james_guitar Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 As mentioned in a previous post, I've recently purchased a Phil Jones Briefcase for smaller gigs (as well as busking) and thought I'd share a little feedback regarding performance. Here's a video of it in action... (bearing in mind the camera's built-in mic is very basic) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8vGoZ3IZyc"]PJB Briefcase live - Caravan[/url] Phil Jones M300 Head/8B Cab - Prior to making this purchase, I'd picked up a Phil Jones 8b cab (swapped with basswesty on this forum for my fender combo) and purchased a PJB M300 head accompany it (from Gareth, aka walbassist, also from this forum). I've been extremely happy with this set-up; it's powerful enough for big band gigs and reproduces my acoustic tone as naturally as possible. However, like most people on this forum, one purchase inevitably leads to another... PJB Briefcase - not only does this amp sound great, but it can produce some serious volume. So much so that I've been using it for most of my trio gigs (which has been saving my back and drastically reducing set-up times). It keeps up with the drums for more laid back gigs and doesn't distort at all, even when cranked. In fact, it sounds great with pretty much any instrument going through it - so much so that my partner has been running her stage piano through it for solo piano gigs (playing classical, jazz & pop ballads), and prefers it to high-end PA speakers. I've yet to try it busking, so am looking forward to that. Conclusion - the briefcase is easily one of the best purchases I've made and I couldn't be any happier with it. It's light, doesn't take up much space on stage, is loud enough for most gigs and sounds fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Nice playing and singing there. Not easy to walk a bass line and sing a melody at the same time. Good news that you have an amp that you like. That can be a hard thing to settle on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 That sounds great mate I know what you mean about PJB gear, I have the Cub which I use for the NS Wav, and it sounds ace. I don't know how PJB do it, but even with little speakers, these amps work really well with uprights. I love the tone of the NS through the Cub more than the Promethean amp. The one thing that lets the Cub down is that it isn't a loud 100 watts compared with the Briefcase. Not sure why this is really. It will certainly cut it in a small trio, but it does need help for anything larger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 The Cub and Briefcase both rate at 100W and both have two 5" speakers (I think!) - so whats the difference and why is the Briefcase louder? Just intrigued .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I think the Briefcase is heavier than the Cub, even though it is lightweight. The Cub is also smaller in size which could account for it. It's worth noting that when I say quiet, I mean for 'my' upright. Get an e-bass in there with good output and it can get a fair bit of volume. But, I've used some practice amps by Orange recently rated at considerably lower volumes, and they just punch big time. But, and this is the thing for me, the tone of the Cub is just fantastic. And this is ultimately what you're paying for in gear like this. It's small, light, beautifully made and delivers great, clear tone. I'm hoping to get the 250w powered speaker that goes with this amp to make a nice tidy upright rig for louder venues. That will help no end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) Reason I asked is that I will be playing in an all-acoustic Rattlin Bone blues offshoot (vox/guitar; vox/sax; trombone; DB) and a small combo is probably sufficient with no drummer (rather than me bring my Acoustic Image head and EA speaker rig). So I'm chewing over my options. Sounds like both the Cub and Briefcase would work but maybe the extra headroom of the Briefcase would be helpful? Thx Edited August 25, 2011 by Clarky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_guitar Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 Thanks for the positive response (or at least not throwing rotten fruit at me - I'm wearing my best shirt and can't afford to dry clean it)! [quote name='derrenleepoole' post='1351183' date='Aug 25 2011, 11:52 AM']That sounds great mate I know what you mean about PJB gear, I have the Cub which I use for the NS Wav, and it sounds ace. I don't know how PJB do it, but even with little speakers, these amps work really well with uprights. I love the tone of the NS through the Cub more than the Promethean amp. The one thing that lets the Cub down is that it isn't a loud 100 watts compared with the Briefcase. Not sure why this is really. It will certainly cut it in a small trio, but it does need help for anything larger.[/quote] Your feedback regarding the cub is great. I've been looking in to getting one and despite reading that it's physically a little quiter, I'm still very tempted by the Cub. If I get one then I'll still be using the briefcase, but the Cub is half the weight (meaning I can be even lazier for some gigs) and has 2 channels making it a portable, high-end solution for teaching. I also have a few venues that give me a room to lock equipment in - some times I just like having a different amp at each venue I can't speak for the cub as I've yet to try one, but the Briefcase more than kept up with a loud trumpetist we work with, as well as a drummer playing reasonable levels with sticks (yes, they do exist!). We've got a loud one this weekend, which is with drums, trumpet and trombone and the material requires the drummer to lay in to the kit a bit more. Don't think I'll risk the briefcase for that one - should be perfect for your Rattlin' Bone tribute though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 The Cub is a great little amp, and I use it for the upright (which I'm now forced into selling BTW...) and rehearsals with the band. Even though the Promethean is small, it's a bulky small, so the Cub is perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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