Gibson ES-330 into Fender "Custom" Vibrolux (Video)

[guavajelly]

Here's a video from our recent gig: DOG - YouTube

These days I mostly just use a preamp (Tech 21 fly rig) into the mixer but our organ player insisted that I bring an amp for the gig. So I thought I bring my biggest for a nice full tone. In retrospect (and while we are doing it) I thought that bringing the smaller Blues jr. may have been a better idea as the music can use a little hair in the guitar tone. The volume is actually set by the drummer – we don't want him to play shy, but he has good dynamics so organ and guitar don't really have to be loud – not 40 watts loud in my case. Anyway, here's the 330 into the vibroverb with volume at "2". ;-)

[j4zz]

I do believe in using a small amp for gigs. As I get older especially Personally, I'd take my Fender Mustang GT100 (super light), and probably use the Blues Jr or Twin or Bassman, or Roland Jazz Chorus or... models.

I actually wanted to ask if you like the sound of the Blues Jr. for Jazz? Just using the model on the Mustang I feel it has potential.

[guavajelly]

Yes, I like it for jazz. Like 15 Years ago I had a polytone and an Eastman guitar. It was a good tone but I couldn't always bring the amp so I sometimes used our bass player's blues jr.. We also made a lot of recordings in his home studio and when we had both amps in the room we recorded the same songs with both. We all agreed (well, all means three ;-) that the blues jr. was better. So I used it ever since and bought one for myself. It's the amp I used most. It has a more focused tone – not a lot of bass, very mid forward – that seems to sit in the mix very well.

I bought the Vibrolux later when I was playing a lot of blues and outdoor gigs. It's a great tone, "nicer" and "fuller" than the tiny blues junior, but mostly it is too much. At the gig that's documented in the video the room was very muddy so I turned the bass down mostly, but it was still kind of mushy (from my position) so I think the blues jr. would have been the better choice.

btw. the Vibrolux isn't heavy, it's only about 20 kg so not much more than the blues jr. at 14 kg.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

btw. the Vibrolux isn't heavy, it's only about 20 kg so not much more than the blues jr. at 14 kg.

Call me when you pass 70 and we'll discuss it again

Great video! You're quite right - your drummer has a very nice touch.

[sgosnell]

At 75, moving my Vibrolux Reverb more than a few feet without wheels is out of the question. And I consider myself in better shape than most men of my age. It's just not worth the trouble. My Little Jazz is loud enough, and about as heavy as I want to carry around. I used wheels on the VR back in the '90s. Fortunately it came out of the pawn shop with them already installed.

[j4zz]

At 75, moving my Vibrolux Reverb more than a few feet without wheels is out of the question. And I consider myself in better shape than most men of my age. It's just not worth the trouble. My Little Jazz is loud enough, and about as heavy as I want to carry around. I used wheels on the VR back in the '90s. Fortunately it came out of the pawn shop with them already installed.

I use a little foldable trolley, even for the little Roland Cube 30 I used to gig with. I also now use the trolley when I go fishing

[guavajelly]

Funny how posting a clip of our music fosters a discussion about amp weight. :-)

[wintermoon]

Fire eater by Rusty Bryant!
I thought my trio was the only one still playing that one.

[EllenGtrGrl]

The Vibrolux sounds good, but I can understand where you are coming from about with wondering after the gig, if the Blues Jr. might have been a better choice. I had a similar playing situation to you in the early 90s, with a '65 Fender Showman head. Being related to the Twin Reverb, like it, my 80 watt Showman was super clean sounding, and LOUD to boot - so much so, that if I even attempted to play it with the volume above 2, EVERYBODY in the 6 piece band I was in, complained that I was overwhelming them. So much for that amp - it cemented my desire to stick with lower wattage amps, that I could drive a bit harder for some dirt, but not wind up destroying everybody else in the band. As time has gone on, I've reached a point, where I prefer my amps to light, with 20 watts or less of output power in a 1X12 speaker configuration - I got tired of lugging 2X12 speaker cabinets and amp heads, or combo amps with 2X12 speaker configurations.

[guavajelly]

Ellen, while it's nice to have that full sound only a bigger amp (well, not everybody considers a vibrolux to be a big amp – but it's the biggest I own) and speaker combo produces, I like to hear my guitar sitting nicely in the mix, not louder than the band.
On the bandstand I had the impression that both my tone as well as Alex's organ where very muddy. Luckily in the recording the sound is better - I hope that it was like that for the audience. Both the amp and the powered speaker he used where directly in front of the wall so that may have produced the sensation of mushiness – though I tilted the amp to hear myself and don't play too loud.
I don't really use dirt, but I like a little "hair" and compression from the tubes. Just a little dirty so things do not sound too slick. That's why in retrospect I think the smaller blues jr. would have been a more appropriate choice. OTOH I had gigs where the small combo wasn't enough and I struggled hearing myself although the speaker was directed at my ears – the kind of gigs I don't want to play anymore. I'm probably overthinking it, but I think that's what I try next gig (and I will bring a mic in case it's not loud enough).
BTW lately using the fly rig has been liberating me from all that "is amp x loud enough or too loud for the gig?". Alex, the organ player, proposed that I use a tube amp again (I think he likes them as stage props) and I have to agree that it has a more dynamic and immediate feel than the preamp through the PA. Now I find myself in that hoarders wheel again.

[starjasmine]

FWIW I find the Blues Deluxe to be a goldielocks amp at 40 w - clean enough for jazz, small enough to get a little dirt out of, not too hard to carry. I think soundwise we are talking apples and oranges - it is not a blackface sound or a princeton sound but still a nice sound. Mine is a RI from long ago - it has PC board construction but I think the cab is plywood, and it has what looks like a single 10 rather than a 12. I'd probably like a 12 more, but the amp is good enough "as is" that I am not going to start trying to mod it. I have other amps with higher wattage and different speaker configurations if I need that...

$0.02

SJ

PS - liked the DOG clips!

[EllenGtrGrl]

My Goldilocks amp for the past year or so, is my Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb. Does it sound exactly like a tube Deluxe Reverb? No, but it's close enough for me, and with its power scaling function, makes setting the volume for the playing situation, much easier. Unlike my loud rock band days, in recent times, my playing situations have forced me to throttle back my amp volume considerably. I even have to keep the volume down on the Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge amp I run my acoustic guitar through, when I play weekly in a local church band - especially after being told, that despite not being miced, and dealing with the loudly played Steinway concert piano, that the music director plays during mass, that I was too loud, forcing me to keep the master volume for the amp at 2. Go figure!