Consistency in Sound

Or, why I’m so elated to be an endorsing artist for Phil Jones Bass.

In the theatre realm, having an amp is a very tricky business. You either get one that sounds great but is far too loud for the pit, or you have one that is a good volume for the pit, but can’t keep up with the group when you’re playing. I have gone through a number of great amp set ups in the pit; a GK 700rb-II and Aguilar GS112, Euphonic Audio iAmp 300 and Schroeder Mini 12R, and a GK MB 150E. All of them have had major issues with the sound and volume that would always make the soundman and myself butt heads. Because of this, I made the decision to buy a dedicated “theatre” amp that would be different from my main “playing live with others” amp.

That opened up another problem; hardly any companies have a consistent signature sound. Speaker configurations, EQ features, etc.. all are offered by many companies but because of this, replicating a sound in a small AND a large amp is nearly impossible. I want consistency, period.

Enter Phil Jones Bass. I had eyed their Briefcase for years, ever since I saw a Chuck Rainey ad in Bass Player magazine. I was in a position that I could actually get it. However, with my above concerns, I decided to email PJB and see what they thought and if they could help me.

I know, many of you are looking at the amps and saying, “How can these be any good? They use only 6″ speakers.” It’s a fair question. My easiest example is to look at the speakers in a studio that have killer bass and beautiful highs in them, that producers rely on. They’re relatively small and compact. It stands to reason that taking this concept from the studio world and putting it in a speaker cabinet (with multiple speakers) that you could replicate the same clarity and sound but much louder. That’s the layman version of it; Phil has a lot of literature about his concepts on his website if you’re interested for more.

Phil wrote me a very lengthy reply (that’s right, THE Phil in PJB), in which he explained what PJB could do for me. I was very excited, because I thought that they had all of my problems solved. So, I sold my current amps and ended up buying two new set ups; my coveted Briefcase for the theatre, and a Suitcase with 4B extension cab for the big shows.

To say that I kick myself for not doing this a lot sooner is an understatement. These amps really are something special. The Briefcase allows me to cut through the sonic spectrum of a 12 piece pit with no trouble, all the while keeping it at a reasonable volume to keep the soundman a happy camper. I’ve even had a couple soundmen complement me on how awesome the Briefcase sounds.

Secondly, the bigger set up of the Suitcase and 4B ext. cab address the other issue I had with amps; this sounds the same as the Briefcase, except a lot louder. It’s also got a second channel which is a nice bonus for when I’m doubling (due to that, I’m expecting a PJB Bass Cub to see how that works in the theatre), but still kills on its own. The only downside is that the Suitcase is a pretty heavy amp comparatively, but that’s hardly any issue.

So, in the past year and a half that I switched from everything else to PJB, I can’t tell you how great it’s been. My tone is consistent from amp to amp, gig to gig. I also have zero issues with the soundmen when bringing in either of the PJB amps for a show. I have had soundmen request either the bigger or smaller amp, to which I happily oblige.

Late last week I found out I was invited into the Endorsing Artist family at PJB. From the above commentary, I think you all can see how elated I am with this news, but also why I like these amps so much. PJB amps have easily been the best thing that I’ve played through in a long time; they’re dependable, consistent, easy to use and powerful in their clarity and presence. I am so happy to be a part of the family, and can’t wait to continue to spread the news about these amps.