What Makes Polytone Amps Sound So Sweet?

[Robkay]

I was recently given a Polytone amp with two 8" speakers, it sounds really sweet. I was always under the impression that for warm jazz sounds a 15" speaker was the way to go but this makes my 15" amps sound harsh and with little bottom end.....so is it the preamp design, output stage or the sealed cab 2x8" cabinet....any thoughts?

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

Guys in sweater vests , Sport coats, with jazz boxes, arriving at casuals in four door family sedans, with a list of recording sessions a thousand kilometers long to there resumes, playing west coast interpretations of:
Cherokee and sigh

• All The Things You Are.
• Autumn Leaves.
• What Is This Thing Called Love.
• Stella By Stalight.
• On Green Dolphin Street.
• Have You Met Miss Jones.
• It Could Happen To You.
• There Will Never Be Another You.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

PT amps are just voiced for jazz. That warm, burnished tone is what they do best.

 

[Engine Swap]

Sealed back, Baxandall tone controls, and a mysterious “Dark” setting.

Intended to be an accordion amplifier.

 

[PomPomPudding]

I thought the Mini Brute 3? I forgot the model number but with a 15" speaker sounded pretty good though.

 

[Peegoo]

And it's not just for your grandpa's jazz either.

The Polytone Brute models II - V can absolutely nail that thick overdriven Gilmour tone too. No pedals necessary.

 

[brookdalebill]

They DO sound good.
I’ve never owned one, but several fiddle players I’ve known through the ages used em’.
I’ve played through a few to test them when I worked at music stores and pawn shops.
They’re on my radar.
I like a dependable, simple, good sounding amp.
Come to think of it, who doesn’t?

 

[pippoman]

My jazz teacher used one exclusively and his L5 sounded incredible through it. As has been mentioned, they’re voiced for jazz without much tweaking. I’ve never heard that they were meant for accordions; that’s interesting. I wonder why PT went out of business. Does anyone here know?

 

[Wally]

“What Makes Polytone Amps Sound So Sweet?”​

earplugs and a cup of tea with a lot of honey! (;^)…..
I have never heard a ‘sweet’ sounding Polytone. Ime/imho, they are another blah sounding solid state amp.
OEMV….others’ ears may vary.

 

[MisterZ]

Guys in sweater vests , Sport coats, with jazz boxes, arriving at casuals in four door family sedans, with a list of recording sessions a thousand kilometers long to there resumes, playing west coast interpretations of:
Cherokee and sigh

• All The Things You Are.
• Autumn Leaves.
• What Is This Thing Called Love.
• Stella By Stalight.
• On Green Dolphin Street.
• Have You Met Miss Jones.
• It Could Happen To You.
• There Will Never Be Another You.

I used to use mine (Mini-Brute II) for classic rock and prog. Never wore a sweater vest, but I *did* have a neat Syracuse University t-shirt that saw action.

And it's not just for your grandpa's jazz either.

The Polytone Brute models II - V can absolutely nail that thick overdriven Gilmour tone too. No pedals necessary.

The distortion circuit on mine was crap. Used a Ross Distortion and a '70s- vintage Big Muff to get all my toanz.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

My jazz teacher used one exclusively and his L5 sounded incredible through it. As has been mentioned, they’re voiced for jazz without much tweaking. I’ve never heard that they were meant for accordions; that’s interesting. I wonder why PT went out of business. Does anyone here know?

Their founder Tommy Gumina died. No one else was there to carry the torch. I always point to Henriksen for the current "version" of a Polytone: https://www.henriksenamplifiers.com/the-jazz-amp/

 

[pippoman]

Their founder Tommy Gumina died. No one else was there to carry the torch. I always point to Henriksen for the current "version" of a Polytone: https://www.henriksenamplifiers.com/the-jazz-amp/

They look like what a newer edition of a Polytone would look like. They’re certainly not cheap for a solid state analog, but I bet they sound great. I couldn’t even find a used one on Reverb. Jazz guys aren’t as prone to buying and selling their gear as “normal” players I guess.

 

[stormsedge]

2x8"

I do not know the answer, but have 2 DV Mark 2x8" I really like. A completely different sound than the 15inchers I have.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

They look like what a newer edition of a Polytone would look like. They’re certainly not cheap for a solid state analog, but I bet they sound great. I couldn’t even find a used one on Reverb. Jazz guys aren’t as prone to buying and selling their gear as “normal” players I guess.

You might see someone putting one up for sale on the jazz guitar forum: https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/

 

[Twang-ineer]

As a bass player who plays guitar as well.... I am always interested in gear that can do both. When I discovered the DV Mark 2x8 I was over the moon with the guitar tone..... then I plugged in my fretless jazz and I knew that I had just found my new sound.

 

[radiocaster]

Probably the cab design and speakers mostly.

 

[middy]

The size of the speaker only affects volume, really. The tiny drivers in your headphones reproduce deep bass not because they are big, but because they are moving at less than 100 cycles per second.
A long throw can compensate for speaker size in volume, so some of today’s high performance 12” bass speakers can move as much air as the 2x15s of the 60s.

 

[Travis1972]

I had a brute I just never really
Bonded with for any of my guitars besides my es150 , played a pt Taurus that didn’t sound bad .I swapped my brute and a few bucks for a jazzcat and have never regretted it Great home amp even with the rather meh efx section

 

[Rockinvet]

I had one once. It was ok but did not leave a lasting impression on me. It was handy to carry to ensemble class though. From what I recall it was pretty light.

 

[Trenchant63]

I have Evans amps which are my “boring, SS jazz amps” except - I use them for everything from jazz to country, worship, electric nylon string, and rock. They sound fantastic with a nice OD/distortion pedal with the EQ set properly. My favorite is the 10” speaker version.