Anyone ever use a Polytone amp?

John Egenes · Post by **John Egenes** » 2 Sep 2001 10:32 am

Being one of those multi-instrumentalist types, I'm always stuck with carrying too much gear to a gig. I'm trying to consolidate my rigs into one rig, for both acoustic and electric.

I'm really picky about my acoustic stuff. Have been using a Fishman Acoustic Performer Pro amp for a few years now and love it. But it doesn't like electric instruments at all.

So, I also have to carry along another rig for steel, Tele, etc. I'm getting too old for this. [grin]

Anyway, I've been playing with the idea (no pun intended) of going with a Polytone amp, with a 15" speaker. I've seen them around for years and have never had one. Seems like they might actually be okay for pedal steel, especially in a setting without drums or a loud band to compete with. Any ideas on this?

Thanks

John Egenes[This message was edited by John Egenes on 02 September 2001 at 11:35 AM.]

Len Amaral · Post by **Len Amaral** » 2 Sep 2001 1:16 pm

I used a Polytone 102 with 2-8" speakers and 1-12" speaker and a Polytone Mini Brute I for years with a six sting guitar and it sounded very good. I tried the Mini Brute I with my pedal steel and the amp can is OK for small jobs but it has a Jazz vibe as that's what the amp is designed for.
You should try it to see if it works out for you.
Lenny

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 2 Sep 2001 3:19 pm

John,
I've had a Polytone, with reverb and 15" speaker, for years. Winnie Winston got me into using them years ago. I like it because it's small and farily lightweight, but I must say that, moreso than any other amp I've used, I find that on some days I can get my sound out of it and some days I just can't. Unfortunately, there are more days I can't than days I can. But that might just be me, and my ears, and might not apply to you or anyone else. I'd say, give it a try before you buy.

------------------
www.jimcohen.com

John Egenes · Post by **John Egenes** » 3 Sep 2001 1:51 pm

Thanks for the replies. I doubt I'd buy a new one, but they always seem to pop up on Ebay, so I might just pick one up. Got to play with Johnnie Gimble a few weeks ago up in Taos and fooled with his a bit. His acoustic stuff (violin and mandolin) sounds great through it (of course, with him playing, what amp wouldn't?).
Also played through Sam Bush's a few times when Bill & Bonnie were touring with Lyle Lovett, and I really liked his rig. I think the acoustic instruments will be fine through it, but I've never heard a pedal steel through one and am curious.

John

Bill C. Buntin · Post by **Bill C. Buntin** » 7 Sep 2001 1:06 pm

I used to play with a fiddle player who used one, and he and I used to plug into each other's rigs on the job, just to see how close they were to each other. I liked the sound I got out of it. I actually borrowed it and played a few jobs with it. Like you said though, I doubt I would pay the $$ for a new one. I think they are pretty pricey. The other day I saw one new in a music store for about $850. Whew!

JERRY THURMOND · Post by **JERRY THURMOND** » 7 Sep 2001 2:54 pm

I have been useing polytone 15 speaker for about 5 years, there really good for small jobs, they only weight 29 lbs, but when I play large building I use pv1000. Jerry

John Egenes · Post by **John Egenes** » 7 Sep 2001 4:51 pm

Yeah, what I'm looking for is a compact, all-around rig that I can use for both acoustic and electric stuff.

I've been using a Fishman Acoustic Performer Pro amp for a few years. I usually play acoustic guitar, mandolin, sometimes dobro, and maybe even a 12 string acoustic onstage. I plug all these through an effects device, which is controlled by a midi pedalboard. I just call up the patch I want for whatever instrument I play on a given song.

If I play steel, or tele (or both), I also have to bring the rig for them. I want to be able to leave that out, if I'm doing acoustic stuff. It's usally not loud, so I don't need the big time volume. This is usually without a drummer.

I'll go either of 2 ways: my inclination is to just have a rack with a Rocktron Patchmate, my FX rig, and a midi pedal to switch patches. I'd send all this through my little Fishman Blender preamp and out to a powered monitor, probably something like a JBL Eon 10", or a Peavey 12".

From there, I would send an XLR (mic) cable out to the PA for the house mix, and just use the powered monitor for my stage mix.

I use the Fishman this way an it works great. But it's not too cool for hi-z instruments like steel and electric guitar.

The Polytone sounds like it might be a good tradeoff between the Fishman and a big amp like a Peavey or Evans or something.

I can still use a big amp for normal band gigs, and for REALLY simple acoustic stuff I just take the Pocket Blender and a mandolin.[g]

John[This message was edited by John Egenes on 07 September 2001 at 05:52 PM.]

Mark Cohen · Post by **Mark Cohen** » 10 Sep 2001 1:43 pm

You might consider getting a multi-effects pre-amp (I have been pretty happy with both the Digitech GSP series and the Line6 Pod), and using a good clean amp like the Nashville 1000 or a poweramp, speaker combo.

John Egenes · Post by **John Egenes** » 10 Sep 2001 4:25 pm

>>>You might consider getting a multi-effects pre-amp .....and using a good clean amp like the Nashville 1000 or a poweramp, speaker combo.<<<

That's really what I'm leaning toward. I do use a multi-FX unit ( the Digitech Studio Quad ), which is fine. I've been looking at getting a powered monitor, like a JBL Eon 10" speaker, or a Peavey 12". I know they aren't the best for pedal steel, but at lower volumes I think they'd be fine. I've always had a lot of trouble getting good acoustic tone (mandolin, guitar, dobro, etc) out of a "normal" amp, like a Fender or Peavey, and so I'm more concerned with that than with my steel tone.

Basically, I want to get both. [grin]

John

Mark Cohen · Post by **Mark Cohen** » 11 Sep 2001 11:15 am

If I had it all to do again, I would be looking at the Peavey PX300 as it is portable, contains the power amp (one less extra item)</a> and lightweight. You could then use either the Pod (in a gig bag), a TubeFEX, a Digitech, an Alesis, or any of these other nice units.

small is beautiful
<center><a href="http://www.peavey.com/guitaramps/mark_cohen.html>--- Mark</a></center>[This message was edited by Mark Cohen on 11 September 2001 at 12:24 PM.]

John Egenes · Post by **John Egenes** » 11 Sep 2001 6:17 pm

Hmmm.....I've never even seen one of those Peavey PX 300's before. Thanks for the tip.

Is it just a power amp and a speaker? That's what it looks like in the picture. If so, it might be what I'm looking for, although I'd really like to have a 2-way speaker system, with some sort of tweeter, especially for the acoustic instruments.

John

Mark Cohen · Post by **Mark Cohen** » 11 Sep 2001 9:55 pm

It is a power amp/speaker combo. I am sure that Mike Brown at Peavey will give you more data, if you like.