SJB Amplifiers - anyone tried/got one?

beed84beed84 Frets: 2403
I'm looking to get myself an amp sometime soon and I've spotted a SJB Ant on eBay, which seems pretty cool.  However, because there was only a limited number made, there's not a great deal of info on them.

The music I play is blues/jazz/rock and would ideally want a clean platform for pedals. I'm wondering if this would fit the bill. If anyone has any experience of these, I'd appreciate your views.
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Comments

  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    edited May 2017
    I had an Ant many years ago, I wish I has never sold it....very basic, just a volume as I remember, great tone and quite loud in the scheme of things.
    I'm not sure it would suit Jazz unless its crunchy Jazz cos as the volume increases so does the distortion, great blues amp and I reckon great with blues harmonica....prob ok for classic low gain rock too.....
    Never be loud enough for anything more than the quietest gig...
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    Wow! 400 beer tokens, I really wish I'd kept it now!
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • beed84beed84 Frets: 2403
    Hmm sounds good but if it breaks up easily perhaps I'll need something with more clean headroom. I'll have to mull it over...

    Thanks for the response, though :)
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    I could never understand why they had that huge wooden A-frame thing on there. Makes them look like something a particularly dim woodwork pupil would make.
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  • DJH83004DJH83004 Frets: 196
    Just checked through some old notes, as I repaired one several years ago and the Ant does have a bit of an unusual valve lineup an EF83 on the input, and 6U8A on reverb drive and recovery. I not 100% sure without digging further but I don't think the EF83 is pin compatible with an EF86, as the EF83 is quite a rare valve these days, so may need modding to accept an EF86.
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  • DodgeDodge Frets: 1430
    I've had a couple of Ants and a Hornet.  As @DJH83004 mentioned, Brian Jefferies used pretty much whatever he could lay his hands on regarding valve compliment.  One of mine had a Pentode preamp, the other a more regular dual triode.   Identifying the valve types was a challenge (complicated by that lying twat at Watford Valves)

    Tonally, they were quite similar - they are jazzy amps, quite dark with a bark of overdrive.  You won't get any creamy saturation, more of an old fashioned ragged overdrive.  They were interesting, but ultimately didn't speak to me enough for me to retain them.

    He also did a GiAnt combo which was brilliant - I never owned one, but I recall going to a music show at Wembley in the 90's and a couple of chaps were jamming though one and it sounded amazing.  That was also the day when I met Sid Poole and Denis Cornell, and got the chance to test drive one of Sid's Les Pauls through a Cornell Journeyman 35R.....  Happy times.


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  • beed84beed84 Frets: 2403
    Thanks for all the responses. As good as I'm sure it is, I'm going to pass on it. £400 is to much of an expensive punt. I think I'd rather wait and get something extra special when the time is right instead.
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