Polytone mini-brute

[Perry Babasin]

My dad was a Jazz Bass player and he left me a Polytone Mini-brute amp. I always considered it a piece of junk but then I recently found out that it is a highly valued amplifier in some circles and Sam Bush apparently plays through one, and takes it with him every where he goes.

I have been considering several acoustic amp options and have a topic in this category asking about those kind of options so what I'm mainly asking here is if anyone has experience or knowledge concerning the Mini-brute specifically. Is it worth saving?? The speaker is blown so I would need to replace that, as well as possibly some electronics work.

Thanks in advance........... Perry

[Big Joe]

I would love to have one again. I played through one in the 80's until someone borrowed it and blew the speaker out. I never got around to fixing it and finally gave it to someone. They are great amps and the speakers can be reconed or replaced for not a lot of money. They are a great amp if you like that tone. If not, just let me know .

[Brad Weiss]

Polytone has a HUGE following in the Jazz world- pretty sure Joe Pass played through one. They are known to be temperamental, but many won't use anything else once they've been hooked. I've been considering getting one for years, but I don't play electric enough to justify it. I'd keep it -and fix it- if I had one...

[man dough nollij]

Please pardon the potential hijack... I have a noob question. I know nothing about playing electric, or amplifying acoustic instruments, but what little I've seen perplexes me.

I helped to tear down the equipment from a concert last summer, and it looked to me like the electric guitar was plugged into a small amp on the floor at the back of the stage, and there was a mic on a wee stand pointed at the amp. Then the mic was plugged into the PA.

Is that normal? Is that how you'd use the Mini-brute? Why not plug directly into the PA?

[buddyellis]

Because micing an amp will always sound 'better' than DI (with electric instruments). Especially with distortion or slight overdrive.

[mandroid]

Not plugging directly into the PA, would be because there is no direct connection ,
as with many classic tube combo amps,
Or the characteristic sound of the speaker moving the air is what is the desired sound.

[des mando]

smaller amps can just be driven harder , its a tone thing , to acomplish the same tone with larger rigs means unbearable volume. blues guitar whiz chris duarte could be very rich if anyone could bear to hear him play live
back to the polytone ,your first rule should be to do no harm ask around do not skimp on finding a qualified tech and be patient most qualified people are very busy you will spend way less in a restoration than anything that would likely be comparable new

[Perry Babasin]

...and it looked to me like the electric guitar was plugged into a small amp on the floor at the back of the stage, and there was a mic on a wee stand pointed at the amp. Then the mic was plugged into the PA.

Is that normal? Is that how you'd use the Mini-brute? Why not plug directly into the PA?

That kind of is my dilemma... I play with a loud, raucous, rocking worship team and after 5 years of struggling playing only through the PA I am looking to include stage presence and a "personal monitor" so I can hear myself think (and play). The guitarist you refer to is doing what I need to do. The sound guy can't turn me up enough in the monitors to be heard over the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, full drum kit, keyboards, mandolin and 5 vocals. When I can hear myself everyone else is screaming because I'm too loud.

Thanks....... Perry

[Tim2723]

A guitarist I worked with years ago had a beautiful Polytone amp. It had a matching extension cabinet but was still tiny. I don't think I'd ever heard more sound from a maller package. If you can restore it, go for it!

For personal monitoring, there are a number of small amps that will give you that advantage. Galaxy makes a couple of really nice units.

[Jim Garber]

I have had a Mini-Brute for many years and used it primarily for electric bass. I thought that they were intended just for that. I played my electric mandolin thru it as well as somke electric guitars and never liked the sound all that much -- mine is solid-state. it wasn't until I got a great Fender tube amp did I realize what good tone was.

Did/does Polytone make tube amps?

[mandroid]

the PAS140 and an 8" driver for lower frequency reproduction was an interesting combination, Galaxy had offered a combination cabinet setup for a while .

[Stephen Lind]

I have had a Mini-Brute for many years and used it primarily for electric bass. I thought that they were intended just for that. I played my electric mandolin thru it as well as somke electric guitars and never liked the sound all that much -- mine is solid-state. it wasn't until I got a great Fender tube amp did I realize what good tone was.

Did/does Polytone make tube amps?

glad i'm not the lone dissenter here
never cared for the sound of the Polytones

BUT
i have a nice stable of tube amps including five '50s and '60s Ampegs
and quite like Telefunkens and Mullards
so i'm a tube snob

also
i have witnessed some great players transcending the sonic limitations of Polytones
including the illustrious Mr Pass

and no
they never made tube amps

[kwd]

I have a Polytone Mini-Brute II that I use for double bass. Ray Brown used them for years. The GK MB150s and AI amps surpassed the Polytone as the standard jazz amp for bass players but guitar players seem to still love them. For all its quirkiness I'm still blown away by the sound. The bowed bass sound is incredible. The pizz sound tends to be dark, muddy. I've just started using it with my mandolin so I don't have a lot of data points on that. The Polytone isn't going to have a notch filter, high pass filter or a decent EQ -all things than can be helpful in fighting feedback especially if you are considering using a mic. My mandolin was feeding back big time at rehearsal last night. I play mostly in a worship team as you -poster- do. If you want a solid amp for mandolin , I think there are better choices out there. I sometimes run a tube preamp into the 'preamp out' which can give you a warmer sound, if your into the tube vibe.

[steve V. johnson]

Nice infos. I've recorded quite a few Polytones over the years, and I'd recommend that you repair it and try it.

It may or may not be the right flavor for your mandolin, but it will be a good start (bird in the hand, so to speak) to learn
about amps and such.

Most of the players I knew who used Polytones already had 'their sound' from their instruments and, as noted, the Polys don't have
a lot of stuff to modify the tone. Instrument amplifiers sort of fall into two categories in my mind: one are those that simply make
the input louder, are more 'neutral' in what they bring; the second are those which really contribute another dimension of tone and
control over the sound, and actively participate in the making ... more... of a sound from the instrument... to a greater or a lesser
degree. I think the "tube amps" that folks have mentioned here are the second type.

And, using the Polytone (or another amp) onstage in your worship band can let you hear yourself better and putting a mic on it
can give your PA engineer some more flexibility in getting your sound mixed in the house, too.

At any rate, if you fix it and don't like it you can sell it.

All the best,

stv

[Ken Olmstead]

stv is right. The Polytone is loved by jazz guitarists because of its accurate reproduction of tone from their hollow body electric guitars as opposed to its ability to add color (actually distortion) to the sound as tubes do. As important in the Mini Brute's popularity is that you can bring great sound and volume to the gig in a very portable unit. The jazz guitarist's goal is one trip from the car to the gig and back. Guitar in one hand and Mini Brute in the other makes this possible. If it is just a speaker and some VERY minor repairs it is probably worth fixing monetarily. However, search ebay and you will find that they are not horribly expensive amplifiers and some models are a little more desireable than others. I hate the disposable nature of most items produced these days so I love it whan things are repaired and put back into use so I personally vote for repairing it if it remotely makes sense financially!

[Paul Hostetter]

I've had a Mini-Brute IV since it came out, and loved it while it worked. I used it for miked double bass, and as a simple gig amp for other instruments I miked. I replaced the power supply three times, and when it went out again, I retired it to doorstap status, and use an SWR Strawberry Blonde now. I had a GK for awhile but it was simply too temperamental. The SWR is bombproof and with an external cabinet can fill a stadium. Well OK, that's an exaggeration. It can really deliver in larger venues.

To expand a little on what 'des mando" said, the point of a rock guitarist using a small amp is that they can get a certain tone and type of distortion only from that small speaker. When a player has achieved an amp sound that they like, the only way to keep it in bigger playing situations is to mike the amp. If you plug into the bigger system, you lose all the nuance and all you gain is the ability to be loud, which is not entirely the point. Not only that, little amps are a lot easier to schlep to gigs than Fender Twins or, for that matter, an SWR Strawberry Blonde.

[mclaugh]

Have to contradict an earlier post, Polytone certainly did make a tube amp. Model name Fusion. They're pretty scarce.