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Pjb double four
- Thread starter 1dreday
- Start date
I've been using one for about 5 years with a Lenmar PowerPort PPU916RS battery, which has been discontinued and hard to find out there, I was able to a couple of months ago. Find a 5500mHh or more, 20v 4A with 19v-20v output that does not have a cutoff circuit, I had one that kept shutting off the battery when my playing momentarily hit peak.
I've had one for a month or so. Jury is still out but I'm swaying towards "not my cup of tea." I love gear and have heard nothing but positive comments, and for the most part, I suppose they're true. For its size, it puts out some fine-sounding bass, but you're going to have to ask yourself if it's what you really want and why.
If you have a home recording studio I think it would be a nice piece of gear. If you're mostly a home player who jams with an acoustic guitar it's good and maybe others can suggest more opportunities than that, but I feel that's about it. I played with an acoustic guitarist a week ago in a spare room in our house and I just didn't like the tone with my Fender Jazz. Playing style and strings will obviously have a lot to do with it, but my ears weren't digging what I was hearing. I'm hoping a little more time breaking in the speakers will help.
As far as to build quality, one of the best I've owned. I wish everyone could put an amp together like this PJB. What I missed though is the baked-in tone of an Ampeg or Fender, so I'm guessing my boutique tastes are way ahead of my old school ears. I'm gonna keep at it and see what combination I can come up with, but I wanted to pull out my trusty Ampeg BA108 v2 with Eminence Alpha 8 speaker I was palpitating!
Good luck to ya regardless of what you decide.
If you have a home recording studio I think it would be a nice piece of gear. If you're mostly a home player who jams with an acoustic guitar it's good and maybe others can suggest more opportunities than that, but I feel that's about it. I played with an acoustic guitarist a week ago in a spare room in our house and I just didn't like the tone with my Fender Jazz. Playing style and strings will obviously have a lot to do with it, but my ears weren't digging what I was hearing. I'm hoping a little more time breaking in the speakers will help.
As far as to build quality, one of the best I've owned. I wish everyone could put an amp together like this PJB. What I missed though is the baked-in tone of an Ampeg or Fender, so I'm guessing my boutique tastes are way ahead of my old school ears. I'm gonna keep at it and see what combination I can come up with, but I wanted to pull out my trusty Ampeg BA108 v2 with Eminence Alpha 8 speaker I was palpitating!
Good luck to ya regardless of what you decide.
I've mentioned this before on other threads, I use my PJBD4 with a 50 member ukulele group in a large multipurpose room at the Veterans Center (40ft x 50 ft x 12 ft), the leader on a Fishman amp. I've been told a few times to turn down my amp. I also use it for smaller gigs in recreation rooms with up to 20 players. I play acoustic bass ukes, solid body bass ukes and mini electric guitars with steel strings, all tuned standard EADG. It's a great versatile amp.
My main amp is a MarkBass 121P, which is great for my band situation, but when I'm practicing, the fan noise and the hiss of the damn piezo speaker is distracting. About four months ago a Guitar Center discount code brought the price of a new PJB Double Four down to $400, so I ordered one to use as my practice amp.
There are other amps that would have been fine practice amps and would have been a lot less expensive, but I was drawn to its tiny size and the rave reviews. Indeed, the sound is amazing for its size, and I have no regrets.
However, there are a couple things about it I don't like that I haven't seen others mention. The first one is weird. When playing at louder volume, I heard distortion that was odd, and it wasn't from clipping. It took a bit to figure it out, but I found the extra sound wasn't coming from the speaker. It was coming from air rushing through the aux input jack! The case is sealed and the internal air pressure changes radically, forcing enough air through that port to make noise. I solved that by sticking in a jack leading to nothing, acting simply as a mechanical block.
The other issue is the tone controls. The unit uses DSP for tone shaping, and the manual says that as a result there is a lag between adjusting the knobs and hearing the result. But it seems like that isn't the whole picture. If I very slowly rotate a tone knob there are just 8 quantized settings for each of the knobs. As you rotate continuously, there is a stair step in its effect. It is a minor issue, but still disappointing that it isn't more continuous.
There are other amps that would have been fine practice amps and would have been a lot less expensive, but I was drawn to its tiny size and the rave reviews. Indeed, the sound is amazing for its size, and I have no regrets.
However, there are a couple things about it I don't like that I haven't seen others mention. The first one is weird. When playing at louder volume, I heard distortion that was odd, and it wasn't from clipping. It took a bit to figure it out, but I found the extra sound wasn't coming from the speaker. It was coming from air rushing through the aux input jack! The case is sealed and the internal air pressure changes radically, forcing enough air through that port to make noise. I solved that by sticking in a jack leading to nothing, acting simply as a mechanical block.
The other issue is the tone controls. The unit uses DSP for tone shaping, and the manual says that as a result there is a lag between adjusting the knobs and hearing the result. But it seems like that isn't the whole picture. If I very slowly rotate a tone knob there are just 8 quantized settings for each of the knobs. As you rotate continuously, there is a stair step in its effect. It is a minor issue, but still disappointing that it isn't more continuous.
I love mine for use at home and for a small acoustic jam that I go to. Everyone raves about its tone. It really is a great, well constructed amp. I think it sounds great with my acoustic guitar and my
Puerto Rican cuatro, but not so great with my Stratocaster. Frankly, the main reason I keep it is because it’s easier to carry for living room Jams than my Berg Forte and CN 112, which is not a monster size rig, but can get monster loud.
Puerto Rican cuatro, but not so great with my Stratocaster. Frankly, the main reason I keep it is because it’s easier to carry for living room Jams than my Berg Forte and CN 112, which is not a monster size rig, but can get monster loud.
Absolutely. I don't know why this amp is said to be practice only. As I said earlier, I was using it in a large multipurpose room with up to 50 ukulele players and the leader amplified. There are times when I'm asked to turn it down.
