Small tube amp for Stimer

Ricardo

Hi , I need a small portable tube amp to use in conjunction with a Stimer/Manouche modele jazz. I'm after the classic late Django sound and have a budget of about £300/$600. Has anyone tried either the Fender Champion 600 or Fender Pro Junior with a Stimer - as I really like the look of these amps. Any feedback greatfully received.Thanks.

MichaelHorowitz

In my experience this is hard to beat:

Evans
RE200 Hybrid with Cover

It has a tube preaamp for the warm tube sound, a 10" speaker, 200 watts, and impossibly light at only 25lbs! You can't find that combination of features in any other amp. It's warm, loud, great bass response (10" speaker!), and so light. Most other amps this size are purely solid state and have an 8" speaker which sounds anemic by comparison. We've sold a number of these to Gypsy jazz musicians, including some nationally known performers. Everyone has been amazed at the sound of the RE200. So full warm, and clear. Sounds great with a Stimer and/or a bigtone.

'm

Stackabones

Don't know how well it'd work with the Stimer, but the Gibson Goldtone Les Paul Jr Amp has been getting great reviews.



It's definitely portable, and the look is tres hip.

badjazz

I have one of those Fender Champion 600 re-issue amps. They are between $100 and $200 and sound pretty good.

Stackabones

badjazz wrote:

I have one of those Fender Champion 600 re-issue amps. They are between $100 and $200 and sound pretty good.

Are you using a Stimer (or similar) with it?

MichaelHorowitz

badjazz wrote:

I have one of those Fender Champion 600 re-issue amps. They are between $100 and $200 and sound pretty good.

problem is it's only 5 watts. With such low power it's probably only usable as a practice amp.

'm

badjazz

I used it a few times with a dearmond. They are about as loud as a Gibson eh-150. The good thing is that they are available at a regular neighborhood guitar store, so you shouldn't have a problem checking one out if you wanted to. It definitely is not super loud, but I've found it surprisingly effective. Also, you can get a warm tube sound without earsplitting volume. They aren't the best amp in the world, but the sound good, weigh nothing, and are cheap. Very fun. One caveat, no eq, and these are set up for fender guitars.

plankity

badjazz wrote:

I used it a few times with a dearmond. They are about as loud as a Gibson eh-150. The good thing is that they are available at a regular neighborhood guitar store, so you shouldn't have a problem checking one out if you wanted to. It definitely is not super loud, but I've found it surprisingly effective. Also, you can get a warm tube sound without earsplitting volume. They aren't the best amp in the world, but the sound good, weigh nothing, and are cheap. Very fun. One caveat, no eq, and these are set up for fender guitars.

It has been my experience that EH-150's are surprisingly LOUD: they are 15 watts of Class A power, which is comparable to around 200 watts of RMS. They are very sought after because of their great tone, they are lightweight and really mic well.

That said, check eBay item #230227561908 for a cool little Fender package; sort of pricey but well worth it.

Also, I just caught (& released) a Trace Elliott Velocette (which became the Gibson Goldtone) which is another 15 watt Class A amp... the speaker was blown so I brought it back but I am convinced that this is the animal which would deliver a perfect level of tube distortion for that special tone DR was getting towards the end of his career -- almost a sax type of sound: not ripping but edgy and very slightly overdriven.

Norman CT/USA

Ken Bloom

I've been using my trusty Ampeg Reverborocket for decades now. Great tone. Loud enough in most situations though bulkier than most would like these days. Can't beat a 12" speaker though. You can often find these old Ampegs around. The old Ampeg Jet was the original small jazz amp. The first time I heard Larry Coryell playing with Gary Burton, he was using one of these. Worth looking for.

plankity

Ken Bloom wrote:

I've been using my trusty Ampeg Reverborocket for decades now. Great tone. Loud enough in most situations though bulkier than most would like these days. Can't beat a 12" speaker though. You can often find these old Ampegs around. The old Ampeg Jet was the original small jazz amp. The first time I heard Larry Coryell playing with Gary Burton, he was using one of these. Worth looking for.

Hi Ken!

We used to be an Ampeg family: my wife, Pat has a B-12 for bass and I have a Gemini I (the equivalent of a Deluxe Reverb - single 12" Jensen with delicious vibrato and spring reverb) with inputs for INSTRUMENT *or* ACCORDION (I always busted bigtime on squeeze guys with that distinction!). Still have both but I currently use a range of Trace amps, depending on the room.

BTW, fiddler Ambrose was who hipped me to the Fender/Rivera Super Champ: it packs a wallop!

Norman CT/USA

BluesBop Harry

I've used a Stimer with a Fender pro junior with good results.
Very good and loud, but the amp will start distorting if you turn the volume past 4, however I was able to play with a drummer and double bass without getting to that point.


Anyway a great amp, but beware, it is kind of heavy for its size.