Small amp to cover jazz to classic rock...

[fretknot]

I'm moving into new territory musically, and along with a Tele and a Duo-sonic, I picked up a Epiphone Emperor Regent, with a Johnny Smith pickup, to explore some silkier genres and jazz/fusion. Typically I've played Blues and Classic Rock, but now I'm older and want to expand into some new sounds.

I'm considering a couple small amps to cover the wide range I'm looking for. A few options I considered are; Tweed 5F2a, Roland JC 22, and Swart AST Jr.

I'm thinking 5W max for tube, and 20-30W if solid state. Looking for a simple circuit if going with tubes. I've only considered the Roland JC, because I am so impressed with the Micro Cube, but it still lacks some of the warmth for jazzier tones.

Currently I have an Epiphone Valve Junior, V3 that I modded the resistors on and re-tubed with NOS glass, and a Micro Cube brain that I installed in a larger cabinet with a Jensen P10r, and an extension cab with another P10r, to create a 2X10, 4 ohm load and wider spread. I'm keeping the MC, but still need a little more power for jamming. I'm not enjoying the EL84 characteristics of the Valve Junior. I have been a lifelong Fender guy, until I stopped playing out. The 6V6 sound works for me for its warmth and tonal spectrum.

The Valve Junior is going up for sale as soon as I sort this out. I'm leaning toward the Swart, because of the onboard reverb, but it's double the cost of the other contenders.

Any thoughts/experiences to share?

 

[Tim S]

Price limit?
Single channel or multi-channel? (you said you wanted simple)
Pedal platform or do you want your tubes to provide the overdrive?

 

[King Fan]

Can't comment on the Roland or Swart, so I'll just say a word about the 5F2a. I assume you're looking to buy? Only double-checking cuz most I see here are DIY -- they're one of the best easy builds.

A 5F2a could be nice for jazz comping. It could, set up with skill, play jazz lead in small venues too -- check out Julian Lage on his even-smaller 5F1 Champ. Set up and played with just the right touch, you *might* even get a baby version of Larry Carlton on his much bigger 5E3; listen when Julian digs in just after 3:00....



If you wanted the same simplicity with a slightly more modern clean and dirt, the *very* similar Gibson GA-5 'Skylark' circuit does that well.

 

[kuch]

I'm moving into new territory musically, and along with a Tele and a Duo-sonic, I picked up a Epiphone Emperor Regent, with a Johnny Smith pickup, to explore some silkier genres and jazz/fusion. Typically I've played Blues and Classic Rock, but now I'm older and want to expand into some new sounds.

I'm considering a couple small amps to cover the wide range I'm looking for. A few options I considered are; Tweed 5F2a, Roland JC 22, and Swart AST Jr.

I'm thinking 5W max for tube, and 20-30W if solid state. Looking for a simple circuit if going with tubes. I've only considered the Roland JC, because I am so impressed with the Micro Cube, but it still lacks some of the warmth for jazzier tones.

Currently I have an Epiphone Valve Junior, V3 that I modded the resistors on and re-tubed with NOS glass, and a Micro Cube brain that I installed in a larger cabinet with a Jensen P10r, and an extension cab with another P10r, to create a 2X10, 4 ohm load and wider spread. I'm keeping the MC, but still need a little more power for jamming. I'm not enjoying the EL84 characteristics of the Valve Junior. I have been a lifelong Fender guy, until I stopped playing out. The 6V6 sound works for me for its warmth and tonal spectrum.

The Valve Junior is going up for sale as soon as I sort this out. I'm leaning toward the Swart, because of the onboard reverb, but it's double the cost of the other contenders.

Any thoughts/experiences to share?

I've been attempting to learn some Jazz guitar over the last couple of years-haven't got far but I don't really spend that much time with it. Anyway this is what I use to try to get what I think is the "jazz guitar sound".

the neck pickup on a gibby es-330 played through a mid 70's fender vibro champ. I just got a reverb pedal to add a little dimension to the sound-which took me years to realize that maybe a pedal might sound good with this amp.

It's also an excellent amp for Rock and Roll, Blues, or any genre for that matter. Nice breakup at "home" levels.....

I also play through a 65PRRI if I want a little more headroom and sparkly cleans.

 

[nojazzhere]

I'm moving into new territory musically, and along with a Tele and a Duo-sonic, I picked up a Epiphone Emperor Regent, with a Johnny Smith pickup, to explore some silkier genres and jazz/fusion. Typically I've played Blues and Classic Rock, but now I'm older and want to expand into some new sounds.

I'm considering a couple small amps to cover the wide range I'm looking for. A few options I considered are; Tweed 5F2a, Roland JC 22, and Swart AST Jr.

I'm thinking 5W max for tube, and 20-30W if solid state. Looking for a simple circuit if going with tubes. I've only considered the Roland JC, because I am so impressed with the Micro Cube, but it still lacks some of the warmth for jazzier tones.

Currently I have an Epiphone Valve Junior, V3 that I modded the resistors on and re-tubed with NOS glass, and a Micro Cube brain that I installed in a larger cabinet with a Jensen P10r, and an extension cab with another P10r, to create a 2X10, 4 ohm load and wider spread. I'm keeping the MC, but still need a little more power for jamming. I'm not enjoying the EL84 characteristics of the Valve Junior. I have been a lifelong Fender guy, until I stopped playing out. The 6V6 sound works for me for its warmth and tonal spectrum.

The Valve Junior is going up for sale as soon as I sort this out. I'm leaning toward the Swart, because of the onboard reverb, but it's double the cost of the other contenders.

Any thoughts/experiences to share?

I think MANY different amps would do what you want, but one I KNOW would work is a Deluxe Reverb Tone Master.

 

[Engine Swap]

Princeton (or Deluxe ) Reverb

 

[wrathfuldeity]

Princeton or deluxe with a warm 12" alnico

 

[Orpheum]

Oooh Julian Lage... What a touch, what a sound! It doesn't matter the guitar or the amp...

 

[stanleyj]

Just got a used Super Champ X2 with a Jensen Jet 40 watt 10" speaker. Run my Telecaster through a Bad Monkey pedal with very low gain to give it a fat warm sound into the SCX2 Deluxe Reverb voicing. Very happy for that warm neck pickup jazz tone!

 

[timbgtr]

Quilter Aviator Cub.

 

[VintageSG]

The Laney Lionheart L5T-112 is a lot of amp in a 5 Watt package.

 

[schmee]

A used SF Champ would go as low a $350 until recently. Not sure what they are now though.

A VibroChamp XD is cheap, tube (ish) and has reverb, chorus and 16 voicings. I picked one up locally for $100 but already sold it.

Fender Vibro Champ XD 5-Watt 1x8" Guitar Combo 2007 - 2012 | Reverb

The Vibro Champ XD is a 5w combo with onboard digital effect modeling.Features: Sixteen onboard DSP effects, sixteen amp voicings, tube power, external speaker output,

reverb.com

The Roland JC22 is nice, but heavy as a brick for it's size and a lot of money for a small SS amp.

The SS Champ 40 is very popular and much cheaper and lighter. 12" speaker

Fender Champion 40 2-Channel 40-Watt 1x12" Guitar Practice Amp | Reverb

In very like new condition only been played few times. Works perfect no issues whatsoever

reverb.com

The Princeton Chorus is 25 watt stereo 2 x 10 and good at low volumes ~$150-$225

Fender Princeton Chorus Guitar Amp | eBay

No cover or foot switch included. Very clean sounding. Decent built-in chorus. Pretty loud for a little amp. Overdrive is OK. I used pedals anyway so it didn't matter. This is a LOCAL PICK-UP ONLY.

www.ebay.com

 

[T-Bone]

For a jazz amp, you might want to consider MORE power rather than reduced power for a tube amp.

The beauty of the little 5 watt tube amps is the early breakup, and beautiful tube distortion at reasonable volume levels. i think for jazz you might want what steel guitar players like—tons of glistening clean at all volume levels. If going for a tube amp you need big wattage for that.

 

[middy]

Slight overdrive is traditional for jazz guitar since that was part of Charlie Christian’s sound.
Go for the Swart. They sound gorgeous in person.

 

[wrathfuldeity]

A

Can't comment on the Roland or Swart, so I'll just say a word about the 5F2a. I assume you're looking to buy? Only double-checking cuz most I see here are DIY -- they're one of the best easy builds.

A 5F2a could be nice for jazz comping. It could, set up with skill, play jazz lead in small venues too -- check out Julian Lage on his even-smaller 5F1 Champ. Set up and played with just the right touch, you *might* even get a baby version of Larry Carlton on his much bigger 5E3; listen when Julian digs in just after 3:00....



If you wanted the same simplicity with a slightly more modern clean and dirt, the *very* similar Gibson GA-5 'Skylark' circuit does that well.

OP at 2:08 Jullian is definitely playing a small tweed se6v6 champ/princeton with some reverb coming from somewhere, e.g., small board. And the threshold between clean and some mild-mod od is going to excel with a little tweed champ being miked. Perhaps a pp6v6 princeton or deluxe works if not miked. Ime a se6v6 and a pp6v6 are two different cats...both meow but different. A bigger more efficient spkr if going for the champ un-miked depending on room fill/venue/mic. You want a simple single-ended tube amp and a bit of reverb. And maybe with some hefty transformers for some warmth and depth dimensions to the tone.

 

[SPUDCASTER]

Polytone

Usually good clean power. Great for jazz and should take pedals well.

 

[Tim S]

Polytone is the classic choice for jazz. This brand also garners acclaim in jazz circles

Home - Henriksen Amplifiers

The Henriksen Amplifiers JazzAmp is the world standard for dark, rich jazz guitar tones in an extremely powerful and portable package to cover any jazz gig. Want to know why the Henriksen JazzAmp has become the favorite guitar amp for so many gigging jazz musicians?

www.henriksenamplifiers.com

 

[PhredE]

A 'jazz tone' means a lot of different things to different players.
Can I ask which types of jazz tones do you wish to emulate ? They can range widely, say Pat Metheny vs Larry Carlton vs George Benson vs Julian Lage, etc.
If you're not targeting one certain sound, maybe get something which allows a bit of flexibility to move between a few and adapt / dial-in over time (?)
There are lots of different ways to do that, and most don't really depend on one specific type of amp. A lot tone also comes from the guitar too: setup, controls, technique, etc.

 

[King Fan]

Good point about mic-ing. And quiet sidemen, too. In addition to price and complexity mentioned in post 2, do you play out?

 

[Rowdyman]

Newer style DSL20. might want to change out the speaker,,,,

Cheers, RM