PJB Briefcase

Fred W · #1 02-02-2005, 07:30 PM

Well, I just went ahead and did it. Today I bought a Phil Jones Bass Briefcase at David Gage and shlepped it home on the subway.Last week I took the Kay down to test it, and it blew me away. I never thought I would hear my bass amplified, sounding exactly the same as acoustic, at least with the current Realist pickup. I'd gotten the lows accurate, but this baby faithfully reproduced the entire range my bass puts out- that elusive upper mid to hi string sound I never got out of any amp, and totally without color. Today I brought my Fender Jazz for the final test.
Passed with flying uncolors! I've been wanting a little hi-end combo to compliment the Walter+ cab, for those gigs where I need just a little amplification and my current rig is overkill. I had thought the GK Micro was on top of the list, mainly due
the weight, but Im glad I took the time to check it out. I will be using it Thursday and Saturday and will report in.

tombowlus · #2 02-03-2005, 08:50 AM

I have been very impressed with my Briefcase as well. My main reason for buying it was to help me compete with fiddles and acoustic guitars at some period campfire jams off in the boonies, so the battery-powered option was what really got my attention. As it turns out, we haven't had a trip to the woods since I bought it, but I use it in practice and I have really been amazed. If you want to be seriously wowed, try powering two larger cabs with the amp. Just for kicks, I hooked up my Bergie HT112/EX112 to the Briefcase (not using the internal speakers), and it was incredibly loud.

Great little amp.

abaguer · #3 02-06-2005, 11:59 PM

Just curious; do you find that the briefcase is only usable on extremely low volume gigs. Like just when you need only a very small bit of amplification, or does it actually stack up with say a moderate level trio.

5stringDNA · #4 02-07-2005, 01:17 AM

I am curious as well- with my back problems I will be purchasing a lightweight combo in the next 12 months, and trying to see what all is available. Have you tested against any of EA's combos?

tombowlus · #5 02-07-2005, 08:05 AM

When you are just using the internal speakers, the Briefcase certainly has its limits. It could not compete with drums and one or more electric guitars, but would be great for an acoustic session, or if you were playing with, say drums and keys, with both other musicians possessing a very light touch.

The internal speakers are 4 ohm, and the manual lists a min impedance of 3 ohm. I asked them if that meant if I could drive a 2.67 ohm load (adding an external 8 ohm cab), and they said that this was close enough to 3 ohm and it should be okay. With that in mind, I also drove a VL-108 in addition to the internal speakers. This did not seem to stress the amp at all, but it wasn't a ton louder. Perhaps I will try this again with a larger external cab. The amp is plenty powerful, though. I used it to power my HT112/EX112, and it was very loud (certainly loud enough for a rock band practice with one guitar and drums).

Tom.