Best amp for my needs

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:05 PM

Well I’m a huge fan of Wes Montgomery and joe pas and I know wes used a twin reverb later in his career

**christianm77** · 11-01-2020, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by Milo Canral

Well I’m a huge fan of Wes Montgomery and joe pas and I know wes used a twin reverb later in his career

What’s a likely budget for you?

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:07 PM

I suppose it would be helpful to approach this from a realistic budget standard so I’m setting my top end at around 1,500$

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:08 PM

And thanks again everyone for the advice it’s really appreciated always great to learn from those with more experience than I

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:09 PM

Thank you so much!

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:10 PM

About 1,500

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:12 PM

Tha main choice i was looking at was a 65 Princeton reverb reissue does that sound good? Or may it be the wrong choice for my interests?

**christianm77** · 11-01-2020, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by Milo Canral

Tha main choice i was looking at was a 65 Princeton reverb reissue does that sound good? Or may it be the wrong choice for my interests?

That’s what I have. It’s a great sounding amp for straight ahead jazz guitar. But if you do use the remaining money to buy a replacement 10” speaker that will give you more headroom, such as a Eminence L’il Buddy, as the Jensen it comes with tends to break up a little earlier than I’d like as jazz player. Speaker swap takes a matter of minutes, all you need is a screwdriver.

But honestly - if you can get into a store, A/B it with a Deluxe Reverb and also the Tonemaster Deluxe and Twin Reverb. The Tonemaster amps come with a lot of very useful features that could be really handy if you want to attenuate or DI the amp for recording or live use through a PA.

**christianm77** · 11-01-2020, 02:19 PM

Mine sounds like this with a Gibson ES 175

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:23 PM

Number one id like to say you’re a fantastic player! Also that is exactly the type of tone I was hoping to achieve

**christianm77** · 11-01-2020, 02:24 PM

I probably wouldn’t recommend a twin btw because although they sound great they are absurdly heavy.

**christianm77** · 11-01-2020, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by Milo Canral

Number one id like to say you’re a fantastic player! Also that is exactly the type of tone I was hoping to achieve

Thanks so much!

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:32 PM

Right now an Ibanez artcore AS73 I’m hoping to change the humbuckers to 57 classics as well

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:33 PM

My pleasure! So just to be clear the Princeton I was looking at is the 65 RI in tweed I believe it comes with a celestion G12 would I need to replace the speaker in that context? Or leave it as is? Also it’s 12W

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 02:48 PM

I would say at this point I’ve essentially narrowed it down to a 65 deluxe reverb or a 65 deluxe Princeton which in your opinions might make more sense? I am however also considering a tonemaster deluxe reverb

**christianm77** · 11-01-2020, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by Milo Canral

My pleasure! So just to be clear the Princeton I was looking at is the 65 RI in tweed I believe it comes with a celestion G12 would I need to replace the speaker in that context? Or leave it as is? Also it’s 12W

This one is the stock blackface one, which came with a Jensen.

I would expect the tweed one to break up earlier, but I haven’t tried it.

**christianm77** · 11-01-2020, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by Milo Canral

I would say at this point I’ve essentially narrowed it down to a 65 deluxe reverb or a 65 deluxe Princeton which in your opinions might make more sense? I am however also considering a tonemaster deluxe reverb

I would strongly consider getting the Deluxe Reverb personally, they are great jazz amps, a touch more headroom than the Princeton. But the tonemasters sound great too and are way lighter.

If you can try before you buy that would be best.

**Cunamara** · 11-01-2020, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by Milo Canral

Well I’m a huge fan of Wes Montgomery and joe pas and I know wes used a twin reverb later in his career

And Joe got some of his best tones with a solid state 8" Polytone Baby Taurus...

If the Twin Reverb is the sound you like, that's what you should buy. Nothing else sounds like a Twin. The new Tonemaster series is pretty much spot on at about a half to a third of the weight, but no tubes or tube hassles. Even my Pro Reverb- which is more or less the same amp circuit with half of the power tubes- doesn't sound like a Twin, as it has nowhere near the clean headroom.

If you like the Deluxe Reverb sound, buy that. Pete Bernstein uses one and sounds fabulous. Then you don't have to second guess and agonize about whether you bought the right thing.

Oh, and for the Wes type thing you'll need an L-5ces. US$1000-1500 for the amp, $7500-10000 for the L-5. Done, can't get a better rig than that. Keep it simple, which is not the same as keeping it inexpensive...

An old man's advice: focus on learning the music and getting the sound with your hands and mind and feelings. You could give Wes a $100 Harley Benton Telecaster and a cheap Line6 practice amp, and he'd find a way to sound great. It was his touch and what he played.

**Marcel_A** · 11-01-2020, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by Cunamara

Oh, and you'll need an L-5ces. US$1000-1500 for the amp, $7500-10000 for the L-5. Done, can't get a better rig than that. Keep it simple, which is not the same as keeping it inexpensive...

LOL

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 03:29 PM

Alright lll see if I can find them to test thanks so much for all your help you and everyone here have been incredibly welcoming respectful and helpful and it truly means a lot

**Milo Canral** · 11-01-2020, 03:30 PM

Lol I’ll be sure to get my hands on an L5 haha

**rpjazzguitar** · 11-01-2020, 03:47 PM

I think people buy sound, build quality, weight, volume, price, tube-or-not, and self-image. Not necessarily in that order.

There are good players on here who really like the original Lunchbox -- the only product that causes me to lose self-control when I comment about it, because I thought it was so bad. I'm with Christian in recommending against it.

I digress. The point is that there is a huge diversity of experience, desire and opinion.

I use a Little Jazz for almost everything. It sounds surprisingly like my second favorite amp ever, a 1964 vintage Ampeg Reverberocket. Would you be happy with one? For sound, weight and price, I think so. For volume, maybe not. If you have your heart set on a tube amp, the LJ probably won't change that.

Self-image? If you want to be the guy with the vintage Fender and that helps you feel cool and confident, that's what you're going to end up with. If you buy at a good price, you're probably not going to lose any money on it.

Asides:

Maybe the best guitar tone I've heard recently is a Fender D'Aquisto archtop straight into a Twin Reverb.

I thought the 2x12 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe sounded as good as anything I've ever played.

A lot of guys I know use the Henrickson Bud or the AER Compact 60 and they all sound great.

For $1500, I think I'd spend $350 on a Little Jazz. Later, as your needs evolve spend the remaining $1150 on whatever meets the other needs.

Sooner or later, you'll be invited to play somewhere where you don't feel like lugging a big heavy amp and you'll be happy you have the LJ.

**christianm77** · 11-01-2020, 03:50 PM

Can’t knock a Hot Rod. those things are solid amps! More head room than the top end Fenders, although a bit heavier than the Princeton and Deluxe Reverbs. When I see one is the house amp at a gig. I know things are going to be OK.

I saw Julian Lage play amazing through the one at the Pizza Express. Peter Bernstein held out for a Super Reverb though...

Can’t knock a Polytone for that matter.

(But if you like Polytone you may also like Henricksen)

But Fender is vibey and suits many styles of music besides. I say get a Fender. There’ll be plenty of time for the solid state thing if you get into that as you develop your taste and playing.