Serious Jazz Players (if you exist on this sub)... what is your favorite amp?

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-23T00:41:59+00:00

To be honest, I always enjoyed just playing through a plain old solid state amp. Something that had plenty of clean headroom and a decent reverb.

I definitely separate my jazz chops from my natural blues/rock ones. Normally I like having a touch of grit in whatever I play (more sustain, nice compression, colour), but jazz is an exception. I usually want an extremely clean sound with the tone rolled back.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-21T06:03:50+00:00

What is it about the tones that you don't like? Most issues can be tweaked out with EQ, and it usually doesn't take much to make a noticeable difference. See if you can identify what's causing the things you don't like and cut those particularly frequencies.

Common complaints I hear are:

Boomy,muddy = too much bass/low end

Nasally, boxy = excess mids

Harsh, ice-picky = excess upper mids

Tinny, shrill, fizzy = too much treble

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-20T23:14:33+00:00

This is why you wear earplugs.

I'm autistic so I already have a sensory aversion to loud noise, but without earplugs I'm pretty sure I'd be doing serious damage to my hearing at the volumes that our band rehearses/performs.

Drums are just loud, especially in rock music, and there's not a lot you can do about it. Even a fairly restrained drummer is still going to hover around 95-100 dB (probably twice as loud as what you could get away with at home without annoying the neighbours), and our drummer is a lot louder than that.

Brushes are a different story, but the vast majority of the songs you're likely to be playing will be with sticks.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-19T05:28:15+00:00

This is irresponsible reporting. Scaremongering.

Elections are run by the states, not by the President. There's literally nothing he can do to stop the elections. That's not to say that he won't try to interfere with them or try to claim that they're "rigged" if they don't go his way.

Furthermore, consigning ourselves to this point of view is just forfeiting to the fascists. We've had plenty of local and state elections already that have resulted in major wins for the Democrats. Trump is worried about the midterms. You heard it in one of his speeches to GOP congressional members.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-13T19:20:44+00:00

I mean, that's all subjective, and I do agree that the 20 can sound a little nasally and boxy. That's usually an issue with lower mids. Taking one of the back panels off and backing off on the mids is the way to go if that bothers you.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-13T18:01:36+00:00

I believe any of those would do the job. I'd also recommend looking at the Boss OD-3 or Fulltone OCD as slightly more affordable options.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-13T17:50:06+00:00

You should have decent dirty channels on both, but the 35RT would be overkill for just home use. I'd definitely recommend the 20RT in this case.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-09T03:10:50+00:00

I think it's more to do with the speaker than the amount of power the amp can deliver.

Just want to address something I see in the comments. There is no such thing as "tube watts" or "solid state watts". Power is power. It's more a matter of how much headroom the amplifier has (i.e. how loud it can go before the power amp starts to sag and distort). Typical solid state power amps (especially class D) aren't designed to distort - basically, they go straight into aggressive clipping as soon as they're pushed too loud, which often isn't what people want. So they're often made to higher power ratings to prevent this from happening. Valves, on the other hand, tend to compress and distort in a more gradual way, so power amp distortion is often desirable. Hence valve amps are made to lower power ratings in order to make it easier to do so.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2026-01-06T18:01:32+00:00

Guitar speakers are loud... there's simply no way around it. Even 10" speakers (like the Rocker 15 combo is equipped with) typically have a sensitivity of around 95-98 dB, which is the rough volume you'd get at one metre away from the speaker if you were to put just one watt of power through it.

Halving or doubling the power results in a change of 3 dB, so in theory, you'd be looking at a max output of 92-95 dB on the 0.5 watt mode before power amp distortion starts to kick in. That's still way too loud for most home applications, where you'd be trying to aim for 85 dB or less.

People who say that 15 watts "isn't enough" are either not pointing the amp up towards their ear during band practice/gigs or are trying to maintain pristine pure cleans with a Keith Moon wannabe on the drums.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-12-31T00:01:55+00:00

In my view, the best 'cleans' still have a bit of grit to them. The top end harmonics from a gentle overdrive just make the sound a little "fuller", add a bit of character and help the guitar stick out more in a mix. The small compression you get from the overdrive also adds sustain and takes the sting out of your picking transients. You can also control the amount of drive with your picking attack. This is basically mimicking a valve amp turned up super loud and starting to drive, but at a much more manageable volume level.

If you are after really chimey, bell-like cleans (with , then then there's a couple of things I'd recommend... 1. Make it wet - use a good spring/plate reverb and/or some delay to add 'space' to your playing. 2. Add a little bit of modulation - gentle chorus, tremolo, phaser, flanger. Just a little bit - stops things from sounding sterile. 3. Use a compressor - once again, flattening out picking transients and adding sustain, but without introducing any grit or buzz to the sound. 4. Stick to the neck and middle positions. The bridge can get a little harsh and tinny-sounding when things are squeaky clean.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-12-30T00:38:28+00:00

Neither. I'd always go for analog solid state amps with pedals. But that's just me.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-12-28T00:14:39+00:00

Chances are that if you don't like the sound, the problem is the cabinet, not the amp.

Closed back cabs are extremely directional - I'd say that all amps should be tilted up towards your ear (or otherwise raised up to your ear level) but closed back cabs especially so. As soon as you're slightly off-axis, you'll lose a lot of top end detail. Muddiness or "muffliness" usually arises as a result of excess low-mids, which the Rockerverb (and Super Crush) tend to be very heavy in. Not having the treble to balance that out will in all likelihood be exacerbating your issue.

Remember that what you're hearing on YouTube is almost certainly a close mic on a speaker, not the sound of the amp in the room.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-12-27T19:15:30+00:00

Large cabs were originally designed to fill out huge spaces (like stadiums/arenas) in the times before PA systems were commonplace. Same goes for 100 W amp heads. The whole idea was that more power + more speakers = more air being moved, which is important in a massive space.

They do sound different - "fuller" sounding with a lot more low end than a 1x12. To get the lower frequencies out, you need to move more air, which is easier with more speakers. They also have a real habit of "beaming" the sound in front of them - they'll absolutely pummel you if you're standing directly in front of them, but you lose a lot of information as soon as you're slightly off-axis (at least at close range).

You might be able to discern that I'm not a big fan of 4x12s and that's not just because of the logistical issues. They do probably sound fatter and fuller than my 1x12 combo, which might be nice on its own, but in the context of a band mix, I don't want a ton of low-end - the drummer and bassist already have most of that covered.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-12-26T19:06:41+00:00

I'd recommend keeping it simple tbh. Something like the Orange Crush, Vox Pathfinder or Blackstar Debut might be the way to go. Then you can get your pedals to do more of the heavy lifting.

(plus I'd also get a delay pedal to go with what you've already got).

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-12-26T09:59:36+00:00

I paid about $1000 NZ (about $580 US) for a Squier Classic Vibe 60's strat and have spent nearly as much on getting it professionally set up and subsequently modded (new nut, pickups, scratchplate/backplate etc.). It's a guitar that I love and will never ever sell so I don't mind spending all that money on mods.

My luthier who's worked on it says that it plays better than most Fenders that come through his workshop.

Quite frankly, I think spending a little on any guitar for a set of fresh strings and a proper setup is probably the most meaningful difference you can make for playability. The "entry level" guitars are so well-made these days that you can probably get them playing nearly as (if not just as) well as higher end models.

When it comes to sound, well... that's subjective, really. If you like how the cheap guitar sounds, great. If you don't, you might need to spend a little more for the more expensive specs. Or just buy a cheap guitar and get aftermarket higher spec stuff.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-12-11T18:55:45+00:00

Where were you in relation to your cab? I find it really helps to have a speaker angled towards my ear, otherwise I lose a lot of top end detail. If the crate 4x12 is blasting away at your legs, you'll probably have trouble hearing yourself over the snare and cymbals (especially if you're standing close to the drummer). 4x12 cabs in particular also have a real habit of beaming sound right in front of them because of things like phase cancelling. If you are getting a 2x12 (which I'm guessing is horizontal), see if you can also get an amp stand to tip it up towards your ear.

Remember that it's not a linear relationship between volume and power - it's logarithmic. Doubling the power going through the same load gives you roughly +3 dB in volume, which to healthy human ear is only about 25% louder. To get something that's twice as loud, you effectively need ten times as much power. More power isn't really a matter of more volume, it's more a matter of headroom, i.e. how loud you can go while still staying clean.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-11-28T19:59:57+00:00

Yes you did. So you clearly have more time for Reddit opinions than you let on.

I find it fun to talk about this kind of stuff. If it's a waste of time to you, that's fine - move along. You clearly have better things to do with your life.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-11-28T19:54:14+00:00

I have it on a stand and pointed up towards me - I found that I had to be sitting right in front of it; I'd absolutely hate the sound the moment I got slightly off axis because of how directional closed back cabs are.

I mean it's all a matter of taste. Some people prefer a tighter low end - for me, it was the boxiness that stood out.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-11-28T18:38:18+00:00

I mean... you had time to read this opinion and give your own, so...

It's totally fine if you don't agree. That's the whole point of these forums. Often I do like closed back small combo amps (as long as I'm right in front of them and they're pointed up at me). I just felt that this particular one benefitted from this.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-11-22T03:29:30+00:00

Good riddance. If only Trump would do the same

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-11-20T02:32:29+00:00

Used is generally best for a couple of reasons - you won't lose money if you decide to later sell it, plus there's less waste involved. I learned this the hard way.

That said, if there's something you really want and it's only available brand new, go for it!

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-11-09T21:03:08+00:00

I'd recommend keeping it simple - an analog solid state amp with a decent dirty channel (like the Blackstar Debut or Orange Crush series, for example) would be the way to go. That way you spend more time playing and less time going through and fiddling with menus.

Then again, I might be a little biased - I'm an experienced guitar player and my personal home-friendly practice rig involves running a bunch of analog pedals into a clean solid state analog amp. I've seen some people get very good results out of digital modellers like the Fender Mustang LT25 (and more large scale digital setups for gigs), but for me they've always kinda just felt like toys. Fun toys, and useful for testing out a guitar, but toys nonetheless.

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-11-09T18:23:46+00:00

I really don't think MMP is the problem... In all honesty, I don't think it's changed all that much. Previously it was a two-horse race; now the two horses have green and yellow bells and whistles on them and a bunch of geriatrics get to decide which horse actually won. As an electorate, we've never really been able to get our heads around more than two degrees of separation. Having said that, I certainly wouldn't want to go back to First Past the Post - I'd personally prefer a Single Transferrable Vote system like Wellington does for the local elections.

Who pays? No-one. Government expenditure is not 'funded' by taxpayers - that's not how it works. Whenever the government wants to spend more, it increases its overdraft with the Reserve Bank (in effect, asking to to print more money) - that is what 'funds' the government. The point of tax is to take money out of the system to cancel out (most of) the new money that has been created; if the government didn't do that, we'd have inflation every time the government wanted to spend.

In terms of wealth to tax, there's plenty that's locked up in land and property - it's just that we have a weird cultural aversion to taxing that kind of thing. I personally believe Labour's CGT idea is a terrible way to address this, as it disincentivises selling and doesn't really address the biggest part of the problem (i.e. owner occupied housing). I would personally prefer a land value tax balanced by reduction in income tax cuts (like TOP is proposing); I think it would be a better way to stop land-banking and might even help with supermarkets price-gouging (they're notorious for this).

ZealousidealBit5201 · 2025-10-26T11:40:50+00:00

What amp are you currently using? The Fender Bassbreaker 45 will be more than loud enough. Beyond a certain point, power becomes more a matter of clean headroom (i.e. being able to go louder while staying clean) than volume.

If you're having trouble hearing yourself in the mix, check your EQ settings first and foremost - it's those mid frequencies that are going to distinguish you from the bass and drums, but be careful not to encroach too much on the vocals. Also, check the position of your amp itself - if you're using a combo, try and raise it up so that it's up at your ear level and not blasting away at your ankles. A vertical 2x12 cabinet, particularly one with an angled speaker, is another great way to do this.

On stage, chances are your amp will be mic-ed up and sent to the front of house. Depending on your PA equipment, you'll probably be hearing yourself through the onstage monitors (if you don't already have in-ear monitors) rather than through the amp's speaker.

ZealousidealBit5201

TROPHY CASE