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For those who have used/owned a Henriksen amp and have moved on to something else, what did you do and why?
Many thanks,
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02-14-2015 05:03 PM
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I've moved to a Mambo. Much better eq, much better reverb, better cab dispersion and much warmer too.
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Hi Jorge, do you really find the reverb much better? I find the reverb in mine is pretty bad. In my opinion it is worse than the Henriksen's which is bad too. I'm having a bit of trouble warming up to the mambo to be honest. Just personal preference I guess. I do agree that the eq is much more flexible than on the Henriksen though but the sweet spot is easier to attain on the Henriksen.
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Hi Alain!
That's why forum advice can be a little misleading. We all have different taste, different gear, etc.. So yeah to me the reverb on the Mambo is MUCH beter than the Henriksen... my mambo has some extra controls for the reverb but a friend of mine has just the stock one and it's nice too. In my case I find the reverb good enough to not use pedals...
Yeah the eq is perfect for archtops - I changed the frequency of the mids on mine too.
Why exactly are you not warming up to yours?
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Actually I came at my "good" amps backwards (i.e. after year just playing a ZT Lunchbox).
First I got a Mambo 8, which I still have and still love, but it mostly lives in my practice room now. The outstanding headphone out is very handy for early mornings, and for some reason this amp has less feedback in my small practice room than the 6" ZT Lunchbox. I barely use any reverb because I'm just not really into reverb or any effects at all.
Then I got a Sequel Ravine 12 (50w tube open back), which is usually what I use for gigs with a drummer.
Just a few months ago I picked up a used Henriksen 1-channel head, without reverb. After getting used to it, I really like it, and I don't miss the verb. It goes very well with my RE 10" cab, and soon I will be using it with a RE 6" cab for combo jams and stuff like that.
I don't consider any of these amps to really be "better" than the others - they are just different, and can sound better or worse depending on which guitar I use and the playing situation.
I think the Henriksens have been unfairly overshadowed in recent years. I sort of agree with AlainJazz that the sweet spot on the Henriksen is maybe easier to obtain. I don't even use the eq on the Henriksen - just plug and play. Of course, the cabinet makes a big difference...my RE cabinet is excellent and no doubt much better than the tiny Mambo 8's cabinet, but that makes sense.
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Why would I ever move on from the best solid state amp I've ever played?
Actually, I play through my Princeton more than anything. But I've not found a solid state that outperforms my henriksen.
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Hi Jorge, to be honest it could be user error. Mine has two controls for reverb. One for depth and one for decay length (for lack of a better description). When I have the reverb on full, it just sounds like mud.
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
About the warming: I can get a very nice sound out of it no doubt but it takes a lot of fiddling. Most of the time I have to put it in the "bright" position to avoid any kind of mud. I also find that the sound of the amp is very dependent on the position relative to my ears. I have to move around a lot to hear a good sound. The amp seems to have a much more midrange tone than the Henriksen. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad at all I just find its hit and miss. At some gigs I think, wow what a great sound and other gigs, I'm just frustrated at the crappy tone I'm getting. I seem to get a more consistently good sound with the Henriksen. Like I said, maybe it's user error too.
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Funny Alain my experience with both amps was exactly the opposite... go figure
Oh and reverb on 10 well... that's muddy on any amp. I like medium decays with low mix myself!
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coolvinny, I am so jealous that you can live happily without reverb! I'm a reverb junky -- don't need much, but none is just too darn dry for me. If I could shake this reverb dependency, it would open up a lot of options for cool amps!
I also agree that Henriksen gets entirely too much grief. Weird controls maybe, but super sound. My 110er is a favorite. and I don't hate the reverb, even though the internet tells me I'm supposed to . . .
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Hi Jorge, what I mean is that I have to put the reverb on max to even be able to hear it. Otherwise, it is so subtle it might as well not be there. But when I do that the amp is muddy. Make sense?
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Oh that's not how mine works... at all. Maybe talk to Jon?
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Get yourself a reverb pedal and you'll have access to all those cool amps you've been pining over. Keep in mind that many onboard reverb options are digital, as in the Henriksen and Mambo, so you are likely to upgrade your reverb if you plug into well priced high performing units like the TC Electronics Hall of Fame or Digitech Hardwire. Originally Posted by Longways to Go
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yeah, I have a Hall of Fame reverb. I still prefer built in reverbs for some reason -- even if they are mediocre.
Meanwhile, Coolvinny has me inspired to try to go dry!
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Well I think there are lots of variables to getting a good sound, excluding "the fingers". In my case, I play really great guitars - I have a couple Andersen archtops, both 3" deep, so I get a pretty round sound out of the guitar already. When I use my Les Paul (chambered), I use do like to add verb. Originally Posted by Longways to Go
Would be cool to hear your thoughts after you go "dry" for a while!
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I've had a lot of amps go through my hands. In some respects, it's really tragic to not be able to compare per se, but flip. It's pretty rare I'll have more than two or three at once and really be able to compare them.
As a result, I'm mostly dealing with memory. So what is my memory of the Henriksen 10" combo I had:
- absolutely nailed the jazz tone with everything at flatline
- sounded great in my room and great when I played out
Why did I sell?
I convinced myself an AI head/Redstone cab would do everything better on the high end and a Quilter could do more of a Fender tone PLUS a jazz tone.
I don't have a proper archtop, so the AI head/Redstone cab has honestly been a complete waste. It's really not a go-to for solid bodies. Well, if it is, I'm not smart enough to figure it out. I have to get around to selling it at some point but I'm not looking forward to the scalping on the price as I bought it new.
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Before you move on from your Henriksen, try a $30 Joyo American pedal with it.
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Funny, I looked at henriksen but ended up with a quilter and an AI as well (though I use an earcandy cab). The Quilter does sound Fenderish and likes my solid and semihollows better. The AI is great with an archtop into a guitar cab or a PA speaker. It also works great with my nylon string guitar and as a bass amp through a bass cab. Really an awesome versatile amp. I've been considering getting a tech 21 blonde or joyo american pedal to make the AI play nicer with my solidbody guitars. If I could emulate a slightly dirtier tube-ish sound like the Quilter does with my AI I might get rid of the Quilter just to save space(I have the 1x12). Or maybe I could trade the quilter combo for a head. Originally Posted by Silentwiz
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It baffles me a bit, folks buying henriksens and then buying little boxes in hopes of making it sound like a tube amp. That's why there's tube amps too.
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Tube amps are for those that wish to lug them. And maintain them. And pay the price to get from what they have to something else. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Little boxes aren't to make the Henriksen sound like a tube amp necessarily. They are to make it not sound like a Henriksen.
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So maybe that's what I mean. The Henriksen's great at what it does. Why try to make it do something else?
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I am nothing but pleased for those that like their Henriksen's just the way they are. Unfortunately, over time I find that I don't. I was starting to seriously consider selling it and acquiring a small tube amp when I tried the Joyo American. Not sure it sounds exactly like a tube amp really, but it sounds good. So if I can have all the advantages of solid state (watts, weight, durability, portability) in a rig that I like the sound of, no reason to get another amp.
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I don't know. I ordered a Henriksen Jazzamp 112, should be here Monday. Did not see a who lot of negative posts about them while doing my research. I'm expecting good things..
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Congratulations, you will likely be very happy with it. Originally Posted by kid335
There a number of excellent, small, lightweight, solid state amp systems available today made by Acoustic Image, Evans, Henriksen, Jazzkat, Mambo and Quilter to name a few. Some players may prefer one to the other and expressan for tone of feature reasons depending on how, what and where they play. At least we're no longer in an age where we're discussing how to fix a broken Polytone anymore. On this and other gear related websites, you will learn things, but take it with a grain of salt. There is no doubt at this point that Bud Henriksen's amps have been proven road worthy by many well known pros and they sound great. I have seen them used many times. While watching at some clubs, I looked at the amp briefly at what the guitarist was playing as I normally do and proceeded to never look again and enjoy the music.
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Alain, that doesn't make sense. The rev depth control at 3 or 4 should give you plenty of reverb, and shouldn't make the amp sound muddy at all- the reverb controls have no effect on the eq. Even though your amp is out of warranty, I'd imagine Jon Shaw would want to fix whatever is wrong, and I agree with Jorge that it would be a good idea to contact him. They aren't supposed to sound like that. Originally Posted by AlainJazz
To the OP, I have had 2 early Hendriksen amps. My experience was that I liked them, found the original 60W version underpowered for gigging, found the original reverb inferior to most other amps ( but then, I knew that Bud H disliked the reverb effect) had a couple of reservations about build quality, and wasn't particularly keen on the cosmetics.
IMO much of the negative feeling about the amps was generated by the performance and cosmetics of earlier models, with lower powered amps, plastic-sprayed cabinets, some electrical issues such as excessive hum, and reverb that was more like an oil-can echo effect, by deliberate design. But it's very likely that these aspects have been considerably improved in recent models, to the point where they are equal players on the field, so to speak.
It's probably worth pointing out that many modern SS jazz amps share the same baxendall flat eq system, the same eminence beta series speakers, similar reverb chips, and the same small reflex cab design. The only things that really distinguish them are where the eq turnover points are set, build quality, cosmetics, and psycho-acoustics. Sometimes I think the last factor can be the most significant...
Personally, I moved on to mambo amps, and returned to AI amps, but I'd imagine that a recent Hendriksen would be in the same ball park. The electrical/ hum issues of the early models really bugged me, which is why I sold them.
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Hi Jeff, Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
I"ve had a Henriksen 112ER for 2 years it is a superb amp , I have a Mambo 12"
with an "Eighteen" speaker fitted, also a superb amp. However I acquired 2 used
Evans amps an AE100 and a AH200 head last year and think they take some beating.
I welcome your opinion on the Evans Amps ?
The only problem here in the UK is the prohibitive cost and non availability of them.
for an example the Henriksen ,although available ,costs in excess of £900 ( approx 1400 usd )
The Evans amps are only obtainable by direct import and are considerably more expensive.
Alan
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