Tube amp jazz guitar recommendation

[christianm77]

Fancy a cheeky Nando’s?

[Cunamara]

Egnater Tweaker 112 is a pretty versatile amp (30 pounds) with 3 voicings -British, American and AC. You can dial in lots of different tones. These amps seem to get overlooked.
Egnater Tweaker-112: 15-Watt 1x 12" Tube Combo Features

I have an Egnater Rebel 30 which is a very nice amp and works pretty well for jazz. I'm not planning on keeping it because I just have too many amps and they're taking up too much space, but it's compact and pretty portable. I played quite a few gigs with it. There is a wide range of tonal options that can be explored.

[Bebop Tom]

One of the great things about the mid-60s Ampeg Gemini II is that you can approach the midrange scoop and attack of a blackface Twin Reverb by cranking the bass and treble to taste. Another great thing is the price. They’re large and heavy, but not terribly loud—perfect for home practice during the covid era.

I own an Ampeg Gemini II. It is not lightweight, portable, or small. It is more like a 60 lb small refrigerator. Love the tone, but the days of lugging it around are over.

[wzpgsr]

I own an Ampeg Gemini II. It is not lightweight, portable, or small. It is more like a 60 lb small refrigerator. Love the tone, but the days of lugging it around are over.

Dang. I totally missed that he specified small and lightweight. You are absolutely right!

[archtopdream63]

One of the great things about the mid-60s Ampeg Gemini II is that you can approach the midrange scoop and attack of a blackface Twin Reverb by cranking the bass and treble to taste. Another great thing is the price. They’re large and heavy, but not terribly loud—perfect for home practice during the covid era.

is that one grant green used on blue note records? I think also Benson used a gemini

[archtopdream63]

Is 'portable' still important?

yep! my back hurt!
I still have twin reverb, bunch of polytones... I love them.
But i’m looking something else, a portable low watt little tube amp

[marcwhy]

yep! my back hurt!
I still have twin reverb, bunch of polytones... I love them.
But i’m looking something else, a portable low watt little tube amp

You've also stated "headroom," which is usually associated with higher watt (and heavier) tube amps ...

Someone asked about your playing needs (bedroom, gigs, etc) -- that could help us a bit, too.

[archtopdream63]

I would try the VHT special 6.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

interesting, but i guess it’s almost the same Bugera I had... very metallic attack, dry..

[archtopdream63]

You've also stated "headroom," which is usually associated with higher watt (and heavier) tube amps ...

Someone asked about your playing needs (bedroom, gigs, etc) -- that could help us a bit, too.

small gigs, I can mic it on bigger stages

[citizenk74]

small gigs, I can mic it on bigger stages

In that case:

You can ignore the Tubescreamer. The clean tones and reverb are delicious.

[marcwhy]

small gigs, I can mic it on bigger stages

OK, thanks.

So, call Jack Anderson, and check out his 1x10, single ended combo. It's small, will sound great, and will be loud enough for small or mic'd gigs. It's not his "ideal" model for you, but as we're seeing, your order (portable, light-weight, low watt, high headroom, tube, etc.) is a tall one.

[archtopdream63]

Sage advice from Cunamara. The 5e3 tweed Deluxe is great. For the L5ces the 5f11 tweed Vibrolux that Bucky Pizzarelli used for 60 years can't be beat for a 17" archtop.

why the vibrolux tweed is so special, and pricy?

[dcrowe]

I have a '59 Tweed Deluxe (not a clone) and a '54 Gibson GA-40 and with a "spring" reverb pedal they provide the best jazz guitar sound ever with an archtop. That being said, both need 1-2 trips a year to Bill Webb at Austin Vintage guitar for maintenance which is a given with vintage amps that old.

Dan

[Nick71]

Ampeg Reverberocket ll
Peavey Classic 30
Mesa Boogie California Tweed

[lawson-stone]

yep! my back hurt!
I still have twin reverb, bunch of polytones... I love them.
But i’m looking something else, a portable low watt little tube amp

If you like your twin reverb but don't care for the weight, the Tone Master Twin Reverb is amazing. All the tone, half the weight.

[rabbit]

Fancy a cheeky Nando’s?

I'm afraid to imagine what this means in 'English.'

[christianm77]

I'm afraid to imagine what this means in 'English.'

I quote:

mate it’s hard to explain mate it’s just like one day you’ll just be wif your mates having a look in jd and you might fancy curry club at the ‘Spoons but your lad Calum who’s an absolute ledge and the archbishop of banterbury will be like ‘brevs lets have a cheeky nandos instead.” and you’ll think “Top. Let’s smash it.”[1]

[1] All Things Linguistic

[rabbit]

Thanks for clearing that up!

[wzpgsr]

why the vibrolux tweed is so special, and pricy?

Victoria Ivy League is a modern clone of the Fender Harvard, which is the same circuit as the tweed Vibrolux, minus the vibrato. Low gain tweed sound is really fantastic for jazz. Rich midrange, controlled bass, useable at home volumes. Small, light, great sound. The single 10” Ivy League checks all your boxes, I think.

[Cavalier]

I own an Ampeg Gemini II. It is not lightweight, portable, or small. It is more like a 60 lb small refrigerator. Love the tone, but the days of lugging it around are over.

My bad, I have a Gemini 1 with the 12 inch speaker. But Hey! They only weigh 60 pounds if you put something like a JBL in them, and compared to the 135 pounds a Twin with JBLs weighs that is light weight. They are about the same size...

[rpjazzguitar]

I've been surprised that the old Fenders command very high prices, while the old Ampegs cost far less than a new tube amp of comparable quality.

The Jet, Rocket, Reverberocket and Gemini amps are all great. The mid-60s jazz players, in my part of Brooklyn, were mostly Ampeg players, usually the Jet, with a JBL speaker. Great sounding amps and, as I recall, cheaper than the Fenders.

[christianm77]

Thanks for clearing that up!

No problem.

Right, I think I might smash a Nando’s right now. Get me some Fino sides as well.

[christianm77]

The Princeton Reverb Reissue needs a speaker swap to really perform well IMO. Heres a vid that demonstrates this nicely:

I wonder whether the hand wired Princeton is worth getting (north of 2k IIRC) compared to a handwired Princeton circuit amp made by an indie maker?

I really like the Morgan PR 12 and that’s cheaper than the hand wired Fender...

[Tal_175]

The Princeton Reverb Reissue needs a speaker swap to really perform well IMO. Heres a vid that demonstrates this nicely:


I wonder whether the hand wired Princeton is worth getting (north of 2k IIRC) compared to a handwired Princeton circuit amp made by an indie maker?

I really like the Morgan PR 12 and that’s cheaper than the hand wired Fender...

I have the 64 custom Princeton. I borrowed a PRRI during the return period of the custom one to compare. Ironically PRRI sounds more like how a Fender Princeton should sound. More sparkly and chimey. 64 is darker with more rolled off trebles. I'm convinced that the difference is only due to the ceramic vs alnico speakers. I really like PRRI's too but the custom one suits the jazz tones I prefer better.

I ended up keeping the 64 despite the fact that it'd have been cheaper to get the PRRI and swap out the speakers. That's because I was actually shopping for a vintage one but I actually prefer a new, quality build with the vintage specs to a 50 year old actual vintages. I also expect that 64 customs will be highly desirable in the used market and will retain their values.

[christianm77]

TBH I couldn’t tell much difference between the prri with the speaker swap and the handwired one. But I’m not much of a connoisseur.

As I understand the main reason to get handwired amps because the repair guys won’t roll their eyes at you when you bring it around to be fixed.