Sessionette 75

knuckleberryfinn

I played one of these at a blues jam the other night and it sounded really good. They seem to go pretty cheap on eBay when they turn up so I'm thinking about picking one up. Perfect for my needs: small, loud, and (hopefully) light. Anyone else have any experience of them?

matone

Had one of the later ones,a very versatile amp,good cleans and drive sounds.
Definitely one of the better non valve amps.
Downside,it was obviously built down to a price point.
Sounded good,a friend still has it n`all.

Kebabkid

Great amps and as mentioned, both channels are decent, but the clean excelled. Loud enough to gig too and I used the 1x12 version for several years with no issues apart from the foot switch (went through 2 and not heavy-footed)

knuckleberryfinn

matone;125126" said:

Downside,it was obviously built down to a price point.

True of all mass produced amps I suppose. What gave you this impression about the Sessionette?

equalsql

Used to sell these by the shed-load back in the late 80's. Excellent overdrive at bedroom levels, very smooth but tended to be slight 'raspy' at gig volumes. As @matone says they offer good clean sounds but I've never tried an OD in front of one. Many of the solid-state amps of the late 80's are now being recognised as rather good and the Sessionette's of that period are a good example. If not as your main amp I would recommend one as a reliable back-up.

ICBM

I absolute hate these amps. They sound dreadful to me - middy, nasal and flat, bordering on harsh - although the harshness is all in the upper mids, they have no top-end - and fatiguing when played loud. Pretty much a perfect definition of everything that's bad about solid state. But each to their own, I know a lot of people think they're "smooth" and "valve-like"… I really don't know why! They sound something like a Tube Screamer with a speaker, to me.

The one good thing I will say is that they're reasonably well-made and pretty reliable, although they're getting old now and there are quite a few common faults, some trivial and some more serious. And if they do die they have a decent speaker which you can take out and put in something more deserving .

And I like many solid-state amps, by the way!

impmann

Don't listen to him /\ it's his pet hatred... ;-) And I'm sure he's only ever played one that was knackered/not working right... ;-)

I gig one weekly and have done for years - they are *great* little amps if you know what you are doing with them and they sound immense. If you use pedals the clean channel is magnificent. The overdrive on the amp (if unmodified) can be a little flabby though (especially if you don't EQ the amp right)...

If you do buy one, I can heartily recommend sending it over to Stewart Ward at Award Session for an upgrade. He changes a few bits in the circuit to improve the overdrive, the reverb and the eq - think of it as bringing it up to the 21st century. I know Stewart tends to divide opinion on here, but I count him as a friend...

Oh and in 20+ years of ownership, my Sessionette 75 has never failed, nor given me any reason to worry live or in the studio. I had Stewart replace a couple of pots two years ago as they were starting to get scratchy - but this amp has literally done 1000s of gigs. 

IMHO, these are superb bargain. The only issue for me is they are so loud - I mean properly bonkers loud. In my band, the other guitarist has his amp flat out (Hayden MOFO 15) and the Sessionette is literally sitting at less than 25% power. At bigger gigs where he's using his 50w JCM800 head and 4x12, that sits at around 50-60% power and mine is at around a third... currently we don't mike up.

I'd say go for it... :-)

Kebabkid

Mine took a Rat pedal well on the clean channel and even when added to the overdrive channel. IIRC, my footswitch allowed me to mix both channels, which I preferred. It was a good funk amp!

I never thought them valve-like, but I never experienced them being raspy or harsh at gig levels and in the 80s, it wasn't uncommon to see these on a stage and sometimes being plugged into by session or touring guitarists when they played down the local.

knuckleberryfinn

impmann said:

Don't listen to him /\ it's his pet hatred... ;-)

Ha ha!  The only bad thing about the sound of the Sessionette I found was that it was very directional, and the emphasis in the upper mids did hurt when I was in the audience and straight in front of the amp.  It was on the floor, which meant that whoever played it turned it up too loud, which I think was mainly responsible for the pain-inducing volume.  It was incredibly loud.  The other amp there was a Mesa 5:50, which sounded nowhere near as good.  I know I'd prefer a Sessionette for £100 to a 5:50 for, what, £700 secondhand?

impmann

Yes they are very directional - I use mine on a stand to raise it up. If you use them on the floor, you can't be sure what you are beaming into the audience! 

Valve like? Well, they sound better than a bloody Peavey ValveKing combo... I had both at one time, and the Sessionette sounded far warmer and rounder than the Peavey (and nicer) - and that was based on feedback from the audience, not from me. What does a valve sound like anyway? And what does a valve amp sound like? Its all bollocks really...

If you enjoyed playing through it, then its going to work for you - if not, then look elsewhere. :-)

ThePrettyDamned

Do these older solid state amps need a cap job?

My bandit is knocking on for 15-20 years old, and I don't know whether it should see a tech or not. It sounds great though, I'm just worried it'll explode

ICBM

impmann said:

Don't listen to him /\ it's his pet hatred... ;-) And I'm sure he's only ever played one that was knackered/not working right... ;-)

Thy may be my pet hatred but only because they get so hyped there needs to be some counter-balance of reason .

I've played dozens of them, they all sound the same. Apart from the ones that *are* broken! I've worked on many (they were all over the place in the 80s and 90s, and they did occasionally fail) and been forced to use them in practice rooms when there was nothing else available. The clean sound can be just about made OK, the distortion channel can't even if if you select EQ, and it's horrendous without. They don't take pedals well. I would take any other solid-state amp of the same era over one, even the Fender Deluxe 85 which is probably my least favourite. I suppose if you like nasal midrange sounds with harsh, flat dynamics then they're great!

I agree they're incredibly loud - but like the famous Marshall ad said, so is a grenade… it doesn't mean you'd want to listen to it .

impmann

Reason? Erm... nope, just hatred from what I can see!! ;-)

We shall agree to differ, but many amps have come and gone in this house - and the Sessionette has remained. Its not the greatest amp ever made but it's far better than you give it credence and for what it is (lightweight, powerful, small and reliable), its a great little amp. And no, I don't have a nasal, midrangey tone lacking in dynamics... and nor does my guitar. :-)

57Deluxe

Do a search for Session and Sessionette and Rockette as these have been discussed in threads here quite recently.

I have been a Session owner since  summer '86 (and never needed a technician's touch) and it still sounds good alongside a raft of vintage and modern Tube classics...And as mention can also now get the tone upgrade for the Sessionette from Session... navigate to here:

http://www.award-session.com/sessionette.html

Their all new BluesBaby amp kit sounds good too...

matone

knuckleberryfinn said:

matone;125126" said:

Downside,it was obviously built down to a price point.

True of all mass produced amps I suppose. What gave you this impression about the Sessionette?

Control panel was a stick on label,reverb tank was chassis mounted but had obviously been designed outboard originally and
the general construction of the chassis etc seemed weak imho.
I still considered it to be a good amp,despite the above observations.It still does sterling service at band rehearsals etc
 As I said this was one of the later production run amps,not a furry one !

57Deluxe

matone said:

knuckleberryfinn said:

matone;125126" said:

Downside,it was obviously built down to a price point.

True of all mass produced amps I suppose. What gave you this impression about the Sessionette?

<SNIP>
 As I said this was one of the later production run amps,not a furry one !

Not 'furry' Is  - GREY TWEED!

matone

I always think of them as furry amps! LOL !

impmann

matone;125815" said:

knuckleberryfinn said:

matone;125126" said:

Downside,it was obviously built down to a price point.

True of all mass produced amps I suppose. What gave you this impression about the Sessionette?










Control panel was a stick on label,reverb tank was chassis mounted but had obviously been designed outboard originally and

the general construction of the chassis etc seemed weak imho.

I still considered it to be a good amp,despite the above observations.It still does sterling service at band rehearsals etc

 As I said this was one of the later production run amps,not a furry one !

Reverb tank - on mine the tank is mounted on the side if the cabinet, plus the torroidial transformer is mounted way away from the chassis. Mine (1988 build) is like a tank, constructionally.
The later amps are a very different animal - I've had two of them (a Sessionette and a 'The Punk') and they sound very different to the early ones.

equalsql

Furry but lovely. Used to plug a Gordon Smith GS1 into them to demo and they sold themselves. At shop volume levels they sounded amazing, creamy and articulate.

57Deluxe

...and remember - The Rockette was good enough for Clapton - he had a pair in the studio to record with

xSkarloey

Used to use a borrowed one to gig with. OD channel I didn't care for but the cleans are great and in my experience they take all manner of pedals well. Loud as...