Phil Jones bass amps

[Bassnut62]

HI all,

 

I recently got a Phil Jones BG-110 20w 2x5 combo for practice at home and am SO impressed with it. I am now tempted to get a full Phil Jones rig. Maybe just one of their powered monitors to amplify the BG-110 or maybe a bigger combo. I'd use it for small to medium size gigs and maybe recording too. I am thinking of getting power up to 250w or 500w.

 

I want to know:

• How well they stand up to fat bass tones (from a '79 MusicMan Stingray or an AVRI62 Jazz Bass)?
• How well they cut through a mix on stage?
• Whether they have enough headroom to cope with small-to-medium gigs?

 

What are your thoughts and experiences of Phil Jones gear?

Thanks.

[Dan Dare]

I had a similar experience to yours - bought a small PJB combo, liked what it did and decided to try a full rig.

 

You can certainly do it, but it won't be cheap. They will deal with fat tones happily, but you'll need a few of those small drivers to shift enough air in a live situation. The good news is that they often come up used and, as they are often bought by jazzers and non-headbangers, they are usually in good shape and have not been caned.

 

They cut through very well on stage in my experience. However, I am playing in a soul band and doing functions, pubs and clubs. I am not competing with heavy-handed drummers or guitar players. Your situation may be different.

 

They also project well into a room. I used to play in the house band at a local jam night and it surprised me how well my two PJB 4x5 cabs filled the space when I listened to others playing. 

 

If you want to make a bit of noise, especially with fat, low-end heavy tones, you will need a few drivers as I mention above. I have five 4x5 PJB cabs and run three or more of them when I want to shift some air. They are inefficient, so you will need powerful amplification. If you buy the PJB powered cabs, that will be taken care of, but if not, you need at least 250W per 4x5 cab to get them singing.

 

I'm not so keen on PJB amps. I find them a bit too hi-fi. I use Aguilar and/or Carvin amps, plus a PA power amp if needed, which give me the warmer, more old-school tone I prefer.

[Bassnut62]

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Hi Dan,

 

Thanks for your very helpful reply.

 

I am mostly playing Soul, Funk, Americana, Blues, even some Country and some Reggae, with a hint of Rock now and again, and mostly small local gigs. So it sounds like the bigger PJB powered combos and active monitors will do the trick well. I am not interested in just a PJB amp. I currently run an old Bassman rig with a big old 15" alnico JBL D140 in the (actually MusicMan) cab; so reckon the PJB gear would be a lot easier to wield, especially as I'm in my 60s now!

 

Coincidentally, I had been looking at the Aguilar TH amp and cabs too, and like their sound. 

How do you think the PJB compares to the Aguilar?

 

It would be sad not to have cooking valves for bass anymore, but it may be time to join the modern world! And I still have some nice old valve amps for guitar anyway.

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6 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

I had a similar experience to yours - bought a small PJB combo, liked what it did and decided to try a full rig.

 

You can certainly do it, but it won't be cheap. They will deal with fat tones happily, but you'll need a few of those small drivers to shift enough air in a live situation. The good news is that they often come up used and, as they are often bought by jazzers and non-headbangers, they are usually in good shape and have not been caned.

 

They cut through very well on stage in my experience. However, I am playing in a soul band and doing functions, pubs and clubs. I am not competing with heavy-handed drummers or guitar players. Your situation may be different.

 

They also project well into a room. I used to play in the house band at a local jam night and it surprised me how well my two PJB 4x5 cabs filled the space when I listened to others playing. 

 

If you want to make a bit of noise, especially with fat, low-end heavy tones, you will need a few drivers as I mention above. I have five 4x5 PJB cabs and run three or more of them when I want to shift some air. They are inefficient, so you will need powerful amplification. If you buy the PJB powered cabs, that will be taken care of, but if not, you need at least 250W per 4x5 cab to get them singing.

 

I'm not so keen on PJB amps. I find them a bit too hi-fi. I use Aguilar and/or Carvin amps, plus a PA power amp if needed, which give me the warmer, more old-school tone I prefer.

 

[ra0ulduke]

I really like the concept of the Phil Jones combos. Am I correct in understanding that the 450/250 watt model with the 5" speakers is the most powerful? Are 5" speakers really big enough for a live performance?

[Dan Dare]

3 hours ago, Bassnut62 said:

 

 

 

The PJB amps are cleaner/more "hi fi" sounding than Aguilars in my experience. The difference between them and mine (AG700) are not great, but noticeable. The difference between them and the THs will be greater. If you like your Bassman, a TH would be worth trying. Many years ago, I ran a Bassman 135 with a 2x15. Great rig, but I'd struggle to move it around nowadays, especially as I don't have a Volvo estate any longer.

 

I find the slight warmth of the Aguilar is a good match for the clean PJB cabs. It gives them a bit more character. Ditto my Carvin.

 

Aguilar cabs are good, but they are expensive for what they are. You do pay for the name and the fact that they are made in the US.

 

If you're looking at spending PJB/Aguilar money, you should definitely try before buying. If you have some nice valve amps, I'd like to hear them with PJB cabs.

[Dan Dare]

3 hours ago, ra0ulduke said:

I really like the concept of the Phil Jones combos. Am I correct in understanding that the 450/250 watt model with the 5" speakers is the most powerful? Are 5" speakers really big enough for a live performance?

 

Yes, but you need plenty of them. In terms of driver surface area, a 4x5 is the same as a 1x10. I appreciate that surface area isn't the only important thing. Excursion also plays a part. I have no problem making enough noise with my PJB 5" drivers, but I use up to five 4x5 cabs depending on how loud I need to be. In practice, four is the most I have needed. I usually use two or three.

 

I don't know which PJB combo is the most powerful, but the specs will tell you. PJB cabs are inefficient, so you do need power to drive them properly.

[Bassnut62]

Yup, humping the Bassman rig around is a bugger. I used to run my 135 with a Bassman vertical 2x15 cab, but it could fart out. I glued & screwed all the seems to full lengths of 1x2 and braced the baffle to the back panel with three lengtts of 2x2; this made a huge difference.... no farting and tone to die for; but it took two to move it! Even my 1x15 and that heavy head is getting a bit much to lump about now; hence the likely move to modern gear, and I probably don't want to even try to recreate that Bassman tone, as I think I will only be disappointed and always be thinking of the Bassman. I really like the hifi transparency of the PJB gear and am amazed so far at how well those little 5" neo speakers can hold the bottom end at home, through my PJB BG110 (2x5 and 20w).

 

Luckily I have two very good basses that produce plenty of natural tone, and happy to just hear that.

 

One Q...isn't 4x5" the equivalent of 1x20" or 2x10"?

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Bassnut62

[ezbass]

I started with a Cub (2x5) as a practise tool, then added the PB300, powered cab and gigged that a lot. I then replaced the Cub with a Bass Buddy for an even smaller rig, which also did the job fine, but I finally ended up with a Flightcase (4x5) on top of the PB300 as I liked the idea of having a more powerful head for when I don’t need the ‘big rig’. Every version of my PJ setups have never failed to deliver, whether using a 5 stringer or an octave box, there’s plenty of clear, low end. For complete transparency, in case you haven’t guessed already, I’m a Phil Jones fanboy, but with good reason.

[Bassnut62]

Hi ezbass / PJfanboy!

 

Thank you for your share.....I am seriously looking at a more powerful PJ combo for light gigging and adding a powered monitor for bigger gigging. I love the transparent tone, and can barely believe that I am saying that of a solid state amp. The only other solid state bass amp I've ever liked was a huge old Accoustic rig with horns on top and a 1x18 on the bottom, and I think it was 2x12 n the middle.

[ezbass]

The ‘big rig’ hiding behind my bass at my last gig.

[Dan Dare]

2 hours ago, Bassnut62 said:

One Q...isn't 4x5" the equivalent of 1x20" or 2x10"?

 

It's equivalent to a 1x10 in terms of cone area, but things such as excursion are also relevant. In practice, I've never found a 1x10 that betters one of my C4s or 4Bs. I felt a couple were equivalent - the baby Barefaced was one - but none were superior. That's imho, obviously.