Good tone

**Jack** · 07-28-2016, 03:10 AM

Reg Schwager playing his eastman 371 with a ZT lunchbox amp.thoughts...

**mad dog** · 07-28-2016, 07:36 AM

Surprisingly good. Hadn't thought such a little amp would work like that. Perfect for the room.
D

**Greentone** · 07-28-2016, 08:45 AM

Sounds pretty good.

**Jack** · 07-28-2016, 09:05 AM

A not expensive jazz guitar, a small good amp and a great musician. The result;wonderful jazz sounds.
I remember an interview with Jaco Pastorius for Downbeat magazine when they asked him about his gear .
He replied " The sound is in my hands."

**Hep To The Jive** · 07-28-2016, 09:36 AM

Great tone and playing. ZT is a fantastic little amp. My main gigging amp too.

**yebdox** · 07-28-2016, 10:30 AM

Never heard of Reg, great player! I see that he's well known in canada and well recorded. He's on my list! Anyone know of his work enough to recommend a first CD to pick up?

**agentsmith** · 07-28-2016, 10:52 AM

that is the best tone I've heard out of a 371.

**AlsoRan** · 07-28-2016, 11:11 AM

Sure was some nice, what I would call "round, dark" tone.

**Jim Soloway** · 07-28-2016, 11:33 AM

Reg is in Toronto (which for Americans is pretty much like trying to gig in New York with all of the driving and parking issues that entails). I've heard his gear described as his "Subway Rig". I saw him years ago with Diana Krall in the period after Russell Malone and before Peter Bernstein. Really fine player.

**Boston Joe** · 07-28-2016, 12:16 PM

Once again, I'm apparently the lone voice of dissent. I had one of those things, and hated it. Returned it after a few days. I don't think the tone in that video is too great. It sounds muddy, but with an overly bright top end when he digs in.

I mean, I'm glad some people like them. There's certainly a need for a good, lightweight amp. I just can't find that sound appealing. To me it sounds like, "Yeah, I'd like a good amp, but this is all I have right now."

**jazzimprov** · 07-28-2016, 12:24 PM

?? what is the context here?

...just sitting in someone's living room with a couple of people sitting in their comfy chair having a little jazz trio on a Tuesday night before their decaf and nightly news....?

just wondering.....

**medblues** · 07-28-2016, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by Boston Joe

Once again, I'm apparently the lone voice of dissent. I had one of those things, and hated it. Returned it after a few days. I don't think the tone in that video is too great. It sounds muddy, but with an overly bright top end when he digs in.

I mean, I'm glad some people like them. There's certainly a need for a good, lightweight amp. I just can't find that sound appealing. To me it sounds like, "Yeah, I'd like a good amp, but this is all I have right now."

The context is different. He was not heard very clearly during comping, the sax was relatively loud. I don't know where the mic was placed but was probably quite far away from the amp that was sitting on the floor no too faf from a large bass cab or amp. Then he turned on a pedal during his solo (reverb ? booster ?).

He is an excellent pro player, no argument there and good music can always overcome gear performance issues which is rarely true for the opposite.

However, this recording cannot be used to evaluate the tone of a ZT vs another comparable product (Henriksen Bud, DV Mark Little Jazz, ZT Lunchbox Acoustic, a bass microhead through an 8" cab etc). It's just not detailed enough.

On the other hand, as it has mentioned here many times by experienced players, it is shown again with this video that in a live gig mix, many nuances we obsess about become much less relevant.

**Boston Joe** · 07-28-2016, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by medblues

On the other hand, as it has mentioned here many times by experienced players, it is shown again with this video that in a live gig mix, many nuances we obsess about become much less relevant.

True. I'll grant all your points, but I still think it sounds terrible. I don't think I've ever returned a piece of music gear to the store in my life, other than the Lunchbox.

**krusty** · 07-28-2016, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by Boston Joe

True. I'll grant all your points, but I still think it sounds terrible. I don't think I've ever returned a piece of music gear to the store in my life, other than the Lunchbox.

I'm going to have to disagree with you. I did have a couple of early ones fail on me, and was sent a 2nd generation unit that has been dead reliable. I find it capable of filling a small room very nicely, and the tone is easy to dial in. With a Keeley Compressor Pro in front and a proper reverb pedal (Keeley Aurora in this case), it sounds very full and clear.

**AlsoRan** · 07-28-2016, 01:28 PM

This thread is another good illustration that we don't all like the same things, and that includes what defines good tone.

It there was a hypothetical "Jazz" setting for a hypothetical amp we were designing, and we took just you folks who have posted on this thread alone, we would have a tough time coming up with a tone that pleased everyone, much less typified Jazz.

And if I may rant a little, we "Jazz lovers" can't even agree on what Jazz is, much less good "Jazz" tone.

"You say tomatoe, I say tomato...."

Rant over.

**medblues** · 07-28-2016, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by Boston Joe

True. I'll grant all your points, but I still think it sounds terrible. I don't think I've ever returned a piece of music gear to the store in my life, other than the Lunchbox.

I don't have one so I can't comment. But I do have a ZT Lunchbox Acoustic. There is inconsistency in their builds however. We compared it with a friend's and both my friend and I agreed that his sounded better than mine (maybe due to speaker manufacturing variances). Mine is usable maybe sounds better than the one in the video but I prefer my Polytone or GB HRDx when I play at home (even for acoustics). It sounds pretty good through an external cabinet though. So I think of it mostly as a two channel solid state head with reverb I acquired for $200.

**Greentone** · 07-28-2016, 01:40 PM

I agree with Boston Joe--the tone is bright on top when the going gets aggressive. However, I kind of like that. After all, listen to any live Wes Montgomery clip or recording. You will find the same thing. Wes' L-5/Standel rig (and his mighty thumb callus) produced a quite bright tone when he dug into the strings. It was a signature thing, IMO. I dug it then, and I dig it now.

The "Reg rig" seems perfectly serviceable, to me. I know a guy who uses the 371 with a silverface Super Reverb--another amp that Wes Montgomery was associated with. The guitar/amp combination sounds quite good. The 371 is a very serviceable, inexpensive jazz box. There are many amps you can combine it with. The old, orange Roland Cube amp comes to mind. The new Henriksen "The Bud" would make a great subway rig.

**Boston Joe** · 07-28-2016, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by krusty

I'm going to have to disagree with you. I did have a couple of early ones fail on me, and was sent a 2nd generation unit that has been dead reliable. I find it capable of filling a small room very nicely, and the tone is easy to dial in. With a Keeley Compressor Pro in front and a proper reverb pedal (Keeley Aurora in this case), it sounds very full and clear.

It didn't fail. I just hated the sound.

Mind you, I wanted to love it. A good amp that size and weight would be a very handy thing.

**BigToe** · 07-28-2016, 03:13 PM

Saw Reg in Winnipeg in the 80's when he was a teenager. A monster back then.

**Bluedawg** · 07-28-2016, 03:36 PM

I think it sounds pretty good .. even the mix was tolerable ... with the sax a little on the loud side .... but it looks like just a cozy little live gig not a dedicated live recording session

If the guitar was any darker I think it would have been even more lost in the mix.

**Jim Soloway** · 07-28-2016, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by Greentone

The new Henriksen "The Bud" would make a great subway rig.

I haven't played the Bud but it sounded remarkably good on all the clips that Tim Lerch included in that video the other day.

**BigToe** · 07-28-2016, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by yebdox

Never heard of Reg, great player! I see that he's well known in canada and well recorded. He's on my list! Anyone know of his work enough to recommend a first CD to pick up?

I recommend this one:

**Malraux** · 09-08-2018, 08:19 PM

I have come late to this thread, but I thought it might interest some to know that I produced an album a couple of years ago with Reg Schwager, Pete Magadini (drums) and Ken Lister (bass). Reg used my ZT Lunchbox for the entire recording, which he placed on top of a Fender Twin if I recall correctly!

Here is a track from the album which is called "Outside in the Present", the track is an interpretation of Mike Westbrook's "Waltz For Joanna" from his Marching Song album released in 1968.