Jazz guitar amp comparison!

**gggomez** · 04-24-2017, 10:16 PM

Sorry I did not say thanks for post and good playing. I also liked number 1 best sounded more alive to me then number 3. Amazing how close the Henriksens get. Would love to hear a Princeton side by side with Quilter Aviator 8".

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**jzjazz** · 04-25-2017, 02:42 PM

Kept the white one since I'm changing the speaker eventually anyway. And just ordered a Lil Bud from Eminence - will let you know how it sounds when I get it :-)

PS. Are fender tilt legs 14" the proper size for a princeton? They don't list princetons amps in its specs but there are no shorter available so it's probably a matter of where to place them on the amp?

**jzjazz** · 04-28-2017, 09:28 AM

Sorry for two post in a row, but I just installed my new Eminence Lil Bud and LOVE it! Thanks to this forum I made the right choice - the speaker seems to be something in between those two Jensens - nice high end but not as thin an shrilly as the C10R and but has a lot of that over hi-fi sound which the P10R didn't. And it stays clean longer. I'm SO happy with it, can't recommend a speaker replacement in princetons enough!

**Greentone** · 04-28-2017, 10:19 AM

I like all three amplifiers. I have a lot more mileage plugging into Fender Princetons. I agree with the post that you have to turn them up. Get that volume knob up and back off on your guitar's volume.

**PB+J** · 04-28-2017, 03:26 PM

I would go 3, 2, 1. The Black princeton has the classic midrange cut which is pretty sounding but I hear that thing where the body is missing that always bugs me with BF/SF fenders. It might be the right amp for a solo gig, but alternatively I'd just scoop the mids on the henricksen

**Greentone** · 06-19-2017, 01:40 PM

One more thing: your Aria Pro II PE-180 sounds great. It's just a superb, all-around jazz guitar that you don't have to be afraid to take to a gig. (even though Matsumoku guitars are getting kind of rare, these days)

**jzjazz** · 06-19-2017, 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by Greentone

One more thing: your Aria Pro II PE-180 sounds great. It's just a superb, all-around jazz guitar that you don't have to be afraid to take to a gig. (even though Matsumoku guitars are getting kind of rare, these days)

I love it. That is the first guitar I treat as for life

**fep** · 03-22-2019, 04:07 PM

For me 3,2,1 (very close between 3 and 2) with 1 being clearly last.

The blacc Princeton had to much high end for my taste.

**lawson-stone** · 03-22-2019, 05:38 PM

I'd have preferred a "blind" comparison--I just can't imagine a snow-white amp sounding better than a stodgy old black Princeton! Also knowing which one is tube and which one is solid state biases me. I wish I could be more objective even knowing the amps, but I doubt my ability to do that. I am not criticizing the OP"s video. It's a service he's done for us, and he has also delighted us all, including me, with his wonderful playing. he has also possibly demonstrated that the Aria Pro II PE180 can make any amp sound just wonderful!

For me, that black PRRI with that PE180 is just impossible to beat. My bias, to be sure! I also think the OP could make pretty much any amp and guitar sound great.

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 03-22-2019, 06:00 PM

I have trouble with these sorts of videos, too.

I've listened to "speaker shootout" videos and the louder (more sensitive) speakers tend to sound better to me. Of course, in real life, you'd turn up the amp for quieter speakers.

**strumcat** · 03-22-2019, 11:17 PM

The white Princeton had a real nice soft quality to the sound, but still clear and distinct. The other two had a bit of harshness in comparison. The white Princeton was also a touch quieter, which will always skew a listening test. I enjoyed listening to the video. None of them sounded bad.

**takauya** · 03-22-2019, 11:33 PM

These types of comparison videos are just for fun, right? You can tweak the knobs and it's literally night and day difference. BTW, I liked Henriksen the best in this video. A little bit too dark but sits in the mix better than others IMHO.

**rpjazzguitar** · 03-22-2019, 11:59 PM

I liked number 1 least, when listening with better headphones. But, I also suspect that a slight reduction in treble might make it sound as good as the others.

**Hammertone** · 03-23-2019, 12:15 AM

I laugh at your puny jazz guitar amp comparison.

Earlier today, a friend and I did this jazz guitar amp comparison, to hear the differences between three similarly-configured, similarly sized 2x7591 1x12" Ampeg combos: G-12 (22 watts), GS-12R (18 watts) and older G-12 (22 watts), equipped w/old JBLs (OK, the Rocket II has an old Altec 417). Turns out there weren't many - they all sound kind of the same. They all weigh kind of the same. And they all smell the same...How about that.

**rpjazzguitar** · 03-23-2019, 01:06 AM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

I laugh at your puny jazz guitar amp comparison.

Earlier today, a friend and I did this jazz guitar amp comparison, to hear the differences between three similarly-configured, similarly sized 2x7591 1x12" Ampeg combos: G-12 (22 watts), GS-12R (18 watts) and older G-12 (22 watts), equipped w/old JBLs (OK, the Rocket II has an old Altec 417). Turns out there weren't many - they all sound kind of the same. They all weigh kind of the same. They all smell the same...How about that.

It's funny that you mention the odor. My old Reverberocket R12RB has had a distinctive smell all its life.

**asedas** · 03-23-2019, 02:40 PM

Recently I've tweaked a lot my PRRI - changed Jensen to 12" Celestion Gold and played with different sort of tubes. The preamp tube change makes so huge difference that this comparison would be totally different even betwen Princetones when we will switch the tubes. The Princeton is very good platform to mod and imho you can tweak it for every sound you would like to get

**jzjazz** · 03-23-2019, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by asedas

Recently I've tweaked a lot my PRRI - changed Jensen to 12" Celestion Gold and played with different sort of tubes. The preamp tube change makes so huge difference that this comparison would be totally different even betwen Princetones when we will switch the tubes. The Princeton is very good platform to mod and imho you can tweak it for every sound you would like to get

Completely true! My Deluxe Reverb RI sounds twice as good since I preplaced the preamp tube with a vintage one!

**asedas** · 03-23-2019, 04:38 PM

What do you use now? I tried Sovtek 12ax7LPS (new, very good from the new tubes - good ratio balance/punch), then tried two diferent RFT (didn't like them) and tried also old Philips ECC83 (which one I use now - very ballanced, less tube "punch").

**jzjazz** · 03-23-2019, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by asedas

What do you use now? I tried Sovtek 12ax7LPS (new, very good from the new tubes - good ratio balance/punch), then tried two diferent RFT (didn't like them) and tried also old Philips ECC83 (which one I use now - very ballanced, less tube "punch").

Honestly i don’t know

I tested a couple and ended up with one. I had a vintage Phillips and this was by far the best sound wise but it was frequently fishing something from the air and producing some kind of low volume constant feedback so I had to change it

the philips was brighter and more hi-fi (more heights), the one I have is darker but is much quieter than the factory tube (I’m turning my deluxe up to 7-8 on gigs), but it stays clean.

**lawson-stone** · 03-23-2019, 07:00 PM

I recently picked up the PRRI Limited Edition with the 12" CR speaker. I currently have a TAD 7025 in V1 and JJ 6V6s power tubes, with the bias current raised a bit to about 25 mA. The amp sounds fabulous to my ear. Tons of clean, with the really rounded sweet mids that I personally just love. I plan to play around with other tubes, but this combination has been delightful to play. I usually put the amp volume on 8 or 9, BT at 7 or 8, and control the levels from the guitar.

**Woody Sound** · 06-25-2019, 11:49 AM

They all sound nice. But from best to "worst," 3, 1, 2.

You told us the Fender settings, but did I miss the Hen settings? And what is "a bit modded" speaker?

**jzjazz** · 06-25-2019, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

They all sound nice. But from best to "worst," 3, 1, 2.

You told us the Fender settings, but did I miss the Hen settings? And what is "a bit modded" speaker?

Sorry I don't remember the henriksen settings, but here's the story behind the mod:
Henriksen Jazzamp 110 MOD-story