Guest HRB853370 Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 I have no shortage of amps, but for playing (and learning) jazz, I like my Fender Deluxe RI or my Gibson GA40RVT, both of which can play it real clean. What amps do ya'all favor for jazz tones?
Kuz Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 Carr Rambler, Headstrong Lil' King ('64 Princeton clone) and most of all my '67 Vibrolux Reverb.
Spectrum13 Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 Blue check Ampeg, EF86 channel Voxish, Tweed Deluxe(ish) and Nolatone.
Kuz Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 And of course the Axe-Fx has a Roland and Twin on it so..... it is perfect. Here is the George Benson twin amp settings on an Axe-Fx Twin (on the archtop parts).
barrymclark Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 I\'ve heard so many I thought produced great tones in the right hands. Gibson BR and GA series. Tech 21 Trademark series Roland JC and Cube series Vox AC30 Dr. Z Route 66 Top Hat Custom Shop Supreme and Vanderbilt. Polytone Mini-Brute
reif Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 I have a JazzKat TwinKat arriving UPS tomorrow afternoon. Very excited....
MartyGrass Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Best for the money is a Roland Cube. Best amp I've had is an Evans. The Henriksen JazzAmp is right up there also. I've got nothing bad to say about tube amps, except I don't like to haul any extra weight that is unnecessary and I don't like worrying about replacing tubes.
Guest HRB853370 Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Carr Rambler, Headstrong Lil' King ('64 Princeton clone) and most of all my '67 Vibrolux Reverb. 67 Vibrolux Reverb Reissue, right? Blue check Ampeg, EF86 channel Voxish, Tweed Deluxe(ish) and Nolatone. You got to be specific on the blue check Ampeg. They are primariy notorious for their bass amps. You mean Reverberocket? I disagree about the Tweed Deluxe. Mine gets dirty way too fast. Great for Clapton, bad for jazz. +1 No solid state modeling amps! I am talking tube amps, I should have been more specific. I am sorry MG if tube amps are too heavy for you. The weight justifies the performance IMO.
iim7v7im7 Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 If your Fender is sounding good at the volumes that you are playing, I see no reason why it wouldn’t be a perfectly good jazz amp. For a quiet restaurant or café a small Fender would be fine. If you are playing in a quartet or in a big band then you will run out of head room quickly at playing volume. I think a Fender Twin would be a great tube amp for jazz; it’s just too large and heavy to be practical. It really depends on your gig. Myself, I prefer my solid state amp (see my signature) over my tube amps. I like its headroom, full range EQ and immediacy to pick attack over my tube amps. It really depends on the tones that you are after. Many players however gig with tube amps and love the tone. My rig weighs a total of 27 lb for the head and cabinet and is 250w into 8 ohms. You can set up in tight quarters and it also has a descent integrated reverb and delay by Alesis. Companies like Acoustic Image, AER, Evans, Henriksen, Jazzkat and Polytone are widely used by many players. Speaker cabinets by Raezer’s Edge and Redstone are also very popular. These choices are also driven by small size, light weight, lots of headroom and reliability on the road.
MartyGrass Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Will, we will disagree on this. The solid state amps I mentioned aren't tube mods at all. The Cubes do have amp mods, but jazz is generally played through their clean channel. You will find that many straight jazz players prefer solid state amps, even those who have roadies to haul for them. You'll also find many who prefer a tube amp. It's all opinion. To emphasize the last point, if you poll the pro-tube club you will find strong opinions about which tube amps are the best followed by a fist fight. BTW, I'm playing through an old Super Reverb right now. But I wouldn't want to haul it anywhere. I have a Cube 40XL next to it. Both are good amps.
Guest HRB853370 Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Will, we will disagree on this. The solid state amps I mentioned aren't tube mods at all. The Cubes do have amp mods, but jazz is generally played through their clean channel. You will find that many straight jazz players prefer solid state amps, even those who have roadies to haul for them. You'll also find many who prefer a tube amp. It's all opinion. To emphasize the last point, if you poll the pro-tube club you will find strong opinions about which tube amps are the best followed by a fist fight. BTW, I'm playing through an old Super Reverb right now. But I wouldn't want to haul it anywhere. I have a Cube 40XL next to it. Both are good amps. Nothing wrong with differing opinions. I have played both solid state and tube and my SS amps are transtube, meaning they are meant to "sound" like a tube amp in terms of compression. My Deluxe stays clean all the way to 6. My Gibson GA40 stays clean up until around 5.5. To me they represent the ideal amp for jazz tones. Warm, full, natural and clean. I can appreciate the improvments in tube amps and the weight factor, but I think you will find that most folks still prefer the tone of a tube amp over a ss amp. I dont have an old SR like you do, but only a reissue. That amp can really shout the blues. It overdrives pretty quick. As they say, YMMV.
Kuz Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 No my 1967 Vibrolux Reverb is NOT a reissue, but a classic vintage masterpiece!!!!!!
tsp17 Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 I have a JazzKat TwinKat arriving UPS tomorrow afternoon.Very excited.... Glad you got one. You'll like it. I decided not to sell mine. Just gigged with it and it sounded great!
tsp17 Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 The KBP custom 1x12 I am about to order. Jazzkat twinkat Acoustic Image head to Raezers Edge cab
Guest HRB853370 Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 No my 1967 Vibrolux Reverb is NOT a reissue, but a classic vintage masterpiece!!!!!! Wanna sell it to me? $900 shipped.
Genericmusic Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 What amps do ya'all favor for jazz tones? I prefer SS amps for jazz and my Eagle Classic. I would love a JC120 but they are just too heavy to lug around. I've settled on a Roland 80LX. Excellents amplifiers and lighweight. I have to admit I have AAS and lust after a new tube amp. I have a '65 Fender Super reverb but have semi-retired it. I would like a KBP custom but have to decide on what I want first. Weight is a big factor for me, so it will be a mini amp head. The rest will come when I am done studying about it. Still there is nothing with SS and jazz tone. In fact I favor them for jazz.
MartyGrass Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 The trouble with a good clean amp is that it amplifies all your imperfections. You can hear your fingerprints skate over the strings, even flatwounds, and the pick rub across the string before the string is released.
Kuz Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Wanna sell it to me? $900 shipped. Ah, I paid closer to $2000 and have another $100 in general maintenance (changed plug to 3 prong, electrolytic caps replaced- and these should be replaced every 10-15 years). It is in near mint shape. To be honest, somebody would have to offer me stupid money for it, well north of 3K. Is it worth that? Well in the condition it is in, plus it is more than worth that to me!!!!!
Spook410 Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 I have a late 80's Fender Concert that sounds OK. Don't really use it anymore since I can run models on my PC and drive a pair of Mackie studio monitors. If I ever played out I would take a 50 watt Hafler amp, JBL SR4722, small mixer, and a laptop.
Gitfiddler Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 The only requirement I have for a good Jazz amp is that it has lots of clean tones. Zero break-up even at high stage volumes. My Boogie Mk IV or Fender Concert or Heritage Patriot would do just fine. Plenty of power, clarity and tone. Lee Ritenour uses a Boogie and Benson has been seen using a Fender Deville live and a Polytone for studio. Many others use solid state Evans or Clarius or JC120's, etc. as mentioned above.
MartyGrass Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 In general I seem to get more hiss from my tube amps. Anyone else notice that?
Genericmusic Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 In general I seem to get more hiss from my tube amps. Anyone else notice that? +1
Kuz Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 The only requirement I have for a good Jazz amp is that it has lots of clean tones. Zero break-up even at high stage volumes. My Boogie Mk IV or Fender Concert or Heritage Patriot would do just fine. Plenty of power, clarity and tone. Lee Ritenour uses a Boogie and Benson has been seen using a Fender Deville live and a Polytone for studio. Many others use solid state Evans or Clarius or JC120's, etc. as mentioned above. As a stocker LR fan (LOL) he uses the Boogie for his 335 and Fender Twin Reissues for his L5 (at least for the last decade). When I listen to GB live, I hear some break-up in his solos. Not a lot, not intentional, but there is a tiny amount. Actually hearing that tiny break-up made me think "if Big George doesn't care about, why should I?" !!!
Gitfiddler Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 As a stocker LR fan (LOL) he uses the Boogie for his 335 and Fender Twin Reissues for his L5 (at least for the last decade). You are correct, sir. And Larry Carlton uses his Dumble for every style he plays...jazz, blues, or Steely Dan riffs that I cannot play worth a darn!!
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