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Hello,
I m interested in a solid State combo. Since I prefer 10 inch speakers, there are not many choices. On YouTube I found a few interesting videos about Evans Amps. I have never seen or heard one live, but they seem to have a very nice clean sound.
My favourite sound is a blackface sound. Is it possible to get this type of sound with an Evans?
What scares me ,apart from the price ,are the many knobs. Coming from a Princeton Reverb (my favourite amp but sometimes not enough power) I m not used to using many knobs.
Do you have experience with this amp?
Thank you for your help.
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05-11-2018 03:24 PM
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I used to be an Evans dealer - they are unbelievably good amplifiers are come in a variety of configurations. The last one I had was a 10" model and I'd still have it if it wasn't for my poor old 73 year old back. They're great for guitar or pedal steel. You can't go wrong and I don't think you'll find anyone with a bad word to say about them. I think there's a couple on the Steel Guitar Forum for sale right now and they tend to go quick.
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I've got an Evans and I like it a lot, but it doesn't sound like a Blackface Fender. If you want that, I think you'll either need to get a Blackface Fender or a modeler. You might like a Katana for that.
Having said that, the Evans will get you closer to the edginess you can get with a tube amp than most solid state "jazz" amps. It also takes pedals well. As for all the knobs, they do complicate things a little, but you'll get the hang of them pretty quickly. Scot from Evans is great to work with. He spent about a half hour with me on the phone dialing in the sound I wanted, which was very helpful.
Finally, I don't think you can really know how you'll like any amp until you try it, preferably on the gig. Evans has a JE 300 "touring amp" that they'll send to you to try. You can keep it a few days and see how you like it. There's no charge, but you have to pay to ship it to the next person. He tries to route the amp so that shipping costs aren't too high. I think my costs were around $35 and I got a $100 discount when I bought my amp. I think it's worth a try.
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Thank you for your Input. Since I live in Europe the Touring Amp is out of reach. But there is a used RE 300 for sale about a 90 minutes drive away from me.
I will probably testdrive this amp. My concern was that with so many tone knobs a normal testdrive is not enough to see if the amp works for me, especially regarding different Volume levels.
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you won't get a bf fender sound out of an evans. I have owned several evans and I like them but they have a very distinct, middy tone. I'm not a big fan of their tone controls. I prefer something closer to a fender tone stack. Most of the solid state amps have a PA style stone stack. Evans is different but still not like a fender. Quilter is the only SS amp manufacturer that I've heard that really has a fender vibe to it. Mambo has a fender tone stack option on their amps but due to the small cab design (they make 8, 10 and 12) it doesn't really sound like a fender either but I love their amps. If you want the '60s Joe Pass Joy Spring tone, mambo is the way to go.
[edit] Can't believe I forgot this the first time. The boss katana is the closest SS amp to a BF fender. You can get the 50w version for a little over $200 and the 100w version for about $299. Done deal.
If you want a little more high end sound and more options, get a modeler and an alto powered TS210A cab. 800w and only 23lbs but you need the modeler to drive it.
Originally Posted by fabiansey
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I like my Evans with a 12" speaker.
The controls do take a little bit of experience to get comfortable with them. But that is part of the fun.
Evans amps have tons of head room.
Right next to it, literally, is my Henriksen. It is similar but is dialed in differently.
I enjoy the hassle free ownership of a SS amp. I never think about maintenance. Both companies give good support if there are any questions.
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Quilter MicroPro and Aviator both come in 10” combos. You might want to give one a try if you can.
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Happy Evans player/user here since the 90's. It's not a Fender. It's got it's own thing going on and if it fits you will be very pleased. I currently gig with a JE200 and have for several years. Scot is a great guy to work with and will assist you in getting what you want out of it. I jokingly call Evans the Mesa Boogie of SS amps-it's takes some work to dial in your tone however when you reach the sweet spot-write the settings down as a baseline.
The RE models are outstanding amps, don't see how you could go wrong.
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Thank you all.
Quilter is another brand that is interesting to me, because their products are available here in Germany. Do all quilter amps have a similar clean sound that is somehow close to a fender clean one?
The Mach series has too many knobs for me-and it s a bit ugly, but the aviator series is interesting, although they do not have a single 10 inch combo.
Maybe I should just order a Katana for louder gigs-but specs wise the evans seems so interesting and when buying used I could sell it without or maybe with a smal loss.
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The Evans RE 200 and 300 are superb amps. Check out the clips of Ron Eschete playing his signature amp.
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Oh, it has a 10" speaker.
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You could try this for a starting point: Put the big tone knobs at about 4 and put the little knobs at 1 o'clock. You can do little tweaks from there, but you might like it that way. Try it with both inputs; you won't need much volume. See what you think. Good luck. Originally Posted by fabiansey
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I have a Quilter 101 Mini Reverb, which I'm very pleased with. As others have said it is pretty fenderish in its sound and has only the controls most people are familiar with: Gain, volume, treble, mid, bass and reverb. Only exception is the limiter knob, but for a start it can be left at 0 (though I personally like it at around 12 o'clock). As it is a head you can pair it with what ever cab/speaker size you want. My favourite speaker for the Quilter is the Eminence Cannabis Rex, which sounds fantastic to my ears. At the same time it is a very effective speaker (sensitivity 101,8 dB) which means it can play loud too. I use the 12", but you can get a 10" too.
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Thank you all for your advices.
unfortunately the amp has been sold, and getting a new one is out of reach.
I will think about the Quilter 101 reverb due to the fenderish sound you told me about.
Quilter has an interesting but expensive 2x8 cab with space for the mini head, so I could get my „Combo“. Later I could get a cheap mini head as a backup, so I do not have to leave a backup amp in the car.
So many things to consider....
But for my living room, the Princeton stays.
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I own a 10" Evans RE200 , my third Evans amp in about 15 years and I will keep it - for all my gigs with a drummer/organ etc. this amp just delivers, it's certainly loud and full bodied enough, cuts through and still has a small footprint/light weight. With some effort you can dial in a "sort-of" Fender-ish tone but IMHO that really doesn't play such a major role in a band setting. A Princeton/deluxe is a great amp in low volume settings/studio/living room etc. but when you need loud(er) and clear on a busy stage they don't cut it. The modelers are fine when you need/want many different sounds from one rig but as an alternative to the Evans (with all it's limitations) that solution is just too expensive.
I just played 2 outdoor gigs over the weekend with an Old Time Jazz/Swing 5-tet (no drums but washboard) and I used my tiny DV MARK amp : ca. 25 watts solid state, featherweight, delivers an absolutely useable jazz tone and it cost me € 250,- , incl. a gigbag :-)
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I teach guitar at a college in Wyoming. We recently bought some new amps, one of which is the Evans JE300. I really can't say enough about how great this amp sounds. It's loud enough to use with big band, and maintains a nice clean sound even when playing at high volumes. I bought this amp for its clean headroom and have not been disappointed. I also love the handle on bottom that allows you to tilt the amp up. Why doesn't everyone do that?
My only complaint is that the knobs have very odd names; "buff", "dwell", etc. But they really do allow you to dial in the sound you want if you are willing to spend a few minutes to find out what they do. And the guy who builds these amps is very helpful in explaining it. Bottom line is that I love this amp and will soon be buying one for myself. Evans is obviously not as good at marketing as other companies out there, but their amp is one of the best built pieces of equipment I've used.
P.S. It's definitely not a Fender-sounding amp. I don't think they're trying to be that.
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Absolutely! Evans amps are NOT Fender-sounding amps. World doesn't need that, right? Fender has that scene covered. That's why I have Fenders and non-Fenders.
Evans--particularly the RE series--is a great amp.
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Why do you prefer 10’’? Originally Posted by fabiansey
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
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the obvious answer is that you need a princeton reverb AND an Evans....
go stereo!!!
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Evans and a Fender is a great solution.
For the same reason, I use a Polytone and a Fender. The Polytone handles the "non-fender" chores and the Fender does the tube stuff.
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some of the new quilters have a black face preamp. I've been playing a prototype they sent me which has the preamp from the OD200 head and based on how much I loved this setup, I bought an OD200 and the new blockdock 12HD cab (19lbs)
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For what is worth, I agree with some of the prior comments about an Evans Amp not sounding like a Fender BF and that the non-standard EQ controls taking some player experimentation and getting used to. These amps do their own thing, and are not a solid state replacement for that Fender BF amp that you might have played. As reference, I also have a 40W tube amp with Fender BF and Tweed tone stacks as well as a very PA like Acoustic Image + two-way speaker set up as well.
That said, my Evans RE200 really does something that neither of these does in a compact light weight, compact format. In my opinion the Evans excels at creating a sound that captures the essential tone of my archtop but adds some pleasing musical warmth and color. Mind you, I am playing solo chord melody and not in an ensemble situation. So some fiddling for your guitar and situation is advisable.
The settings that I like:
- First off, I have found that backing off on my guitar’s volume (say to 7-8) and using the NORMAL input on the amp is helpful.
- I have found that setting the VOLUME (pre-amp input) lower (say 2-3) and the MASTER higher (say 5-6) retains a less “electric” sound and sounds a bit more like the guitar sans amp which I like.
- The Evans EQ is quite interactive. What I have found to work for me is to set the BUFF fairly low (about @ 3) to control the harmonic overtones. This control interacts with the TREBLE which I also keep low to keep my high E string from sounding thin (also about @ 3) and the EXPAND which boosts the highs (it’s a pot set @ about 11 o’clock or 40%). I set my BASS at about 4 (E string gets boomy higher than this). The DEPTH control is set about 11 o’clock or 40% round out the low mids and the BODY control is set to about 4 to get the weight of the mids where I want them and roll of the highs a bit.
- For REVERB I set the wet/dry mix on the front panel fairly low @ about 3 and the DWELL control on the back also fairly low as well (about 10-11 o’clock) for a moderate decay (1-2 sec.).
The amp has oodles of clean headroom (that I do not use) and using the + 6dB input does create a more "electric" sound. The amp is a compact, 30 lb., reliable workhorse that sounds good.
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