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After much anticipation, I received my Henriksen Bud on Thursday, after playing through it at all volumes, and also through headphones, and an extension cabinet - I decided to send it back. The sound was boxy to me, and when plugging in my Les Paul, or telecaster the amp had a very harsh midrange I could not dial out - i was also not a fan of the reverb and found it very washy
IMO, the DV Mark Little Jazz sounded much more like a "guitar amp" where as the Henriksen sounded "PA-like"
for fun I also compared it to a '68 custom Princeton RI, and a 1977 Twin Reverb
So my next 2 choices are:
Henriksen 110 (older, non-ER, no Reverb
)
Polytone Mini Brute (Volume/Treble/Bass/Dark switch, diamond tolex, no reverb, no red knob)
Looking for that dark/smokey jazz sound, Guitar is an Eastman AR371 strung with Chrome .012s
which of these two would you pick and why?
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08-13-2016 03:52 PM
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I would choose the Henriksen over the Polytone due to the difficulty in getting the Polytone repaired, if necessary. I used a Polytone Mini Brute for 20 years and liked it but it died as did its replacement used Polytone. I have a Henriksen 112ER now and never use the tweeter or reverb. The sound is very clean and clear with more highs than the Polytone but it can get a good jazz tone. Lately I've been using a Roland Blues Cube 30 Hot that has a nice warm tube sound and feel. It seems to have more warmth and gives my guitars a fuller tone.
Did you the DV Mark Little amp not have the tone you wanted?Last edited by zephyrregent; 08-13-2016 at 04:38 PM.
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Alfresco from Michael Biller of Sound Island Music. It is a swanky-looking openbacked Henriksen 312 with Michael's choice of speaker.
Henriksen JazzAmp | ALFRESCO Custom Jazz Guitar Amp Open Back 1x12 | SOUNDISLANDMUSIC.COM
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The Polytone I am looking at has just been serviced and checked out by a tech
I am slightly gun-shy about going for another Henriksen, as i felt that I didn't quite get along with the way the Bud was voiced - although Henriksen did say it wasn't as dark/round as the Jazzamp series
I owned the DV for about a year, it sounded good, but the fan noise and overall lack of power led me to sell it
i should note, the Polytone is $200 shipped
the Henriksen I'm looking at is $460 shipped
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The Roland Blues Cube 30 Hot is $500 new. I'm afraid of buying used amps as my place looks like an amplifier graveyard with 3 dead amps that I went through after the Polytones died.
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I played through a couple cubes, but would prefer something more plug and play without all the options
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The Blues Cube 30 Hot has only one channel and not all the effects of the larger wattage versions of the Blues Cube. It uses the same Tube Logic technology that gives it the tube feel and tone. It's not the same as a Roland Cube. I would say it's definitely plug and play. That's one reason I like it, the control panel is simple.
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$200 for a serviced MiniBrute is pretty irresistible. Everybody knows it gets a jazz tone that cuts the mustard. From Sco to Pass to Hall...to Benson.
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I'm with Greentone. That's a pretty sweet deal for a Minibrute. There are also a lot of Fender HRDeluxe's out there that can give you a nice clean sound, if you don't mind tubes, and for a reasonable price.
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Wow, what a relief! I have heard so much appraisals for the Bud that I have started almost gasing it...seriously. So it is great news to hear that the Bud is not for all.
I would take Polytone. They are simple to fix and those that has survived are propably tougher than many modern day amps.
I have no experience on the DV or the Henriksen. But I would encourage You to think or try a Fender Tweed Deluxe or a clone of it (or make Yourself one!). I have found my source of smoky lively jazz sound from a 5e3 combo that I assembled about a year ago. Took some tweaking to find a right speaker and assembly of preamp tubes but now I think that it might be The Original Smoky Jazz Amp that the rest is copying.
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I get dark and smoky with my AR371. I replaced the stock pickup with a BG Pure 90 and play it through a tweed Princeton clone.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Mambo 8.
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I offered $125 for the MiniBrute and the seller accepted (+$50 shipping) but I think I can easily recoup $175 if I totally hate it
we will see in about a week or so...
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I think wzpgsr is on to something there that the OP should consider. The AR317 is not (as shipped from Eastman) a dark and smoky sounding guitar. The Eastman sound tends to be bright, leaning towards the Benedetto spectrum rather than the Gibson spectrum of tone.
I have only played one AR371. It was a very nice playing instrument and I liked the wide neck. Construction seemed good. It was pretty easy to get a very nice jazz tone out of it, but not a smoky tone (bearing in mind that was not using my usual amp, so EQ'ing it more intently could have produced a darker and smokier tone than I was able to get in 10 minutes). If I had needed or even had a use for another guitar I might well have bought it.
If you don't find the sound you like, replacing the pickup may be helpful. With a P90 you can roll the tone down a lot more and get darker before it gets muddy like a humbucker will.
The classic diamond Tolex MB is a great amp. You'll probably want a reverb pedal, those amps are really dry without. Of course, if you'd bought one with reverb built in you'd probably need a reverb pedal anyway- the Polytone reverb is notorious for breaking. ;-) Great price on that PT!
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I tested Bud at a shop and didn't like it much. But then again, I'm not a fan of clean tone. I was told that Bud and Henrikssen in general represent Polytone kind of sound. hmmm, I wonder if original Polytone can deliver more tube breakup friendly sound?
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I'd go for the Polytone as well. That's a great price.
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I don't think you'll get much breakup out of a Polytone without using a pedal.
Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
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If you want dark, the Polytone is fine.
But every time I hear somebody describe a "smoky" tone, there's tubes involved.
Spend $20 on a Joyo American sound aND put it in front of your Bud, it'll bring the smoke.
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Unfortunately I already packed the Bud up and sent it back - I was not able to get a decent "normal" guitar sound out of it - it was hi-fi in a strange unpleasant way
The Polytone should ship to me this week, if I end up not liking it, I'll try a 1x10 Henriksen, or possibly a tweed twin
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Wait...
Your next two choices for an amp are a Polytone or a tweed twin?
Apples and oranges. I thought you were after tube tone in a smaller, lighter package?
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What is the guitar you're playing through the Bud? Originally Posted by tfling
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String choice matters a lot, too. Hell, even the pick thickness is important. I get an entirely different sound with a pick change, or my thumb, etc. Out of the strings I have tried, Rotosound Tape Wound monel flat 12s work the best for "dark", "smoky", and "thunk". Chromes were too bright. I just put on a new set of TI Jazz Flats and I suspect they are going to be a bit too bright as well. Originally Posted by Cunamara
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Polytone!!!
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The Henriksen is not a bedroom amp. Neither is the Polytone. They are UNBELEIVEABLE amps when used on the stage. You wont get better.
If you want a nice sounding amp for both, the Fender Princeton reverb re-issue would do the trick.
JD
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I tried the Eastman, a Les Paul (which sounded very strange through it), and two different telecasters (which also sounded odd) Originally Posted by jbucklin
It was slightly better through a cab with a 12" speaker but that defeats the purpose of a super compact amp
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