Uninspiring Gear

[omphalopsychos]

I’m laughing at the fact that people have such a hard time spelling Henriksen that they can’t even rhyme it correctly.

Anyway, I’m in agreement on Henriksens not being “inspiring”. I’ll never plug into it at home where I have nice tube amps. Some people value the practicality more than others. I also dislike the flat eq, but that’s what those knobs are for. It’s as simple as this: do you have a need for a small amp that fits in a gig bag that you can sling over your shoulder and walk several city blocks with? If someone makes a bud sized amp that sounds like a black panel vibrolux reverb, I’ll be the first to switch. Until then I’m “inspired” enough by the practicality to take the henriksen out to jam sessions, rehearsals, gigs.

[wintermoon]

very good points omph. I'm pretty sure I'd have something like that if I had to take a subway, lucky in that I can use my cart in the city from my car to the venue for my tube amps. I've never played through a Henriksen but Polytones bore me to tears. Might have to deal with it if I lived in NY though.

[gitman]

My Bud6 has inspired me countless times, with different guitars, at different venues, with and without outboard gear -
isn't it just grand that we're such a varied and diverse bunch ?! 30 years ago it was a LAB series amp, then a Mesa Boogie, then a
Pearce, a Polytone, a HIWATT 100 watt head !!!! I honestly think that by now I'm capable to coax inspiring sounds out of pretty much any gear, as long as it
functions properly and I have some private time with it ...

[Spook410]

Modern electronics allow for the gear in front of you to be any amp you want with a few simple settings.

Some can bond with that.. some can't.

[wintermoon]

I do know a couple guys in NY that take a Deluxe Reverb on public transportation but they modified them for 6L6's to get closer to a VR's headroom.

[oldane]

It's never the hands.


It's all in the head. If you know what you want to sound like, your gear choices and your hands will follow.

Well, you know the expression "It's all in the hands". Besides I was joking a bit. But yes, you are right. It's not so much about the gear as it is about the player and his/her tone goal. My wife couldn't tell the difference between my (electric) guitars from hearing them - she had to see them.

[docsteve]

Well, you know the expression "It's all in the hands". Besides I was joking a bit. But yes, you are right. It's not so much about the gear as it is about the player and his/her tone goal. My wife couldn't tell the difference between my (electric) guitars from hearing them - she had to see them.

Well, so was I. My wife tells me the same - she says that I don't need another guitar because I sound the same on them anyway. But she had no problems with a guitar that played noticeably better, provided I let the old one go.

And guess what - she's right.

[Gitterbug]

Returning to the OP's complaint, uninspiring jazz amps, belatedly a couple of comments. First, many of today's Class D amps share the ICEpower power amp/power supply module. There's nothing inspiring about it: its task is to amplify faithfully whatever goes into it. So the mojo must come from the preamp or the Fx pedalboard.

Second, as often expertly pointed out by Nevershouldhavesoldit, the amp's stated wattage may be almost anything. Today I ran a series of tests, principally on the directionality of my Metro 6.5FR II cab. Not in lab conditions and with lab-grade measuring equipment. Striking the open E chord repeatedly as hard as I could, the 25W Quilter Superblock US maxed out at 109 dB at 1 meter distance, with full power and gain at noon. Adding gain added grain but not decibels. Interestingly, the 200W TC Electronic BAM200 wasn't any louder, while the 200W Raezer's Edge Luna reached 113 dB and my old 50W DV Mark Micro 50 did 112 dB clean. To me, the Superblock and DV Mark have more character than the other two. The 200W Warwick Gnome was also among the loudest with 112 dB, but noisy and inducing feedback on full power.

(As for directionality, the Metro did 108-109 dB until 45 degrees, then 106 dB at 60 degrees, 105 dB at 75 and finally 104 dB at 90. Placed upright on the floor, as guitarist Elden Kelly did on the main stage at NAMM 2023, it's omnidirectional in practice. I recommend upright cabs for big band comping and orchestra pits in theaters.)

[icr]

I buy most of my stuff broken or in need of repair. After fixing, just about everything has something to offer sonically.
I'm a 'tone is in the fingers' believer, so I can really make even the most expensive equipment sound like crap with my fingers on a bad day. Especially true of classical; if my nails are not just perfect the tone is not there, no matter how expensive or regarded is the guitar.