Amps....continued.
Pt
Tubes or SS?
How many watts?
How much does it weigh?
etc etc...
For those of us who jam and gig often what is most important in an amp
is it's ability to gut through the rest of the band when soloing.
On stage with a 5 piece band (or more) you need watts to get the clean
volume out there.
If you play distorted you need even more watts.
Watts = weight.
And many jazzers do not want to deal with heavy amps.
Thus they do not have the 'Tone'.
I see the tides turning somewhat as more people are buying Deluxe
Reverb's.
But at 22 watts where are they going?
You can mic your tube amp through a PA but then your final sound is
all solid state.
Not much advantage there.
I have listened to several clips from excellent players and heard some
of them live and their tone sounds like a 60's transistor radio.
Maybe they should start lifting weights so they can handle carrying a
good tube amp with watts!!??
Pt
GregD
> There has been much discussion on what is the best amp.
> Tubes or SS?
> How many watts?
> How much does it weigh?
> etc etc...
>
> For those of us who jam and gig often what is most important in an amp
> is it's ability to gut through the rest of the band when soloing.
> On stage with a 5 piece band (or more) you need watts to get the clean
> volume out there.
> If you play distorted you need even more watts.
unless you bite the bullet and use pedals for that.
>
> Watts = weight.
> And many jazzers do not want to deal with heavy amps.
> Thus they do not have the 'Tone'.
>
> I see the tides turning somewhat as more people are buying Deluxe
> Reverb's.
> But at 22 watts where are they going?
> You can mic your tube amp through a PA but then your final sound is
> all solid state.
> Not much advantage there.
Nah. The SS end result of mic'ing an amp doesn't necessarily muck up the
tone, since most PA gear is by dedisn colorless, unlike tube amps.
I gigged regularly with a 15W Pro Junior front-ended with pedals for OD.
It has been my experience that all that lush tone that sounds so good
standalone with many tube amps gets lost in the heat of battle with 5 or
6 musicians going at it on stage. That's why I prefer a good clean tube
tone that I can tweak 'n peak with outboard gear.
>
> I have listened to several clips from excellent players and heard some
> of them live and their tone sounds like a 60's transistor radio.
>
> Maybe they should start lifting weights so they can handle carrying a
> good tube amp with watts!!??
Well, I will say this - one of my favorite amps was an 86lb, 1978/9 Pro
Reverb (80W) - 100$ p-t-p, tube amp (except for SS rectifier). Wish I had
kept it, but at 2:30AM on load-out, I could barely get it into the car,
much less take it back out and store it upstairs an hour later when I
arrived home.
For me, lighter is better, though I will admit my smaller amps don't have
the muscle tone like that Pro reverb (even for clean tones).
Greg
>
> Pt
>
HotchkissTrio
I'm playing in a trio though, so 15 watts is enough power for my gigs. If I
ever play a really big and loud gig I guess I'll have to mic it. I'm
considering getting another pro junior and running two in stereo. I'm
trying it out with a borrowed amp and the sound is much fuller and warmer,
and louder too. It seems like a good idea to me (30 watts, tube, $600, True
Stereo, 20lbs each). I can retain the advantages of lightweight amps, but
I'll need an extra trip to the car for the extra amp.
Try carrying out a pro reverb in 2 trips ;-)
-Paul H.
PS: I like it when a tube amp overdrives the power tubes, so maybe my 15
watts goes a little farther than it would for someone who wanted a strict
clean tone.
"GregD" <no...@oasyscoATcoxDOTnet.none> wrote in message
news:GeQjc.704$Lm3.23@lakeread04...
Rod Furlott
reverb, and have been enjoying the tube amp sound. The other day though, I
picked up my sons Telecaster, and plugged it into his JCM 900, and - wow!
What tone! Now, I wouldn't take that rig to a jazz gig, but it sure was fun
to re-discover the richness of that Marshall tone, and for a blues gig, it
would be great. But alas - while my ears may long for Marshall, my back
says deluxe reverb.
Rod
--
Rod Furlott
http://home1.gte.net/furlott/index.htm
Want to hear my music?
http://www.soundclick.com/pro/default.cfm?BandID=164309&content=music
"Pt" <notAva...@NoPlace.com> wrote in message
news:4lgv80pafv90v3r70...@4ax.com...
thom_j
ya' or some "foxy roadiez" of the fair hair sex...yummmmy 8^)'.
old! but not out yet teejay...................
"Rod Furlott" <fur...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:41Ujc.49784$G_....@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
GregD
> I gig with a pro junior too.
>
> I'm playing in a trio though, so 15 watts is enough power for my gigs.
> If I ever play a really big and loud gig I guess I'll have to mic it.
> I'm considering getting another pro junior and running two in stereo.
Do you have a stereo MFX pedals or stereo standalone pedals? I used 2
Fender Champs at one time and the tone by myself was fabulous, but when I
sat in with a band, the stereo effect went out the window. The only way I
could have salvaged it was to mic both amps separately through the PA,
but that would have only been for the sudience's sake and even then I
doubt they would have appreciated the stereo split.
So, while I'm not against stereo rigs, I find that in a gigging or even a
heavy jamming situ, the stereo effect get lost admist the sound of a
drummer, another picker, bassist, vocals, etc --- and that's even with
stereo-capable effects boxes.
> I'm trying it out with a borrowed amp and the sound is much fuller
> and warmer, and louder too. It seems like a good idea to me (30
> watts, tube, $600, True Stereo, 20lbs each). I can retain the
> advantages of lightweight amps, but I'll need an extra trip to the car
> for the extra amp.
Still wouldn't hurt to have 2 going just in case one craps out.
Greg