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LAZY J MODEL 80 COMBO £2,244 GUITAR AMPS LS E W O ILIP S H HY BY P P A gr O T PHO 114 Guitarist July 2010 LAZY J MODEL 80 COMBO £2,244 GUITAR AMPS players struggling with five, 10 or 15 watts back in the fifties. Lazy J Model 80 combo However, if you’re thinking clean as in cold and clunky, £2,244 think again. The 80 is as sweet, warm and satisfying as honey Lazy J’s Tweed Twin hotrod finally arrives, promising one on hot buttered toast. It’s superbly responsive, with a of the fattest clean sounds out there by Nick Guppy medium-fast attack that’s perfect for chicken picking and a very long natural sustain that hile Fender’s smaller two characteristics that don’t back of the amp, there’s a cool Tweed amplifiers always sit well together. The stock modification to make the The Rivals W from the fifties – the critical thing here was getting a controls accessible: when the Junior, Champ and Deluxe – good balance between preamp footswitch is plugged into the Fender’s Custom Shop ’57 have become some of the most and power amp gain. It’s about modules, the reverb intensity Tweed Twin (£1,995) packs highly prized collectables creating warmth and and tremolo speed can be plenty of power and you can today, it’s worth remembering harmonics, without sacrificing adjusted by controls mounted also remove a rectifier valve that the Tweed era was also the the responsiveness”. on the footswitch itself.” to lower the output, there’s genesis for, arguably, the most The Model 80’s standard of no reverb though. Victoria’s widely-used Fender amp of all construction is very high Sounds 80212 (£3,495) delivers a time: the Twin. For a while in indeed, with impeccable Unlike many amps in this highly-focused tone that’s the mid-to-late seventies – pre- soldering and wiring, mostly genre, the Lazy J 80 is biased instant Fullerton circa 1959. digital effects and amp using vintage Belden-style toward producing big clean Used by Keith Richards, need modelling of course – cloth-covered hook-up cable. sounds at professional gig we say more? One of the best practically every recording The controls follow standard levels, which means it’s loud. regarded builders of Tweed- studio and stage hire company Tweed format, with two non- The maximum output is 80 style amps, Michael Clark’s in the world owned at least one switching channels called watts, which you might think is Clark Low Country (approx Fender Twin Reverb combo, bright and normal, each with a relatively modest by today’s $4,000 plus shipping) is a big although when the Tweed pair of inputs and separate standards, but this amp really Twin replica that packs a real Twin made its debut in the volume controls, which can be shifts the air. Imagine the punch. Reverb is available as fifties, it lacked the now jumpered together with a short revelation the original Tweed an extra. standard reverb. If you ever patch lead. Shared tone controls Twin must have been for wondered what one of these consist of bass, mid, treble and early amps would have sounded presence – and it’s a true like with Laurens Hammond’s presence control, operating in Unlike many amps in this genre, the other great invention, Lazy J the amp’s negative feedback may well have the answer in its loop, unlike on some amps Lazy J 80 is biased toward producing new Model 80. where the presence control is big clean sounds at pro gig levels At first glance, the 80 appears simply a high treble EQ centred to be a nicely-made replica of a around the 4kHz region. fifties Twin Amp, with a Incidentally, the original 1954 handmade finger-jointed pine Twin was the first Fender amp cabinet covered in thick, to feature this control. lacquered tweed. The chassis is One extra chicken head knob chromed steel with white next to the fuse carrier handles lettering and controls that go up the 80’s power fade function, to 12, in traditional Tweed style. which gradually adds or The electronics are quite close removes one pair of 6L6 power to the original 5F8 schematic, valves, varying the output from with all the small components 40 to 80 watts. Hoff’s choice of mounted on an eyelet board – loudspeaker for this review the traditional American way to amp is Celestion’s expansive build a guitar amplifier. and expensive Alnico Gold – The choice and positioning of one of a handful of drivers still components isn’t accidental. fabricated in the UK. There’s “Although my amps are also an optional valve-powered inspired by old Tweed Fenders, Accutronics reverb spring, I often make component driven by a separate module changes, depending on the tone mounted on the side wall of the and response I’m going for,” cabinet, with two more 12AX7 explains Jesse Hoff, the man valves and controls for reverb behind Lazy J. “These can be as level and tone. “I also offer an small as changing a resistor optional tremolo module” Hoff type or as big as a new output adds. “It’s identical to the transformer. For this particular tremolo circuit I fitted to one of project, we wanted to create an Eric Clapton’s Twins a while amp that was very loud and back. Also, because both clean, but also fat and warm – modules are mounted in the July 2010 Guitarist 115 LAZY J MODEL 80 COMBO £2,244 GUITAR AMPS clings to bent notes and flatters subtle vibrato use. All this is enhanced by the superb valve reverb module, which has enough level and tonal range to suit any taste, going from crashy surf excess to a fat, dark halo that sounds more like a very expensive studio effect. The 80 is equally happy with single coils or humbuckers, though a really dark midrange- biased humbucker won’t The chickenhead knobs are of course, present and correct produce enough high-end to make the speakers work The power amp fade control stage and gives the amp quite a properly. The treble response helps to dial-in this magic at bit more drive if desired. This Lazy J Model when used with our regular higher or lower volume levels, exact chassis was recently on 80 combo Strat was simply breathtaking, although at 40 watts with one tour with Public Image Ltd with exceptional articulation pair of 6L6’s completely and has also been used in the PRICE: £2,244 and none of the rogue high dialled-out, it’s still very loud. studio by Razorlight and ORIGIN: UK frequency peaks that often “If you push it really hard the Richard Ashcroft. I’m also TYPE: All-valve, two-channel combo afflict clean channels. As you amp goes into a thick crunch, making another one for PiL to with valve rectification turn up the volume, there’s a without sacrificing its use for their US tour.” OUTPUT: 80 watts RMS wonderful chiming effect that headroom. Some players prefer VALVES: 3 x ECC83/12AX7, 4 x adds extra punch to chords to get their drive sounds from Verdict 6L6GC power amp, one GZ34 rectifier without spoiling the note pedals and this amp is ideally Some of the world’s greatest DIMENSIONS: 470 (h) x 670 (w) definition; even when the amp suited for that,” says Hoff. players have instantly 240mm (d) is overdriving properly with “However, recently I’ve added a recognisable signature tones WEIGHT (kg/lb): 30/66 everything on 12, you can still push/pull switch that increases based on huge clean sounds. CABINET: Solid pine with finger- hear every string. the gain in the second preamp The Model 80 delivers the full jointed corners gamut of Tweed tone – clean LOUDSPEAKER: Two 12-inch and overdriven – but clarity is Celestion Alnico Gold As you turn up the volume, there’s a where this amp really excels. CONTROLS: Bright volume, normal Especially well suited for volume, presence, middle, bass, wonderful chiming effect that adds country pickers and pedal or treble, power fade control, reverb extra punch to chords lap steel users, it’s a big stage level, reverb tone amp for professional players. FOOTSWITCH: Single-button It’s not best suited to home use, footswitch toggles reverb effect but put it in the environment it ADDITIONAL FEATURES: Power was designed for and it will fade control continuously varies come alive. output from 40-80 watts, extension The quality of tone and build speaker jacks is exceptional, something OPTIONS: The base price of the that’s clearly winning Hoff Model 80 combo is £1,995; our plenty of friends, with recent review sample adds the all-valve customers including Noel reverb module with level and tone Gallagher, PiL’s Lu Edmonds, controls (£249). Other options are Pete Townshend and Doyle Tremolo (with remote control Bramhall II. It’s not cheap, but footswitch) at £149. Various speaker as a true boutique amp with options from Celestion or Tayden are real American mojo, but made available £POA in the UK. It’s very good value RANGE OPTIONS: Lazy J’s Tweed too – if it came from the USA Deluxe-inspired Model 20 costs you could easily add another around £1,300 depending on the spec thousand to the asking price. Lazy J [email protected] www.lazyjprojects.com The Bottom Line We like: Superlative clean tone; built to last We dislike: It’s quite a niche Test results amp – not for everyone Guitarist says: Lazy J’s Build quality Model 80 combo is more Features than just a Tweed replica, it’s Sound extra features really work.

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