anybody tried Lazy J amps

fretfinder

miserneil;1036797" said:

@fretfinder, Nigel, just edited my post to clarify

Great, thanks for that. Guess I'll have to use my ears to find out which way is which on the switch! You don't know which preamp valve is V1 do you? Cheers.

Wazmeister

@fretfinder - don't know if this will help mate...

This chart shows my i.) initial valve set up   ii.) set up after Jesse had serviced it.

Also, V1 (according to my tube chart) is FAR RIGHT when looking from behind the amp...

http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q493/Warren3333/Screen Shot 2016-04-14 at 08.31.40.png

fretfinder

Many thanks for that. I can't log into photobucket at work but will do tonight from home.

crunchman

fretfinder said:

crunchman;9571" said:

I have the 20.  Stunning amp.  Given how loud the Celestion Blue is, there is more clean headroom than you'd expect from a 5E3 type circuit.



It does make a difference what valve you have in V1.  I have a 12AY7 like the original 5E3 had, but I know Jesse does ship them with 12AX7s sometimes because people like them to break up.  You get more clean headroom with the 12AY7.

Forgive my ignorance, but which is V1, the one nearest the speaker or the other one? Mine has two 12ax7s and want try a 12ay7. Also, what's the switch in between the preamp valves for? Many thanks.

V1 is the one at the end furthest from the power valves.  I do use a 12AY7 in there.

fretfinder

Hey many thanks. I'll try that switch for the amp's inaugural gig with me this Saturday!

richh

I think you've got your answer now, but apparently Jesse is very happy to answer any questions directly, even for folks that bought their amp 2nd hand - which is great customer service!

JonHosker

Thanks Waz for the valve diagram....I have printed this off for future reference. all the best Jon

fretfinder

Great diagram @Wazmeister. Did you notice a significant difference between the before and the after? Cheers.

Wazmeister

@fretfinder - I did to be fair mate... I thought that the reverb was poor on mine, and Jesse said that someone had "messed with it". We went through the whole amp, and changed bits, added valves and 'tuned it'.

He is a very conscientious builder, and I was amazed at how quickly AND thoroughly he could work. He even removed and changed a pot in the footswitch. Incredible.

I do hear some Lazy J comments, and wonder if I use mine different or if the tuning really 'peaked' my amp. Because my cleans are incerdible on this thing, and I can get it beautifully clean before break up.

I was fortunate to have a morning of his time, and for my amp to be tuned and tweaked by his fair hand ! (jesse is an amazing guitarist, by the way...) At the end, he said something like "yep, that sounds awesome..."

Here is my amp on his desk being attended too...

http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q493/Warren3333/Lazy J20/95EC3D39-937C-4193-874C-0EACDA3A16F8.jpg

fretfinder

Sounds like a great experience @Wazmeister with a generous builder. A few years ago I had a silverfaced PRII and the guy I bought it from said it came from Chandlers and had been 'blackfaced' by Jesse. So I phoned him up to ask him about it and he was very generous with his time then too. I sold the amp on, foolishly...

I'm definitely going to try a 12AY7 in V1, and I'll check if the other valve types in mine are the same as on yours post the Jesse set up. Cheers.

fretfinder

Well the first gig with the Lazy J 20 went well. It sounded great to my (shot and earplugged) ears and the other band members and a few punters said they thought it sounded really good. The amp is just about loud enough - I was up at about 8 on the vol with the VAC switched out, and that was in a small-medium sized pub. I was using a PRS McCarty Soapbar with replacement low output P90s, so might try humbuckers next time. I used an OCD and FDii for more drive and preferred the latter on balance. I'm not used to playing with a valve rectifier so that was one of the key differences for me. I shall be giving it a few more outings that's for sure. I've been using a Cornell 18/20 Plexi head (always switched to SS rectification) and 2x12 cab for the last few years so the Lazy J does have some serious competition to keep up with! Cheers.

ruoma

fretfinder said:

Well the first gig with the Lazy J 20 went well. It sounded great to my (shot and earplugged) ears and the other band members and a few punters said they thought it sounded really good. The amp is just about loud enough - I was up at about 8 on the vol with the VAC switched out, and that was in a small-medium sized pub. I was using a PRS McCarty Soapbar with replacement low output P90s, so might try humbuckers next time. I used an OCD and FDii for more drive and preferred the latter on balance. I'm not used to playing with a valve rectifier so that was one of the key differences for me. I shall be giving it a few more outings that's for sure. I've been using a Cornell 18/20 Plexi head (always switched to SS rectification) and 2x12 cab for the last few years so the Lazy J does have some serious competition to keep up with! Cheers.

Very curious to hear about the differences between the j20 and the cornell 18/20! I just got a plexi 7 which is really impressing me when hooked up to a blue in a cab!

JonHosker

Loving my LJ20 - never gig it....but would if I had the chance!! Loving the Thorpy Gunshot and Peacemaker drives - simple pedal board + delay. All good......case closed for me. Jon

fretfinder

The Cornell is very 60s/70s 'Marshally', it has that archetypal crackly crunch when pushed. It sounds fantastic, takes pedals really well and is plenty loud enough for gigging with a pub rock band. I love it but it doesn't have reverb or trem and it doesn't really do cleans which the Lazy J does if you want it too. But I'm very inexperienced with the Lazy J so it's too early to comment in much detail. The two reasons I wanted a change is for more cleans and also the portability of a combo. At my ripe old age, lugging a Marshall 2061CX 2x12 cab around is no fun. I'm on the lookout for a 1x12 cab though, to give the Lazy J a bit more spread. And the Cornell is going nowhere, not for a while anyway.

By the way, a few years ago I had two 2061CX cabs and the Cornell head and a Marshall 2061X head at the same time. I did a side by side comparison and switching from the Marshall to the Cornell was like taking a duvet off the cab, not in terms of loudness but the extra clarity and presence of the Cornell was extraordinary. 

Just my tuppence worth though, as always. 

RaymondLin

The Bogner Atma cab with the G12H30 is light (so good for the back) and sounds good.

Not cheap though, 1/3rd the price of a Lazy J!

Gassage

I've (predictably) owned both the Cornell and the J.

Both incredible amps.

@fretfinder - the extn cab thing takes the game to the next level- it tames any rough edges the J may have (for stuff like jazz, blues, DG, etc etc)  and gives, IMO a slightly more accurate wamer but still brilliantly angry sound.

I have never paired a J and a Plexi up- I did a Princeton and a J, and a TK and a J and it is lush. I would prefer the J and the cab unless running in stereo though.

fretfinder

Thanks @Gassage. I'm hoping to find a decent used 1x12 shell as I have a Celestion blue to pop in it. How do you think the Carr Rambler compares with the J and the Cornell? I'm guessing wildly that you may have owned one of those too! And what's your amp now? Cheers.

Wazmeister

@fretfinder - just buy the extension cab without a speaker from Jesse; thats what i did.

I own the J and a Rambler, and the two are amazing in stereo. The Rambler does that almost BF cleans superbly, esp in triode mode.... And it remains one of THE great amps in the world, imho

Wazmeister

Here's a snippet of the email sent by Jesse, regarding valves in the J20.

"The trem tube is a 12AX7
Reverb top 12AY7 (12AT7 will work, too, but will drive it harder)
Reverb bottom 12AX7

A GZ34 and 5AR4 are the same thing.
1st tube on the right 12AY7
2nd tube from the right 12AX7

matched pair of 6L6s

I prefer EH tubes...Sovtek or JJ GZ34.

I hope this helps.
All the best,
Jesse"

Gassage

No, I've tried the Carrs but I prefer the TK's. They are both incredible amps for sure.
.