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I'm looking for an amplifier and was hoping that those of you more versed in amplifiers could help make some recommendations.
What I'm looking for:
- The ability to use headphones ideally
- Good sound at volume levels for an apartment
- Great clean traditional jazz sounds
- Ideally the ability to handle more modern jazz tones / distortion and effects too, but I can compromise on this if need be
- Cost isn't really an issue, but ideally would like to keep it <$2k
I usually play a fender twin reverb, but recently moved to the city and apartments and twin reverbs don't mix well
What I'm considering:
- Henriksen Bud SIX
- Raezer's Edge Luna 200R Combo (appears this one unfortunately doesn't have a headphone out)
- Sequel Amplifiers Tribute (unfortunately this doesn't have a headphone out either, and probably doesn't handle modern jazz tones too well, but hard to resist an amazing jim hall style amp...)
- AER Compact 50 (may seem strange, but I've heard some jazz players get some amazing modern clean tones from these)
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08-30-2022 09:54 PM
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Keep the Twin reverb, use an OxBox or some other form of volume regulation for tube amps??
Twin reverb ToneMaster? You get a Modeled Fender twin with the benefit of SS power scaling.
Or Bam200 with a Toob (Light, cheap, loud, Warm clean)- Outside of the normal paradigm but who cares abut paradigms?
Not sure how any of the other Acoustic amps would respond but I have the AER- its not nice with dirt. Not designed that way.
EM
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My practice space is very small and I need to keep it fairly quiet, too. At "bedroom level" my tube amp didn't sound like much of anything. So I got a Strymon Iridium modeling pedal and plugged it into a pair of bookshelf studio monitors (powered). The blackface amp model sounds great and the cabinet simulations do a pretty convincing job of making the studio monitors sound like a guitar speaker, even at whisper volume. YMMV, of course. Oh, and it has a headphone jack.
Last edited by raymoan; 08-31-2022 at 12:02 AM.
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I see you're used to playing tube Fenders as I am.
Outside of going tube route, Mambo has a Bright mode that is very satisfying. You can find lots of videos from Dutch Bopper using those, and he is a great player.
For tube I like black panel Princetons and Champs. Princeton would be quite a bit louder and fuller range. Original Champs will benefit from a larger external speaker cab with 10" at least. VibroChamp reissues have 10" in them, which helps.
Lately I enjoy running a Kingsley Juggler (Dumble ODS type tube preamp) on Clean into the Champ with its tone controls around zero for flatter EQ curve and getting the tonal shaping and some tube compression from the pedal. Add a reverb pedal of your choice.
Carr Sportsman sounds great in the clips and has an attenuator.
For headphones I use Strymon Iridium on Round (Fender Deluxe model). It is really good for cleans and slight breakup paired with a quality pair of headphones, good speakers or as a preamp into a power amp. Does not take pedals as nicely as the tube amp, bit fizzy that way.
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Apartments and volume are always an issue with tube amps. Even a low wattage tube amp, for it really sound good, would start to sound loud to me.
Even a lot of amps come with some form of attenuation.
I tend to use SS amps right now, and if I am using an tube amp I just keep it low. My theory is that for practice, low is ok. (In my mind amps need to sound their best for tracking).
However, if I wanted to sound better, I would grab my attenuator.
I do plan on buying either the UA or Shur attenuator, due to flexibility and being better then my old but loved THD hot plate.
But right now I am happy to just cook up my volume at rehearsal or jams. Matter of fact that is where I try out my gear anyway. That setting always tells me more then any other setting. (It asks the most from my gear, with a bunch of non controllable stuff going on).
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I like the DV Mark Little Jazz. It sounds great at low levels or at ear-splitting levels, and it's cheap. You can get them for ~$300 if you look around, and there is one for sale here on the forum for less. The Quilter Superblock is popular with many, but I have no personal experience with it, so I have nothing else to say about it. You would need a speaker cabinet for it, because it's just a micro head. I have a Fender Vibrolux Reverb, bought used about 30 years ago, but I rarely bother to turn it on. The amp tech who last serviced it said it was perhaps the best sounding VR he had encountered, but it's still inferior to the LJ to my ears, either quiet or loud.
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I have an Evans 80 and a Henriksen Bud (original, predecessor to the Bud Six). Both sound good, but neither sounds like a Fender; though using the Bud with a Joyo American Sound in front is close enough for me.
Most of the amps the OP cited are very clean, more like a Polytone than a Fender.
You might look at Quilter amps - the ones I've played can sound very Fender-like. They seem to me to be very high-quality kit. The Aviator Cub or the 101 Reverb might fit your needs, but there are several other models that might serve as well. See www.quilterlabs.com.
Another option already suggested would be the Fender ToneMaster amps. They have attenuators built-in. I haven't played these enough to have an opinion. They look promising in the demos, though, and appear to be liked by many.
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I also use the DV Mark Little Jazz for that purpose and am very satisfied. It's small and portable, has a good clean jazz tone, serviceable reverb, and can get pretty loud for such a small amp if need be. It has a headphone option as well; mine is a tad noisy, but it doesn't bother me much.
It doesn't provide any overdrive by itself though, if that's of importance to you. I use pedals for that if I need to, and it takes them just fine, though not equal to a good tube amp.
Back in my university days, our practice rooms were equipped with smaller Roland Cube amps. They'll give more options with effects and so on, and give a perfectly decent tone for jazz.
In the tube world, the 5-watt Supros look interesting.
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Sometimes, when I read threads like this on guitar forums, I can’t help thinking of the Simpsons episode where Marge was selling real estate. Lionel Hutz told her their motto was “the right house for the right person”, then explained that the right person was anyone, and the right house was the one for sale.
Whenever I see a new review for a fresh piece of gear, I have to stifle the urge to open my wallet. I have 3 (soon 4) very good amps, and I can sound just as bad though any of them. I just plug into one, turn it on and work on sounding better.
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Consider this ultra-compact and ultra-portable solution within your price range: a Henriksen Bud 6 ($1300) paired with a Helix Stomp or Boss GT1000 Core ($600).
You could use the Polytone-like jazz tone of the Bud, and/or bypass its tone stack and use the Twin Reverb amp simulation to create the world's tiniest 120-watt Twin (with all of the effects you could ever want). You'd also have vintage tweed, Gibson, Supro, JC-120, and other amp tones available, with the ability to tweak EQ and achieve any level of tube saturation at any volume level. And you would have excellent headphone audio quality directly from the Stomp, with the ability to record directly if desired.
This would take up less than one cubic foot in your apartment, and all of it would neatly and easily fit in the Henriksen gig bag (Bud, Stomp, and two cables). Yet it would give you nearly unlimited sound potential and could cover nearly any venue.
I'm seriously considering this option: Telecaster -> Stomp -> Bud. Between the guitar's gig bag and the amp's gig-bag, you'd have more space than you know what to do with. Minimalism and maximalism at the same time.
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Interesting. Just to be clear, because all this new technology confuses me, you don't need one of those FRFR cabs in conjunction with Helix Stomp or Boss GT1000.
Originally Posted by markesquire
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The Henriksen Blu Six fits the bill nicely. Punchy with plenty of headroom if needed, sounds good at all volumes, headphone out, effects loop, speaker out, bluetooth connectivity, easy on the back. Takes pedals well, Joyo AS brings it into Fender territory.
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Does The Bud Six sound boxy with such a small speaker?
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I have a more-or-less original issue Bud (there were a couple of variants), similar to the current Bud Six. Originally Posted by Jazz_175
When placed as intended, the Bud does not sound boxy to me. "As intended" means that it's placed on a flat, hard surface to couple the speaker cabinet to the room boundary via the Bud's bottom-facing speaker cabinet port.
It doesn't sound as good if you have it away from a room boundary - the bass response suffers.
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I would say either the DV Mark Little Jazz or the Bud Six. You can't go wrong with either of those amps. They are both amazing!
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The points dconeill made apply to the Blu Six, too, it’s not boxy at all. Originally Posted by Jazz_175
Last edited by JazzPadd; 09-07-2022 at 11:24 AM.
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This is 100% true, but an amp modeler will generally sound better through an FRFR setup if you are actually using the amp models as part of your sound. And, a Headrush 1x12 FRFR 2000 Watt powered cab can also be found for about $300 (@ 36 pounds), and a HeadRush 1x8 is even less cash and weight. I have a Fractal AX8 and a Boogie Mark IV amp, and I am seriously considering selling them both and just getting a Fender Tone Master Super Reverb. You can crank it all the way up at 1Watt of power to get that tube saturation at talk over volume, and even with 4x10" speakers its under 35 pounds. And of course it also gets louder Originally Posted by Jazz_175
My current Fractal/Boogie combo is well over 100 pounds and sometimes just looking at at it makes my arthritic hip hurt!
If the OP likes their Twin, one of the Fender Tone Masters would likely fill the bill, and then you could add whatever effects you desire and stay under $2k. Remember though the higher end modelers can have steep learning curves.
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Modelers will be more accurate through an output stage and speaker that add no coloration or other sonic signature of their own, Jim. But “better” may not be the best word to describe this. A full range flat response only assures accurate reproduction of the model. The quality of that model and of the sound you get are entirely different issues. Originally Posted by jim777
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The only reason I do not own two TM Twins, is due to the fact that if I hit them with moderate dirt or fuzz, the TM amps get fizzy (high artifacts that are unpleasant). That would make the TM not universally applicable for me.
Not to mention, Twins are excellent pedal platforms, and for me to have a Twin sitting around and not be able to hit it with whatever would just hurt.
The TM Twin was an answer to all my amp dreams, but it just falls a little short, at a price that won’t allow me to buy it as a “only use in this context amp”.
I think that if I was going in the modeling direction, I would have the new Universal Audio amp modeling pedals at the very front of the line. They sound pretty good in those youtube clips. I have no personal experience so who knows?
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Fender Champ 12 works for me. I even took it on a recent road trip.
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My point is that you if you are using a modeler to model say an old fender tweed amp and running that through a guitar amp you will end up with a mixture of two amps in your sound. Some modelers charge extra for that Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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