Fender Jazz King...

[guildman63]

I have a Jazz King amp that I really love, only at 50 pounds it is much heavier than I would like it to be. Does anyone out here have any experience taking an amp like that and switching the cabinet to make it smaller and lighter for improved portability without negatively affecting the tone? I also have a Henriksen Jazzamp 112 which at only 32 pounds is very easy to move around, and it sounds great. That said I kind of prefer the Fender tone most of the time. I believe the Fender has a single 15" in it. I don't know how much weight can be trimmed, but if anyone has any thoughts or ideas please let me know. Thanks!

Dave

 

[Default]

Some discussion here to give you some options. Head and cab sound good to me! or replacing your speaker with a neolidium (sp?) speaker. They are very light>

 

[jmac]

guildman63,

I have a jazzking. I agree, at 50 lbs its uncomfortable to carry with one arm using the single handle on the top of the amp. My solution is going to be to add two handles on the sides.

 

[guildman63]

guildman63,

I have a jazzking. I agree, at 50 lbs its uncomfortable to carry with one arm using the single handle on the top of the amp. My solution is going to be to add two handles on the sides.

That actually might work pretty well.

 

[guildman63]

Some discussion here to give you some options. Head and cab sound good to me! or replacing your speaker with a neolidium (sp?) speaker. They are very light>

That would definitely lighten the load, as would replacing the cabinet with a lighter weight solid wood such as birch. I'm just concerned that by changing out the speaker the tone I like so much will change too much.

 

[AcornHouse]

What about making a rolling platform. Then you would only have to lift it every now and then.

 

[fronobulax]

What about making a rolling platform. Then you would only have to lift it every now and then.

Problem with wheels is you still have to lift the cabinet to get it in and out of a car. Geezer that I am I just broke down and bought gear with weight as a consideration.

 

[jmac]

What about making a rolling platform. Then you would only have to lift it every now and then.

the jazz king does come with rollers. Frono is right, they don't help much for lifting in and out of a car, and they detract from the appearance of the amp. I bought my jazz king used and the rollers were missing, so I can't really say much they help the amps mobility, but I would think that if you have to move the amp a couple hundred feet, the rollers would make a huge difference.

 

[guildman63]

What about making a rolling platform. Then you would only have to lift it every now and then.

the jazz king does come with rollers. Frono is right, they don't help much for lifting in and out of a car, and they detract from the appearance of the amp. I bought my jazz king used and the rollers were missing, so I can't really say much they help the amps mobility, but I would think that if you have to move the amp a couple hundred feet, the rollers would make a huge difference.

I have casters on mine and they do help for short distances, but earlier this year I got a StageRig which worked very well. It adds a fair amount of weight for each lift in and out of the car, but other than that it was very easy and kept all accessories (effects, cables) well organized and in one place at the bottom of the unit. I am still a "less is more" kind of guy, and would love to just be able to grab it with one hand and lug it around like my Henriksen, but for now the StageRig was the best alternative I could come up with.

 

[Default]

Another, more wacked out option is to convert it into a head/cabinet configuration.

 

[guildman63]

Another, more wacked out option is to convert it into a head/cabinet configuration.

I've considered that, so either it's not such a wacked out option, or you and I are both wacked out. :?

 

[jmac]

Converting the jazz king into a head/cabinet configuration is a totally wacked out idea. Replacing the 15" speaker is a totally wacked out idea.

 

[guildman63]

Converting the jazz king into a head/cabinet configuration is a totally wacked out idea. Replacing the 15" speaker is a totally wacked out idea.

I never spoke of "replacing" the 15" speaker, just that I thought of "converting" the JK into a head/cabinet config. Perhaps putting the 15" into a lighter and higher quality cabinet. I definitely don't intend on getting rid of the speaker. Of course I would then have two items to lug instead of one. I'll just contact Fender and convince them to remake the 15" JK not to exceed 30 pounds. Should be easy, right?

 

[jmac]

Guildman63,

I wasn't trying to shoot down anyone's idea, someone used the term "wacked out", and I kind of ran with it.

If you can convert the jk combo into a head/cabinet configuration, that would be very cool, but can you do that? It sounds like a really difficult project.

One other thing to keep in mind; if you look at comparable power Fender Amps, they are all 50+ pounds.

 

[fronobulax]

My solid state Peavy head clocks in at 40 lbs. My 1x15 cabinet is 50 and my 2x15 is 110. I suspect there is not much opportunity to make things too much lighter.

 

[Default]

No offense at "wacked out", ;-D. .

Just used it to indicate a strange possibility. I don't think it would necessarily reduce the weight, just divide it in half. Although...
What's the cabinet made out of on the Jazz King? Particleboard? Plywood? If you went to pine, you would drop some weight. You would still have the speaker and transformers to cope with. Say you lose (random figure) 15 pounds from new cab and speaker, you'll have spent , say 600 bucks on upgrades that might change the sound.

 

[jmac]

Default,

I'm assuming the cabinet is plywood. The 15" speaker and the transformer (its a 140 watt amp) probably accounts for most of the weight.

jmac

 

[guildman63]

Both very good points, and both are likely correct. I don't know for sure what the cab is, but I know it isn't birch or pine...likely a slightly heavier material, but probably not significant enough to warrant the cost. The speaker and transformer probably are the bulk of it, and the speaker ain't goin' nowhere!