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I would take your Clarus, along with the right phono plug adapter/ cable with the Mesa and use the cab for when you’re fighting for headroom. If the speaker has a high enough rating, a single 12 should work fine and the bass cab would be overkill, heavier and harder to dial in for guitar.
Maybe take a Boss EQ pedal along, to tweak whatever combo of amp and cab you choose, or pick up an inexpensive Zoom pedal like the MS-50G, which is a good Swiss Army knife for cheap tone tweaking, with EQ, delay, reverb, amp sims, boost, etc. Not too hard to figure out, and could probably make any combination you’ve been offered work reasonably well, especially if there is an effects loop in any of those amps.
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10-15-2022 08:29 AM
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I've seen and heard PM play several times and thought his sound matched his style very well - but it was always loud. On some occasions he used 4x12 Marshall cabinets, but these were guitar cabinets, not the shown bass cabinet with the port. And btw. i never disliked his sound, except for the one time that his Clarus had broken down and he temporarily had to use a Roland JC 120. But this just shows that judging sound is a very personal thing ;-).
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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The Clarus specs show > 200W on 4 ohms and even more on 8 ohms. This might be a bit hard on the Rectoverb speaker which lists only 75W ..... Originally Posted by yebdox
Last edited by JazzNote; 10-15-2022 at 11:58 AM.
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Pat Martino was known to set his Clarus with the treble all the way off, so not a great example of what tone could be achieved with that amp and 4x12 cabs.
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Absolutely true, I was in no way trying to impose my taste Originally Posted by JazzNote
I guess I always loved his "El Hombre" bright Twin Reverb sound and never got used to the darker sound he uses after that... If you liked that sound with Pat's rig maybe that's the best option for you!
As suggested above, learning how to use a graphic eq can be a live saver on the road.
And unless you plan to crank the Clarus really loud, I guess the 75w on the Mesa speaker woundn't be a problem. Amp ratings tend to be overrated and speaker ratings underrated, my bet is you would have to really crank the Clarus in order to blow the speaker.
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I’m a bit confused. The OP says that this is for a jazz trio of clarinet, guitar and bass. It’s hard to imagine any setting in which the guitar will be short of headroom if the clarinet is at all audible, even if amplified. If there’s a sound reinforcement system for the clarinet, just mic whatever amp is used for the guitar too. But it sure doesn’t sound like a high power amp is needed. I’d use the smallest, lightest amp of the bunch. That little Boogie is fine for a trio gig - I’ve owned and used a 22 caliber and a 50 Caliber 12” combo and even the 22 was fine for much bigger gigs than this. I also bought a Subway Blues 10” combo when they first came out, and it was fine for quintet gigs with keys and tenor (who used a mic into a small combo amp - also unneeded, in the collective opinion of the other 4 of us).
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When we play locally the clarinet player usually brings his own active box and a mixer and you wouldn't believe how loud he sets his volume. He uses a special pickup which is stuck into a hole in the clarinet that allows him to to do so without feedback. I always feel that with him i have to play way louder than what i would want to. But of course still less volume than onstage next to a loud drummer ....... . Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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My favorite Martino sound is documented on the duo recording We'll Be Together Again, not as dark as from the nineties on but perfect for this guitar/keyboard combination. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
Absolutely true, I was in no way trying to impose my taste I guess I always loved his "El Hombre" bright Twin Reverb sound and never got used to the darker sound he uses after that... If you liked that sound with Pat's rig maybe that's the best option for you!
As suggested above, learning how to use a graphic eq can be a live saver on the road.
Do you think a graphic would be the better choice than a 3 band full parametric?
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I don't know that record well, will check it out! Originally Posted by JazzNote
My archtop is very amp unfreindly and because of that I've learned more than I like to admit about eqs, have owned almost every one made and have used them a lot live. My conclusion after all that was a digital graphic eq like the Zoom one mentioned above is the best option - very cheap, doubles as a mute / tuner and digital eq is, in my opinion, much more precise and less noisy than any analog eq (here i must say most people disagree with me). Parametric eq is great if you have a very specific need - you really want that frequency and that q. A graphic eq is much more simpler to use, and if the frequncies are set right, it's the best option. I carried one of those small Zoom pedals everywhere when I gigged / rehearsed a lot.
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The other day I asked my bandmates this question. In the thousands of gigs they had played amongst them (different bands) had any club owner ever complained that a band wasn't loud enough?
They reported having been individually asked to turn up, but never the entire band.
Seems to me, if bands were playing at the right volume, there would be some requests to play louder, but there weren't.
It's on my mind because last night, playing a restaurant gig with a quartet, my Little Jazz didn't seem loud enough. The problem was that the piano was too loud for the room and certainly for the stage. He turned down and suddenly I had the right amp.
Sorry for the rant and the hijack of the thread. I think nevershould... has it right.
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Yes, but .... if the bandleader wants it to be louder i have to comply ..... or i will sooner or later loose the gig. It's that simple ;-). Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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Good point.
I have a strategy for that situation, although I've never had to use it.
I have a powered speaker. The LJ plugs right into it. The powered speaker then sounds like the LJ, but louder. I can then use the LJ as a monitor and give the leader control over the powered speaker. In theory, keeps the stage volume quieter while allowing the FOH to be loud. But, I've never actually done it. Instead, I bring a second small amp and run a line from my pedal board, which has L and R outputs) to each amp.
I guess I've never heard a clarinet/drumless trio be that loud.
I've occasionally been asked to turn up. Happened last week in a big band. One of the trombone players asked me to turn up -- he was sitting pretty far from the amp. Problem was, the saxophonist who was closest to the amp didn't want it any louder. The only thing I might have been able to do was give the trombonist his own monitor (by running a line to another amp or powered speaker) and letting him adjust the volume. Instead, I turned up just a tiny bit and left it at that. I recall that trombonist complaining, on a prior gig, that I was too loud and when I offered to turn down, complained that there were things he wanted to hear. So, I was simultaneously too loud and too quiet.Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 10-15-2022 at 07:06 PM.
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FWIW, I just played around with the Amplitube Dual Rectifier amp emulation.
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Back when I was coming up in the music scene in NJ, Pat was the benchmark. Love love love his playing but I never aspired to that dark tone he was fond of. Originally Posted by JazzNote
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I wouldn't over think it, brings whatever you are most familiar with. With a Boogie, I think you will be setting it pretty flat without too much bass, and using the EQ for a band of control in the midrange, at least that's how I use EQ with a jazz guitar. With a Fender I usually boost the midrange, with a Boogie I'll bet you need to cut it slightly. Originally Posted by JazzNote
You should be good to go, but I have to say, never in my life have I heard that it was tough competing with the volume of a clarinet!
Short clarinet story: I once wrote/produced a jazz session in LA where all of the players had long big band resumes', my favorite was the clarinet player. His name was Abe Most, and man that guy played with everyone! Tremendous player.
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I'm sure he had a rational reason for choosing that tone ... i wonder if anyone ever has asked him. Originally Posted by bluejaybill
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Well, we all have to learn a few things now and then, even if it is as unusual as playing with a bandleader who plays his clarinet loudly amplified ;-). Originally Posted by bluejaybill
It's not primarily about the volume, but about the possibility of retaining a clean warm archtop sound which is increasingly difficult with raised volume, and definitely needs lots of headroom. I have played lots of different amps over the decades, but only when i started using the AI Clarus i found an amp which allowed me to enjoy my sound, this is because it exactly produced what i wanted to hear. Later on i discovered the 8" Mambo which has a similar effect on me, although it sounds quite different from the Clarus. The thing they have in common is lots of headroom ...... . Unfortunately i will not be able to bring any amp/speaker combination which i'm familiar with to the tour, as it's 9 flight hours away from where i live and the weight of luggage is restricted.
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Hey JN, IDK whether this is practical, but could you rent your preferred amp locally at the destination cities? Just a thought...
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Originally Posted by JazzNote
In a 2109 post, Jack Zucker recalled that Martino advised him to fill his guitar with ten yards of cotton upholstery stuffing, "to get a more percussive sound out of it and reduce the feedback."
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Solid state output is typically much less than the tube driven equivalent wattage, unlikely to damage it, if you keep it below half power or so. You will hear it breaking up and sounding unpleasant before you do any real damage, (analogous to hearing your brake pads begin to squeal) especially if you are playing in a clarinet trio without drums. I wouldn’t worry. Much more likely that you will be unhappy with the lack of headroom that a 22 watt Mesa affords you Originally Posted by JazzNote
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For a year or maybe longer, there was a thread on the All About Jazz Board hosted by Pat himself, answering all sorts of questions, he was really into it attending it regularly. There he also recalled about having filled his guitar with what he called "pillow material" to reduce feedback. Originally Posted by Litterick
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The gigs will take place in some large cities in Pakistan. Music shops with quality brands known to us seem to be very hard, if not impossible to find. But yesterday i was told that there would be PA & sound engineer - so i believe headroom will be no issue. Originally Posted by starjasmine
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