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One that doesn't get much air time here is the Phil Jones AG-300. I absolutely love mine. Unlike the other PJ acoustic guitar amps, this one has a channel voiced for electrics. I bought it used on ebay for $800 a year ago. Just a lovely complement to my Moffa and Andersen boxes.
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05-26-2015 11:59 PM
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You are right but, regarding boxy sounding small amps, I found that, although irritating when playing alone in one's own practice room, you don't notice it when playing loud with a whole band.
Originally Posted by jzucker
I had this experience with my Henriksen Bluesamp 10". I usually avoid it when practising at home. I either use a Henriksen 12" or a Fender Deluxe Reverb. However I found the Bluesamp 10" delivering a great performance when playing live with a whole band, both in a jazz and funky-fusion context.
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Are you in cleveland? I'd love to! Originally Posted by Silentwiz
I listened to most of that clip. Didn't hear much in the way of jazz clean. Did I miss something?I happen to have a Mustang III, a Cube 80XL, a Quilter MP200 8" Combo and a Henriksen 12" Combo...
I've had most of the list above (thanks for summarizing) at one point or another, and the one that I tend to find most fault with is the Acoustic Image (thus it's not in my current collection).
If you want a blackface mid-scooped Fender-y tone, the Mustang III is pretty darn great. Download some of those Intheblues (check youtube) settings and you'll have a dial with 20+ passable tones covering all genres of rock, blues, etc... There's also this "Studio Preamp" setting that does a passable flat jazz sound.
Yeah, i've listened to those. They sound pinched to me which is what I didn't like about the aviator. Not crazy about his sound at all...
You know what a Cube is, it's pretty obvious.
I have trouble dialing in the Quilter. The best tone I've had on on one is their suggested "Electric Clean", which is pretty close to a mid-scooped Fendery-thing. It can do a grittier, blues thing if that's your gig. I find all the "voicings" to be a bit odd (the Full Q vs Vintage vs etc etc...). Rich Severson (sp?) has a bunch of Quilter jazz videos -- they're pretty decent.
I do like the henriksen's sound. The reverb is a little weak and not having a working treble control is a bother...
Henriksen ... well you know that one. To me, it's the best "flip the switch, set it flat and get jazz nirvana". There's a Soundpure Video that covers it's tone fairly well:
If the Henriksen didn't do it for you, I take it you're a Blackface guy. I'd order a Mustang on Amazon and try it. Ship it back if it doesn't work for you. How easy is that?
Or try it at guitar center.
What do I use most? In my office, I have the Cube always plugged in. It has the easiest "line in" for my ipad with iRealB, is the easiest to turn on / off (power switch on top) and seems to get me practicing the most. When I play out, I grab the Henriksen 80% of the time and the Quilter 20% of the time. If I had to play a blues / rock / whatever gig, I'd grab the Mustang.
I could probably sell one or two of these, but I'm sure I'd get an itch at some point and re-buy them so...call me nuts. Thanks for the great reply. Lots of info. That should be in the FAQ for this group!
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The Mustang III demo (first tone, really) was intended to showcase a '65 Deluxe Reverb style tone -- appreciating it wasn't a jazz demo. I think the Mustang really nails a Blackface tone and can also comfortably handle a jazz tone with some knob twiddling. Basically, you set the presets once and then move them somewhere convenient in the 100 presets. After that it's just flip on the amp and dial to the preset # you want. If you really want Blackface (and a bunch of everything else to noodle around with), it's cheap and easy. Just don't get too distracted with knob twiddling to get your practice in!
I think there is something to be said, though, for where I ended up. The Cube 80XL can pretty much do everything "good enough". It is a comfortably small form factor (though not as small as the Quilter 8" of course) and it's a tough critic of poor note choices. It definitely does not "sing" like a Red Plate tube amp and I would probably not feel terribly inspired playing some SRV or Buddy Guy with it -- but for Jimmy Bruno, Joe Pass, Kessel, Ellis, etc... it's all there. There's something to be said (also) for a practice setup that's highly convenient but a bit lacking in tonal qualities. It forces you to work -- which isn't a bad thing.
When I do my online guitar school recordings, I plug the ipad into the line in, then point my iphone at me and dangle an earpiece for the iphone in front of the 12" (kludgey, yes!). The teacher/youtube gets a recording of my hands and a passable recording of the guitar. Yes, I have to work for it. It's not a bad thing and it sure gives me no excuse to not just plunk around for a spare 10 minutes here and there because I have a crummy guitar sitting in a stand right in front of it. Sit my rear end in the chair, guitar on lap one second later, flip the switch and we're there. Make it count. It's certainly what I need the most of -- easy convenient play time.
The Henriksen does not have a line in, or it'd replace the Cube outright. As much as I enjoy occasionally indulging in other tones, the JC120 tone on the Cube is probably a 7 or 8 to the Henriksen's 10. The Henriksen really does sound better.
The Quilter's "line in" is funky. You run your ipad through Channel 1 and then guitar through Channel 2, but the volume or something gets messed up along the way -- I haven't cared to take the time to figure it all out.
I should also add that of those amps, the easiest to carry (when you consider the form factor) is the Quilter. The Roland 80XL is probably the next easiest because it's a bit more rectangular but thicker and heavier. Then the Mustang (bigger) and Henriksen (not as big). I find the Henriksen a bit more cumbersome, not because of weight but because it's got a boxier form factor.
If I had to haul something every darn day, I'd find a way to make the Quilter MP200 8" work -- but the truth is, that it'd be the first to go of the group because I've struggled to find tones I'm in love with, the line in doesn't work well and the aesthetics are a bit goofball to me.
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I love my AG-100, but it's an acoustic amp, for sure. Have you ever seen or come across anything about the Phil Jones series specifically for electric guitar, the EG-300 (1x8" combo) and EG-600 (1x12")? They came and when and never said "good-bye". Were they ever actually in production? Originally Posted by Jabbarn
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My favorite is the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight. They come up on eBay from time to time. I bought mine new and I'll never sell it. Solid state, 250 watts @2 ohm, 1x12, and it weighs 26 lb (1.3 kg). You can judge the size in comparison to the LP:
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I know I have said this before, but the new Fender Rumble bass amps, particularly the 100w w/12" speaker is my new toy. It weighs nothing, has great sound, an extra "Mid" control, and 3 buttons that can really change the attitude of your sound...Bright, Contour, and Vintage(my favorite). I just bring a Delay and a Reverb pedal and am good to go..
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I have heard speculation that the Genz-Benz people designed the Ultralight. I tend to believe it, since it is much more in line with G-B products than the traditional Fender line.
Genz-Benz solved the problem of being an old guy bass player: I went from a 65 lb Ampeg B100R to a Hartke HA2500/Hartke 210/Hartke 115 to a Genz-Benz 18 lb Shuttle 3.0/10T, which, with an additional 16 lb 10T cabinet, put out 300 watts, loud enough to hang with a drummer. I improved on that by using a pair of G-B 10Ts hooked up to a 13 lb Mesa/Boogie Walkabout head, which is what I gig with on bass now.
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What's the biggest speaker(s) that a combo could sport and still have it be called a "small combo"? Can a 1x12"be called small, or is 10" the limit?
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sure, why not. As long as it's light weight (under 30lbs) Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
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Portable, good tone (controls), low cost, high loudness, solid state (somehow goes with portability and loudness), built-in reverb, voiced for electric guitar. This is way harder than "pick two" isn't it ?
I would pick one or two as "sine qua non" and assign a weight to the rest of the above criteria add the score and rank the amps and the winners (though still imperfect) will emerge.
My guess is that a Polytone with a working reverb ☺ will win. Don't forget the TS110A + shirt pocket headphone amp trick. I wasn't entirely joking. Those things are analog AND quiet. And you can have two for backup.
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DV 40 112 from DV Mark comes close at 16.2 kg. Originally Posted by kris
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I used polytone for a long time but it didn't have enough headroom, (including the megabrain) Originally Posted by medblues
That's why I think you really need closer to 100w for a good ss amp to work in all situations. Guys like bollenback used to run a couple Roland cube 80 amps for headroom. Block chords are tough at gig volume with a 60w amp and a loud drummer. I'll have to try that shirt pocket amp.
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The problem as I see your situation is that if you want that much headroom to hold up with a drummer then a small amp isn't going to be particularly satisfying. Even if you find one with the right specs regarding size and weight, if it was that loud then the sound would be too narrow and direct, that is, a bit harsh. Originally Posted by jzucker
I used polytone for a long time but it didn't have enough headroom, (including the megabrain)
That's why I think you really need closer to 100w for a good ss amp to work in all situations. Guys like bollenback used to run a couple Roland cube 80 amps for headroom. Block chords are tough at gig volume with a 60w amp and a loud drummer. I'll have to try that shirt pocket amp.
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Look at a hybrid.
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Here is another idea then: if you find a brave enough tech to open the Polytone box, you can change the low efficiency speaker with a high efficiency neo and boom you have a lighter and louder amp ! 2-3db added to the SPL will equal more than 100 virtual watts. Originally Posted by jzucker
I used polytone for a long time but it didn't have enough headroom, (including the megabrain)
That's why I think you really need closer to 100w for a good ss amp to work in all situations. Guys like bollenback used to run a couple Roland cube 80 amps for headroom. Block chords are tough at gig volume with a 60w amp and a loud drummer. I'll have to try that shirt pocket amp.
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I'm not sure if you like this any better, but note that channel 1 is different in the AG-300: Originally Posted by jzucker
- 3 Band EQ: Ch 1 +/- 18dB at 150Hz, 800Hz, 3KHz, Ch 2 +/- 18dB at 100Hz, 1KHz, 10KHz
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Great idea - except that it would have to be a 3 ohm ( 100W models) or 4 ohm speaker, which limits the choice of replacement. Originally Posted by medblues
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nice sound!
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Most of them are 4 ohms and there are several available modern speakers with that impedance. Actually some 8 ohm speakers are so efficient, I think they would still produce more volume than the stock speaker (I don't have the specs but I believe it is pretty inefficient). Originally Posted by Franz 1997
US Speaker has a separate compilation of 4 ohm speakers. Eminence, Jensen and Weber has a few. For example, Jensen C12K (the one in HRD G Benson) has a 4 ohm version and it is 99 dB. I heard that Weber is very eager to make you loud 4 ohm replacements and they use neo magnets quite a bit.
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The polytone combo I owned had a 4 ohm speaker in it so going to a more efficient speaker but in an 8ohm speaker was a wash. So nice idea, but doesn't work in this case. Originally Posted by medblues
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For years I used an AI head and either an RS-112 or RS T-8T and it sounded great albeit somewhat dark sounding because the AI doesn't have the treble control in the right place. Originally Posted by 3625
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Fuch's jazz classic is a hybrid. Almost pulled the plug, bought a Milkman 40w instead.
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How are you liking the Milkman? Lots of great reviews over on the Steel Guitar Forum. Originally Posted by LyleGorch
Milkman also makes a hybrid 300 watt amp.
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Just ordered the Milkman Monday, looking early August.
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