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I need to look towards the really cheap ones. So if anyone has had good experiences with really cheap amps (for jazz) please let me know about it?
I'm currently looking at models such as:
Roland Cube20
Vox VT20+
(They seem kinda similar.. anyone has tried them?)
Or even something as cheap as the:
Crate Flexwave (Probably not very good but REALLY cheap .. haha)
All input is more than welcome...Last edited by aniss1001; 01-12-2012 at 07:15 PM.
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01-12-2012 07:12 PM
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How much is really cheap?
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Hmm... well sort of in the price range of the ones I mentioned. The thing is though I live in argentina so I pay around double of what you guys would pay it seems
The cheapest prices I have found here are:
Vox Vt20+ $262
Roland Cube20 $296
And I might add:
Fender Mustang I 20w $320 (And now it's allready getting kinda expensive for me)
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And the used market? Might be your best option!
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Not sure. The used market here is really horrible. People tend to charge 90% of the original price even if they have used the item for years. Haha.. I'm not kidding. It truly sucks buying stuff here. And please don't even suggest buying stuff abroad and having it shipped here....
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I'm playing through an old cheap Peavey bass amp with a 10" speaker for smaller gigs. Cost me only $40!
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Well then you're stuck with new... Here in Portugal you can find 80s solid state amp for 200€ from time to time. I can't really help you then, good luck!
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I have a Peavey Bandit 65 that I like a lot although it can quite bright sometimes (too many mids I think). I will fix that by doing some mods to the amp... 80s Peaveys are usually very loud, clean and reliable and even if not voiced for jazz can give a good jazz sound.
But beware sometime old amps can be tough to find parts if you nedd to repair it - although Peavey's reliability is legendary. Is it near you so you can try it? Maybe someone on the forum has tried that specific model...
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Peavey is still USA made and pre-transtube so it should be good. I have heard other people complementing on Peavey SS amps so you might be lucky about getting some insight.
Peavey Amps for Jazz
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Peavey ENVOY 110 (10" Speaker ; Blue Marvel by Eminence )
Peavey BANDIT 112 (12" Speaker ; Blue Marvel by Eminence)
I bought ENVOY 110 for testing and got the good Jazz Tone.
These are setup of the each amps for same tone by footswitch compairing system.
From the thread "What is your Jazz Setup"
Guitar:Gibson '67 ES-175DN V8 T10
Strngs:Gibson SEG-1040ML
Shield Cable:Belden 9778
"Amps & Settings" Amps were tilted by legs or stand.Sound check point was flont of speaker(Mic set point)
Fender '66 Vibrolux Reverb(Speakers Jensen C10NS):T2 B3.5
Fender Twin Reveb 100W(Speakers:Rola): T1?2.5 M6?8 B1?2 Master Max(Equal to without master)
Fender Twin Reverb '65 Reissue(Speakers: Eminence):T1 M6?8 B3
Peterson P-100G-Mk?(Speaker:Eminence ME-10):Gain 1?3( Volume use) L/MIn M1/Min M2/-4 H/-2 Master/Max(Equal to without master)
Polytone MIni-Brute?: Master/Max B/+1 M/+2 T/+1 Gain/2?4(Volume use) Contour/10?11( O'clocK) Program/edge Tone color switch/
Center
Peavey Envoy 110(speaker:Bule Marvel)(Ser.G0113936):Modern mode B3 M2 H0
Important things: Balance for solo tone and backing tone.
LIke to guitar,not like to electric piano.
and I know the super long seller over 40 years famous BANDIT 112.
Barney Kessel and Jim Hall were used on the stage in Tokyo.
I think the current model of BANDIT 112 is very good with enough power and sound.
__________________Last edited by kawa; 01-12-2012 at 09:42 PM.
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My Polytone crapped out. I have to practice through a Peavey Transtube Rage. That thing sounds surprisingly good! My teaching studio has provided me with a 2001 (when I started there) Studio Pro 112 I hate! The guy along side me has a Bandit I like better (I even like the rage better than the Studio Pro) Til I get my Polytone fixed I'm on the lookout for something cheap too (really cheap) I'll post if anything interesting comes up.
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I've played through oodles of other peoples cheap Crate amps through the years, and they were more than adequate.
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Could you mention some models or something to go for? It seems that Crate makes some really bad amps too. I mentioned the Crate Flexwave as the cheapest alternative but I have never found anything googling it in a jazz context.
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Something with a 1x10 or even 1x12 is preferable. I had a roland cube 20 that was not bad for jazz. I feel like you could get a cube 40XL in our price range. It has a single 10" speaker and sounds nice. It defiantely has a very useable jazz tone. I think as for new amp this is a solid choice. I have a cube 80xl that I call a poor mans polytone. The reverb sounds nice on both plate and spring models.
If you are thinking of tubes maybe a Fender super champ XD?
Hope this helps
'Mike
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You bet:
Originally Posted by Jazzman301
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Hmm... The cube 40 is out of my price range (atleast us$ 460) and the Super Champ is WAY over my price range (atleast us$ 660)...
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Why don't you save more money and buy a better amp in some months?
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I'm currently studying here in Argentina. I have a scholarship from my country (Denmark) which was good money when I was planning to move here. Meanwhile the inflacion here went crazy and prices tripled in the last 2-3 years so now I barely get by. I have no means of saving money untill I finish studying and move to another country (probably back to Europe), but we're talking 2 years or so and I need an amp NOW if I'm not to lose interest in playing guitar completely. I current own an SX tele clone and a Guitar link (guitar/usb interface) which is what I use to practice. But I'm getting really tires of that. Anyway not sure how to invest the little money I have. I'm considering either buying a cheaper semi-hollow guitar and selling the tele OR upgrading the tele with new pickups, pots, etc. Either way I will need some kind of amp now too. I hope to make a final decision in the days to come. I'm in Buenos Aires right now, but I live in a city called Cordoba 10 hours from here. I hope to make a decision and buy what I need before I go back (in Cordoba it's even harder and more expensive to find stuff). Sorry to bore you with the details of my situation but you asked (sort of)
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Do you need the amp to gig or just to practice? If it's just practice the Cube 20 is not brilliant but works for that matter.
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$460 US??? I can easily find them for $219 from multiple sources. I am not sure what they are going for over there but they are a reasonable price. If thats out of your league then I would suggest any of the cube amps will sound ok to good for jazz. The larger speakers sound better.
I would say keep the Tele and try to get your hands on a Lollar Charlie Christian pickup for the neck position. Save you money on buying another guitar and buy a decent amp. Also using flatwound strings will help give you a nice jazz tone. I like the GHS Pat Martino strings(the lighter gauge) for my Dearmond M75 and my father in laws tele. Also Labella strings are just fantastic and last forever, especially the black nylon wound strings.
'MikeLast edited by Jazzman301; 01-14-2012 at 11:43 AM.
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It's a practice amp. It doesn't have to be loud just sound GOOD :P And I used to live Buenos Aires before I moved to Cordoba. Personally I really like the northern part of Argentina. Salta for example. Cordoba is quite boring. But ok while Argentina is one of the worst countries for buying hardware it does have it's moments Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Well the cheapest cube40 I found here was us$460. And if I try to buy it online and have it shipped here it will end up costing the same or more in my experience. Local customs here are horrible. Plus it's a messy country. No garanti that I'll ever see it. Or it could break in the process. I have really bad experiences with that here. So.... us$460 it is Originally Posted by Jazzman301
Ah and thanks for the input. I'll be looking into those strings (just found out that tomasstik strings do not exist here)..
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All my recommendations were for a gigging amp - which I assumed it was your concern. I never tried that specific Peavey but I assume it does sound quite better than the Cube but for home practice I wouldn't care so much about that honestly.
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Hmm... well it's gonna be my ONLY amp. I'm not currently gigging but I just started playing a bit with some guys. It would have to do that too.
Why don't you care about the sound when it's home practice? To me home pratice is what I do most of the time so it's very important to have good sound, because after hours of listening to yourself it becomes really anoying listening to not so good sound. And it's demotivating: makes me wanna play less and enjoy it less. But no not thinking of doing larger gigs no. Just wan't a sound I can actually dig for as little as possible.Last edited by aniss1001; 01-14-2012 at 02:20 PM.
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Oh at this point I love all my amps and I practice with my Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight and also my pedalboard a lot. But if I had your budget and needed a practice amp I wouldn't mind getting the cube - I don't love the tone but it's usable for practice. If I had to gig with it I would search other routes, that was my point.
I don't need an awesome sound for practice althought if I have one great!
Last edited by jorgemg1984; 01-14-2012 at 03:20 PM.
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