What is the best Jazz Solid-State Amp for under $500

**Sphereacidburn** · 01-11-2012, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

psst.... that last post was from July 2009.......

Yeah I chose the Roland Cube, haha, it's a great amp, nice full tone, but my next upgrade will be a Fender Deluxe. Then (If I have any money left) in about 10 years a Polytone would be nice. However I'm not interested in looking that far ahead at the moment. But, the Roland is a great amplifier

**Sphereacidburn** · 01-11-2012, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by mattymel

not trying to stir the hornets nest here, but I'm honestly perplexed at the amount of jazz love for Cubes. when i plug into my students the first thing i notice is the annoying lag in the digital signal. the next thing i notice is the wacky ingrained EQ curve that the amp has in general.

my instant prognosis is that i was playing through an amp designed by non guitarist computer nerds that have a stereotypical idea of the "jazz guitar sound" made even worse by the fact that I'm hearing all 1's and 0's. i was instantly having the strange experience of remembering the "good old days" when SS was king...WHAT???!!! yes, I'm tube biased...

I've just never understood how SO many jazz guitarists will spend THOUSANDS of dollars on their beloved arch tops and then plug it into a roland cube...the amp is HALF the sound after all.

I've got no beef with polytones, but i AM opposed to paying twice as much for what is in reality a not-so-well made SS amp just because i am a jazzer that sees a POLYTONE logo on an amp? these days you can find hundreds of SS amps that will sound as good if not better than any polytone for half the money. people are practically giving them away. peavey is an excellent example. i got one for $50 that i have kept in my trunk for years for when I'm too lazy to bring my good amps. if it breaks, oh well. but its lasted forever...

I don't know if I would necessarily agree with you. In my experience the Roland Cube has a nice full TRUE sound. I have nothing against it but hey you have have your own opinion. One must realize that when most are looking for a jazz amp (considering they have a nice archtop) they are looking for an amp that emits a TRUE tone for the guitar. To get that woodiness, and of course less feedback. A transitter amp is great for this, of course the Polytone and for myself the roland expresses this TRUE tone.

But, on the other hand I love tubes also. I believe the tube amp and the transitter amp are 2 different beasts and emit 2 different sounds. All in all it's up to your personal opinion. I love my Roland for the TRUE sound of the guitar, and I love my tube if I want the warmness of a tube amp.

**mattymel** · 01-11-2012, 05:47 PM

to my ear, a cube sounds nothing like a polytone. if i had to do a gig with a polytone, id be content. i may have to spend more time than i like twiddling, but i could get by. 75% of what i don't like about the cube has to do with the lag i hear. for me i find it so odd it is distracting to my playing.

i know I'm not going to change any minds on the matter, I'm just saying that a lot of jazz guys tend to just go with what they see everybody else playing through. there are SO many amps that will do what a cube is (supposedly) designed to do for less money, and...in my opinion, better.

**Sphereacidburn** · 01-11-2012, 06:11 PM

Sorry I never had a problem with lag

**msr13** · 01-11-2012, 06:17 PM

I picked up a Fishman Loudbox Artist as a tiny, throw in the car, and go amp. It is really wonderful. A/B ing it to my AI/RE, well of course, it loses... but not by too much. Very convenient, and under $350 if you time the Guitar Center coupon and discount properly.

**David B** · 01-11-2012, 06:22 PM

I've got the Cube 60 with the digital modelling effects and it's cool but right now I'm using a pair of old Cube 60 chorus amps from the '80s. They're great and cheap. The orange Cubes from the same period (no chorus) are also great.

**mambosun** · 01-11-2012, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by Sphereacidburn

I was wondering I either want a Fender Frontman well thats all I can afford or A Roland Cube 80x since the cube 60 are not made any more

I would suggest you to give a try to a Tech 21 TM60, it should fit your budget on the second hand market.
Two channels, one clean one dirt, surprisingly I prefered the second one for jazz but with minimum gain. It too has a very specific EQ system which helps a lot to sculpt your tone.
Eventhough I've been a faithfull and statisfied Roland customer for decades, the Roland Cubes didn't do it for me; too dry and processed tone.
Other forumers recommended the Ibanez Wholetone WT80.

Bring your guitar in the shop and try the amps before any purchase.

**jorgemg1984** · 01-11-2012, 07:50 PM

Originally Posted by mattymel

not trying to stir the hornets nest here, but I'm honestly perplexed at the amount of jazz love for Cubes. when i plug into my students the first thing i notice is the annoying lag in the digital signal. the next thing i notice is the wacky ingrained EQ curve that the amp has in general.

my instant prognosis is that i was playing through an amp designed by non guitarist computer nerds that have a stereotypical idea of the "jazz guitar sound" made even worse by the fact that I'm hearing all 1's and 0's. i was instantly having the strange experience of remembering the "good old days" when SS was king...WHAT???!!! yes, I'm tube biased...

I've just never understood how SO many jazz guitarists will spend THOUSANDS of dollars on their beloved arch tops and then plug it into a roland cube...the amp is HALF the sound after all.

I've got no beef with polytones, but i AM opposed to paying twice as much for what is in reality a not-so-well made SS amp just because i am a jazzer that sees a POLYTONE logo on an amp? these days you can find hundreds of SS amps that will sound as good if not better than any polytone for half the money. people are practically giving them away. peavey is an excellent example. i got one for $50 that i have kept in my trunk for years for when I'm too lazy to bring my good amps. if it breaks, oh well. but its lasted forever...

I agree with every word on this post.

Don't worry about your Peavey - those 80s Peaveys last FOREVER. Really, I have one that was on my luthier's house for 20 years being on and constantly played for 12 / 14 hours 7 days a week 365 days a year.. still works like a charm!

Those old cubes are very good and I just wish brands these days stopped making amps that model 10 amps and have 10 fx effects and just made good and cheap SS amps like Bandits, Yamaha G Seires, old Roland Cubes etc...

About Polytone they sell new for 1300€ here in Lisbon. I guess people don't know what kind of amp they can buy with that money (a blackface Pro Reverb is being sold for 850€ right now and my Bandit 65 costed me a little more than 200€ for example)

**Double 07** · 01-11-2012, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by mattymel

I've got no beef with polytones, but i AM opposed to paying twice as much for what is in reality a not-so-well made SS amp just because i am a jazzer that sees a POLYTONE logo on an amp? these days you can find hundreds of SS amps that will sound as good if not better than any polytone for half the money. people are practically giving them away. peavey is an excellent example. i got one for $50 that i have kept in my trunk for years for when I'm too lazy to bring my good amps. if it breaks, oh well. but its lasted forever...

Not here to argue with anyone but could you name some specific amps here?

Originally Posted by mattymel

i know I'm not going to change any minds on the matter, I'm just saying that a lot of jazz guys tend to just go with what they see everybody else playing through. there are SO many amps that will do what a cube is (supposedly) designed to do for less money, and...in my opinion, better.

Same thing here, name some specific amps you think will do that please?

**ah.clem** · 01-12-2012, 12:14 AM

I would humbly recommend that you try an Ibanez WT-80 if you get the chance. I found it quite impressive for the money. It is a clean, flat sounding jazz amp at a good price. Just my opinion.

**mattymel** · 01-12-2012, 12:24 AM

okay. i'll start and stop with my Peavey Bandit 112. $50. i would add any other similar or prior era peavey with a 1X12. I've literally dropped it down stairs on more than one occasion. i was initially inspired by seeing bobby broom using one. though he also uses henriksons nowadays.

I've also found that its much easier to coax any SS bass amp (which is what polytones were originally designed for) into getting a good jazz tone than it is to use a cube.

my best advice is to go to any music store that carries used gear and try a few out with your exact guitar while keeping an open mind. guitars are meant to be matched with amps and you never really know until you plug in.

black faced fenders (the other most common jazz tube amp) weren't meant to use with arch tops either. they were meant to be used with solid body fender guitars, which is why the mids are scooped. still, i find it much easier to work around that than a dead sounding digital amp.

**jorgemg1984** · 01-12-2012, 06:17 AM

The WT-80 is probably better than the Cube for jazz but didn't impress me much either honestly - I think people hear a lot with their wallets. But it resembles a Polytone for 1/3 of the price in Europe - for those who want that sound it might be a good idea.

**Jazzman301** · 01-12-2012, 01:42 PM

I think you need to try stuff for yourself and do your rearch. Youtube is an ok source to get an idea of tone but there are so many variables its certainly not the omega of sources. There are so many great sounding amps out there beyond fender and roland. I know I am extremely happy with my vintage Ampeg. Grab a guitar and maybe your camera phone and hit up a few music stores and plug into as many amps as you can and play. Close your eyes and listen. Buy the sound/tone not the name.

'Mike

**Double 07** · 01-12-2012, 07:19 PM

Mathew I'll give the Bandit a listen sometime and let my ears be the judge not the name. Peavey does have some excellent sounding amps out there. Peavey get's kind of underrated overall I think because they have some really great ones but also some mediocre amps too.

Great advice Jazzman301

. I still like hearing other players experiences with different gear tho.

**jorgemg1984** · 01-12-2012, 07:27 PM

Examples of solid state amps with Archtop Jazz Guitars - The Gear Page

Here's a great source for youtube clips

Honestly almost no amps are made for archtops - blackface not certainly but also almost every other amp is made with solid body single coils in mind. I usually get too much bass (which is necessary with teles and strats) and too harsh treble (which blues, country and rock players like) with most amps I play.

Of course Henriksen or AI are made to jazz players but they tend to sound more like PAs than guitar amps to me - which lots of players love of course.

Changing a blackface to suit archtops better it's a question of trial and error I guess - cheap and easy. Vintage Sound Amps has some jazz models that are only a blackface with a different tone stack.

My Bandit 65 and Fender M80 were not made with my archtop in my mind also and despite they already sound very good I will probably work their tone stack to have a more usable range with the tone controls.