Hi there,

I would need a nice amp for my Higway 1 Stratocaster. I am looking for something with very nice smooth but rich tone. I would like to play music with almost jazz sound (even fingerstyle, chord melody) without any effect, maybe just the reverb or something like that. I need it for playing in cafes, retaurants, hotels, so I don't need anything big (I will have to carry it), maybe 20 watts can be enough. Everyone says, tube amp is the best, so maybe I would like this kind. Two channels would be nice, as I could plug guitar and microphone or guitar duo into it. Is it possible to buy anything like that for about 500 €?

Do you have any recommendations?
Thanks


PS: Browsing the Fender page I saw G-DEC® 3 Thirty BLUES. It should also have some accompaniments for jamming. Do you know anything like that? It could be quite practical for a solo musician as I am. But it has just one channel, input for a microphone would be better.

Forget the amp. In my opinion the Hwy1 is the wrong guitar for a finger style, chord melody type jazz tone. Those pickups are hot and are designed with drive in mind.

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Bill

nothing that a set of lace sensors wouldnt fix.
as for the amp, if you really need that aux input for mic or other stuff, you´ll go GDEC route.
if you doesnt really need the aux input, go blues junior, or even a pro junior but the projr doesnt got reverb.

The Blues Jr. is a great amp for smaller venues and the reverb is very good,it also is a perfect amp for jazz and a hollow body Jazz box is what would really sound great through one.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I think the Fender Strat could be used for your style of play with the right amp. If you can afford one, a Fender Deluxe Reverb or the Deluxe Reverb reissue. Also another famed jazz amp is the Brute by Polytone. Larry Carlton used a strat and a Fender Tweed Deluxe 5e3 back in the day for his studio rich sound.

I own a HWY1 and I agree it's definately a hot sounding guitar that really wins in hte hard rock and overdrive sound. Having said that, you can do a lot with a tone knob. I get a bit warmer sound when I turn the tone down a bit and use position 2 & 4.

As for amps I'm a big fan of the Peavey Delta Blues or one of Peavey's Classic series amps. I used to know a guy in Kansas City who used a bass amp as his guitar amp.

I hope this helps.

Paris

The Tweed Bassman was designed as a bass amp.

_________________
Bill

For a jazz tone you'll want a lot more amp than a Blues Junior. You want an amp that can play at a reasonable volume with the tone controls all tweaked without the amp breaking up into an overdriven tone. Roland JC120 comes to mind. Very popular in jazz circles. You may also want to consider trading in your Strat for a hollow or semi-hollow body guitar with an arched spruce top.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

+1

The Hwy 1 and Blues Jr are definitely the wrong choice for a mellow jazz tone.

_________________
Bill

Yes, the JC120 is a great suggestion for jazz, probably the best ss amp ever. For a tube amp I would think that a Princeton Reverb Reissue would be a good one also, single channel just for guitar though. The PRRI is small/light, great spring reverb, tube rectifier and tube vibrato, and has a great clean tone for jazz and small places. I don't know if using the same amp for a mic and a guitar would be a good idea.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

I own a Peavey Classic 30, and I can get some nice warm jazz tones out of it. Mine has an aftermarket attenuator added to it too so I can dial in as much or little breakup as I want at whatever volume.

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Hi there.

As many have said, the HWY 1 is a hot loaded guitar, but it can be made to do just fine. I would suggest you look into getting a Paper and oil cap, a 47pf one to give more range.
The tone knob is your friend here, but I am sure you know that.
If the output is too hot, the volume knob down to 8 can help pull it back to clean.

As top amp, Fender makes some fines amp, but the ones you would want are far outside the price range you listed.
So I will suggest you look at a Peavey Delta blues 210.
Two channel, very sweet clean and a nice drive. It has reverb and a on board tremolo.
The channel and tremolo are foot switchable with the optional foot switch.
It is a 30 watt EL84 amp, and you can plug in a extension cab if you need more volume.
the Peavey Classic 50 212 can be had used in your price range as well, and is a fine amp, just no tremolo and the reverb is foot switchable.

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Marriage is like playing cards...

At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

But in the end, all you really want is a Club and a Spade.

Thanks for your suggestions. Firstly I would like to say, I am able to play with a smooth sound with may Highway 1 Stratocaster. When I use Roland Micro Cube - clean Jazz Chorus channel, it sounds beautiful. I am able to play romantic ballads. The problem is that clean channel of 2 watts amp is not loud enough. And Stack channel of that amp which is loud enough has little bit of drive.

Maybe if I am satisfied with Roland Jazz Chorus channel, I should purchase bigger Roland what is able to play with the same sound louder. Do you know this one?

http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Ba ... ar-Amp/DYA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5H6hk8yA-s

Roland had a Cube 60 a few years ago that had a 12" speaker. And for performance, a 12" speaker is essential to get a balance from low to high. That way you can push more air without having to turn up the amp into overdrive. The Cube 30 and smaller, has smaller speakers and it can't give you a live performance giging jazz sound (well, not the best anyway).

Also, have you considered a PA system? it will give you vocal and instrument ability at the same time. Fender Passport?

The proof that Highway One Strat is able to play smoothly. This is through Roland Micro Cube stack mode http://soundcloud.com/nyorde/nyorde-hea ... ld-michael

And this is with Digitech RP 50 guitar processor http://soundcloud.com/nyorde/nyorde-her ... e-iglesias