Schertler Jam 200 for a trio is all you need?

[tippy5]

Hi I am looking for an amp now to go along with my incoming Felix preamp.

Is the Jam 200 good for solo, duo and trio?

I am most interested in the sound dispersement per any size room. I don't anticipate large gigs, and if so, I will use the Felix into a PA.

Is there any other amp that is clear for the Felix and my fine acoustics that has that sound dispersal? I read the L1 Bose has that in a way???

Will need to have individual vocal channel reverb control.

Any recommendations for an acoustic amp? Not too large for small to medium gigs. I could just get the Roy and do the pole mount mod if that has the warmest, woodiest and on some songs warmest modern digital effects reverb, etc...

Or possibly the AER that the esteemed Mr. Skye enjoys?

[rockabilly69]

I use that combo alot and it sounds great! 90% of the time it's a Schertler and a Grace Alix for me and it sounds great too!

[tippy5]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

I use that combo alot and it sounds great! 90% of the time it's a Schertler and a Grace Alix for me and it sounds great too!

Do you sing along with playing, assign a channel for your singing too?

I might just get the ($1,200) 3 channel Schertler and not Roy?

Wish there was a AER, BOSE, etc... room around here.

[Woodstock School Of Music]

I use the Roy live and it has excellent projection. The vocals sound great and not boxy like other amps I tried. I'm familiar with the Jam and I don't think it would be much different as far a sound quality, just not as loud.

[tippy5]

So I am still trying to decide an amp. My Felix came in. Might still go with the fine Schertler because it has the best vocal sound that I can tell from information and some utube demonstrations. I wonder if the JAM 200 has the same vocal circuit?

Or the option many of you suggest for good vocals: a stand and a powered speaker?

Since my voice is mediocre I sometimes gig with instrumental background music. I need a 2 channel acoustic loop. I like to do a lot of different improvised melodies with a EH 720 loop bass (Travis) line looped in one channel. Couple the straight loop with an effect laden channel to comp over. (I don't like Roy's effects and now do not need it's notch, or EQ).

Also going to mess around with a friend's offering. A JBL EON 1 to see if that has enough lows.
I might also try out my friend's Roland keyboard amp and an old Fender bass amp that I have around here. I also play a little piano and have a new digital 88 Key Yamaha.

If the Roy or the Jam 200 don't seem the best please let me know. I am thinking of the highly recommended QSC K8.2. Looks great for the price.

Maybe I should dig out my 2003 Mackie 6060S stereo powered monitor and passive JBL's?

[sdelsolray]

Schertler sound reinforcement/amp products are quite nice and its hard to find anything to complain about them. Schertler used to sell powered speakers, modeled after their acoustic amps, sans preamp/effects/eq circuits. Now, they offer two PA systems, each with two powered speakers for pole mounting and a sub. Perhaps one of those would suit your needs (along with a mixer).

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by tippy5

Do you sing along with playing, assign a channel for your singing too?

I might just get the ($1,200) 3 channel Schertler and not Roy?

Wish there was a AER, BOSE, etc... room around here.

Yes I am a fulltime professional musician (for over 20 years) that makes ALL of my living playing and singing. I think the Jam 200 sounds great with vocals, and I think it has the same preamp as the Roy. And the parametric EQ on that channel may help your voice. It likes high output microphones, with low output mics, you really have to crank the gain to get it into the sweet spot. Not a problem, just to let you know in advance, but , there is a gain, and a volume, on each channel along with a master volume on the amp. I also like that it has an adjustable DI out which really helps when you want to send the signal to a bigger PA system. I open up for a lot of big bands so I always seem to have to setup quick, and more importantly, break down quick so the next band can go on. Many times I opt to just send my premixed Jam 200 mix into the house system so that I can control my vocal volume myself, and I ALWAYS get complimented on my sound! I also like pairing the Jam 200 with the Schertler BASS cab when I want big bottom on the guitar. You don't really need the BASS cab, I just play REAL loud compared to a typical singer songwriter when I start rocking slide guitar blues at the end of my set. You can see my slide pieces on the BASS cab, and you can also see my Grace preamp on my pedal board. Here I am opening up for the LowDown Brass Band out of Chicago last week...



and a few months back opening for John Paul White (of the Civil Wars)...

[Spook]

For a duo or trio, go with the Schertler Roy or Acus 350. Bose would work fine as well.

I use a Grace Felix -> Schertler Jam 150 ext all the time. However a single 8" speaker has it's limits. If I'm running more than solo I prefer the extra power coverage of the Acus 350.

[tadol]

As much as I like my Jam 400, I think I’d love to try the Roy. I also would like to try adding a sub or bass to it, so our bass player could run his upright bass thru it and maybe get the response he wants to hear -

[Spook]

Originally Posted by tadol

As much as I like my Jam 400, I think I’d love to try the Roy. I also would like to try adding a sub or bass to it, so our bass player could run his upright bass thru it and maybe get the response he wants to hear -

Was thinking the Roy was just a feature improved version of the Jam 400 using the same sound producing bits? That and a pretty good price bump.

[Puerto Player]

My only complaint with Jam 200 is the mic input gain. Using an SM-58 you almost have to use a mic pre-amp to get the mic loud enough. I'd say it's 10-20x less loud than a passive guitar input. I use RNP preamp, which I like a lot, but it's because I pretty much have to.

[tadol]

Originally Posted by Spook

Was thinking the Roy was just a feature improved version of the Jam 400 using the same sound producing bits? That and a pretty good price bump.

The controls for effects and the separate reverb / effects for each channel, mute button - there are a number of tweaks that might be really nice, but nothing that makes me feel my 400 is inadequate. Yeah - its the price bump that holds me off. Got a great deal on my 400 used - I’d love to find a similar deal on a Roy -

[lkingston]

Another extremely happy Roy user here. I got mine used on eBay, but seeing one of these used is pretty rare and it is really expensive new. You really have to do the speaker stand mod as well. As compared to the Jam 400, the Roy has an extra DSP that I use on about three songs. The dispersion theoretically shouldn't be great, but in practice, it covers a large room really well. The sound quality is exquisite! A live performance is a high fidelity experience with this!

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Puerto Player

My only complaint with Jam 200 is the mic input gain. Using an SM-58 you almost have to use a mic pre-amp to get the mic loud enough. I'd say it's 10-20x less loud than a passive guitar input. I use RNP preamp, which I like a lot, but it's because I pretty much have to.

If you notice, I said the same exact thing in my post, it really likes a higher output modern mic, and even then, I run the gain at almost it's highest setting. This is even more of a problem if your cutting low mids on that channel where it seems a lot of the gain in the channel is! I am using a Shure Beta 87 and with the gain up at the top of it's setting, the channel is not distorting, and the mic sounds great. To be clear, I'm just about 1/8" of travel from it's max setting on the gain pot to get the mic where I need it. One of the things I've learned is to set up the vocal channel first. I set it for the max amount of volume I can get by setting gain first, channel volume second, and master volume third (although I do start with the master up at about the 1/2 way mark). Then I balance the guitar channel to that.

[lkingston]

You could use a FetHead or Cloudlifter to give the mic extra gain. Power it via phantom power.