Phil Jones Bass... really that good?

[DJ Bebop]

That cart has easily added another 5-10 years of spine usage to my life haha

Safeway?

 

[Michael F Clef]

[QUOTE="Hurricane Jimmie,...I bought a PBJ Cub amp about 6 years ago. I used it for small gigs at nursing homes and rehearsals. It even kept up with a Dixieland group with a drummer in a good sized hall. It does a fine job in the right circumstances.....[/QUOTE]

Very Cool comment Jimmie.
I play electric upright in a New Orleans ensemble. A few unamplified horns, guitar, tasty drummer. Right now I use a beautiful Traynor sb115 that only needs volume set on 1. I'm thinking about the pjb double four , micro7, or possibly cub(2x5"). I get the sense from your experience with the cub that I should be good with that.

 

[Michael F Clef]

[QUOTE="redstrand, ...My Double Four is the best practice amp I’ve ever had. Full rich bass at low volume, even turned up it isn’t harsh.....[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I'm considering the double four. I play electric upright in a New Orleans ensemble with a small unamplified horn section. Any guess from your experience how the double four would hold up? Thank you.

 

[Michael F Clef]

[QUOTE="marchone, post: ... cool pic. How do think the double four would hold up playing bass amidst a 4 piece, unamplified horn section? Thank you.

 

[Michael F Clef]

[QUOTE="kohanmike, ..I use a Double Four with all my bass ukes/mini bass guitars for rehearsals with my 50 person uke group in a large multipurpose rec room and our smaller gigs, there are times when they ask me to turn it down....[/QUOTE]

That's a great pic. Thank you for sharing. I play electric upright in a New Orleans ensemble with about 4 unamplified horns. Pretty low, medium civilized volume. How do you think the double for would handle it?
Thank you.

 

[marchone]

[QUOTE="Hurricane Jimmie,...I bought a PBJ Cub amp about 6 years ago. I used it for small gigs at nursing homes and rehearsals. It even kept up with a Dixieland group with a drummer in a good sized hall. It does a fine job in the right circumstances.....

Very Cool comment Jimmie.
I play electric upright in a New Orleans ensemble. A few unamplified horns, guitar, tasty drummer. Right now I use a beautiful Traynor sb115 that only needs volume set on 1. I'm thinking about the pjb double four , micro7, or possibly cub(2x5"). I get the sense from your experience with the cub that I should be good with that.[/QUOTE]

You may want to consider a Session 77 for its versatility.

 

[Michael F Clef]

[QUOTE="Leonid Nidis, ...I'm dont feel I'm missing anything compared to a gk 1x15 I had.
The amp is bg400,....[/QUOTE]

I play out of a Traynor sb115 which is great for my loud gigs. I am considering the PJB BG400 for my lower volume jazz gigs. Judging from your comment, I shoudn't be disappointed.

 

[NeonVomit]

I’ve owned an insane variety or amps and cabinets. I switched from what tone junkies would consider the holy grail of all bass rigs, a fearless 2x10 powered by a Jules Monique. That rig was a total beast and could crank enough volume with unreal clarity to play medium to large sized venues with no PA support.

why did I switch?

1) that set up was still heavy
2) I live on the top floor of a massive mill building and park my car at a municipal lot that’s like a 10mn walk from my apartment.
3) I play without a PA like once every two years and the rig was too nice to tour with and complete overkill for most gigs.
4) the fearless and Monique provided crystal clear clarity, but turns out I prefer a little bit of color in my tone.

I currently own the PJB BG-400 and matching C4 cab. For me, they’re perfect. I can put my gig bag on my back, carry one cab in each hand, and make an easy one trip load in/out. It takes up so little room I can get all the bands gear in my Rav-4 now. The stage footprint is ideal as well, but the sound is very directional (meaning you want to be close to the amp). Phil Jones have been way ahead of the game, the future is small cabs and I’m sure eventually it will just be amp simulators.

I’ve used it without PA support for small gigs in duo and trios (30-100 people venues indoor and outdoor) but with PA support this thing is plenty (assuming your band/sound guy at the venue knows how to dial in a nice even sound). The biggest show I used it on had a crowd of 900 and I was playing with a pretty loud punk band.

I usually play a p-bass and the PJB set-up really accents that tone nicely, but I also play a sting ray 5, fretless Ibanez, upright, and my 8 string guitar (through an HX Stomp) with this amp.

Ive used it primarily in reggae and folk settings but its held its own in punk, rock, funk, jazz, and deathcore settings.

If I’m being honest the cab does lack some low end, but if you know how to use your fingers and EQ and the band or venue has a sub, that doesn’t matter even a little.

best bet is to obviously try one out in a band setting but I haven’t once looked back. Absolutely love the rig.

I did this whole album with my P-bass through the PJB rig and used the HX Stomp for the effects.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nwAi50LZOoDKePQjEZuWe8_BGMPc6izaU



View attachment 4166727 View attachment 4166731

So I did some searching and came across your post - you play pretty similar stuff to me and I'm very curious about the BG-400! I really like my C4 cab and was considering getting a BG400 to go with it, was thinking mostly for acoustic/jazz/alt stuff but if you can do punk and deathcore with it too, I'm very interested.

One thing I was a bit worried about - since there's no fan, have you ever had any heat issues? Like heat-induced shutdowns and whatnot on hot loud stages.

 

[Bill Murray]

So I did some searching and came across your post - you play pretty similar stuff to me and I'm very curious about the BG-400! I really like my C4 cab and was considering getting a BG400 to go with it, was thinking mostly for acoustic/jazz/alt stuff but if you can do punk and deathcore with it too, I'm very interested.

One thing I was a bit worried about - since there's no fan, have you ever had any heat issues? Like heat-induced shutdowns and whatnot on hot loud stages.

If you really like the C4 you should love the BG-400. They are a match made in heaven. It works amazing for acoustic/jazz/alt! The venues I played punk and death core at had great sound systems so take that for what its worth. If the venue has sound or your group has a sub, you’ll be good to go for anything I’d think. I played outside with it all last summer, some gigs had no shade and it was usually 80-90 degrees out. Obviously indoor venues get hot too but no shade was rough haha. I always shut it off between sets, etc.

Both the punk and deathcore bands have relatively short sets, I think the longest one was an hour with the punk band in a loud hot venue but I’ve never had any issues with over heating or shut downs.

At rehearsals the punk band is in a small tight space while the deathcore group has a decent rehearsal space with sound proofing. The drummer is loud but overall we’re not insanely loud, our goal is to be tight and clean not loud and muddy. If you have concerns about the lack of a fan you could always reach out to Phil Jones, they have incredible customer service.

my best advice is hunt for one at Guitar Center, plan to try it out at a gig or at the very least a rehearsal. You’ll be able to return it within 30 days if it’s not your thing. I did this with Markbass, Fender, and Ampeg before discovering Phil Jones.

 

[NeonVomit]

If you really like the C4 you should love the BG-400. They are a match made in heaven. It works amazing for acoustic/jazz/alt! The venues I played punk and death core at had great sound systems so take that for what its worth. If the venue has sound or your group has a sub, you’ll be good to go for anything I’d think. I played outside with it all last summer, some gigs had no shade and it was usually 80-90 degrees out. Obviously indoor venues get hot too but no shade was rough haha. I always shut it off between sets, etc.

Both the punk and deathcore bands have relatively short sets, I think the longest one was an hour with the punk band in a loud hot venue but I’ve never had any issues with over heating or shut downs.

At rehearsals the punk band is in a small tight space while the deathcore group has a decent rehearsal space with sound proofing. The drummer is loud but overall we’re not insanely loud, our goal is to be tight and clean not loud and muddy. If you have concerns about the lack of a fan you could always reach out to Phil Jones, they have incredible customer service.

my best advice is hunt for one at Guitar Center, plan to try it out at a gig or at the very least a rehearsal. You’ll be able to return it within 30 days if it’s not your thing. I did this with Markbass, Fender, and Ampeg before discovering Phil Jones.

Thanks for the writeup! No local dealers here, although I can order of Thomann and return it if I'm not happy with it.

It's coming down to a choice between the BG400, or a D-400 with another C4. Trying to see what the sound differences are (if any) because I do like the really tiny form factor of the D-400.

 

[Bill Murray]

I

Thanks for the writeup! No local dealers here, although I can order of Thomann and return it if I'm not happy with it.

It's coming down to a choice between the BG400, or a D-400 with another C4. Trying to see what the sound differences are (if any) because I do like the really tiny form factor of the D-400.

good news, no bad choice there.

 

[Michael - NYC]

I think just the opposite might be true. Phil Jones Bass hires engineers who studied and passed the same physics as everyone else. I think what they burned are the marketing playbooks, that's the secret. To the OP question, yes, there are plenty of very well engineered bass amps and speaker cabinets and combos that utilize the larger standard scales. But where PJB differentiates is the applied engineering to solve a different set of problems that aren't addressed by big cabs. I think if Mesa or Berg or GK or Ampeg wanted to invest the R&D into 4, 5, 7" speakers they could do it, there is nothing in a Briefcase or Double Four or 4X7 that pushes the limits of design, just nobody else is spending the cash to free their engineers and designers to address it. Likewise, I am sure if PJB needed to make 12", 15", etc. that would be just fine. The way I see it, they are trying to carve out a segment of the market and they are doing a nice job building loyalty. Good quality, good response and the tones they produce are what you expect. Only difference I've seen is they don't move air like my Mesa rig or my BBC rig or the fridges I grew up with but neither of them fits on my desk.

The portability, form factor, the smaller scale without compromising tone is the question they are trying to answer. Is a 4X7 as loud as a 2X12? Nope. But it doesn't have to be. The PJB gear I have played all sounds really true to the instrument and it's small and easy to tote.

Exactly. No more " Getting a Hernia " every-time you have a Live-gig. I used to have a Marshall Stack (my guitar rig) now I play live thru a Princeton Reverb and play Bass thru a Rumble 100 v3. I am very interested in the Phil Jones stuff. Small and Portable is the way to go. oNe LovE from NYC

 

[Tetness]

Just bought a BG400 and using it with a C8 cab and it's got the punch, the bass, and the articulation. Could not be happier. I also have an SVT backline and 8x10. But this thing can hang with that for most gigs. And my band is LOUD. Too loud, I'm sad to report.

 

[superheavyfunk]

Hey everyone. I just bought a BG-120, the Bass Cub “Pro” combo. I wondered if any of you have tried using any of the PJB combos with full-size cabs before?

While my primary use for this will be as a practice amp, I can definitely see myself bringing it to large rehearsals and trying to use one of the big fridges or 410s that they have there, and I wondered how this would work out, since I’d be running two tiny drivers alongside several relatively large ones.

I’d read before that doing stuff like this could put unnecessary strain on the smaller drivers and damage them… is this true? What has your experience been?

 

[Tetness]

Loving this new rig… I use this for medium and smaller gigs.

 

[coyoteboy]

Quick comment regarding the reported ‘leanness’ of the bass response in the 5” equipped cabinets: I too noted the lack of ‘woof’ when first hearing my 4B with the band. After some time i felt it was a feature not a bug. I equate it to hearing bass through a good set of headphones. Im hearing all the bass I want, but its not flapping my pants… nor vibrating the stage, nor interacting with the room in weird ways.

 

[djmay]

I recently returned to bass after 16 years of no playing. I play in a big band with a 5-string fretless, C2 cabinet and TC Electronic BQ500 amp. The sound and volume are fine. Only the singer is amplified; not the band. I am thinking about adding another C2 or C4 to have more headroom.

 

[Philippe77]

Hello, I just read the 4 pages here... because I just bought a Phil Jones C4 but I have no amp yet.

It is important to make the right relation of W and Ω between the amps and the cabinets. Example:

C4 - 400W - 8Ω
C8 - 800W - 8Ω

If your amp is 800W - 4Ω / 400W - 8Ω, it is better to use 2 C4 instead of 1 C8.

Because when you connect 2 C4 the amp will use 400W for each C4, but if you connect 1 C8 it will use only 400W.

To be able to use the 800W of the C8 you should have an amp rated 800W-8Ω.

 

[coyoteboy]

I wouldnt worry about ‘getting every last watt’ out of your amp vis-à-vis Ω and speakers. I went with C8s so I wouldnt have to worry as much about pushing the speaker. If you want more volume, add more speakers before adding more watts.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I recall looking at PJB gear online when double bass players I respect started using PJB. When I saw their price for cables (!!!), my snake oil detector red-lined and my interest quickly waned.