Evans. But I'm a big Johnny Smith fan. So if the price is acceptable, I may get it as a collectable.
Here are my questions.
1. If the amp needs any repairs in the future, how far up shit's creek am I? The company has been out of business a long time.
2. What is the ballpark market value of this amp?
Johnny used the amp model on his last tour. So I'm assuming it sounds okay. But I can check out the one in question before buying it.
Thanks in advance for your comments.
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01-26-2015 11:37 AM
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I have the EMRAD Johnny Smith amp.
Johnny Smith wanted a particular tone from his guitars. It is a neutral spectrum amp that allows the guitar to shine through on it's own without the extras.
It is ideal if you prefer the earlier sound from Johnny's recordings.
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I love the tone he has on the live "shiny stockings" track.
It's a tone that doesn't seem feasible from at floating pickup archtop.
For some reason - it kinda reminded me of a frank gambale tone - which doesn't make sense.
I'd imagine the EMRAD is totally crystal / neutral.
I'd love to hear a demo of it.
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I'm not overly optimistic that the amp will be that great in sound. If so, the 15" speaker may have a lot to do with it.
I expect the amp to sound pretty decent. If it sounded better than that, it would still be in production or at least copied.
But I will check it out if I can and report back.
Regardless, the Emrad is a small piece of jazz guitar history.
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Here's a video of the amp in action.
Even if you don't care for its sound or for Johnny Smith, this is one helluva band.
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I don't understand the difference that sets this amp apart. It has tone controls, doesn't it?
Please explain what Johnny meant when he said he wanted a flat tone response. Can't the same sound be duplicated by adjusting the equalizers on any amp?
Thanks.
Originally Posted by denk8
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I have also read that Johnny also recorded a lot of his stuff direct without an amp.
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That's the best quality video I've ever seen of Johnny actually playing.. I will watch it over and over..thanks for sharing!! Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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Marty, I am a huge fan of Johnny Smith too. This may not help but there is one on reverb right now for $1250 in Canada. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
Joe D
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Yes, I've heard this from many sources. I've also heard that he plugged into some type of box (an equalizer?) before going into the board. I wouldn't use the sound he got on his LPs as an example of the Emrad. Originally Posted by Flyin' Brian
Even when he played at clubs back in the 50s, he used an Ampeg 'Fountain of Sound' amp, according to a bass player who played with him back then.
He probably used the Emrad at all the clinics and concerts he did in the 60s onward.
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I dunno, I don't care for over the top pianists who leave no room for anyone else to be heard. The guy never gets the hell out of the way and just runs roughshod over the band. Love Johnny Smith's playing, though. Watch how supple and precise his fretting is, man. That's amazing. Beautiful voicings and voice leading in his comping. I could play another 35 years and I would not approach this facility. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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Here's some interesting follow up. The guy with the Emrad has the same luthier as me, but I have never met him. He told my luthier that he was going to sell some stuff, including the amp. My luthier told him I might be interested and he could drop the amp off at the shop.
The guy brought the amp in. It was in excellent shape and had the original booklet and a receipt signed by Johnny Smith. While my luthier was in the back getting some work done, the guy with the amp was blabbing with another customer. The amp owner sold it to him for $250!
The seller is a friend of the luthier. He left the $250 in the shop. If the buyer doesn't like the amp, he can return it for a refund. Then it's mine. Fat chance though.
My luthier told me today that he is sorry, but the deal was struck while these two guys were waiting and gabbing.
I have no hard feelings. I never said I'd buy the amp, only look at it. But I expected the price tag to be much, much higher.
Anyway, it gives me a fishing story about the one that got away. And oh yes, there's a chance the guy will bring the amp back!
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" And oh yes, there's a chance the guy will bring the amp back!"
$250? ouch.
I'd say there's 3 chances.
fat
slim
no
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It turns out that I will be getting the amp after all. The guy who bought it almost two months ago was visiting my luthier, who told him that I was disappointed that I missed out on the amp. The new owner said that he doesn't really use the amp that much and would be happy to pass it on to me.
I called the owner, who's a veteran player and who seems to be a very nice guy. He told me that this is the best solid state amp he's ever heard but that he's a tube guy.
He lives down the road from my luthier and will drop the amp off in a couple of days at the guitar shop. It includes a cover and ALL of the original paperwork, including the receipt with Johnny's signature.
I'm pretty stunned about this. I never thought it would happen.
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That's crazy. I am happy for you MG. The signed receipt and everything. How come stuff like that doesn't happen to me? Good luck with it. Joe D Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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WOW! Congrats! Good karma comin' your way..
FYI, there's one on reverb for $850 if anyone's interested...
https://reverb.com/item/336680-emrad...FeJr7AodnEoAZALast edited by ruger9; 03-24-2015 at 06:48 PM.
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Great story Mark. And agreed, great Karma indeed, especially knowing your passion for JS! Can't wait to hear your impressions of the amp while playing, what else, a JS.
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Johnny wanted a uncolored, flat tonal response from the amp- he'd probably like amps like the Acoustic Image amps or even going into a powered speaker, these days. His gripe, like that of many jazz guitarists of his era, was the way Fender amps (and almost every other tube amp that followed the Fender ideas) are voiced. With the deep mids cut, the effect is to boost the treble and the bass. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
For solidbody guitars with single coil pickups (Teles, Strats, etc.) this voicing makes a lot of sense, but it's contrary to the jazz guitar sound (yes, I am aware that thousands of great jazz guitar records were cut using Fender amps) and makes it harder to get a good tone- or at least what I think of as a good tone. You have to roll off the bass and treble extremely on a Fender amp to approximate a flat sound. The strong bass signal on those amps is what creates most of the feedback problems with archtops. The strong treble makes for a harsh top end. With a flat response amp, the guitarist can be heard much more easily without having to turn up the volume because the mids cut through the mix.
Johnny listened very closely to Django Reinhardt and I suspect that this strongly influenced the sound he wanted. Plus in the armed service he took up playing trumpet or cornet (learned it in a couple of weeks, allegedly, at least well enough to get a chair in the military band instead of going to combat), so again this probably affected his sound. In the recently posted interview with Johnny on YouTube, he stated that all he wanted from the amp was to be heard and to sound like the acoustic sound of his guitar. He apparently never plugged the amp in at home and loved the acoustic sound of the guitar.
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Twenty years ago, I had a conversation with Johnny Smith about amplification. It was his opinion that most amp designers make the mistake of having too much Bass response to be suitable for jazz guitar amplification.
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Which was typical of Johnny Smith's unrestrained presumptuousness. It's one thing if JS were to make those comments as being specific to his own personal tastes, as Cunamara did above. But, to claim that "most amp designers make the mistake . . " is in my opinion just a really stupid and self serving comment. There have been more than 6 decades of wonderful jazz guitar tone coming from the "mistakes" in guitar amp engineering. Originally Posted by Scot Buffington
The comments and references to the flat sound that Cunamara states he likes, and that he states JS was after . . would lead an amp builder to create a very one dimensional amp . . . very specific to those who prefered that tone and nothing else. Or, to make amps such as your Evans amps.
As MartyGrass referenced in one of his posts above . . that's the function of various tone stack options . . which is something that you do better than many others who build amps. Evans amps offer a broad variety of tonal options. I'd have to believe that JS would have been a very happy camper if there was an amp such as the JE 150 and its successors when he was in his heyday. Also, there's a reason that a huge number of jazzers . . older and newer, rave about the Twin, for its almost unlimited head room as well as its warmth and versatility (except for un effected break-up). I really don't see that amp as a mistake. Fender offered variants with lesser head room for better and earlier break-up for the genre of music which required that. Early Fender and Ampeg amps a mistake in engineering for jazz guitarists? I hardly think so.
As I mentioned here on this forum in the past . . . Johnny Smith should have just stuck to what he knew and did best . . . . . making beautiful music with a guitar.
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Hey, everyone's allowed an opinion.... JS and Patrick2 included lol.
But I have noticed JS has made a few comments over the years, stating opinion as if they are fact. Whatever. No skin off anybody's nose. Certainly not worthy of berating the man for it. I've seen umpteen artists and players over the years do the same thing on many forums..... what's the saying?..... "opinions are like a-holes..... everybody's got one, and they all stink" LOL
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But you know, Johnny Smith's opinion on jazz guitar tone is kind of like Einstein's opinion on relativity. It's worth a bit more than some guy on the internet. Just sayin'.
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The amp has casters and weighs about 30 lbs., making this a practical gigging amp.
The JBL D130F seems to be a good match. It responds well to overtones and upper register notes. No complaints there.
Another thing I like is that all of the controls are on the front, and the amp height allows easy adjustment of the knobs and power switch from the seated position.
This amp can be very loud with no breakup.
It's very retro. The plug has no ground. You flip the power button either left or right to get rid of the 60 Hz hum.
The EMRAD is stark. It projects every finger squeak and inadvertent string brushing. It has no mercy, which makes it ideal for practice.
It will take a long while for me to correct all of my bad habits playing. This amp will help.
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Patrick, I love ya bro, but I have to agree with Kam. Originally Posted by kamlapati
Certain people have attained a status in life where their opinion is more than just "an opinion". Now also consider the era that He made this statement. The electric guitar has changed/evolved since then to point where it really doesn't sound so much like the acoustic instrument it originated from. So in a nutshell, go easy on my boy. His point was coming from a totally different perspective than ours is now.
JD
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Come now... I have never known P2 to carry much in the way of opinions. HA! Originally Posted by ruger9
...some worse than others. Originally Posted by ruger9
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