review
Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight Head and 112 Cabinet
Jazz guitarists vary just like rock guitarists when it comes to tone. Some like a dark tone, some want a hint of overdrive, but generally most jazz players are looking for a tone that allows the natural sound of their instrument to come through. In recent years the trend has been towards smaller solid-state amps with high wattage. Fender has taken this direction also with the Jazzmaster Ultralight, a seven and a half pound, two channel amp head that cranks out 250 watts and includes digital effects. However, where most jazz amps focus on clean tones, the Jazzmaster Ultralight is a two-channel amp with a second channel geared for overdrive tones.
Jazz To Go
Many jazz gigs are in restaurants, cafes, or small clubs where space is at a premium, so the smaller the amp, the better. And naturally, for any gigging musician who carries his or her own gear, a lightweight amp is a good thing. The Jazzmaster Ultralight has both of these items covered. The head comes with an excellent padded gig bag that holds the head, the power and speaker cables, and the included footswitch. The whole package combined adds a few pounds to the weight of the seven and a half pound head, but it is still quite comfortable when slung over your shoulder. The matching Ultralight 112 cabinet is also very compact and weighs in at only 17 pounds. This is a very easy to carry combination that won’t wear you out before the gig.
The Head
The Jazzmaster Ultralight head is small. A mere 4" X 12" x 8.25" in size, it features a black anodized aluminum case with rounded Maple blocks on the sides and two Maple strips on the top. It also has two chrome handles that make pulling it out of the included gig bag a breeze. It is a very attractive little amp. There are two input jacks, one for standard pickups and one (-6dB) for active pickups. There is also a “voice” button, which works like the “bright” button on most amps causing an increase in overall treble. There are two rows of controls, one for each channel allowing you to tweak each channel individually, including each channel’s digital effects. A channel select button lets you switch channels without using the footswitch. There is a “Tuner/Mute” button, which cuts the audio output to allow silent tuning (there is also a dedicated “Tuner Out” jack on the rear of the amp if you want to leave a tuner plugged in.) Finally the front panel has a 1/4" headphone jack which automatically disables the speaker output.
In addition to the Tuner Out jack, the rear of the amp has a footswitch jack for the included footswitch (which I’ll discuss later.) It also has a Switchcraft HPC locking speaker jack for use with the 22” Speakon cable and matching jack on the Ultralight 112 cabinet. The Speakon cable is a 2-ohm speaker cable capable of handling 250 watts and locks in place with a quarter turn of the cable. This is a very efficient system and the cable is just the right length to easily reach the 112 cabinet. You can use a regular 4-ohm or 8-ohm cable with a different cabinet, but you will loose output due to the load mismatch. The rear panel also has an XLR output jack and Line Out Level knob, great for going direct to a PA system, plus a ground lift switch. Finally, there is a plug for the detachable power cord and a power switch.
The Cabinet
The matching Jazzmaster Ultralight 112 cabinet is also small, yet sounds much larger than its physical size. It features a specially voiced 12" Jenson speaker with a lightweight Neodymium magnet in a closed-back cabinet. The only jack on the cabinet is the Switchcraft HPC locking speaker jack that matches the one on the head.
However, the coolest feature of the 112 cabinet is its magnetic docking system. There are four indentations on the top of the cabinet that match the feet on the Ultralight head. Using a patented magnetic system, the amp is held securely in place magnetically when placed on the cabinet. The gripping action doesn’t feel particularly strong but has worked wonderfully for me. I use an amp stand that tilts the cabinet backwards at an angle and at first I was a little apprehensive that the head would come off easily, but this hasn’t been the case. The head has held firm through a number of gigs.
The Tones
The Jazzmaster clean channel does just what you would expect from an amp called Jazzmaster: it puts out clean, somewhat dark, jazz-worthy tone with enough power for any gig. The active tone controls make dialing in a good sound easy. If you want to go for a brighter tone, the “voice” switch will take you there. The overdrive channel was the real shocker. I wasn’t expecting very much, and was pleasantly surprised by its warm, tube-like tone. The gain control takes you from crunch to singing sustain, even inducing some feedback at higher gain settings. There is also a little hiss at higher gain settings. While not as dynamic as a real tube amp and not able to pull off the “just barely breaking up” overdrive of a tube amp with its power tubes pushed, it easily covers most distorted tones — something I was not expected from a “jazz” amp. Well done Fender.
The Effects
The digital effects section has a number of clean, good-sounding digital effects. A single knob takes you through a number of what amount to effects presets with each effect having a few variations. You get chorus, chorus + delay, chorus + reverb, flanger, tremolo, vibrato, delay, reverb, and reverb + delay. The only control you have is an Effects Level knob to adjust how much the effect that colors you signal. While limited, all the effects sound good, and the tremolo was especially nice, although I would have preferred a phaser to a flanger. I typically use the first reverb setting at a fairly low effects level and it sounds just right for most situations. The first setting of the delay also works well as an alternative to reverb.
The Footswitch
The Jazzmaster comes with a solid, three-button metal footswitch that allows you to switch channels, and switch the effects on or off for each channel. A long cable is included.
In Use
I have used the Jazzmaster several times for rehearsals and on gigs and it has always worked great. Probably the most appropriate gig I used it for was a wedding reception my jazz combo just did. Our four piece combo (guitar, keys, bass, drums) was hired to do mainly jazz during dinner and then play some “oldies” during the after dinner dancing. My guitar was an Epiphone Elitist Sheraton semi-hollowbody. I set the amp up facing me and used it as monitor. I ran an XLR cable out of the cabinet-simulating Line Output jack on the back of the amp directly to the PA and the sound in the house was great. This is a handy feature which makes things very easy for the sound guys.
The clean channel easily got me through the dinner jazz set. When it came time for the dance songs that needed overdrive tone (Johnny B. Goode, Sweet Home Alabama, etc.) I simply hit the footswitch and channel 2 provided exactly what I needed. The only pedal I used was a volume pedal.
Final Thoughts
The Jazzmaster Ultralight head and speaker cabinet are a great sounding pair well suited for jazz. With the surprisingly good overdrive tone, you can handle other styles of music as well. It’s light weight makes it a breeze to throw over your shoulder when heading to a gig. The magnetic docking system is very cool, and the speaker emulated line out XLR jack makes getting your tone to the PA a snap. Everything about this amp is logically laid out and works as expected. The Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight is a truly professional amp worthy of any jazz guitarist’s consideration.
Reader Comments
Better Guitar encourages your input. Agree with this review? Think I’m crazy? If you own or have used a Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight, email me your comments and I’ll post them below. The more opinions we have available, the better our buying decisions will be.
Guenther Zoeppel
Three weeks ago I bought the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight. The only reason for this was my spinal column — I wouldn't take my VOX AC30 any longer to some gigs, because of its 37 kg. So I did and was very, very surprised about the warm tone of this amp. As a Shadows fan I can reproduce the Hank Marvin sound with my Strat too, of course with an echo box separately. The only negative point is — sometimes when I play some soft or quiet themes, I can hear a little noise of the amp, even when I turn the volume to zero. But I'm an electronic engineer, I will find a way to remove this (some internal shielding and using more noiseless op-amps then the TL072). After all: A very good choice for guitarists who like a great clean sound and have some spinal problems.
Jason
Hey Mark! I just purchased a Fender Ultralight Jazzmaster and wanted to send in my thoughts. I just picked it up on Saturday and have barely had much time to really say much other than it is an amazing amp. I have been working the past 10 years on traditional bebop guitar and have been inspired by traditional to modern tones from players like Pat Martino and Joe Diorio to John Scofield and Nguyen Le. When I first played this amp, I felt like I was able to dial similar tones familiar to all these players with the built in effects.
Plus, living in NYC made the amp a perfect choice with it's ease of transport. I made the purchase this past weekend in PA while visiting family and was able to EASILY carry both the head, speaker, guitar, and packed duffel bag all the way back to the city from Philly and through the NYC subways system without breaking much of a sweat. If that isn't enough of an endorsement already, than I don't know what is!
Carlos Henderson
I couldn't agree with you more on your review of this amp. I primarily use this amp for solo guitar and jazz sets but have found that the overdrive is excellent on this also. When I don't need to bring my "Evil Twin" or Prosonic to a cover band gig it is just perfect. I think all different types of guitarists would find this amp as a wonderful addition or main amp in their choices of amps.
stats
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Head
- • 250 Watts Into 2 ohms
- • Solid State
- • DSP Effects (Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Flange, Vibratone, Tremolo, and Combinations)
- • 2 Channels (Normal and Tube-Emulated Overdrive)
- • High and Low Gain Inputs
- • Professional XLR Line Output with Level Control and Ground Lift
- • 3-Button Footswitch for Channel Selection, Normal FX, Drive FX On/Off
- • 7.5 lbs (3.40 Kg)
-
112 Cabinet
- • Italian Poplar Plywood Construction
- • Patented Magnet Docking System
- • Locking Neutrik Speakon Speaker Connector
- • 1-12", 2 Ohm Jensen Driver with Neodymium Magnet
- • 17 lbs (7.7 Kg)
- • 15.5" (39.3 cm) X 15.5" (39.3 cm) X 10/25 (26 cm)"
- • Power Handling: 250 Watts RMS
Positives
- Lightweight; attractive; good sounding clean and overdrive tones; built-in digital effects; magnetic docking system; head includes gig bag.
Negatives
- Expensive. 112 cabinet doesn't include gig bag.
Rating
- Performance: 10
- Sound Quality: 9
- Construction: 10
- Overall: 9.7
Ratings Key
- 0 = Worthless
- 10 = Excellent
Out Of Production
Company
- Fender