Mann 5 string electric

[Pete Martin]

Couldn't agree more with Mandingo about Jon.

I finally settled on an amp, Fender Princeton 650. Nice fat Jazz tone. I'll post some Utubes soon.

[Brad Weiss]

Hmm. I just got to check out a Fender Blues Jr that seemed like just the ticket- but the Princeton 650 has a nice price! Anybody want to compare and contrast?

[Pete Martin]

Brad, I tried out a ton of amps (especially tube amps) at a number of local guitar shops and borrowing from friends. From posts here and friend recommendations, I expected the Blues Jr to be a strong candidate, but I was disappointed in its slightly harsh upper end sound with the Mann. As I know nothing of electric instruments and amps, I wonder if it had anything to do with the short string length of mandos compared with guitars. Plus to my ears blues players seem to go for different sounds than Jazz players...

The two amps it came down to were the Princeton 650 and a Crate solid state amp. Both had a fat 60s Wes, Joe Pass type jazz sound that I sought. The 650 has been out of production for a few years, but I found one new on Ebay for $100.00, so that made my choice easy.

[Brad Weiss]

Thanks! Well that is the sound I'm looking for- of course, I have an archtop guitar I want to use with the same amp. But if I can find a 650 in that price range, I can afford to buy it and sell it if it doesn't work for both.

Is your Mann semi-hollow, hollow, or solid? Thanks for the advice!

[djweiss]

I've used the Blues Junior on both a Phoenix Jazz and a Schwab 5 string....I think the trick to that amp is to crank the "Volume" to about 3/4 of the way up, and then use the "Master" to control the actual decibel sound coming out of the amp...for me, this made the high notes less piercing much more pleasant. Also, I turn the Treble about half way up, the mids all the way up, and the bass all the way down.

-DJW

[Pete Martin]

Thanks! Well that is the sound I'm looking for- of course, I have an archtop guitar I want to use with the same amp. But if I can find a 650 in that price range, I can afford to buy it and sell it if it doesn't work for both.

Is your Mann semi-hollow, hollow, or solid? Thanks for the advice!

It is semi hollow.

I first tried out a 650, borrowed from a Jazz guitarist friend. He plays an electric Gibson L5 and loves the sound from Princeton, so it should work with a guitar for you. Most of the used 650s I saw on Ebay went for around 250, think I just lucked onto this one.

[Brad Weiss]

I've been doing a GC tour for the last week, played a bunch of thinline guitars (don't have my Mann with me this week) through a Blues Jr., a Bugera 22, and I've settled on the Vox VT15 - it has tremendous PRESENCE even at low volume. I haven't purchased it yet, (on vaca this week) but I'll pick up one up asap.

Hope everyone's enjoying their Mann's as much as I have! Not a great amp here, but here's how my EM-5 semi-hollow sounds:

[MandoNicity]

I have a Mann OM-8 full hollow with a peizo in the bridge and a DiMarzio near the neck and it's a wonderful instrument. It's got a mellow twang I don't hear in other electrics. I play it thru a Roland CM-30 like this:
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/242749.html

If I had one of Jon's 14" 5-strings (and I wish I did) I'm sure it would sound very similar and equally fine thru this rig.

It has all the inputs/outputs you'd ever need,minimal but functional EQ - but no reverb. So I usually just sit an Alesis Nanoverb on top of the amp and dial in a medium hall with a medium decay time and blend to suit my ear. I usually just play solo so it has plenty of volume for me. If I was gonna step up and go for the same tone I'd get a Roland AC-60 or AC-90.

Here's my Mann thru the CM-30 w/Nanoverb:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUfEXGe_N6o

If I was inclined to go tubular I'd look at a Fender Blues Junior or a Peavey Classic 30.

Michael I just checked out your youtube and have to tell you that that's an amazing version of "Over the Rainbow"! Really outstanding! Kudos to you!

JR

[Pete Martin]

Last weekend I played my first two Jazz gigs with the Mann, and it worked out great!! I am definitely not an acoustic snob any more

[Elliot Luber]

Very cool. I've been picking up my electric guitar lately, and it's making me think emando a lot. Sooner or later my budget will give into the awseome temptation these instruments represent. :-)

[Lee]

I've tried a huge variety of amps over the years. The Top Hat Club Deluxe with 6V6 tubes or the Club Royale with EL84 tubes both sound great with my Schwab. Both have very little hum. The lack of any reverb is quickly forgotten as the tone is very lush. They weigh a ton. For a hand-built "boutique" amp their used prices are very reasonable.

Another big favorite is a Holland Lobo, another 20-watt 6V6. I heard it's loosely based on the Fender Deluxe circuit. (The Fender reissues are well worth the money.)

Also up in the hand-built boutique range, the Swart amps have breath-taking reverb and tremolo.

D'Allesandro Working Dog amps are surprisingly light weight, sound great, and very well built.

The Peavey Delta Blues or Classic 30 are both great values with excellent tone for those who can't afford a point-to-point hand-wired amp. With top end tubes and a good speaker these will sound quite good.

Keep in mind that your amp becomes just as much of "your sound" as your instrument. So don't skimp money on your amp.

[Pete Martin]

For those of you in the Seattle area, I'll be playing Jazz on the Mann Saturday April 10 @Vino Bella, 99 Front St, Issaquah, WA 425-391-1424 7:30-11:30 PM. Also featuring jazz violinist Paul Anastasio. No Cover Charge. Stop on by and say hello.