Phil Jones Bass amps

[lofty]

Hi all I wondered if anyone has tried out the Phil Jones bass amps ?

I am thinking about buying a super flight case 300 watt combo because it only weighs 33 pounds

Which is a hell of a lot lighter than my Fender BXR 200 combo.

I live in the Bristol area so I going to try them at Mickleburgh Ltd Stokes croft Bristol

as they have a good range in stock

so I will be able to A- B them against each other.

Has anyone got any opinions on this gear



Cheers Lofty.

[alexclaber]

Phil Jones is a proper guru and makes extremely high quality gear. His Briefcase/Flightcase/Super Flightcase models are designed for maximum depth and clarity from a small box, so although the wattage is high they don't go all that loud. His other models are more oriented towards the typical balance of loudness and depth for their size. I've been wanting a Briefcase ever since I first exchanged emails with him back in 2003.

Alex

[BassBod]

I've only tried the briefcase - but I was disappointed. The design is ingenious..the sound quality is great..but I could never use it for anything but the very quietest of acousticy gigs or personal practice. Its too expensive for that. A used GK microbass combo is much more usable, which is a shame.

Having said that, as a confirmed DI box addict/snob I'd love to have a Bass Buddy - looks potentially fantastic.

Try it and see what you think?

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='BassBod' post='529832' date='Jul 1 2009, 06:23 PM']Having said that, as a confirmed DI box addict/snob I'd love to have a Bass Buddy - looks potentially fantastic.[/quote]

My most-used piece of kit ... ever!

I play through mine every evening and I'd be using it as my main pre-amp if it weren't for the Demeter sitting in my rig.

[Mr. Foxen]

I'd like one of those 24x5 fridges, not sure if they are Doom though.

[machinehead]

I tried the Suitcase (I think it was the Suitcase, 4 front-firing speakers, 300 wattts)

Lovely sound, looked extremely well engineered. Very clear sound.

The reason I didn't buy was because it simply wasn't loud enough for even pub gigs. (IMO of course, others will disagree)

Frank.

[BassBod]

Bass Buddy vs Demeter....that's the sort of choice I would like. With me the equivalent would be Raven Labs DI vs Alembic F2B - makes me glad to be a bass player!

[escholl]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='529876' date='Jul 1 2009, 07:24 PM']I'd like one of those 24x5 fridges, not sure if they are Doom though.[/quote]

they are if you get 5 of them. and get them out of a skip. after being in an industrial fire. and left in a swamp. etc, etc...

[JPJ]

I use a bass buddy for home practice, recording etc and its probably the best pound for pound preamp I've used with the most musical single knob compressor for bass ever (imho).

Its so good, I have one eye permanently open in case one of his 19" rack pre's comes up for sale on eBay or here.

I havent tried any of the other kit, but have four eight inch speakers which may find their way into a purpose built BK powered cab to be mated to the bass buddy for those intimate acoustic fretlessy type gigs which I have always imagined playing but never quite got around to.

[MacDaddy]

I had the Dalek. A m-500 head into an 8T and 16B.

Awesome tone, it's all there, if anything there is too much tonal choice . I miss the limiter too.

I only got rid of it because it wouldn't fit in to my new car.

[lofty]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='529794' date='Jul 1 2009, 05:32 PM']Phil Jones is a proper guru and makes extremely high quality gear. His Briefcase/Flightcase/Super Flightcase models are designed for maximum depth and clarity from a small box, so although the wattage is high they don't go all that loud. His other models are more oriented towards the typical balance of loudness and depth for their size. I've been wanting a Briefcase ever since I first exchanged emails with him back in 2003.

Alex[/quote]

I have tried the superflight and the suitcase with the 4b cab and I was knocked out !

Astonishing sound and clarity for somthing so compact.

I am going to go back and check out the M300 head and 8B cab at my local store Mickleburgh ltd Bristol.

Will let you know what the verdict is, cant drag the BXR 200 around for much longer to heavy..

[JD1]

Just yesterday tried my suitcase out at some show rehearsals with a full band (in a sports centre) for the first time. I had to drive it quite hard but it was loud enough with some in reserve and with no sign of breaking up. I don't think it would hack it for higher volume stuff though, but as Alex points out that's not its forte.

The compressor is very good and there was a surprising amount of bottom end for the size of it. Sound is very clear.

Twin channels with separate gain and EQ are really useful as there are some fretless tunes in the show and some quick changes are needed.

Downside its a bit weighty for the size (although its very well made) and I'm not sure about the voicing on some of the graphic pre-sets (although that's probably just me and I'm sure there is some science to the chosen frequencies).

Mute switch(es) would be nice and a DI level.

Despite that (and its early days), I'm quite impressed - at least for theatre work and lower volume applications.

[BarnacleBob]

I have a briefcase combo for use in my little studio/practicing and I really like it - the graphic gives a top notch response.
however as volume goes it doesn't like my Warwick Dolphin - way too quiet, nor my Wal Pro - have to switch the coil tap on or it breaks up at F# and G but with My Status T-bass ( active jazz clone with hum cancelling pup) it is awesome really loud and clear!

I am old school tho for live - I think bass needs to shift air and a lot of it! So 5 and 10 inchers (oo-er missus) only good for adding a bit of clarity and top end in my book, but hey what do I know?


BB

Edited July 31, 2009 by BarnacleBob

[teej]

Anyone using one with an upright?

Presently I just go straight into the pa (yamaha stagepas 500) via fishman pre with an underwood pick-up. We're not loud anyway, and that's fine 90% of the time (I also get a better sound from the pa than my mini-brute). Sometimes I wonder about adding a smaller backline into the equation (pre-amp has xlr and jack outputs), maybe the flightcase, for just a little more and for monitoring.

[thodrik]

When I saw the stuff at first, my first thought was 'gimmicky', but but after I tried the briefcase I was very much impressed. One of my mates is planning to pick one up as he is starting to do teaching and needs an amp to carry about from lesson to lesson.

I have not tried the bigger cabs yet, but something tells me I would still pick a big 12 or 15 inch speaker over them, but that is just me being a traditionalist. If I was (a);doing gigs on the upright, or (; doing some small acoustic type gigs, I would consider the suitcase or briefcase. However, I've not done an upright gig in 5 years and don't see myself ever doing the acoustic thing.

The Bass Buddy is probably most tempting though, for a luxury headphone practice tool, it would be that or the EBS Microbass I think. Just now I've got a cheap Park/Marshall 25 watt thing thats lasted 11 years, and until my finances change, I think it will be around a lot longer than that!