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Show your solid state jazz amp


Vanschoyck

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The thread about the Roland JC amp gave me the idea that there are a few jazz guys here who can sing the praise of the "dark side" aka solid state amps - and maybe some not jazz folk who might too.

 

Here's mine - Evans AE 200. A couple hundred watts that can go from mellow growl loud enough to seriously injure. (I don't know why.) It works really well with arch tops, but I find myself using it with other guitars as well. Nice cab too.

 

EvansAE200_zps322cfad1.jpg

 

 

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I've got a couple of fairly inexpensive bass rigs that I now use most of the time and I really like both of them.

 

This is what gets most of my playing time these days. It's a Gallien Krueger MB200 head powering a 4 Ohm David Eden EX110 cab. It really sounds good with my archtops.

 

GKandEden.JPG

 

When I need more volume, I also have a Gallien Krueger MB112 combo. The sound is very similar to the smaller rig, just bigger and louder.

 

GKmb112.JPG

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The best Jazz tones I have ever gotten has been through this.....

 

AxeFx_zpsqdrrnogs.jpg

 

Here is the home recording setup, including the fabulous sounding Focal Monitors. The Axe-Fx played through the Focal monitors live, sound amazing. I don't do any jazz gigs because I can't really play jazz, but I would get some flat sounding powered monitors and use the Axe-Fx, that would be my SS Jazz amp!!!

 

_DSC6038.jpg

 

_DSC6040.jpg

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Minibrute IV, 15" speaker, spring reverb. Dollar for dollar, as good a "jazz" amp as I've ever heard. (They're usually pretty inexpensive.) Plus the harlequin covering is unique, in a good way. From 1982 or so...

 

IMG_3555.jpg

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I have a couple of solid state amps which could be used for jazz (if I practised...). One is an AER Compact 60 (don't have a photo of it to hand), and the other is a classic British solid state amp from the 1980s, the Sessionette.

1622873_623629451044181_208435253_n.jpg?

 

This was originally covered in a grey sort-of tweed, which I recovered in cream leatherette as shown. It has two channels (clean and drive) which are foot switchable. Though they went out of production quite a while ago, they can be readily found second hand, and Stewart Ward (who made them in the first place) has recently offered an upgrade called "Retrotone", which gives the amp a very valve-like character.

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I've been trying to resist s Polytone 103 that I tried out recently. It sounded really great. $200 used. Heavy as all get-out.

 

Futile Resistance. I picked it up this afternoon. Funny, I was googling the Polytone 103, and one of the only threads I found.... Was mine from 3 years ago, almost to the day. Not the exact same amp, but same model. The one today at least made it home! Here it is.

 

A74713AD-EA1D-4A38-9C57-74A87655BD7E_zps

 

Here's the old Thread; NAD thread coming soon.

 

http://www.heritageownersclub.com/forums/topic/16449-polytone-103-amp-value/

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Nice set of Jazz amps above some very unusual. I really liked that Evans. I use a pair of solid state Marshalls ( M G 15cdrs)next to my computer.

One set to clean the other slightly overdriven with a Morley a b a+b switching pedal. I get a lot of tone praise until others see that Marshall name . Ha that's just people being people.

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Im not really a jazz player but I do try to play in some of those styles some times.

One of the best clean jazz sounds I have gotten was when I plugged into an old 150w Peavey Centurion bass head and then into an old 115 and horn PA box. Not what I would call a portable little rig but the clarity, warmth and fullness was wonderful. It became my acoustic set up for duo work and other acoustic gigs. I sold my AER C60 within 2 weeks of discovering the combination.

Right now Im quite liking a Schertler Jam 400 that I have on loan. Its a bit warmer/darker than the AER. It seems a bit more compressed than the AER but the compression seems to be in the right places.

Mainly I like the sound Charlie Christian had. Kind of on the edge of running away sometimes and a little bit rude in places. Tube amps.

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Im not really a jazz player but I do try to play in some of those styles some times.

One of the best clean jazz sounds I have gotten was when I plugged into an old 150w Peavey Centurion bass head and then into an old 115 and horn PA box. Not what I would call a portable little rig but the clarity, warmth and fullness was wonderful. It became my acoustic set up for duo work and other acoustic gigs. I sold my AER C60 within 2 weeks of discovering the combination.

Right now Im quite liking a Schertler Jam 400 that I have on loan. Its a bit warmer/darker than the AER. It seems a bit more compressed than the AER but the compression seems to be in the right places.

Mainly I like the sound Charlie Christian had. Kind of on the edge of running away sometimes and a little bit rude in places. Tube amps.

 

I've said a few times here that the Shertler Jam 400 is the best self-contained acoustic amp out right now. I love mine, other than the fact some girl spilled some Tequila into the mixer a few weeks ago, so I need to replace the mixer/preamp section, OUCH!!!

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I've said a few times here that the Shertler Jam 400 is the best self-contained acoustic amp out right now. I love mine, other than the fact some girl spilled some Tequila into the mixer a few weeks ago, so I need to replace the mixer/preamp section, OUCH!!!

Ouch indeed.

I plugged a 335 type guitar into the Jam 100 and 150 along with a Jam400. I pretended to be a jazz guy for about 1/2 an hour. There were no mistakes just hip notes and phrasing. No tequila was harmed in the experiment.

Theyre all good. Obviously progressively better as far as features and sound goes as you move through the range. The 400 sounds like I want it to. I love it.

Be sad when I have to give it back.

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  • 2 months later...

I've had this little AAD Cub by Phil Jones.. coming up on 6 years or more. and gigged and travelled.. its an amazing little 100w clean ..and weighs ONLY 11 lbs ! When I needed more juice, Ive run the guitar through a fisherman Platinum Preamp and fed it into the Cub.. (with 10db attenuated). enough to cut through a bunch of horns !.. I've also micd into the PA.. .its perfect for jazz gigs (and aging backs !)

 

the best part is it weight ..and if I need some effects, I throw a Holy Grail Nano reVerb into the mix, or the Electro Harmonix B9 organ pedal.

 

Here is a video on the Cub..

 

 

 

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