View Single Post
  #12  
Old 01-07-2021, 04:32 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Staten Island, NY - for now
Posts: 14,965
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by BoneDigger View Post
...I already own a PRRI and a Vox AC30. I'm thinking a nice solid state amp for very clean tones might be fun for playing nice clean jazzy runs on an archtop. As of right now, I'm kind of leaning toward the JC22....
I tried one of these a while back when I was looking for a full-featured practice amp, and I found the sound somewhat thin and lacking in low/low-mid response - not what I'd guess you'd be looking for with a 17" full-depth carved-top; since you've got two good amps already, there are a couple of options:
  • In the thread I referenced above, I mentioned a cocktail-hour musician who ran his Epiphone ES-175 Premium through a (discontinued) Fender Frontman 25R with a replacement Eminence Lil' Buddy speaker - one of these (or a Cannabis Rex 10) in your Princeton would provide you with a mellower tonality in a full-featured all-tube practice/small-gig combo;
  • Plug into the AC30's Normal channel low-gain input, set the Master Volume to around 3:00, and dial in your sound with the Tone Cut and Channel Volume - while the Celestions (Greenback or Alnico Blue) aren't ideal jazz speakers IMO, there's more than enough power-stage grunt and headroom to get some sweet tubey-clean tones at reasonable volume;
  • If you don't want to tinker with the Princeton the TDPRI guys love these, and with an Eminence Cannabis Rex 12" replacement speaker you could have a dedicated all-tube club amp for the discounted price of the JC-22:




    https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=611815

  • Although tubes add their own euphonic coloration (the warmth, depth, and organic richness you hear in older jazz recordings, and which I personally like) some guys just prefer the more pristine analog solid-state tonality - if you're more inclined in that direction I get excellent results with my Godin CW II and a (discontinued) Fender Frontman 212R, and at $150-200 for a good used one it's a cheap way to get major headroom and "big-clean" full-range tone with classic "blackface Twin" looks:


__________________
"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool"
- Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
Reply With Quote