Small Jazz Guitar Amps?

**jzucker** · 05-30-2015, 09:34 AM

Yeah, almost all those clips sounded dark. That's fine if you want *THAT* specific tone but none of them demonstrated a bensonesque bright jazz tone. I don't think evans is capable of getting that sound. And again, I literally spent months going back and forth with evans. When I finally switched the speaker out to a standard eminence guitar speaker it made a huge difference. I'm not just going by written specs but they are there for a reason and as an endorser and beta tester for raezer's edge I went through a ton of the delta and beta speakers so I'm speaking from real life experience not just looking on paper.

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

A few posts back there are links to dozens of clips for you to see. Are none of those helpful?

From my experience in years past in high-end audio, I would take frequency response ratings with a huge grain of salt in-situ, in an amp cabinet in an uncontrolled room. The bottom line is to these 54 year old ears with HF roll-off around the 15kHz region, it does not sound dark with an archtop played with the tone pot open. When I want acoustic HF overtones/harmonic content added into the mix, I use the Barbera Soloist PU blended together with my KA but I use my AI Clarus with my Buscarino Chameleon which is a two-way speaker.

Perhaps just sticking with your AI is the wise choice for you. You don't seem ready to compromise in any attribute, so just stay put with what you have.

**iim7V7IM7** · 05-30-2015, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by jzucker

Yeah, almost all those clips sounded dark. That's fine if you want *THAT* specific tone but none of them demonstrated a bensonesque bright jazz tone. I don't think evans is capable of getting that sound. And again, I literally spent months going back and forth with evans. When I finally switched the speaker out to a standard eminence guitar speaker it made a huge difference. I'm not just going by written specs but they are there for a reason and as an endorser and beta tester for raezer's edge I went through a ton of the delta and beta speakers so I'm speaking from real life experience not just looking on paper.

Was your Mambo a 10" and was it dark sounding as well?

**jorgemg1984** · 05-30-2015, 10:08 AM

Jack if the AI doesn't work maybe a used Evans with an Eminence then? Should be a good solution!

**jzucker** · 05-30-2015, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

Was your Mambo a 10" and was it dark sounding as well?

No, my mambo was a head and it wasn't dark at all. Very well rounded amp and the tone controls were perfectly placed.

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

Jack if the AI doesn't work maybe a used Evans with an Eminence then? Should be a good solution!

My experience with the evans is that the treble control is more of an upper mid so it still can't get the bensonesque tone even with scruff, body, expand, and all the additional made-up names, lol.

My AI actually sounds good with the showman preamp I have. I'll just continue using it. For jazz it's a bit dark without the fender preamp but even without, it sounds fine when you get the cabinet pointed away from you or if you're at least 10' away from it. It's more of a dark, jimmy brunoish tone. For pop or fusion, I can always use the fender preamp I have but i'd probably just bring the kemper in that situation. I'm considering order a mambo 10 though. Seems awfully convenient.

**jorgemg1984** · 05-30-2015, 10:41 AM

Jack I just remembered - Jon (from Mambo) has been doing experiments with removing the dark normal bright switch with a sort of a blackface mambo tweed switch... should be perfect! Shoot him an e-mail.

**iim7V7IM7** · 05-30-2015, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by jzucker

No, my mambo was a head and it wasn't dark at all. Very well rounded amp and the tone controls were perfectly placed.

My experience with the evans is that the treble control is more of an upper mid so it still can't get the bensonesque tone even with scruff, body, expand, and all the additional made-up names, lol.

My AI actually sounds good with the showman preamp I have. I'll just continue using it. For jazz it's a bit dark without the fender preamp but even without, it sounds fine when you get the cabinet pointed away from you or if you're at least 10' away from it. It's more of a dark, jimmy brunoish tone. For pop or fusion, I can always use the fender preamp I have but i'd probably just bring the kemper in that situation. I'm considering order a mambo 10 though. Seems awfully convenient.

The reason I asked is my Evans RE200 that I have has the identical speaker that the Mambo 10 uses Jack (Beta 10A). The newer RE300 uses the Delta because of its enhanced power requirements.

**Franz 1997** · 05-30-2015, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

Was your Mambo a 10" and was it dark sounding as well?

the mambo combos tend to be darkish, with a v solid midrange - mainly due to the stock eminence beta speakers and cab design and size.

However, Jon Shaw will fit other speakers on request which change the sound. I know he has sold a couple with 18sound 'EV Clone' 10's.

I tried that particular speaker; not to my taste, but the amp does sound brighter.

**jzucker** · 05-30-2015, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

Jack I just remembered - Jon (from Mambo) has been doing experiments with removing the dark normal bright switch with a sort of a blackface mambo tweed switch... should be perfect! Shoot him an e-mail.

Yeah, i've been emailing him. He also said he can put another speaker in that gets a better tone for other styles. Going to talk to him more later today.

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

The reason I asked is my Evans RE200 that I have has the identical speaker that the Mambo 10 uses Jack (Beta 10A). The newer RE300 uses the Delta because of its enhanced power requirements.

he uses several different 10" speakers depending on the customers desired tone.

**Encinitastubes** · 06-01-2015, 07:29 PM

I was having trouble getting that midrange out of my Evans Hybrid head until I paired it with a Raezer's Edge Twin 8 Tower. I also noticed that the midrange is less pronounced if you are 10 feet away rather than up close, which might not serve your needs.

**jzucker** · 06-01-2015, 07:42 PM

I decided to go ahead and order the mambo 10" combo amp with the guitar-range speaker (18 Sound 10NMB GUITAR 250 Watt 8ohm 10 Neodymium Driver)

This is what Jon recommends for folks who want the a more versatile speaker that can reproduce a wider range and sound good for music other than dark jazz. That will work great for me. You can always roll off the high end with it's properly placed treble control and/or the guitar's tone control but there's no way to get those high frequencies back if the speaker can't reproduce it.

**jzucker** · 06-01-2015, 08:16 PM

i just plugged my genz benz shuttle into my corus cab and boy does that sound great, even without reverb. Sigh...It's very dark though. Tone controls aren't in the right place but with my 175 it's got a great sound...

**pingu** · 06-02-2015, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by jzucker

I decided to go ahead and order the mambo 10" combo amp with the guitar-range speaker (18 Sound 10NMB GUITAR 250 Watt 8ohm 10 Neodymium Driver)

This is what Jon recommends for folks who want the a more versatile speaker that can reproduce a wider range and sound good for music other than dark jazz. That will work great for me. You can always roll off the high end with it's properly placed treble control and/or the guitar's tone control but there's no way to get those high frequencies back if the speaker can't reproduce it.

That should be a great setup ...... It'll be a lighter combo too
I guess with that speaker it costs a bit more than the standard combo (with the Beta)

Did you go for the wedge or the Cube shape ?

(PS I know Jon sometime ago was looking for decent sounding Neo magnet speakers
as an alternative to the Betas , for people who wanted minimum weight ... like me !)

**jzucker** · 06-02-2015, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by pingu

That should be a great setup ...... It'll be a lighter combo too
I guess with that speaker it costs a bit more than the standard combo (with the Beta)

Did you go for the wedge or the Cube shape ?

(PS I know Jon sometime ago was looking for decent sounding Neo magnet speakers
as an alternative to the Betas , for people who wanted minimum weight ... like me !)

The speaker I went with is about 2x the price of the emminence. I'm going with the wedge I think. I have an email into Jon to ask if the wedge has any less bass response due to cabinet size. If so, I think I'll go with the cube.

**kris** · 06-02-2015, 10:01 AM

I like very much AI Clarus head with 10" delta Demon Eminence cabinet.

**jzucker** · 06-02-2015, 10:07 AM

heard back from Jon at mambo. The internal design of the cube and the wedge are exactly the same. The cube has an internal baffle so that it's only the outer shape of the two cabs that is different so I will be getting a wedge.

He also indicated that he's made quite a few improvements from the original design in terms of better tube-like-tone and better noise floor. Also, he's a fusion player and designed the amp to be used for fusion but it just so happens that most of his customers are jazz guys and like the dark sounds so that's why he has put in so many of the beta 10 speakers for customers but he thinks i'll be pleasantly surprised how great it sounds for fusion, pop and overdrive in addition to traditional archtop sounds.

**jzucker** · 06-02-2015, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by kris

I like very much AI Clarus head with 10" delta Demon Eminence cabinet.

i was actually running my genz benz shuttle into the corus cabinet without reverb yesterday and it sounded good. I also have a 12" open back cab with an emminence tonker in it and it sounds good with the AI or benz but it doesn't work well at really loud volumes. I think i'd need an extra speaker.

**kris** · 06-02-2015, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by jzucker

i was actually running my genz benz shuttle into the corus cabinet without reverb yesterday and it sounded good. I also have a 12" open back cab with an emminence tonker in it and it sounds good with the AI or benz but it doesn't work well at really loud volumes. I think i'd need an extra speaker.

I used two 10" speakers cabinets and clarus for louder gigs.

**DanielleOM** · 06-02-2015, 12:19 PM

Jack,

Have you figured out how to calculate or determine costs related to importing a Mambo to the USA?

Danielle

**jzucker** · 06-02-2015, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by DanielleOM

Jack,

Have you figured out how to calculate or determine costs related to importing a Mambo to the USA?

Danielle

Yes, shipping will be $85 and import fees will be $53

**Para** · 06-02-2015, 01:18 PM

My Mambo Wedge is not at all dark sounding it has a bright chiming quality and using it through a 2x12" extension cab doesn't darken the sound.

**jzucker** · 06-02-2015, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by Para

My Mambo Wedge is not at all dark sounding it has a bright chiming quality and using it through a 2x12" extension cab doesn't darken the sound.

If you have the emminence beta speaker in it, it's rolling off treble whether you think it is or not!

**rkwestcoast** · 06-02-2015, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I've gone back to the lunchbox. That plus a tech 21 blonde pedal gets me a tone i could use pretty much anywhere.

Mr B - out of curiousity what are your settings on the tech 21 blonde?

**mr. beaumont** · 06-02-2015, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by rkwestcoast

Mr B - out of curiousity what are your settings on the tech 21 blonde?

So I start with the EQ flat (12 o'clock) and adjust to the room. Here in my kitchen, I lowered bass and treble a bit and boosted mids, so maybe between 10 and 11 on lows and highs and 1 o'clock on mids.

Character is set around 9 o'clock, drive at about 10.

I can use more "character" with the single coils on my tele. Fattens up but stays clean.

**jzucker** · 06-02-2015, 04:27 PM

i like the peavey transtube bandit. It has a very fender-like tone and the reverb is nice. However, it gets eaten alive on the gig with a medium loud drummer. It's a good example of how even 80w may not be enough though it would probably do better with a 2x12 cab. Also, for 80w, it's pretty heavy. About 45lbs with the particle board cab.

**jzucker** · 06-02-2015, 10:09 PM

most of the non transtube versions of the peavey were dry and harsh sounding for jazz IMO. The transtube was a great idea. If they had made a 150w version in a small head it would have been a real winner. It is still one of the best sounding tube emulations I've ever heard in a SS amp in a field that includes pierce, pritchard, mosvalve, tech21 and several other very expensive setups. Unfortunately, as I've mentioned before it doesn't do well at louder volumes. Maybe with an external 12" speaker cab it would have fared better?