good clean jazz amp
Question:
What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. Should she got with tube or more for solid state. I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about these amps. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, David
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s > Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a > better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. > Should she got with tube or more for solid state. > I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about > these amps. > Any advice would be appreciated. > Thanks, > David
A lot of Jazz players prefer solid state amps. But I have a Fender Twin Reverb RI and I think it’s the perfect tube amp for jazz; tons of crisp, clean headroom. I think it’s a great clean amp.
Response:
> What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s > Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a > better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. > Should she got with tube or more for solid state. > I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about > these amps. > Any advice would be appreciated. > Thanks, > David
A roland JC120 or a Fender 135W Twin Reverb
Response:
> What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s > Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a > better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. > Should she got with tube or more for solid state. > I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about > these amps. > Any advice would be appreciated.
If she’s just starting out but serious, she needs to think thru the entire thing including her axe. Amp-wise the well-intended old suggestions of non-jazzers like a TR or a JC-120 are passe, as are tubes for the most part in jazz, & both are overpriced backbreakers for what they do. In the new department the small AR’s, AER’s & Poly’s, with an occasional Evans, are what deliver the goods, and all are expensive (and worth what they cost). For cheap used things that often suffice, the Roland Cube 60 (esp with a better spkr fitted) has done the deed for 20 yrs & some of the PV Transitones or Bandits have done the same decently at about 2x the price. The appearance of a 335 suggests jazz tones to many as a visual appeal, but it isn’t any more a jazz axe than a Tele – though a few excellent players play jazz on a Tele too, or anything else if they are virtuoso enough. Many 335’s can be pressed into service with heavier strings (11’s minimum), wise setup & trained playing techniques, and a noted Boston area jazz instructor I know does just that with his students if they have 335’s as former blues/rockers. 335’s also often have other issues as jazzers to lengthy to go into. If it were me, I’d sell the 335, buy a much cheaper & far better imported jazz-capable axe, and $1,000+ great new small, lightweight jazz amp like those above with the difference. There’d still be enough for a couple nice $100 dinners or good lessons. If you talked her into the vintage 335 & she’s your girlfriend, she should break up with you & spend the dinner dough or lesson money on me. :-) If she gets into a hollowbody (any) versus a semisolid, a closed-back amp is almost a necessity (for FB reduction). It may seem paradoxical that the jazz tone even greats have sought after without achieving, was Christian playing a primitive small tube amp. HWVR, CC’s playing transcended his gear – it was all downstrokes with very strong technique & heavy strings that no one has really been able to duplicate. Stage conditions were also very different. It’s also true that Pat Martino still uses a red-knob tube Twin. She (and I) will never be P.M. with his powerful playing. Guys like this could play through a coffee can or a transistor radio & it would sound basically the same (awesome). It’s also true that Ed Bickert plays jazz on a Tele well enough to scare you. It’s even true that some hobby jazzers play PR (most in a home setting) & are happy with it. The other 99% of us benefit from an appropriate present-day amp & a jazz-oriented axe, since playing the stuff is difficult enough without more handicaps. HTH, Frank working jazzer
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s > Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a > better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. > Should she got with tube or more for solid state. > I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about > these amps. > Any advice would be appreciated. > Thanks, > David
Wasn’t this a thread awhile back…???? Roland Chorus amp is fine… but can she carry it..??? Look into a PolyTone "Mini Brute" … gtski
Response:
> What is a good clean jazz amp?
I bought my BF Super Reverb from a Jazz Player. He loved it for clean jazz… See ya, John
Response:
There are some others yu can find that are workman like, and do not carry a heavy price tag.. Trace Eliott Super Tramp 1×12 65 watts.. Carvin SS is pretty nice… There is a Peavy Bandit … I think Fender Stage… pretty nice.. reasonable and good tone.. danny
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s > Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a > better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. > Should she got with tube or more for solid state. > I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about > these amps. > Any advice would be appreciated. > Thanks, > David
Response:
David, The modern standard seems to be a (solid state) Clarus amp with a Raezor’s edge cabinet. About $1200 total. Greg – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s > Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a > better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. > Should she got with tube or more for solid state. > I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about > these amps. > Any advice would be appreciated. > Thanks, > David
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s > Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a > better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. > Should she got with tube or more for solid state. > I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about > these amps. > Any advice would be appreciated. > Thanks, > David
Fendah twin..i have one for sale as a matter of fact.. silverface with 15w EV speakers.. georgio — Traynor guitar mate ‘72 yamaha SA with prs and gibson pickups
Response:
The Roland JC 120. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s >Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a >better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. >Should she got with tube or more for solid state. >I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about >these amps. >Any advice would be appreciated. >Thanks, >David > Fendah twin..i have one for sale as a matter of fact.. > silverface with 15w EV speakers.. > georgio
Response:
Roland JC120. Altertnatively, the MusicMan HD series. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s >Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a >better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. >Should she got with tube or more for solid state. >I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about >these amps. >Any advice would be appreciated. >Thanks, >David > Fendah twin..i have one for sale as a matter of fact.. > silverface with 15w EV speakers.. > georgio
Response:
> What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early 70’s > Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend a > better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. > Should she got with tube or more for solid state. > I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing about > these amps. > Any advice would be appreciated. > Thanks, > David
You’ve heard lots of votes for a JC120 and Twin. Also mentioned were a MusicMan, maybe a Lab Series and of course Liberty4US’s de rigeur iconoclastic dissention.(Evans, Polytone). A *REAL* sleeper from the 70s and 80s which should be a great bargain if you can find one is the Yamaha G100 series. The parametric mid control will allow lots of different tonal colorations. The 1-15 version will give you plenty of low end and not sound too beamy. A *little* easier on the biceps than the 2-12. If the JC120 is too big a package, the lil’ brother JC77 is a decent sounding alternative at around $200 used, but the 2-10 speaker compliment may not sound deep enough for her tastes. Like Frank said, though, the guitar itself is probably the biggest variable. A deep body archtop strung with heavy gauge cables will sound really rich through practically anything (well, maybe not a JCM 900). –Mike (working fiddler, bedroom Jazz wanker) Mike Schway | [Picture your favorite quote here]
Response:
The very best jazz amplifier that I have ever owned is a 1962 Ampeg Reverberocket. Best reverb on the planet and quiet as hell. Problem is finding one in really decent shape. Jim
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->What is a good clean jazz amp? I have a friend who plays an early > 70’s >Gibson 335 with a cheap Squier amp. Ugh! I really want to recommend > a >better amp but know little about clean "jazz" amps. >Should she got with tube or more for solid state. >I have heard people like Roland Jazz Chorus amps, but I know nothing > about >these amps. >Any advice would be appreciated. > If she’s just starting out but serious, she needs to think thru the > entire thing including her axe. > Amp-wise the well-intended old suggestions of non-jazzers like a TR or > a JC-120 are passe, as are tubes for the most part in jazz, & both are > overpriced backbreakers for what they do. In the new department the > small AR’s, AER’s & Poly’s, with an occasional Evans, are what deliver > the goods, and all are expensive (and worth what they cost). For cheap > used things that often suffice, the Roland Cube 60 (esp with a better > spkr fitted) has done the deed for 20 yrs & some of the PV Transitones > or Bandits have done the same decently at about 2x the price. > The appearance of a 335 suggests jazz tones to many as a visual appeal, > but it isn’t any more a jazz axe than a Tele – though a few excellent > players play jazz on a Tele too, or anything else if they are virtuoso > enough. Many 335’s can be pressed into service with heavier strings > (11’s minimum), wise setup & trained playing techniques, and a noted > Boston area jazz instructor I know does just that with his students if > they have 335’s as former blues/rockers. 335’s also often have other > issues as jazzers to lengthy to go into. > If it were me, I’d sell the 335, buy a much cheaper & far better > imported jazz-capable axe, and $1,000+ great new small, lightweight > jazz amp like those above with the difference. There’d still be enough > for a couple nice $100 dinners or good lessons. > If you talked her into the vintage 335 & she’s your girlfriend, she > should break up with you & spend the dinner dough or lesson money on > me. :-) > If she gets into a hollowbody (any) versus a semisolid, a closed-back > amp is almost a necessity (for FB reduction). > It may seem paradoxical that the jazz tone even greats have sought > after without achieving, was Christian playing a primitive small tube > amp. HWVR, CC’s playing transcended his gear – it was all downstrokes > with very strong technique & heavy strings that no one has really been > able to duplicate. Stage conditions were also very different. It’s > also true that Pat Martino still uses a red-knob tube Twin. She (and > I) will never be P.M. with his powerful playing. Guys like this could > play through a coffee can or a transistor radio & it would sound > basically the same (awesome). It’s also true that Ed Bickert plays > jazz on a Tele well enough to scare you. It’s even true that some > hobby jazzers play PR (most in a home setting) & are happy with it. > The other 99% of us benefit from an appropriate present-day amp & a > jazz-oriented axe, since playing the stuff is difficult enough without > more handicaps. > HTH, > Frank > working jazzer
"working jazzer" … Isn’t that an oxymoron? At least anywhere other than very BIG cities. Regards, John King "After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roarin’. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him…The moral: When you know you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut." -Will Rogers
Response:
> The very best jazz amplifier that I have ever owned is a 1962 Ampeg > Reverberocket. Best reverb on the planet and quiet as hell. Problem is > finding one in really decent shape. Jim
Now there’s a ‘not-following-the-herd’ answer, and absolutely correct too. While not as loud / clean as a ‘modern’ SS amp or high powered ultra linear Twin Reverb… The mid 1960’s and earlier Ampeg amps were made for jazz players of that era. Ampeg management still thought that Rock-n-Roll was just a fad; even when it lasted more than a decade. They didn’t cave in to the higher gain amps that intentionally distorted until the *late* 1960’s. (About the same time boost/fuzz/distortion pedals showed up.) I have a 1967 Ampeg R-12-R Reverbojet that is a very sweet and warm bodied jazz tone player. However, with about 30 watts it’s loud, but not VERY loud. But many times that’s ok with a jazz ensemble; as they (including the drummers) know how to play dynamically, so bone crushing volume isn’t a necessity. John King "Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there." – Will Rogers
Response:
<smile>So many say, John. In real life the big-city jazz scene has pretty much wound down for 30 yrs with high-talent city guys not playing & most of the combo thing dead everywhere, while here in the north vacation country a good solo or duo has plenty to do that is much less demanding & nice working conditions. This is why Miles is saying you suck<BG>. BTW I forgot that the PVDB does decent at jazz too. "Once upon a time there was a nonconforming sparrow who decided not to fly south for the winter. However it became so cold that he reluctantly left. But it was too late. His wings iced up & he crashed in a barnyard, nearly frozen. A cow crapped on the little sparrow and he thought it was the end. But the manure warmed the bird & soon he was so cozy he began to sing. Just then a cat was passing by & hearing the sounds, cleared away the manure, found the chirping bird, and promptly ate him. The moral: – He who craps on you is not necessarily your enemy; – He who gets you out of the crap is not necessarily your friend; – If you’re in a lot of crap but warm & happy, keep your mouth shut."
Response:
> You’ve heard lots of votes for a JC120 and Twin. Also mentioned were a > MusicMan, maybe a Lab Series and of course Liberty4US’s de rigeur > iconoclastic dissention.(Evans, Polytone).
Haw-haw. I don’t like either myself (investment vs what it’ll do for me & old models vs new), & am still dragging my old Cube 60 upgraded with an Alltone 1250 to work. I feel it sounds as good or better than some of the older Evans (not current ones which I haven’t tried) and does about what the old PT’s do. It’s bottom won’t quit. I’d like to have an AR (Coda or Clarus) for what we’re doing. Maybe by fall. I have to play to pay bills or buy groceries, not for paying for new gear. It’s main justification is in this simple situ it’d also eliminate a PA & get us to the 1-trip-in we want. I doubt we’d sound any different to those who matter. > A *REAL* sleeper from the 70s and 80s which should be a great bargain if > you can find one is the Yamaha G100 series. The parametric mid control > will allow lots of different tonal colorations. The 1-15 version will > give you plenty of low end and not sound too beamy.
They were great. Haven’t seen one f/s around the Northeast in years, esp the 1-15". > A deep body archtop strung with heavy gauge cables will sound > really rich through practically anything (well, maybe not a JCM 900).
You know, Mike, I’ve begun moving away from that setup & the only real reason I still take the bigbox with its 13/56’s out is that in some situations it’s visually essential for its schtick to the audience. To compare someone well-known who’s doing a similar act (1,500 times better), Tuck’s archtop is so full of electronics that it’s own properties may not matter anymore, not to mention the additional ton it’s connected to. But he’d look out-of-place playing something smaller behind Patti. I’m getting better stuff out of my smaller semisolid (not a 335-type) with piezo, lighter wires, careful setup & good touch. I can also play it longer, stronger & more complexly or versatile without getting fatigued, which is important since I’m not 17 anymore. Or to put it another way, I think many practical players from the lowest strugglers like me to the most famous, are escaping or disproving the traditional setups & their drawbacks as the only or best way to deliver the tonal goods. But I do think one has to be grounded in how the traditional setup is played, if that makes any sense. I don’t honestly like playing a big archtop & am not as comfortable with it. I just like how I *look* and *present* from behind it, and how it visually "fills up" the sparse, torchy, dusky act next to a singer in a dress & heels, or how it commands more visual attention in solo work. I don’t feel it does anything for the music & detracts slightly from it in my case. About the only thing I can better with it is pick faster with the heavy wires, but that’s not needed in the act. As soon as I’m confident how to *sell the product* without it, it’ll stay home all the time or get sold. I found getting away from online jazz discussion groups good for improving my playing & setup. Maybe it’s all like someone saying "you have to have a Barcus Berry on your fiddle to sound like xyz" as if it were 1972? What I’m trying to convey is the opinion that like anything else & at most any level, the stuff required (or not required) to produce & deliver any artistic product that has to be sold directly to the public at the deckplate level is usually a different concept & reality than what someone who may like to play with the product for pleasure or who even may have more expert knowledge about it thinks or prefers or imagines how it ought to be done – and that both are valid for their very different goals & ends. To be honest & not at all negative, I’ve never found the ‘net to be a significant resource for working-oriented playing, but more of a distraction from it’s simple realities. 98% of the instrument-related businesses, discussions & hobbies are mainly about trying to make music with money, and without this we would have no industry & not enough people to serve as techs to bother. Only maybe 2% of players are trying to make money with music, and it’s become increasingly difficult at most local levels, yes? I also think you’d agree that working playing is competitve & its not-rich practitioners aren’t about to blab to the world as to how they find, get, keep & improve performances. I think this applies to all performing arts. Amp-wise, with combo playing & venues scarce and most of the present working scene being solos & duos in high-end restaraunts, intimate upscale lounges and such, it seems the more compact & visually unobtrusive rig that’ll cover the room, the better. Something similar might be the case for a hobby player who wants to entertain friends with some jazz at a party to be cool. These are what drove my list of newer small & powerful SS. But beyond all our suggestions or biases, the desireable jazz amp is starting to look & behave less like a traditional guitar amp & more like a compact, powerful PA with EQ, ‘verb & a simple loop. Even the acoustic guitar amps are finding their ways to some jazz gigs with archtops for the same reasoning. Both often are 2 channel with mic capability & are also handling vocals well – what was rejected since the mid-’50’s with normal amps is now being done by some demanding acts in smaller venues. It is kind of full-circle-funny, don’t you think? I think it’s even funnier that no one is building & selling a compact 2-channel 300w flat switcher with XLR, phantom, ‘verb, FX loops & good EQ for 1/3 the price of the nice Clarus 2R, as if it were magic.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > You know, Mike, I’ve begun moving away from that setup & the only real > reason I still take the bigbox with its 13/56’s out is that in some > situations it’s visually essential for its schtick to the audience. To > compare someone well-known who’s doing a similar act (1,500 times > better), Tuck’s archtop is so full of electronics that it’s own > properties may not matter anymore, not to mention the additional ton > it’s connected to. But he’d look out-of-place playing something > smaller behind Patti. I’m getting better stuff out of my smaller > semisolid (not a 335-type) with piezo, lighter wires, careful setup & > good touch. I can also play it longer, stronger & more complexly or > versatile without getting fatigued, which is important since I’m not 17 > anymore. Or to put it another way, I think many practical players from > the lowest strugglers like me to the most famous, are escaping or > disproving the traditional setups & their drawbacks as the only or best > way to deliver the tonal goods. But I do think one has to be grounded > in how the traditional setup is played, if that makes any sense. > I don’t honestly like playing a big archtop & am not as comfortable > with it. I just like how I *look* and *present* from behind it, and > how it visually "fills up" the sparse, torchy, dusky act next to a > singer in a dress & heels, or how it commands more visual attention in > solo work. I don’t feel it does anything for the music & detracts > slightly from it in my case. About the only thing I can better with it > is pick faster with the heavy wires, but that’s not needed in the act. > As soon as I’m confident how to *sell the product* without it, it’ll > stay home all the time or get sold.
Great post!! You make a good point here. On my acoustic, I’m moving away from mediums and back to lights. With my new guitar (Santa Cruz OM), a little right hand goes a LONG way…I don’t need to push it too hard to get it to speak. As for jazz, I’m more attracted to old swing than other sub-genera, and the first time I was allowed to play an acquaintance
Related Posts