Jetta 1x12" Tube Combo Amp Review

Old Plank Spanker

My third Dr.Z and as usual they are, in my opinion, the best amp you can get for the money.

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Dr Z Jetta 112 Combo Tube Amp

Awesome amp. I had several Dr Z amps in the past like the MAZ 18, MAZ 38, Stingray (had the original Stingray), Route 66 and Z-Master. All incredible amps. Now I took delivery of my second Jetta 112 combo. Plan to use both mainly in combination with my Kemper Profiler Stage. Running the monitor out without speaker sim into the FX returns of the Jettas. The Jettas are the best amps… read more I have tried for this purpose. They enable me to get very musical harmonic feedback when desired which I didn't easily get with any other solutions like FRFRs, guitar speakers and solid state amps or with any other tube amp or solid state amp. The Jettas are taking the Kemper and the profiles I am using like they are integral parts of the amp. Don't feel that there is a blanket in between them that is so often the case. Very immediate and direct. Beautiful. The amp also sounds great on its own and takes pedals like no other. Can go from clean to mean to outright dirty with a distinctive vintage character that really reminds me of old Ampeg Reverberockets. The amp can do very low and high volume. Ideal for home, studio, clubs and I bet large stages. Much better headroom than the typical 15-20 watt amp and with around only 34 lbs they are very manageable in terms of weight. The Celestion G12H Anniversary, while never been a favorite of mine, is a great match for this amp. Sweetwater is the best in the industry in terms of speedy delivery. Thanks also to my rep Ryan Murphy.

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Dr Z Jetta

First order tone: Sounds a lot like a Catalinbread SFT pedal in Stones mode. Dense clean tones and even denser ODs. Think late 60s/ early 70s Keith Richards with preamp Volume at max. Can get very loud. Maintains great tones at low volumes. Build: As good as I would ever want it to be. Weight: Light as feather for how powerful it is. Bottom Line: Light. Powerful. Sounds great on… read more its. Works great with pedals. Very easy to tweak. Very clear effects loop. Perfect gigging amp. As always, Nick Farmer and crew did a great job taking care of me.

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It was pretty good, Then I changed out the speaker.

Celestion was a bit dull and generic for my taste, then I dropped in a Tone Tubby Chicago Blue. Now I love this deceptively simple amp. Reeks of quality and attention to detail.

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Thickerer.

I've a few more thoughts on this amp. When I bought it, I didn't really know where it was going to fit in my guitar world. I was attracted to it because of its connection to vintage Ampeg circuits, which I adore. And the price for a hand made premium amp seemed very fair. The Jetta sounds very much like one of my favorite amps, a vintage Ampeg Reverberocket 2. Especially with a… read more Strymon Flint running in the effects loop and the volume up high. Then use the master to tame it it down. Playing my Jag through it produces big, open, articulate, edge of breakup tone. Single notes are very present and clear. I find that I really love my Jaguar and SG JR and Special through this amp. Humbuckers not as much. I just feel like I'm getting a lot more out of single coils. The Jetta can be extremely neutral. This makes it a perfect pedal amp. Great with delays and reverbs going through the loop. Awesome with amp in box pedals and overdrives going in the front. I don't think I'd be able to tell the recorded difference between a Dirty Shirley pedal going through the Jetta and an actual Dirty Shirley. I already own a couple of excellent tweed amps and I was a little afraid that it was going to be redundant next to them. What I've found is that it's not really very tweedy at all. Less compressed for sure. It IS a great amp to run in stereo with a tweed Deluxe, using the Jetta as a pedal amp and the tweed for dirt. Using them both dirty together is ridiculous. The Jetta staying big, open, and thick while the tweed gets compressed sag. It's kind of a dream tone.

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