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I was not in the market for another amp when my friend Doug Martin emailed me to tell me about his new Henriksen Blu. But Doug's exuberant review combined with the fact that Doug told me that our mutual friend Bruce Forman was now using this amp (Back when Bruce and I did some gigs together, Bruce told me that he had never found a solid state amp that he liked as well as a Fender tube amp), got my curiosity into full on AAS (amplifier acquisition syndrome). After all, this amp is advertised to weigh 12 pounds.
I contacted Michael at Djangobooks.com and ordered one. I have dealt with many musical instrument dealers over the years and Michael has provided the highest level of service with the highest level of integrity. Getting this amp from him was a no brainer. If you want one, he is the guy to get it from.
After receiving the amp, I used it on 4 gigs and now am ready to comment.
This amp has GREAT tone for jazz guitar. It is warm, fat and musical. And it punches way above it's weight. Two of the gigs that I did were with a drummer. Even with a 6.5 inch speaker, this little amp kicks ass. I have an AER Compact 60 that has been my go to lightweight combo amp. The AER has a dual cone speaker that has a touch of harshness. The Blu has a defeatable tweeter that lets me get the warm, smooth jazz tone that I crave. The Blu is the better sounding amp.
I weighed both amps. The AER weighs 18 pounds, 19 pounds even with it's gig bag and power cord. The Blu weighs 13.2 pounds (a little fudging from Henriksen perhaps?) and it is 15 pounds even with it's gig bag and power cord. Saving 4 pounds and getting warmer tone is a move in the right direction. But the AER has two channels, while the Blu only has one. The Blu has a better sounding reverb and more EQ.
On one of my gigs, I brought an extension cabinet. It was in a big, noisy room. I am glad I did. Running the Blu along with a Raezer's Edge Stealth 10 gave me all the headroom I needed and then some. But I did find a shortcoming. The downfiring port. Doug told me that it is not an issue (I do not like the downfiring woofer of the Acoustic Image Corus). It is an issue. This amp needs to sit of something bigger than a speaker cabinet or it loses a lot of low end. It doesn't need to be on the floor, I had it on a barrel on one of my gigs (about 3 feet in diameter) and it was fine. I did not have a long enough patch cord when I did the gig with the extension cabinet to place the Blu on the floor. Next time I will. I got plenty of low end from the extension cabinet, but I would have liked more from the amp.
I thought about the Bud, but I have read that the new amp architecture of the Blu gives it the lighter weight and warmer tone. Perhaps a version 2 Bud will be released with the new technology? Than you get the two channel performance. For now, I think the Blu is a great choice for a lightweight gigable amp with superb tone. My AER is now a backup.
We have come a long way from the days where we needed to carry a Fender Twin to the gig. At my advancing age, that is a blessing!
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01-29-2019 07:14 PM
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Great sound and a 6.5" speaker, amazing!
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So these Henriksen's come with hifi audio/monitor type of speakers to be acoustic guitar and bass friendly right? How do they sound with solid body guitars? There is a Henriksen that I use regularly in our band practice studio, but I always bring my archtop. I should try it with a solid body also.
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On one of my gigs, I used a Les Paul. It sounded great. Pretty amazing to me actually. My Les Paul is strung with TI 12's (flatwounds) and I use a 1.5 mm Delrin pick.
Originally Posted by Tal_175
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Yep, I am amazed. These amps are the future. I can go to the gig with both the guitar and amp on my shoulders in their respective gig bags and have both hands free. Originally Posted by ESCC
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Curiously, the website says 12 lbs in the ad copy and 15 lbs in the information section.
It seems to me that, unless they're selling it as a paperweight, they ought to include something for the power cord.
In deciding what to buy recently I credited the Blu as weighing 3 lbs less than the Little Jazz - which, apparently, is not the case, unless the difference is the the weight of the gig bag.
Has anyone compared the Blu or Bud directly to the Little Jazz (on sound, not weight)?
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Henriksen rules !!! regardless of which model you get. I bought a 312 last year from TMZ. After the speaker broke in...heavenly.
Huge improvement on the EQ's since the 1 series though everything at high noon/flat always sounds good.
Henriksen now is what Polytone was in the 1980's. Best jazz amp IMO after the 85 pound back breaking Twin.
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Well Rick, with the gig bag and power cord it is 15 pounds as their website details indicate. The ad copy says 12 pounds and that is what the lawyers call "puffery". I guess if they advertised it at 13 pounds the superstitious might not buy it? Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
Considering it's high build quality, it is pretty light.
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Congrats on the new amp. I've been hearing a lot of good things about the Blu and Bud. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
I went with the LJ. No way to hear either ... and I didn't want to take a chance on the small speaker after feeling burned by the Lunchbox. Also, one is $899 and the other is $360. I did like that the Blu weighed 3 lbs less, except, of course, it doesn't, unless the gigbag is 3 lbs. ... I just checked. The Henriksen site has the gigbag at 7 lbs!
Fair to say, Henriksen's strong suit may not be in weighing their products
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First thing, Little Jazz is rated at 45 watts and the Bud and the Blue at 120 watts. That's a pretty big difference there unless you are expecting to mic the amp into a PA. Most reviews of the Little Jazz are in solo or duo/light trio settings. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
I haven't seen any Little Jazz vs Bud/Blu comparisons on the web but I am pretty sure Jim Soloway and Tom Karol have played both since they are always checking out small amps. Maybe they will chime in.
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Stringswinger, thanks for the review. Did you ever try it on the floor with the speaker tilted upwards, in a way that you can hear yourself better? I'm just curious if the downfiring port would be a problem for that.
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Outstanding Review SS. Really great.
To think that this pocket sized amp can provide quality volume that cuts through the mix is almost too good to be true. Being fortunate enough to be part of the original chain of EMails with SS and Doug when they were talking up this amp was great. These are 2 extremely experienced, unbelievably accomplished (and busy) working Jazz musicians who have the highest praise for a piece of equipment that they have ZERO monetary benefit for plugging. This amp must be amazing and the folks at Henriksen should be grateful that forums like this exist and people like SS (and Vinny, who has been talking them up for YEARS..) contribute.
We are lucky to have a little inside knowledge of the trade secrets that are shared around here.
Even though I still have a hankering for an Henriksen Alfresco, if I start playing out again, I wouldn't hesitate one second before buying a Blu. And my back would thank me for it!
Thank you SS.
Joe D
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I’ve been taking my Bud out to rehearsals playing Don Cherry tunes with a loud drummer. It has been a life saver. The onboard eq is very flexible and useful for tailoring the sound to the room. My Princeton sounds incredible since I put a Weber 10a150 in it but that’s a seriously heavy speaker. I have been thinking about getting a second cab for the Henriksen but it would be just so that I get to hear it through a 12”.
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With the AER Compact 60 I have found it is sometimes necessary to tilt the amp up to hear it. Not so with this one. I can hear myself loud and clear. Perhaps the downfiring port has an upside? Originally Posted by JazzNote
I will try titling it up at my next gig with a drummer and see if the low end response is diminished and will report back.
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The Blu sounds pretty damn fat with my Stealth 10 extension cabinet, but now you have me curious to try my Stealth 12 with it. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
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Thanks JD. Not only do I have zero monetary benefit from praising this amp, the truth is that it cost me a pretty penny. But as a working musician, I do get some tax benefit, so that helps. And the money that I save in Chiropractor bills makes this amp a bargain! Originally Posted by Max405
I did get a great price from Michael at Djangobooks. If anybody here wants one of these, contact Michael and tell him Stringswinger sent you (I use that handle on the Djangobooks forum as well). I'll bet that Michael will beat anybody elses price and he will have the amp to you in three days.
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I've used someone else's Blu a few of times at a jam session, and I found it to be quite the opposite of warm/fat sounding. Because of the logistics of getting on and off the bandstand at a jam (and the fact that it's someone else's amp), I haven't been able to mess around with settings. I didn't realize it had a switchable tweeter -- I'm guessing it's switched in on this amp and that this is the explanation. If I encounter this amp again, I'll try to look for this.
John
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There is a picture in this thread (post #26): Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
Blu vs Bud
I think that thread got Doug to move forward with the Blu, which resulted in me getting one. This forum can be an expensive place to hang out! The downfiring port was a deal killer for me until Doug told me that it was not like the downfiring woofer of the Acoustic Image Corus. With no front firing speaker (I do not use the tweeters on amps so supplied except with a Gypsy guitar), the Corus is hard to hear on the bandstand (for me). The Blu does not have this problem, but does need a bit of solid surface under it or the low end suffers. I do not think the Blu would work well on a chair that did not have a solid seating surface. All in all though, it is a small price to pay for such a lightweight, compact amp that sounds great.Last edited by Stringswinger; 01-30-2019 at 01:58 PM.
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I have not had the tweeter on yet. As soon as I took it out of the box, I switched the tweeter off. Perhaps I should try it to make sure it works! Originally Posted by John A.
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Been a good while everyone! I have been working out the kinks in the last month or so of my music degree, pretty stoked on that. I got a henrksen blu today! its killin and i finally dont have to carry my carr (all 40 pounds + of it) down the street 5 blocks to a gig! wooohoo!! although I feel inevitably that now I will always have parking instantly available because the world is ironic in that way, but great googly moogly the thing is really amazing sounding... I wish I could accurately represent what it sounds like... in this instance Ill just leave the picture here. It sounds amazing though with my tele and my gibson.
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Welcome to the Blu Club! This amp sounds amazing with my 175's and my Les Paul (and all my others).
A true game changer.
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I did have a Bud and now have a Little Jazz. I like both and I've know Peter Henriksen since his dad started the company but I learned the hard way that DV Mark is a lot more practical when you live in Mexico. My Bud broke down when we were traveling here last year (no knock on the Bud. These things happen) and the only way to get it fixed was by shipping it to Colorado where as DV Mark has a Mexican distributor. I also really like the DV Mark preamp. I also have the Micro 50 Jazz head with the same preamp and I find that both really work well for me. Originally Posted by Tom Karol
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Let us know how it stands up on gigs with loud drummers, big bands, larger halls, etc...
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One thing the soundpure video failed to point out is that the Blu uses a different power amp (a class D) than the Bud. Part of the weight difference is due to that and they will have a different tone (slightly) due to the different power amp. I presume that once Henriksen uses up the power amp parts used to make the Bud, they will have a version 2 Bud that uses the new class D power amp. That should bring the weight of the Bud down. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
And once again, the video claims the Blu is 12 pounds, my scale said 13.2.
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