Evans vs Fender vs Henriksen vs JazzKat

**Tom Karol** · 07-23-2009, 10:44 AM

I’ve decided to sell my Rivera R55-12. Great amp, but too heavy. I’ve already got a Cube 60 and a VOX DA10. I want a really good SS Jazz amp, but not a dedicated Jazz amp. I don’t do pedals, but I do have a Telecaster that I’m quite fond of as well as couple of jazz boxes and a hybrid. Here’s what I’m thinking (even though I’ve never even been in the same room with any of them), priced from highest to lowest:

Evans JE200 – Supposed to the best – if not the most versatile, but too expensive.

Jazzmaster Ultralight – Very versatile with channel switching and separate effects for each channel, but reliability and hiss problems reported. Prefer a combo configuration. It’s also expensive.

Henriken JazzAmp 12ER – Reasonable price, available locally, supposed to sound great, but in spite of the 5-band EQ and onboard tweeter, not very versatile.

JazzKat PhatKat – Most affordable, most versatile, available locally. 2 separate channels, each with its own input. This means that I can employ an AB footswitch to use it as a channel-switching amp (lead/rhythm), which I like. But I also have a hybrid guitar with a mono/stereo jack which can send the mag signal out one cord and the piezo signal out another. It’s got a 3-way toggle to choose mag, both, or piezo. I could dedicate a channel to each output and switch between them right from the guitar! I don’t know if the tube in Channel 1 will be significant, but you can turn it on and off. The only thing I wish it had is the ability to dial in a separate effects setting on each channel. Now, of course, I just have to try one (and then find somebody to buy the Rivera)!

I will try both a JazzKat and a Henriksen in the next few weeks and post impressions.

In the meantime, constructive comments are welcome!

**TieDyedDevil** · 07-23-2009, 03:37 PM

What do you not like about the Cube 60?

I haven't played the JazzKat, Henriken or Evans.

I have played the the Fender. My advice in all cases is "play it and see whether you like it". In my case: I didn't like the Jazzmaster Ultralight. (Limited headroom, boxy sound and a tendency toward harsh breakup when pushed. IME and IMO, of course. No offense to those of you who like them.)

**derek** · 07-23-2009, 04:10 PM

I agree with TDD. As we have seen here, one guy loves amp A and thinks amp B is best used as a paperweight. Another swears that amp A is the worst example of child labor ever. Gotta try'em all. In the end, I find it is a compromise of the best features. I have yet to find an amp that has everything I want in a small package with an equally small price tag.

Happy hunting.

**Tom Karol** · 07-23-2009, 05:43 PM

What do you not like about the Cube 60?
I love the Cube 60! Still, it doesn’t have the openness or depth of my Rivera. But I’m certainly keeping it around.

I haven't played the JazzKat, Henriksen or Evans.
See below.

I have played the Fender. My advice in all cases is "play it and see whether you like it". In my case: I didn't like the Jazzmaster Ultralight. (Limited headroom, boxy sound and a tendency toward harsh breakup when pushed. IME and IMO, of course. No offense to those of you who like them.)
See below.

File this under, best laid plans:

I went to a store that had a JazzKat PhatKat today to try it. They also just started carrying Henriksen, and they had a JazzAmp 12R! I didn’t have my own guitars, so I grabbed a Gibson ES-336 strung with 11s to use for testing. Not a bad guitar, though I wouldn’t say it’s worth $2300. Anyway …

I tried the JazzKat first. I’m sorry, but I was disappointed. The bottom end was not all that clear, and there was a distinct boxiness about it. I did end up managing to dial in a pretty good sound, but it wasn’t all that easy. The effects didn’t do much for me either. There’s no way I’d sell my Rivera to buy the JazzKat in spite of it being 20 lbs lighter.

Then I tried the Henriksen. I set all the EQ’s and the reverb at 12 O’clock and the volume at 9 O’clock. I loved it: warm, fat, clear, balanced, open, powerful, and punchy! Then I realized that the reverb was switched off – and I love reverb! I switched it on and set it at about 10:30. Sounded even better - just about dead solid perfect - inspiring, even! Now I’m thinking that the 12 ER (with the tweeter built in) might be just the ticket!

Then, I tried them both again, just to confirm my initial impressions - no change.

So, the morals of the story are, for me anyway:
1) No matter how much you read and listen to sound clips, you’ve got to actually try these things yourself. (Duh!)
2) Tone is far more important than features. (Double duh!)

That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it (for now – the Evans is still too expensive).

**monkmiles** · 07-23-2009, 08:33 PM

I used to have a Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight, so I can fill you in on that one. Channel 1 is very clean, yet not sterile, with high headroom. Channel 2 lets you add in gain from a little to a whole lot. The built-in effects are solid, but not tweakable. I would say the effects are a tad better than the effects built into the Cube series.

I liked it alot, but I do think it's over priced. I would switch back and forth between my Cube and Jazzmaster Ultralight and the difference was much smaller than the price difference between the two. Plus I ended up prefering the fast setup of a combo. So for SS, I've current got a Cube 30 and 80x.

**mr. beaumont** · 07-23-2009, 11:03 PM

why not include a used polytone in your search? they can be had cheap, and offer a great clean platform to do pretty much anything to.

Archie · 07-24-2009, 03:20 AM

I have a Tech 21 Trademark 30. It's very compact and light, and I like the sound. I'd recommend trying one, if you can.

**whiskywheels** · 07-24-2009, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by TieDyedDevil

What do you not like about the Cube 60?

That was going to be my first question as well........but I see you've already answered it!

There's a separate thread here comparing the Cube 60 to the 80, but I have to say "try the 80!". I think it's got a lot more depth and complexity than the 60.

**Scolohofo** · 07-24-2009, 10:49 AM

At the time i played with the cube 60 i found it to sound to digital for my taste.

**NSJ** · 07-24-2009, 10:55 AM

Haven't tried the others, but I agree wholeheartedly about the Henriksen. I have a convertible, which is the way to go (head + cab). T-O-N-E, T-O-N-E, T-O-N-E! God it sounds beautiful!

Particularly with the Jim Hall guitar (i.e., laminate). It was practically made for that guitar, as Roger Sadowsky and Jim Hall both attest.

On a fully carved, solid wood? Not so much. I prefer the Polytone. I have no idea why, but the Polytone sounds better.

**Tom Karol** · 07-24-2009, 11:12 AM

All valid and interesting comments - thanks. But I'm totally hooked on the Henriksen - can't get that luscious sound out of my head! It's just a question of which model. It should be fun to track them all down and try them! But, I'll still keep the Cube 60 - if that's all I had, it wouldn't be half bad!

By the way, I once had a Polytone 102 back in the day. Full sized combo with 60 watts, a waffle-foam grille, fitted with a 12" JBL. Should never have sold it (but that's another story). But what were they thinking with that built-in, "Swinging Vibrato Phaser?" (Really, that's what they called it!)

**Drifter** · 07-24-2009, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by Tom Karol

But what were they thinking with that built-in, "Swinging Vibrato Phaser?" (Really, that's what they called it!)

The amp designer either was a Science Fiction fan or he had a good smoke while designing it. Or both. I wonder how it sounded?

**bluemood** · 07-24-2009, 02:38 PM

I have a polytone mini brute IV ... I have not been able to fine a good sounding drive tone out it yet, It just doesn't sound right drivien hard .

**lpdeluxe** · 07-24-2009, 02:48 PM

As it happens, my Jazzmaster Ultralight is sitting in front of me, with my Gibson SG plugged into it.

I managed to do a trade of several instruments/amps to acquire it, so I paid about $200 cash for it, which tempers my opinion somewhat. But it's a fine amp: if I had to give it up for a less expensive one I'd be unhappy.

Small size and light weight are obvious, but what is less obvious is its Fender tone. A friend and I A/B'd it against his '67 Super Reverb, one of the best I've heard. The only noticeable difference was in the better quality of the Super's analog reverb pan. And the Super outweighs it 65 lb to 26. The Jazzmaster has a selection of effects (I stick to reverb only, but it provides delay and chorus in various combinations and flavors as well).

I also have a Blues Jr (tweed and Jensen speaker) and a Band-Master VM head I plug into a 1-15 cab, and they provide all I need when I'm going for "chime," but this one has a little more authority in its sound. As an aside, bought my first amp in 1974, and I have owned quite a few, to put it shortly.

It serves very well as an acoustic guitar amp, with lots of clean power (250 watts). A friend likes to plug his Fishman Aura-equipped Martin into it for live gigs. I haven't tried the Drive channel much, but it seemed to sound fine.

l quite like the thought put into its design: the head's feet nest in magnetic sockets in the cabinet, so you can put it on a tilt-back stand without fear (where mine usually resides). It comes with a four-button foot switch -- which still doesn't allow for swltching between effects, if you are into that -- and a short Speakon cable and an IEC power cord. The head and foot switch, along with the cables, travel in a shoulder bag.

I bought it for my Les Paul Deluxe, which really sings through it, but I have since paired it with my 335 and (as of today) the SG. These are three very different sounding guitars, but each one sounds good (and individual) plugged into the Jazzmaster.

I just realized that I bought it a year ago this month, so this is not a "oooh it's shiney and new and I looooove it!" thing. I expect to keep this one for years. You gotta love the reliability of solid state -- I'm glad Fender has figured out the tone, too. It ain't cheap, but then, it ain't cheaply made, either. If you wanted that Super mentioned above (or one like it, that one's not for sale) you'd pay more than for the JM, and you'd still deal with hot running and heavy weight and more frequent maintenance.

As you can tell, I really like mine.

**monkmiles** · 07-24-2009, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by Scolohofo

At the time i played with the cube 60 i found it to sound to digital for my taste.

If you put the 60 (or 30, 80, etc) on the Black Panel setting and set the gain knob to the neighborhood of 2:00-3:00 (and then adjust volume to taste), you can get very tube-like response. The 80 also has a Deluxe Reverb setting in which its easier to get an a tube-like, overdriven tone.

**larry graves** · 07-25-2009, 03:45 PM

I wonder what amp Anthony Wilson plays through--now that's a lush sound. Myself, I play though a Roland VGA.7 with a divided pickup,could'nt live without that! from lush to synth at the flick of a switch..

**philbert** · 07-28-2009, 09:40 AM

I've recently teamed my GB200 up with a new Roland Cube 80. I've been delighted with this combination - I can get a really nice Bucky Pizzareli-type rhythm sound, and a good 'vintage' soloing tone too. Can't believe what good value the new cube represents for the money. I tried all sorts of other amps and never managed to get just the sound I wanted. Was beginning to wonder if the Ibanez was the wrong guitar. Happy camper now, though!

**garryrenfro** · 08-05-2009, 11:19 PM

I have had a Jazzmaster for a bit over three years and I really, really like it. The tone has a complexity and character that suits my ears and style. I will admit I am a bit biased toward Fenders, having cut my teeth on all shades of tweed, brown, and black in the mid-late sixties. (I do not, however, like everything carrying their logo). I have a wide variety of good and cheap guitars, from a Howard Roberts Fusion to a '55 ES-175, a Squier Supersonic, several old Silvertones, etc., and I can dial in any of them on this amp. The only effects I use are the reverb, delay, and tremolo. As Martinopass noted, there is not a wide range of tweakability, but I only apply them subtly. There is no noise on the clean channel. The drive channel acts as a switchable 2nd voice, and with small amounts of gain, is also very quiet. I have never pushed the amp hard, so have not experienced the harsh break-up TDD mentions. If I want overdrive and distortion, I do not go to this amp anyway. I have had no problems with this amp.

**lpdeluxe** · 08-06-2009, 08:36 AM

Tuesday evening, the guy who sold me my first guitar in 1971 came through town, so I organized a get together with a rhythm guitarist/vocalist (with a large available music room!), a friend to play lead, and me on bass.

The lead player brought his bird's-eye blonde '69 ES-340 and I set up the Jazzmaster for him to play through.

The result was excellent sound. He used the Drive channel and put a little chorus/reverb on it, and it blew us all away (his playing helped, of course).

It's interesting to me that, when I play through an amp, it always sounds so different from when someone else does. In this case, the little Fender was a terrific addition to our impromptu band. I love it more than ever.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 11-13-2009, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by islandfunhouse

The newer ones all sound too processed for me...Henriksen, Clarus, Acoustic Image. I have been using the Evans AH-200 head and also own the Evans AE-100 Gold Reissue (brand new). Love them both for full archtop straight ahead jazz. Check out the new AE-100 on my website Jim Bastian

Is Evans going to add that amp to their web site? (I realize their web site doesn't look like it's been touched in a while.) That amp sounds interesting. Evans amps are sweet but at 200 watts they're more than a lot of us need. And they're not cheap either

. Do you have a street price for the AE-100? I hope it can be a fair bit under the RE-200. Finally, do you think there is any chance of it coming out in a 100 watt head? I have to say, I'm a fan of the warm sound of bigger speakers, and have always liked the fact that Evans provides a 15" one. Going down to a 8" doesn't rock my world.

**larry graves** · 11-14-2009, 05:28 AM

My, you guys know your gear, all wonderful stuff, just a bit rich though for
my bank account [being a pensioner ] I've just bought a CRATE CA120D.

for a £149.00.[£200.00 off list price] for my acoustic, from Kenny's music
in Scotland. I hav'nt tried it yet, they forgot to send the mains lead, but
the reviews are brilliant, trouble is it weighs in at 45 pounds,nearly broke
my back carrying it up stairs, I'll keep it in my studio, might buy the smaller model to take out. They say you can plug your electric in to it. I'll have to see..

**randyc** · 11-14-2009, 01:08 PM

Larry, if I'm not mistaken, that's the same amplifier that I bought my son, who is away in college on the east coast of our country. He uses it for his harmonicas and says that it works pretty well (he used to use my Fender Champ for his harmonicas when he was home). The boy never exaggerates so it sounds to me that you got a good bargain.

cheers,
randyc

**larry graves** · 11-14-2009, 03:52 PM

Hi. thanks for that. I'll have to wait until they send me the mains lead to find out if it works or not,it looks great though. There is just one thing,
when I e.mailed them about the missing mains lead ,I also mentioned that
there where three small screws missing at the back of the amp,they came
back with some cock and bull story about some models not needing all of the screws [surplus to requirements] they said the info came straight from Crate. I've emailed Crate myself, have'nt heard yet. Seems strange,I dont want it to fall to bits on me.LG..

**Tarek** · 02-17-2010, 02:11 PM

Just got the Henriksen convertible with reverb and 10-inch Eminence Beta-A cab. I also bought a separate Tweetey directly from Henriksen. I hope you find the info I am providing herein helpful if you are interested in these products. Any questions/comments, you can email me at [email protected]

If you already bought the amp, I have three recommendations. The first is a common sense advice which I got directly from the manufacturer, that is not to operate the amplifier without a speaker attached, and do not plug in or unplug any speakers while the amplifier is turned on. What you must avoid is changing the load on the amp while it is turned on, because it will blow the output transistors. If you do accidentally turn the amplifier on without the speaker plugged in, you should turn it off first, wait a minute, then plug the speaker in, then turn the amplifier back on. NEVER plug in or unplug a speaker cable while the amplifier is turned on.

The second recommendation is to make sure that you are using "Instrument Cables" between the guitar and the amplifier (including cables between pedals). And that you are using "Audio Cables" from the amp to external speakers and the Tweetey. Do not mix or confuse instrument cables for audio cables (they are not the same), or you can do serious damage to the amp!

The third recommendation is to read the amp manual before you do anything with the amp. You will understand how to set up the amp tone much better if you read the manual, here is why.

Henriksen JazzAmp is a great amp for traditional dark and warm jazz tone. With other amps, we keep struggling with the treble, middle and bass knobs to get a balanced tone. We always end up with either a boomy “too bassy” tone or a thin “metallic and boxy tone”, but almost never a satisfying tone all across the fretboard. Unlike other amps, the Henriksen JazzAmp does not change the guitar signal to make it thinner or fatter until a sweet “closely balanced” spot is found. Rather, it works as an amplified equalizer. It has 5 EQ controls that correlate to the various frequencies from the various guitar strings/frets. These EQ controls on the amp will only increase or decrease the VOLUME of certain frequencies without altering the overall tone of the guitar. For example, the JazzAmp amp is not about making the notes of the treble E string sound more bassy and warm, but it is about changing the VOLUME of the notes on the TREBLE E string to your liking, without altering the tone or volume of the notes on the BASS E string! Read more below….

Here it how I think it works. Let’s say, you are unhappy with the volume of a certain note on a certain string (the note being too loud or too weak). To remedy the issue, you can go to the guitar frequency chart that is included in the amp manual, find out the corresponding frequency for that problematic note, then identify the amp’s EQ control that controls a range covering the frequency of that note, and finally turn up or down that EQ control until the note sounds good. By doing so, you are only fixing the volume of that note (along with some other notes that will tag along because they are affected by that frequency change) but your are not changing the tone of the whole guitar! I’ve used a “single note fix” as an example above to simplify my point, but if course, in reality, we attempt to fix a small and narrow range of notes when we attempt any tone setup.

It is my understanding that, the frequencies of the notes on the guitar fretboard range from about 82 Hz on the open bass E string to about 1,319Hz (1.3kHz) on the 24th fret of the treble E string. The JazzAmp manual provides a fretboard chart showing the frequency of each note on the fretboard which is extremely helpful to know while doing any amp setup. I do not have my JazzAmp amp in front of me now but if I recall correctly, it has 5 EQ controls as follows, from left to right:

EQ Control #1 is the 100Hz (it controls frequencies between 50Hz and 150Hz)

EQ Control #2 is the 300Hz (it controls frequencies between 150Hz and 600Hz)

EQ Control #3 is the 1kHz (it controls frequencies between 500Hz and 1,500Hz)

EQ Control #4 is the 3kHz (it controls frequencies between 1,500Hz and 6,000Hz)

EQ Control #5 is the 10kHz (it controls frequencies between 5,000Hz and 20,000Hz)

As you can see above, the frequencies of the guitar natural (not harmonics) notes are topped at about 1.3kHz, so why have a 3kHz and 10kHz EQs on an amp, some may ask? The manufacturer indicates that, the JazzAmp amp 3kHz EQ control effects the volume of mostly harmonic overtones and sounds not associated with the tonal centers of the strings of a guitar; sounds such as pick attack and fret noise. Personally, I did not hear much difference in the overall guitar tone by tweaking the 3kHz control which is somewhat in agreement with manufacturer’s statement since I do not use a pick and use flat wound strings that already reduce fret noise.

I could hardly notice any difference in the guitar tone as a result of tweaking the 10kHz control. I inquired why and as a response, the manufacturer indicates that, the10kHz is outside of many people's hearing range, but will effect higher harmonic frequencies such as those associated with effect pedals. Well, I do not use pedals, but that is a good piece of info to have.

So, that leaves me with only the 100Hz, the 300Hz and 1kHz as “true players” to use to adjust the tone of the guitar, which is a similar EQ setup to other equalizers found on other amplifiers. But for some reason, this amp sounds just great, fat and warm, not thin or boxy at all.

Finally the Tweetey. As I mentioned above, I have a separate Henriksen Tweetey (not built-in). Integrating it in the amp and speaker cabinet setup is very easy. However, if you plan on buying just a Henriksen Tweetey to use on a non-Henriksen amp, make sure your amp has a “speaker out” jack. A “speaker out” is different than a “line out” because the “speaker out” provides a powered signal. The Henriksen Tweetey is a passive speaker and will need the power from the speaker out jack in order to operate.

I am still experimenting with the JazzAmp Tweetey and I have recently got a desired sound/volume from it. I took me some trial and error setups to get it to sound right. Its volume is not very loud but it adds a new dimension to the amp tone, it kinda "open up the tone". The JazzAmp Tweetey has its own volume control. Its volume can also be adjusted using the 3kHz and 10kHz EQ controls on the JazzAmp. Keep in mind, typically, a Tweeter is designed to produce frequencies from around 2,000Hz to 20,000 Hz, and even up to 45kHz. These frequencies are well over the guitar’s natural note frequencies which are topped at 1.3kHz. So, there will be times when the Tweetey may not show a huge difference in the overall tone, depending on the amp setup, your playing technique and the guitar you use.

By the way, the JazzAmp amp has a 1/4" jack and a Speakon jack in the back. Both are speaker outputs, and they are wired in parallel. There are two ways to hook up the Tweetey and a speaker. First, you can go from the amp to the Tweetey, then from the Tweetey to the speaker. Secondly, you can go from the amp to the Tweetey and from the amp to the speaker.

To clear some confusion about the Henriksen guitar heads versus Henriksen bass guitar heads, the manufacturer indicates that, other than having reverb, there actually isn't a difference between the "bass" and "guitar" models of the heads. Henriksen has made some changes to the heads over the years, but these changes have been strictly mechanical to make assembly more efficient, but the sound has remained the same.

The JazzAmp amp is a highly recommended amp. It provides a great jazz tone, I am yet to find an equally nice solid state amp and I have played a few. The company representative is one of the most pleasant people in the business to work with. Henriksen does not save an effort to respond to inquiries and they are most-helpful. Great amp, great company!