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infy
5
Jun 30, 2016
So, this is a solid state amp for clean players. It falls under that category of 'portable' Jazz amps. But what exactly is the technology that this amp offers that makes it command the price of standard amps that are 'staple' now like the Fender Bassbreaker, Hot Rod Deluxe, Roland Blues Cube, Jazz Chorus, Egnater Tweaker, Marshall DSL40c and the like?
Wattage doesn't equate to volume at all, the fact that this is 150W doesn't actually mean anything. In fact, I guarantee a Fender Blues Junior III 15W or the Bassbreaker 15W would be far louder.
I'm just confused by the vague video and spec, as to what the actual selling point of this amp is? It can't just be the non-standard EQ that drives the price up by $500-600. It seems like it's just a standard solid state amp with a non standard EQ and overall, fairly sub-standard I/O.
nicpope
448
Jun 30, 2016
infyI'd go so far to say this amp is intended for clean players, acoustic instruments (of any type really), or a few electric players that use complex pedalboards and are looking for a purer recreation of what is coming out of their board. It certainly isn't going to break up like any of the tube amps you mentioned.
Wattage doesn't directly equate to loudness, but it is pretty nifty for telling how loud something can get if you consider a couple of other factors. A blues junior or a bassbreaker get really loud at 15 watts because they are all distorted to heck and back, which we love about them. If you intend for your amp to be clean you're going to need a lot more power to reach an equal loudness level without going into full blown distortion town which is why this one is 150w.
cpmitc4
0
Jun 30, 2016
nicpopeI don't understand the price either. This seems comparable to a late 90s Peavey as far as features and functionality.
I agree, wattage doesn't have a linear association with SPL, but don't associate the overdrive of a cheap valve amp with the advertised wattage of the amp. Nearly all overdrive on those comes from the 12AX7s in the preamp section. In the newer mass produced amps, they cold bias the hell out of the power amp tubes to get more life out of cheap chinese valves. Typically very little power amp overdrive, which is the section the wattage is describing.
Back to this amp, for 1k, you're in used silverface twin reverb territory with a budget left for service if you find a good deal.
oldgearhead
233
Jul 1, 2016
cpmitc4Or a 65 Twin Reverb reissue, which is what I have.
infy
5
Jul 1, 2016
nicpopeI don't mean to undermine everything you just said but I'm going to undermine everything you just said. I have no foul intentions but I can't allow you to blindly lie in my face as a guitarist of 15 years.
I think you'd be surprised how loud a Fender amp can get and still be crystal clean. I have a USA Hot Rod Deluxe 40W 1x12 and I can't even turn it past 1 and that is gigging volume. That's volume efficiency. Yes, it's heavy. Yes, it's a stadium amp. Yes, it's cheaper. I won't go citing the massive list of Jazz artists that use Fender amps because it would encompass this entire post, but you get the picture.
A 15W Bassbreaker wouldn't just be louder, clean, because of any misconception in wattage discrepancy, it would be louder because it has a larger, more efficient speaker. A 12" ceramic magnet Celestion V-Type none the less, that speaker on its own is $100, the Eminence Beta 6.5" speaker found in this amp is only $60 of the cost, again making me question where the money actually goes in this amp.
The speaker in this amp is not a guitar voiced speaker, it is a speaker you would find in an Active PA system as a Bass or Midrange driver. But don't listen to me on that, here's the spec sheet. http://www.eminence.com/speakers/speaker-detail/?model=Beta_6A
Also, the alternatives use Valves, which means you get a beautiful, dynamic harmonic response. This is something solid state amps can not do.
Not gonna lie, I don't need to own either amp to say that this wouldn't even come close to the volume of the 15W Bassbreaker, clean, purely based on the speaker size. I've played enough small speakers to know. This is an amp aimed directly at the small-gigs-only Jazz artists with more money than sense, it was a fad started at last years Spring NAMM show and it didn't catch on. This is not the only amp in this category that didn't catch on and is 'on sale' now.
If I was a Jazz artist and I was going for beautiful cleans for small gigs, I'd be going with the all-new for this year Roland 'JC-40' Stereo Jazz Chorus 2x10" 40W. Yes, Roland brought it back. It's a better amp in all regards bar portability.
If you want something that does this job of being a perfectly clean representation of what you are producing, do yourself a favour and buy a small active PA, because that's all this is.
Sorry.
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