j45nick Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 JC, He keeps referring to "this little Fender amp", but we never see it. Do you know what he was using during this demo?
JuanCarlosVejar Posted December 1, 2011 Author Posted December 1, 2011 JC, He keeps referring to "this little Fender amp", but we never see it. Do you know what he was using during this demo? Nick , I'll see if I can find the other part tonight , then we might find out :D
Jeremy Morton Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 JC, I believe he is referring to an old Fender Champ. He was also using a California Blonde. JM
j45nick Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 JC, I believe he is referring to an old Fender Champ. He was also using a California Blonde. JM Jeremy, Since there were several different variations on the Champ, I wonder which one he is using, and whether it is a vintage amp, or the little current Champion 600 re-issue? Since it's JB, I'm guessing a vintage unit. The new re-issue is a sweet little straight single-valve amp with no effects and no tone control--strictly volume and hi gain/low gain inputs. I use it for playing at home with my vintage ES 335's, and it's great if you like a "pure" amplified tone and don't need or want a lot of volume or overdrive, although it's shockingly loud for five watts of output. It can also be hot-rodded with various tube, transformer, and speaker upgrades, and has an output jack for an external speaker. Of course, by the time you finish with the upgrades there's not much left but the box and the chassis, but the sound can be mind-blowing for a tiny package. Happens to be not much bigger than a lunchbox (well, a pretty large lunchbox) and looks pretty cool. I've never tried to play an acoustic through it, but would be interested to know if others have.
Jeremy Morton Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 I too would guess it is a vintage Champ.
drathbun Posted December 2, 2011 Posted December 2, 2011 That's one pricey guitar with the Trance Audio pickup system installed! Over $7000! Has anyone else used the Trance system? Browne says it is better than K&K and Baggs systems (and Baggs is a friend of his!).
jt Posted December 2, 2011 Posted December 2, 2011 Has anyone else used the Trance system? Browne says it is better than K&K and Baggs systems (and Baggs is a friend of his!). When I did the Fretboard Journal cover story on Jackson, I played his guitars (including the one in the video, I suapect) with the Trance system. Imho, it is by far the best sounding acoustic pickup I've encountered.
drathbun Posted December 2, 2011 Posted December 2, 2011 When I did the Fretboard Journal cover story on Jackson, I played his guitars (including the one in the video, I suapect) with the Trance system. Imho, it is by far the best sounding acoustic pickup I've encountered. jt: Jackson mentioned that everyone "except the guy who makes 'em" thinks the install of the Trance system is a bit of a challenge. What is involved? Is it more challenging than K&K or iBeam?
jt Posted December 2, 2011 Posted December 2, 2011 jt: Jackson mentioned that everyone "except the guy who makes 'em" thinks the install of the Trance system is a bit of a challenge. What is involved? Is it more challenging than K&K or iBeam? Yeah, it's a challenge. Jackson and I talked about it and I covered that pretty well in Fretboard Journal. The problem is that the three keys to getting optimum tone are location, location, and location. That is, placement of the "lens" pickup on the bridgeplate is critical. But, the Trance folks recommend using a special kind of glue that takes a while to dry. From the Trance website: "It takes time (sometimes up to four days) for the cement to cure enough to properly evaluate the sound of the installed pickup." Trance now reports that it has a tape that comes close to making the thing sound best: "After months of extensive searching and testing we have found a material that can closely simulate the rich, warm tone of the glue we use here at the factory." But, the best the stuff does is "closely simulate" the tone of using the special glue. So, it's apparently a compromise. Full discussion here on the Trance website. This said, to my ears, the Trance system is spectacular.
junglejem Posted December 3, 2011 Posted December 3, 2011 I keep chiming in on this topic...probably sound like a broken record. My first Trance Audio Amulet system was installed in a Gibson J-200. It was wonderful. I now have the Jackson Browne with the Trance Audio, and it is magical. I honestly feel it is the best acoustic pickup around. Installation is tricky. Not altogether different in concept than the K&K, but location of the transducers is really important. And once glued, they aren't going anywhere. The tape is really a temporary fix...primarily just to test locations and be able to move the pickups around before deciding on the perfect spot. They really need to be glued in for the best tone. It is definitely a commitment to your instrument. If you don't plan on keeping the guitar, maybe it isn't a good investment. Personally, I cannot envision ever using a different pickup system. As to the video, at some point he mentions a Blues Jr. Maybe that's in the other video. But I seriously doubt he is playing the Jackson Browne guitar thru a Fender Blues Jr. I think he was referring to the SWR amp.
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