View Poll Results: poly or henriksen
- Voters
- 36. You may not vote on this poll
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polytone
17 47.22% -
henriksen
19 52.78%
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Originally Posted by archtopdream63
I have a DV mark Little Jazz. I should feel extremely fortunate.
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11-28-2019 05:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Greco
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Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Marc, Have you compared the Blu to the DV Mark Little Jazz. If so, any thoughts about the differences? I played some vintage D'Angelicos thru the Bud upstairs at Rudy's and some merely mortal guitars at home through the LJ. Both sound good to me, but that's the furthest thing from an A/B comparison.
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Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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I realize this sounds stupid, because it's off topic a little, but.....
does it really need to be solid state for you guys? A princeton or deluxe reverb reissue sound so good and you can get them at great prices used
are you guys transporting in difficult places? a princeton should be able to do any jazz gig, it's lightish and sounds amazing.... i love solid state too, but to spend a lot of money on a solid state amp has always been hard for me
also, does anybody even talk about Evans amps anymore??
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Originally Posted by patshep
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Originally Posted by 6stringjazz
What speaker/cab do you use with the Forte head? I own the combo version and find the sound a little dark sometimes with the Eminence hemp speaker.
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Well I use Polytone Minibrute and TeenyBrute but because these amps are getting a little bit long in the tooth I thought I'd try a Henriksen Bud 10. But I don't like it very much, it just has no poke compared to the Polytones, yes it's cleaner (and quieter in terms of background hiss) but the sound doesn't convince me at all, it seems sterile compared to my Polytones, sort of lifeless, anaemic. Mostly I play an L5 but these days I'm trying an Eastman T186MX which is nice.
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Originally Posted by archtopdream63
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Not a fan of the Henriksen. Have given them a shot a couple times with the Jazzamp 10, both the initial 60w model(nice sound but zero headroom), and recently a late incarceration of the same - still not enough headroom for my purposes but seems to have lost the sweetness of the original. Polytone still a better tool imo.
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Originally Posted by JazzNote
Yes - please and thanks.
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Originally Posted by sunbambino
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It always amazes me when I read another player's take on amps and how these interact with their playing and their guitars ... It simply confirms the fact that the perceived quality of tone is utterly subjective- one man's apples are another one's oranges and all the pretty attributes and adjectives we come up with when describing our perception are pretty much useless and obsolete.
Case in point : having owned/played several (maybe 5 or 7) Polytone amps starting in ca. 1982 I think I know them quite well by now, all their strengths and weaknesses. A really good one was a bigger 15" early Taurus model from the 80's but when the speaker gave out I couldn't find a fitting replacement that sounded the same... Fast forward to 2018 when I got my BUD6
as a spare/sub/extra for my EVANS RE200 combo. The BUD quickly became my go-to-amp for all of my gigs where I didn't need maximum volume, the EVANS does the rest. It took me about half a day of twiddling to dial in that amp and get to know the EQ curves , all of my guitars deliver through that amp and I have not looked back, no more Polytone. I don't miss anything, gained a lot of flexibility, my tone gets positive comments from colleagues and listeners all the time and now I even bought a SECOND BUDblue when it popped up at an un-beatable price.
The ONLY tube amp that could ever convince me was a heavily modded late 60's Fender TWIN that weighed a TON and was not for sale. With my style of playing, my particular guitars and my ears
and preferences I can get my tones with the afore mentioned amps , sometimes with extra outboard gear, most often without. So glad that chase is over ....
The one (actively used on gigs) tube amp left in my collection is a rather exotic piece from a guy who worked for Ampeg, it's called a JUKE : a 40 watt 1x12 combo with tube-driven tremolo and a special side-band reverb
that sounds unlike anything I've ever heard in a combo amp. This amp is really good for slightly compressed tones (think classic Larry Carlton clean lead tones) up to the verge of breakup or when I get called for a Blues/Soul gig , paired with my ES-345 or a Tele, that works really well. Getting a decent jazz tone with it is quite impossible since it's either too spiky, too weak or it breaks up much too soon with the strong signal I send from my archtops with the heavier strings, especially when playing 2,3, or 4-note chords during a solo. So a high-headroom solid-state amp is the answer and I'm totally happy with what I've got here. The value in the EVANS and the BUD(s) is high compared to the many over-priced boutique tube amps, most of which are Fender-clones anyway...to the contrary, I think the BUD is absolutely competitively priced and I cannot think of any other amp that has comparable features, wattage, size, weight or tone.
I have no affiliation with the company and I am not an endorsee.
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Originally Posted by gitman
I think the real appeal is its dynamic response. It's not fast like a modern SS amp. It's forgiving if you dig in a bit (just like an old fender), which is a real blessing playing uptempo jazz. I think that comfortable/familiar feel and portability, combined with a warm sound is what made them popular.
PS, if you've never tried an eq pedal with a polytone, you can get some very fender'y sounds and a ton of volume boost.
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Originally Posted by vintagelove
If you have any pointers re the "Polytone-in-a-box" pedal then fill me in, please !
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Originally Posted by Chris236
Nice, I'm investigating these, Henriksens are for peeps who've never played a Polytone, just jokin, each to their own etc
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Originally Posted by sunbambino
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Originally Posted by Chris236
My Henriksens have more clean headroom than any Polytone I have ever played through and way more EQ options as well. I know that some early Henriksens had both EQ and headroom issues and frankly, I never played an early Henriksen that I liked. But, IMO, today's Henriksens are a way better amp than anything Polytone ever made. I know for a fact that Bruce Forman and Jimmy Bruno agree with me. I am also certain that if Tommy Gumina were still alive, he would agree as well. A better mousetrap has been made.
As Mambos are not US made and have no support here, I would caution anyone on this side of the pond from going that route.
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Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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Originally Posted by Stringswinger
As a Mambo owner, I would support anyone buying one…. Great reliable amp that IMO sounds a lot better than the Henriksens I’ve had and there’s no comparison quality wise.
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Originally Posted by Chris236
Mambos sound like fine amps. If I lived in the EU, I would probably own one.
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Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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Originally Posted by Chris236
failures in my many years of Polytone ownership. A reverb tank died, a speaker developed cone rub and a bridge rectifier failed (I finished that gig through a lousy PA, but the show went on.)
As a working musician, I like to gig with late model, reliable amps. YMMV
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Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Why is the internet out of tune, and what can you...
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