The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Posts 1 to 19 of 19
  1. #1

    User Info Menu

    I’m a big fan of the old Gibson amps and I play out a lot. Not really practical to use the real amps and clones are not really a thing.

    I keep hearing about the Jr Barnyard and just discovered the JJ 150 but there’s practically nothing out there on it. Anyone have either/or and could share what they think (JJ 150 especially?).

    Videos would definitely be appreciated!!!

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

    User Info Menu

    Hi -- welcome to the Forum!

    Have you checked out Vintage 47 amps? Their Gibson looks pretty cool, and I believe one of our members here plays one.

    Happy hunting!

    Marc

  4. #3

    User Info Menu

    Hi Bluesharp.

    There's a long-running thread on the Junior Barnyard pedal here with several playing clips from members: Nocturne The Jr. Barnyard Preamp

    A thread about the Combs JJ-150 pedal here: New pedal option for vintage octal sounds

    Forum member 'JasonC' is involved in the production of the Combs pedal.


    For my part, I have the Nocturne Brain El Pescadoro (which is the Junior Barnyard preamp with an additional reverb circuit). I'm fortunate to have two vintage Gibson amps as well - a '50 GA-50T and a '52 GA-20.

    The El Pescadoro pedal is a very useful tool that I typically use into my Henriksen Bud to warm up the sound and give it some valve amp character. It really does change the feel. It inspires me to use the Bud more. It's always a good sign if a piece of gear inspires you to play more.

  5. #4

    User Info Menu






  6. #5

    User Info Menu

    Here is something that I have come across that looks very interesting, but is not a pedal: V8 Octal Preamp, Supreme tone machine, circuit minimalism l Sarno Music Solutions

    Something to look at. If I ever end up with one, I will let people know what my experiences are. However, I am not sure about getting back into the whole rack thing.

  7. #6

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Bluesharp
    I’m a big fan of the old Gibson amps and I play out a lot. Not really practical to use the real amps and clones are not really a thing.

    I keep hearing about the Jr Barnyard and just discovered the JJ 150 but there’s practically nothing out there on it. Anyone have either/or and could share what they think (JJ 150 especially?).

    Videos would definitely be appreciated!!!
    I use a Nocturne Brain "El Pescadoro" pedal, which incorporates the Jr.B preamp, to impart some octal subtlety and tubey warmth to my Acoustic Image Corus Series III combo. It works a treat!*

    * Also provides a variety of pre-war echo/reverb emulations that are super nifty. 10/10 would buy again.

  8. #7
    Thanks for the comments guys. I’ve seen tons regarding the Barnyard. I guess the JJ150 is intriguing as it’s claimed it’s the circuitry of the EH150. I’ve heard this but also had others tell me it’s just a simple preamp. Overall I’d rather go with the option that is a legitimate copy so to speak if it exists. Crazy there’s barely any examples of it out there showing it. It sounds great it seems but I’d love to see how the tone knob works and all that.

  9. #8

    User Info Menu

    I had a Jr Barnyard and LL-150 at the same time. Each was "better" at something than the other was. Both did a reasonably good job of simulating that old amp "all mids" thing. I couldn't decide between the two. Then Tavo (of Nocturne Brain, he's an internet friend of many years) messaged me that he'd trade me his NEW v2 JB for my LL-150... he wanted to check it out. Sold! Out of the 3, I think the JB v2 is the best. The LL-150 certainly looks the part tho, especially with those knobs!

  10. #9
    I appreciate your reply. I spoke to Tavo briefly about it actually and he gave me his thoughts on the circuitry of the JJ. I personally don’t care so much about all that just the sound although I would really enjoy if it was the actual circuit inside. My one issue is the wait period with the Barnyard, I play full time. A friend has the v1 he’ll sell me so I might just go that route honestly.

    Was there any pros and cons to each you remember? Maybe that’s something I should personally consider myself.

  11. #10
    I appreciate your reply. I spoke to Tavo briefly about it actually and he gave me his thoughts on the circuitry of the JJ. I personally don’t care so much about all that just the sound although I would really enjoy if it was the actual circuit inside. My one issue is the wait period with the Barnyard, I play full time. A friend has the v1 he’ll sell me so I might just go that route honestly.

    Was there any pros and cons to each you remember? Maybe that’s something I should personally consider myself.

    Quote Originally Posted by ruger9
    I had a Jr Barnyard and LL-150 at the same time. Each was "better" at something than the other was. Both did a reasonably good job of simulating that old amp "all mids" thing. I couldn't decide between the two. Then Tavo (of Nocturne Brain, he's an internet friend of many years) messaged me that he'd trade me his NEW v2 JB for my LL-150... he wanted to check it out. Sold! Out of the 3, I think the JB v2 is the best. The LL-150 certainly looks the part tho, especially with those knobs!

  12. #11

    User Info Menu

    Neither pedal has the actual circuitry of the Gibson amp. They are not tube amps. They use solid state components to try to recreate the sound of one in a pedal. I have a Jr Barnyard V1, and I'm not convinced that it sounds that much like one. It does work as a boost pedal. I have never seen one of the LL-150s.

  13. #12

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Bluesharp
    I appreciate your reply. I spoke to Tavo briefly about it actually and he gave me his thoughts on the circuitry of the JJ. I personally don’t care so much about all that just the sound although I would really enjoy if it was the actual circuit inside. My one issue is the wait period with the Barnyard, I play full time. A friend has the v1 he’ll sell me so I might just go that route honestly.

    Was there any pros and cons to each you remember? Maybe that’s something I should personally consider myself.
    [There's a brand new Barnyard on Reverb right now!]

  14. #13
    to be fair, the JJ150 website states the pedal is the preamp section in the pedal utilizing JFETs in place of tubes. So I would say that implies it is the amp circuitry. This isn’t unheard of, I have pedals that have done this with bigger components like echoplexes and such.

    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    Neither pedal has the actual circuitry of the Gibson amp. They are not tube amps. They use solid state components to try to recreate the sound of one in a pedal. I have a Jr Barnyard V1, and I'm not convinced that it sounds that much like one. It does work as a boost pedal. I have never seen one of the LL-150s.

  15. #14

    User Info Menu

    Simplifying for our purposes here, but a JFET (a transistor) in this application "behaves" much like a tube would— so you can basically take the original preamp circuit and substitute the tubes for JFETs with some minor adaptions. The result sounds and feels very much alike, but notably, we are talking about the PREamp, which is only part of the equation of course.

    This started long ago in the DIY scene, where people have basically done such adaptions for about any amp you can imagine. Some commercial manufacturers who came out of that scene or were closely following it have been putting out many pedals like that, Catalinbread and Wampler for example have perfected it. That JHS guy took an open source Supro 16T project and that is basically what he sells as the Superbolt. Etc.

  16. #15

    User Info Menu

    The thing is, we can talk circuits and adaptations, etc... until the cows come home. Until you play them yourself, you simply won't know which you prefer. That's why I bought them both. And I can definitively say, for me, having played all 3, the new barnyard is the one to get (for me).

    I like the way it functions better than it's predecessor. I love the LOOKS of the LL-150, and it does sound good, but I found I could only have the knobs in one spot. It had one sweet spot. I think the JB v3 is more versatile. The JB v1 is too, but I would never have used the boost feature.... on V3 it's no longer a footswitchable boost, it's a boost you blend into the sound to create the character you want. It's sort of a "drive" knob now, I guess you could say.

    And, frankly, I think you get more for your money with the JB. It's a bit cheaper than the LL. BUT- if you like the LL better, that shouldn't matter. If I had loved the LL, I would have kept it. It's a good pedal, *I* just think the JB is better. Also, if other people's opinions matter to you, our own (this forum's) Johnathan Stout has subbed his JB v1 for a Gibson EH-185, and says it does the job remarkably well. That's high praise coming from someone who owns a real EH-185.

    ALL THAT BEING SAID-
    If I ever lust for that tone, an old-school octal amp tone, because I'm using it ALOT more than I do now (for me, it's a novelty because that is not my main style/tone), nothing will satisfy me other than an actual octal amp, and I would be searching for a GA-50 or EH-185 to buy used... or I would just buy a Vintage 47 EH-185 or Tavo's '39 Moonshine. I notice Tavo is selling his Elektra EH-185 (new amp, made in Europe).. if I wanted that tone, I'd buy that thing today.

  17. #16

    User Info Menu

    I have owned both pedals and have experience with several early Gibson amps (EH150, EH100, BR9 etc).

    I still have the JJ but sold the Nocturne because the JJ comes much closer to the sound of those amps than the Baynyard which is much more gainy than I needed and harder to adjust. The JJ has can easily be adjusted to the "edge of breakup" tone that I wanted to have; it also has a better tone control. Overall, the JJ is a more subtle pedal, sometimes the Barnyard seemed more like a tubescreamer to me. Maybe Tavo made the pedal to work with Dynasonic pickups?

  18. #17

    User Info Menu

    Hi - just resurrecting this thread!

    Recently purchased the JJ-150 from Jason Combs -- wanted to see if it could "warm up" a solid state amp -- and had a quartet rehearsal over the weekend. First impressions: excellent pedal, lots of tonal options to play with!

    The controls were easy to dial in a nice sound -- I have it set fairly low gain, just a bit of "edge" -- and I didn't have to tweak anything the whole rehearsal! There's a "bright/dark" switch on the newest version; if you want a "smoky, dark, jazz guitar sound," you can get it instantly with the "dark" setting. I found it "too dark" for my taste, though, so the regular setting was perfect!

    Jason is easy to work with, and provided excellent service -- highly recommended!

    [Now, if I could only afford one of his guitars ...]

  19. #18

    User Info Menu

    I tried the barnyard and I don't really get it. The demos sounded good, but when I tried it through and AER amp it just sounded like a distortion pedal. The low gain sounds didn't inspire me to think my amp sounded like an old octal amp (at all). I have a solid state vox pathfinder 15 ($70) that gets me that sound much easier so decided to just stick with that. I get compliments on my tone all the time when playing 40's era Django stuff through the vox.

    Still think a pedal for the AER would be cool if i could get it to sound good.

  20. #19

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by callouscallus
    I tried the barnyard and I don't really get it. The demos sounded good, but when I tried it through and AER amp it just sounded like a distortion pedal. The low gain sounds didn't inspire me to think my amp sounded like an old octal amp (at all). I have a solid state vox pathfinder 15 ($70) that gets me that sound much easier so decided to just stick with that. I get compliments on my tone all the time when playing 40's era Django stuff through the vox.

    Still think a pedal for the AER would be cool if i could get it to sound good.
    I think about getting a octal type pedal every now and again. Thank you for your insight. However I think if I am going down that rabbit hole, I am going with Sarno.

    My endless experience with pedals, is one that: pedal x sounds great into amp y, but very lackluster into amp z. So often I think about what a pedal sounds like (with the experience of playing it through a number of amps), and make an assumption that it should work with the set up I am currently running. When I plug it in it often falls short. I then grab a pedal that I thought would not work and it does great.

    The cost of the pedal does not determine how well it will work in a particular situation. I have two huge boxes of pedals. Sometimes when I decided to put together a new board, it takes a while to find the best sounding pedal.

    Just yesterday, I wanted to save space on my board and tried to swap out a wampler comp for a pigtronix germanium philosopher stone. It sounded pretty bad. It ended up sounded thin and the grit was doing bad things. Given a different set up, it has worked great.

    I would say, if you have a chance try your pedal with a different amp, and/or a different guitar. If you are really into getting an octal sound, take the pedal and your guitar, to a local music store and see if it works with any amps that you would buy. Then find the same amp used. Given my income, that would make the most sense to me. (Buying a boutique amp or an sought after vintage amp, tends to be expensive).

    I always treat the people working at the store nicely and given their level of effort, buy a pack of strings or a pedal. However, when I have been treated well at a store, I tend to do business with them.