Henriksen Owners - Do you miss the tone stack?

[markesquire]

Question for Henriksen owners: did any of you “convert” to Henriksen from Fender amps, and if so, have any of you missed the lack of a more traditional tone stack in favor of a PA-like more acoustic amp?

I have a black-panel Princeton Reverb (reissue) and a tweed champ clone. I really like both, but they don’t provide much headroom or bass response. I’ve heard great things about the Henriksen but have heard people caution that they can sound like a mere PA or acoustic amp if you’re used to having a Fender tone stack to impart some character and put some meat on the bones of your base tone. I am not going for an acoustic-archtop sound, but more of a Kenny Burrell tone.

Does the Henriksen really sound that flat, or can it emulate Fender tone stacks at all?

[bluejaybill]

Maybe not the answer you're expecting, but I would not consider either a Princeton or a Champ to be the best choice for jazz, even with the tone stack.

For headroom you need more watts than that, and then to keep the volume down for headroom, maybe even use the low input.

I was reminded of this today when I was playing a 20 watt Fender style amp, and then switched to, of all things, a vintage Marshall JTM45, (tweed bassman type circuit), with my jazz guitar. Same speaker.

Whoa, the extra watts really added a lot of oomph and warmth
, in a good way. Still playing pretty softly with the guitar volume down.

One other thing, small BF Fenders lack a middle control, and I usually feel the need for an EQ pedal to even things out.

Anyway, didn't mean to hijack your thread, and would like to hear the answer to your original question!

[Zheul]

I play with a FVRB and a champ clone for home usage + a Henriksen blu 10 mostly for gigs.
I love the pure, fat and warm tone of my Henriksen and when i miss the fender tone i plug my joyo AM. When i want a more swing tone i plug my nocturne brain BJ v1.
After some experiences (ampeg gvt 15, dv mark LJ, fender BJ) to find the right combination; this one (henriksen+pedals) is, from my point of view, the ultimate one for portability, power, sound, quality and versality (with pedals).

[coolvinny]

No, I do not. The Fender tone stack usually requires heaven eq-ing for a pleasing jazz tone. The Henriksen pretty much starts from that pleasing tone and then lets you adjust.

[medblues]

People who are more used to the "not so clean" tube amp tone (like some Kenny Burrell recordings) have found that the TC Electronic Mojomojo pedal does a good job of sculpting the tone from the Henriksen amps (or other solid state amps).

[omphalopsychos]

I've owned a couple of Henriksens and always found myself selling them. They are great amps but I am accustomed to the characteristics of tube amps. I don't think the EQ/tonestack are really the things that I miss when I play a Henriksen (although the Henriksen tonestack does give me decision paralysis). The main thing that I missed from the Henriksen was the response of tube amps. They feel "softer" to the touch, a bit slower to respond, and more compressed. Sonically, I really like the Henriksens when I hear others play them, but when I get behind the wheel there's a tactile element that's missing for me.

My favorite pedal to put in front of a Henriksen to recover the tube sound/feel was the Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop (V2) by far.

[David B]

I've owned a couple of Henriksens and always found myself selling them. They are great amps but I am accustomed to the characteristics of tube amps. I don't think the EQ/tonestack are really the things that I miss when I play a Henriksen (although the Henriksen tonestack does give me decision paralysis). The main thing that I missed from the Henriksen was the response of tube amps. They feel "softer" to the touch, a bit slower to respond, and more compressed. Sonically, I really like the Henriksens when I hear others play them, but when I get behind the wheel there's a tactile element that's missing for me.

My favorite pedal to put in front of a Henriksen to recover the tube sound/feel was the Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop (V2) by far.

I'm using a Nocturne Brain El Pescadoro for the same effect. Playing at home has to be quiet, so I rarely get the chance to run a valve amp at a decent volume there. The El Pesc into my Bud 6 gives me a sound and feel I like at a modest volume.

[Longways to Go]

I had a PRRI & I always wished it had a mid control. I don't have it anymore.

I think many people think the Henriksen controls should be left flat and that works just fine very often.
But if you start doing some creative tweaking, there is more diversity than it would seem. For example, you can roll the topmost & bottommost controls all the way down, and the mid all the way up. Still sounds like a Henriksen, but quite different from flat.

I prefer the traditional 3 knob bass/mid/treble configuration that most amps use, but those don't all work the same way either.
I think the Henriksen controls work great for dialing your sound into a certain room or a certain mix.

[jazzkritter]

I added a mid range control to my ‘74 PR. That control really made the PR a nice jazz amp. But it also took: changes to the rest of the tone stack, different transformers, and a 12”.
Otherwise I prefer my Walter Woods, the 100 watts makes a difference.