Some Details About the Jim Mings Jazz Classic
After restoring a couple of old Gibson amps for him, Jim began to talk to me about his vision for the perfect jazz tube amp to complement his favorite old Gibson L5 and his playing style.
I got interested in building something to specifically meet the needs of jazz players, although the resulting amp has the versitility to satisfy other needs as well.
Jim wanted to get away from the blackface fender tendency to over-emphasize the booming bass and brilliant trebles at the expense of mid tones. Something that would simply sound like his guitar does unplugged. No disrespect intended for Leo. He designed his amps to sound great with classic solid-body guitars and they do. Jim wanted something for his classic archtop. He also wanted a three-knob reverb built in, as several botique amps out there have.
Six months later after a lot of trial and error on a draft chassis, working hand-in-hand with Jim, we broke the code and brought the Jazz Classic to life.
What's Inside
If you are looking for the ultimate in hi-tech channel switching, you are on the wrong web site. This amp is based on a hybrid of a three of my favorite old blackface designs with some specific changes made in the pre-amp section to shape the tone as noted above.
The rig runs about 40 watts RMS, and the main amp is a modified version of of the vibrato channel of the classic Vibrolux with a mid control added. The amp also incorporates a circa '64 fender stand-alone reverb. All tube, all hand wired, all the way -- of course.
The output section is is powered by a pair of 6L6GC power tubes with internal adjustable BIAS. Transformers are all from Gerald Weber of Kendrick Amplifiers. The two 10" speakers are wonderful 40 oz. ceramic magnet units from weberVST. The custom cabinet was built to my specifications by Mojo Music Supply.
I must give a lot of credit to my good friend, Tino Zottola, whom some of you have no doubt heard of. He is the author of several outstanding books on amp building and is a superb custom builder. He has encouraged me for several years and offered all sorts of suggestions and technical assistance over the years. Thanks Tino!!!
Contact me if there are other specific questions you may have about this amp. A lot of the effort went into making the amp quiet with improved grounding techniques and miles of mil-spec shielded teflon cable to protect the signal path. Very labor intensive. It was all worth the effort. See Jim's testimonial.
SEE PRICE PAGE FOR SOME GOOD NEWS.
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