May be taking the jazz guitar and amp plunge next week...

**jumpnblues** · 02-22-2020, 10:57 AM

...I've decided I want to get more serious about my jazz playing. I'm a pretty good bluegrass flat picker and have been concentrating my talents in that genre for the last 10 years or so. Before that I played mostly swing jazz and jump/ West Coast style blues.

I've been researching jazz guitars and amps for the last month or so. I've pretty well narrowed my guitar choice down to an Eastman AR580CE. It pretty much checks all the boxes for me.

But the choices for an amp aren't quite as cut and dried. Although I'm leaning slightly toward one of the Fender Tone Masters. Especially the Tone Master Twin Reverb. I'm also looking seriously at Quilter. The Micro Pro 200 HD 12 in particular. I'd like to hear some opinions, comments, suggestions, etc. about either the guitar, amp, or both. I really am impressed by the Tone Masters though. I'll be playing 80% jazz and 20% "uptown style" and West Coast blues. It would need to take a boost/OD pedal well. Sometimes I'll use a boost for just a clean boost. I'd especially like to hear from people who own any of the instruments I've mentioned. Anyway, what ya think?

**Greco** · 02-22-2020, 11:07 AM

Do you mean Fender Tone Master amps?

Good Luck with your search and purchases! Please keep us updated.

It is exciting and enjoyable to shop for gear vicariously.

**Longways to Go** · 02-22-2020, 11:51 AM

Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb looks like a nice amp choice to me, but there are many others.

Regarding guitar choices, do you currently own any electrics?

**jumpnblues** · 02-22-2020, 12:01 PM

Thank you! I appreciate it and I will definitely check out the link.

**jumpnblues** · 02-22-2020, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by Longways to Go

Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb looks like a nice amp choice to me, but there are many others.

Regarding guitar choices, do you currently own any electrics?

No. I sold all my electric gear after getting into bluegrass music. BTW, bluegrass music isn't all that different from jazz. Anyway, I've owned archtops before and I've played jazz before. I even owned a Gibson L5CES and a one off Gibson Custom Shop ES5 Switchmaster with three P90s. But I've had about a 10 year hiatus from jazz while playing bluegrass.

I've always wanted an archtop with just the inset neck humbucker pickup ala the Wes Montgomery L5CES. I like the traditional "Gibson sounding" jazz archtop. But I can't afford an actual Gibson right now. So I've researched the Eastmans, D'Angelicos, Guilds, Epiphones, Ibanez, and Godins. The Eastmans seem to get a lot of props on this forum. I've listened to a bunch of Youtube videos, some over and over again. But the Eastmans always seem to very consistently garner great comments. I think all the brands mentioned above are very good guitars for the money. However, the Eastmans seem to be perhaps a step above most of the others. We'll see.

I'm going to get a chance to try out all the guitar and amp brands I've mentioned, next Thursday, the 27th. I'm making a field trip to my favorite dealer and I can't wait. I think if I had a Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb and perhaps an Eastman AR580CE I'd be in jazz heaven. There are some other Eastman models I'm also interested in. And the Quilter amps sound interesting. But I'll try and keep an open mind regarding both amp and guitar. I'll be trading a rather expensive banjo as part of the deal. I'll still have another superb banjo for bluegrass. Anyway, it's kind of exciting anticipating new toys.

**jads57** · 02-22-2020, 12:44 PM

Personally I prefer the Quilter amps overall to the Tonemaster. But that said they do offer a great package,especially the Twin version.
You might consider the older Quilter Aviator amps used as well. They are very Fender Like.

**jumpnblues** · 02-22-2020, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by Greco

Do you mean Fender Tone Master amps?

Lots of reading and videos here...
https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/sear...archid=1484635

Good Luck with your search and purchases! Please keep us updated.

It is exciting and enjoyable to shop for gear vicariously.

I think we have a bad link. It came up no match.

**Greco** · 02-22-2020, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by jumpnblues

I think we have a bad link. It came up no match.

Sorry, I didn't try it after posting in order to confirm that it worked .

It was just a search of words "Tone Master" in this forum.

**lukmanohnz** · 02-22-2020, 01:12 PM

I bet you are going to love that Eastman. I followed a similar path as you from bluegrass to jazz. But my trip through the bluegrass world was spent largely with a mandolin in my hands (after 30+ years playing guitar). I literally did not touch a guitar for about six years after I took up mandolin. Then I started learning a bunch of fiddle tunes on the guitar, and tried keeping my chops together on both instruments for a while. I’ve been immersing myself in jazz for several months now, and as a dyed-in-the-wool Martin dread lover I found the neck, the fretboard and just the overall vibe of my Eastman AR503CE (pics here) to be an easy transition from my dread. The AR580CE looks pretty similar (slightly narrower nut).

I went with a DV Mark Little Jazz for an amp. I don’t need anything more than that as far as wattage, and it’s extremely portable. It gets a lot of love in this forum. I am very happy with my decision. The Tone Master looks like an awesome beast. I had a Hot Rod DeVille years ago that had gorgeous tone. Fender makes great amps. I’m just over lugging around those behemoths. But you should get some pretty awesome tone out of that rig. Keep us posted on your final choices!

**mr. beaumont** · 02-22-2020, 01:34 PM

I think either is a great choice. Maybe the Tonemadters are new and not "proven" yet, but boy, they sure are cool.

As for the guitar, Eastman with a carved top (even with a set humbucker) would not be my first choice for playing overdriven, but I suppose it could work.

Gonna be a great jazz rig, for sure.

**Longways to Go** · 02-22-2020, 01:57 PM

Keep in mind you can play jazz on any flat top too. Also, you could plug in if you have a flat top with a pickup. It can be a pretty good sound, and I'm not just talking about using an acoustic amp.

I'm not really a Martin guy, but I do love my Gibson LG-2 for fingerstyle jazz. I had a D-28 for a while and it sounded heavenly, but over time that 25.5" scale just was not my favorite to play.

Personally, I've owned 3 Eastmans & they were all pretty good, but I'm done with em.

DV Mark Little Jazz is a cool little amp. Also, tube amps are so much fun.

Have fun shopping !!! It's great you get to shop bricks-n-mortar and not just on the web

**jumpnblues** · 02-22-2020, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I think either is a great choice. Maybe the Tonemadters are new and not "proven" yet, but boy, they sure are cool.

As for the guitar, Eastman with a carved top (even with a set humbucker) would not be my first choice for playing overdriven, but I suppose it could work.

Gonna be a great jazz rig, for sure.

I should have mentioned I'm going to be picking up a new Fender Vintera Tele in the near future. That's what I'll need the boost pedal for. And for playing blues. I would not be using overdriven sounds on the archtop. Maybe just some clean boost there.

**frankhond** · 02-22-2020, 02:38 PM

As an alternative to Fender Tonemaster you need to check out One Control BJF S-66 with the matching Allessandro speaker. I have one and get all kinds of great tones from jazz to blues. I have a honey bee pedal that sounds great with it. Way more character than a Quilter and no flubby bass like a Deluxe.

**pauln** · 02-22-2020, 02:45 PM

Maybe it's just me, but if I were getting a very fine archtop like that my intuition for choice of amp would be cautious about a digitized amplifier. I would at least challenge that intuition and make sure I played it through a couple of fine tube amps before deciding among other options.

**marcwhy** · 02-22-2020, 02:50 PM

Hey Jumpn,
Congrats on the new gear hunt! Fun stuff!

If you spend some time here, especially on the "what gear should I buy?" posts, one of the big questions is always, "What's your budget?!" since that can dictate options/opinions. There happen to be some current posts on "tube vs SS" amp options (always a hot topic!), so make sure you check those out, too!

Again, depending on your budget, I would certainly add Henriksen and Raezer's Edge on your amp options to consider! You probably won't find them at your local store, but they're excellent amps/companies!

Happy hunting!

Marc

**TedBPhx** · 02-22-2020, 03:19 PM

In the first months of a passionate affair with a ToneMaster Twin. Takes a TC Spark Boost pedal like they were made for each other. The 175 and the Strat are as gorgeous sounding as expected. The surprise is the Washburn j600. The twin brings that guitar to life, sounds far better than I could ever get through the Boss Katana or the Peavey Classic 30. The Washburn is the closest I have to an Eastman 580 though the Washburn is a pressed rather than carved Spruce top. I did put a Benedetto S6 floater on it.

**fep** · 02-22-2020, 03:21 PM

I have a quilter micropro 200 8", sounds great takes pedals great.

**Peter C** · 02-22-2020, 04:02 PM

Here's a (kinda) definitive review on "jazz" amps. How about a Vox AC30? Marshall JCM800?

I swapped my old Laney tube combo for a Cube for convenience only.

**jumpnblues** · 02-22-2020, 06:06 PM

Oh, yes! You can be sure I'll try the guitar through some tube amps. I was originally looking at a Victoria Club Deluxe Reverb before I started looking at SS/digital amps. And I still plan to audition it. My main concern there is clean headroom.