How Many Guitar Amps Do You Own?

[John A.]

I have: Quilter Aviator Cub USA, Fender Champion 20, Roland MicroCube. The Quilter replaced a '78 Princeton Reverb last November, making me tubeless for the first time since I started playing electric guitar in 1979. In some ways the PR sounded better, but the extra flexibility, greater volume/headroom when needed, and better portability more than make make up for that.

Each serves its purpose -- the MC for practicing outdoors, vacations, and sometimes recording; the C20 for small gigs and jams, as a second amp when another guitar player comes over, and other casual stuff; the Quilter for more serious stuff, louder bands, bigger rooms, blues, though it's light and small enough to take on some of the C20's duties. It's also what I mainly play through at home.

[tomv713]

I’m truly anti-GAS, I own 0.

Ok, i just bought a DV Mark 12 but it doesn’t get here until later this week

[murphybridget837]

Sir you are 74 years young and have all the time in the world to explore jazzguitar. Good luck on your wonderful journey in Jazz guitars.

[JazzIsGood]

Just about to downsize.

I have 6 amps and a 1x12 ext cab. I did approx 50 gigs last year, which is way up from the previous year. So now I really know what I need to get the job done gig-wise. I'm not really a collector, I just want to have the right amp for every gig and my gigs really vary a lot.

Keeping-

Fender Twin 85W (surprisingly useful, I use it frequently)
Fargen Blackbird 40W
Longbeard Lil Jake 20W- this and the Fargen are the best amps sounding amps I have.
1x12 cab has a Ted Weber speaker in it. Again, it's surprising but I use this thing all the time. When I play a big room I put it on the other side of the stage and the whole band works better.


Selling-
Longbeard Big Tom 40W- Sounds great, but I'm not gonna keep 2 40W tube amps. The Fargen is a bit better.
Polytone Mini Brute 2 100W. I really hate this thing. Sounds like crap. Reminds me of all those old Joe Pass records where he plays amazing and the tone sucks. I use it for vocals when I'm comping singers.

Aquiring- Henriksen Bud 6 (first Gen)- I never had an amp this small, curious to give it a try. Everyone loves them.

On the fence- 1965 all original Fender Deluxe Reverb, 22W. Not a re-issue, it's one of those holy grail vintage amps. I am leaning towards selling it. It's kinda cool in it's own way but for jazz it just distorts too quickly. The Lil Jake does all the same stuff but does it better. Once in a while I will plug a strat into it and crank it just for fun, it's amazing for that. There's nothing like a cranked deluxe. But I'm not playing classic rock bar gigs or recording sessions, so I don't think it's gonna be something I use much. I don't really trust it enough to take it to gigs, it's got a few crackles, even after being serviced. I just feel like it's gonna die at a gig some day. The boutique amps are built super solid and are more reliable because they are not 50+ years old. I'm thinking vintage guitars are a great idea but vintage amps, not so much, unless you're a collector. KEEP OR SELL??? Help me out here?!


Also, I was surprised reading this thread how many people have only a small solid state amp. Do you all not play with drummers much? Some of those little amps your talking about would be barely heard at a jam session with a loud drummer and 6 horn players.

[JazzIsGood]

I've been playing this Henriksen Bud 6 all day today. I find it over-rated. It's OK. I would even say it's impressive for it's size. Nowhere near as good as a real tube amp with a 12 inch speaker. I might try a gig with it sometime to see if there's something I'm missing. I gotta say it's not as good as everyone on this forum and YouTube are saying. Are y'all sure it holds up to a quartet gig with a drummer?? I wanna try it but I don't want to have a crappy gig if the drummer drowns this little thing out.

[omphalopsychos]

People should read up more on the henriksen bud before buying it. I keep seeing these reviews of people expecting them to sound better than open back tube amps with 10" or 12" drivers. Don't think many henriksen owners are making these claims, so I don't know where people are getting the ideas. I keep getting DMs from people asking if I would recommend a henriksen for home use and my answer is always "why do you need a portable amp to stay at home? get a princeton or deluxe or vibrolux."

I've played my bud 6 with septets a number of times. No lack of headroom and it actually sounds great in the mix (with some pedals to improve the feel). But again, I grab the henriksen for convenience, not because I think it sounds better than my blackface tube amps.

[garybaldy]

I've been playing this Henriksen Bud 6 all day today. I find it over-rated. It's OK. I would even say it's impressive for it's size. Nowhere near as good as a real tube amp with a 12 inch speaker. I might try a gig with it sometime to see if there's something I'm missing. I gotta say it's not as good as everyone on this forum and YouTube are saying. Are y'all sure it holds up to a quartet gig with a drummer?? I wanna try it but I don't want to have a crappy gig if the drummer drowns this little thing out.

I'd take your tube 1x12 as a back up amp.

[JazzIsGood]

"why do you need a portable amp to stay at home? get a princeton or deluxe or vibrolux."

Yeah LOL true, why a Hendriksen at home where you don't have to carry it anywhere?

I can see the potential for it being OK in a mix with lots of other stuff going on, but I'm going to take a big amp as backup for the first try as the last poster suggested. The one thing I can see this amp being really good for is when I go to gigs on my bike or on the train.

People do speak glowingly of it, I thought it would be in the same ballpark with big amps. I figured not as good but close. Well guess what....it aint even close. I'm guessing the guys with bad backs are rationalizing it..."it sounds even better than the amp I can't carry and have admitted defeat on!"

I will also say it sounds better than the god damn Polytone. The reverb is kinda nice on this Henriksen.

Another thing I'm starting to realize is that the style I shoot for is not the same as most jazz guitarists. The more I see jazz guitarists online, the more I feel they are going for something different than me.

I'm going for - swing feel is #1, excellent timing, and swinging with a drummer and bass player, playing mostly single note solos in the style of Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, or George Benson. The guys I see online are mostly doing solo chord melody, avoid playing in a group, getting into Julian Lage and Jonathan Kreissberg, have 20th century classical influence, want to play fingerstyle, pay little attention to timing and swing feel. Lots of the chord melody stuff I see people play is rubato time/feel, and it takes a while to set up all your fingers for the next chord/melody chunk. Is this the majority of jazz guitarists now, or is this just the people who post online a lot? I can see why you would love a Hendriksen if you're playing that style and rarely working with drums and bass.

[ewall]

FYI. In many of his gigs around the country, Julian Lage either borrows a local amp or uses a Fender Champ. I once read he used a ZT Lunchbox at one of his. So, it's not the amp. It's us.

[JazzIsGood]

I think the sound of your amp can swing the quality of a performance significantly, even in the mind of the average listener who is perceiving it. Even average people are music experts, having spent years honing their music taste. They really can tell the difference and they don't want to hear sub par music.

Amp too small or too quiet? You're lost and you might as well not exist. You won't hear yourself so you will pick harder and make mistakes. Other players won't hear you and be able to respond.

Amp too loud or shrill? Everyone will be annoyed and the whole vibe will be off. This is especially problematic in improvisational music.

Lage has a pro sound crew so yeah he can use a 5 watt amp. He is specifically going for subtle low volume music. He also has the worlds top support musicians. That drummer and bass player can play as quiet as you need them, they will be flawless and will hear every note the soloist is playing. This is really a special case.

Most drummers, even jazz drummers that are supposed to be listening, will drive a bus over your 5 watt Fender Champ. Try that lunchbox amp at an open jam with average players and you will be in a world of sh%t. I've seen people try it LOL. Even when everyone brings it WAY DOWN to hear them, it's sounds like a tin can in a windstorm. No vibe at all, even with good players.

Great player + great amp + great guitar+ great band is the formula. You gotta have all 4 for it to sound good.

[MCh]

I don't gig anymore, and only play at home. So I have sold all my amps, some dating from the '60s, except for one: a slightly moded Fender Blues Jr. I have been a tube amp guy all my life, but the times, they are changing. Tube amps have become expensive to maintain. We can no more test and buy tubes at the corner's drugstore for 2$...

I don't play only jazz, so I need a versatile amp, as I consider myself desintoxicated from GAS...

Amp sims have become better and better. I find myself using the TUKAN amp sim plugin that comes free with REAPER more often now. However, I appreciate the convenience of the amp. You turn it on and you're playing. Otherwise, you have to turn on the computer, the monitors and the display on, plug into the interface, adjust the gain knob, load the DAW and plugin... I find myself playing more if an amp is available.

Next time the Blues Jr is due for a visit to the technician, I will pull the trigger on either a Blu 6, or something Quilter instead.

[alltunes]

I don't gig anymore, and only play at home. So I have sold all my amps, some dating from the '60s, except for one: a slightly moded Fender Blues Jr. I have been a tube amp guy all my life, but the times, they are changing. Tube amps have become expensive to maintain. We can no more test and buy tubes at the corner's drugstore for 2$...

I don't play only jazz, so I need a versatile amp, as I consider myself desintoxicated from GAS...

Amp sims have become better and better. I find myself using the TUKAN amp sim plugin that comes free with REAPER more often now. However, I appreciate the convenience of the amp. You turn it on and you're playing. Otherwise, you have to turn on the computer, the monitors and the display on, plug into the interface, adjust the gain knob, load the DAW and plugin... I find myself playing more if an amp is available.

Next time the Blues Jr is due for a visit to the technician, I will pull the trigger on either a Blu 6, or something Quilter instead.

I will probably jinx myself here but I don’t think tube amps are hard to maintain at all. Of course mine aren’t bouncing around the back of a van gigging 5 nights a week. But for home use and even semi-steady gigging there is almost nothing that needs to be done. (where is the knock on wood emoji?) Tubes last a long time. But I do like amps that do not require a biasing when replacing tubes…makes it easy to try different flavors. I really appreciate my Headstrong Santa Cruz for this feature.

[MCh]

I will probably jinx myself here but I don’t think tube amps are hard to maintain at all. Of course mine aren’t bouncing around the back of a van gigging 5 nights a week. But for home use and even semi-steady gigging there is almost nothing that needs to be done. (where is the knock on wood emoji?) Tubes last a long time. But I do like amps that do not require a biasing when replacing tubes…makes it easy to try different flavors. I really appreciate my Headstrong Santa Cruz for this feature.

Some people have the knowledge to maintain their tube amps by themselves. I am not one of them. I have learned the hard way not to put my hands in there . My Blues Jr. has been modified and I find myself swapping tubes too, as I appreciate more headroom for clean sounds. The Blues Jr. is a relatively inexpensive amp and is not built with quality parts from the start. This is the reason why things fail and the amp goes to the technician more often than it should. Mine is a money pit. Actually it would have been cheaper if I had chosen the Princeton Reverb instead, which is a bit more reliable. On the + side, the Blues Jr. is small, lightweight and it sounds great, actually perfect for home playing. Nothing sounds like tubes. My older '60s amps have been tossed into trailers alot. When I sold them, some still had original tubes in it, and never had to go to the technician. But I could not find a spot for a Marshall stack in the living room... My back aches, just thinking about it... I do my best to be a good neighboor.

[pan60]

some very cool amps!!
most just old fender stuff around here excpet a mesa blue angle head and 4x10 cab

[joebloggs13]

Reeves Custom 50 head with a 2x12 cab
Carr Telstar
Louis Electric Columbia Reverb
I have a Two Rock Vintage Deluxe 40W head with 1x15 cab on order. That should be it for me!