Polytone Mini Brute IV

Bought this amp brand new end of 2006. Just started playing guitar again after a 'long lapse', and decided to go for the 7 string sound!
Just right for me with the features! I've tried various amps like a blues deluze Jr. and a VOX modeling head. These are all meant for a rock/metal player.

This is one nice sounding amp. Especially for an archtop and straight ahead jazz/blues. My main guitar is an Eastman 810-7 that is a sweetheart. Also have a RAINES fusion 7 and a RAINES thinline archtop 7. They all sound good, just the RAINES pickups drive a lot harder than the Eastman. No distortion on this version. Sometimes I get vibrations at certain frequencies but it's not the amp. Stuff in my music room get to vibrating;-).

This get tough! First I'm a electrical engineer. Always get the schematics for all my gear, and many times 'open the hood'. Didn't do that at first. Amp was just playing real nice. It does have thermal protection and I hit it a few times playing at high volumes. Think it could use a fan to suck air out. Very recently it did 'die', just moving it from my stand to the floor! Finally opened it up. As usual the workmanship is poor!! Electrical design is solid, but workmanship is the downfall of lots of products. Lots of solder splashes ane wire tinsel that shorted a few nodes. Older models were probably built better. Cleaned up, the reliability is much improved!

Haven't dealt with them on this model. Did buy a old 103 and they sent me a schematic.

Overall this is a sweet amp. If you buy one new though and you're not technical, insist that it be inspected internally by a tech. Have him stake down some of the wires if you plan to move it around a lot!

To a jazzer, Polytone is like a Marshall for a rocker. I hate Marshalls so avoided them, and besides "I don't want to sound like everybody else." Then jazz guitarist Eric Johnson recommended I get a one. When a great musican like that gives you some practical advice, you shouldn't waste it on principle.

The same week I found this amp used in a store and traded my Mesa/Boogie Caliber.50 for it. I already have a Studio.22, which sounds great clean and cranked, but the Polytone does clean in a way which the Boogie could never. Nor could a Boogie ever sound as bad as a Polytone does with it's infamous distortion cranked.

Based on my research, I think it was made in 1987. It has a three-way slider for DARK/NORMAL/BRIGHT sounds, and a +/- switch for the gain. Each channel has it's own volume, thought only the distortion channel has a gain control. This knob toggles the distortion on and off with a click at 1. There are concentric knobs tone controls which are active on boths channels. There is a single knob for DISTORTION EQ which works like a mid-contour control.

The speaker is a 15" so it can handle bass. It also sounds decent with an acoustic guitar. It's quite powerful, so I'd like to make use of just the power amp and speaker for sound reinforcement applications. Even thought it's solid state, the sound is missing some potency at low volumes. I've never seen a half-power switch on a solid state amp, but maybe it would be a good idea in this case. When I'm playing at home, it makes the walls shake above 3. The headphone jack sounds surprisingly thin for such a warm sounding amp. I think most of the amp's great tone must come from the speaker. A presence control would help the tone to sparkle a little better.

Distortion and reverb can be switched by a foot pedal, but I have never needed to use the distortion, or switch off the reverb. I don't risk using the external speaker jack since I don't know the impedance or wattage of this amp.

This amp has a dark, signing voice with amazing clarity. In other words it's perfect for standard jazz. You can get that "jazz guitar" tone associated with Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, and George Benson. I've never had to crank it unless I'm using the headphones, but the preamp didn't distort. It's probably designed not to which is not a difficult thing to achieve with quality transitors and ICs. Far more difficult to make components overdrive and distort musically. This amp is this proof.

The distortion is alright at the lowest settings for a little break-up and the blues, but turning it past 2.5 will cause you trauma and confusion. All I could think was how could they design awful distortion after making such a great clean circuit? The answer is obvious: they spent so much time and effort on the clean that they totally nelgected everything else.

The tone controls are not very responsive. The reverb is tolerable only at 2.5. Any less an the amp sounds too dry, and any more is garish. Then again, I wasn't expecting anything other than a great sound for jazz, and I got that. This comes at the expense of high end though. Even with the treble maxed, the amp sounds soft and dark. It has no teeth like my Boogie.

I paid extra to have this included in my luggage when I flew over to Japan. When it arrived, the reverb didn't work anymore, and it made funny flatulent noises. My repair guy replaced the reverb with something he claimed was equal or better, but it sounds worse to my ear. That might account for my particular dissatisfaction with the reverb.

Also, this is not my main amp. It's my backup. I might use it once or twice a month at home for some chord-melody masturbation. Sometimes the the decay sputters until you've been playing for a while. It probably needs some attention from a professional.

I'd part with this amp if I could find something as good for the pittance I paid for it. The newer Polytones look interesting for the added features and portability. The older ones have a certain appeal because that's what the greats were using. So I would like to upgrade someday. In the meantime, this amp is keeper for solo-guitar gigs, jamming with friends at home, and downtime for my Mesa/Boogie.

180 watt solid state with reverb
one 15
useless distortion sounds like a fart in a bottle
i dont use it
clean chanel is Awesome and Loud and CLEAN
and light

i run a p bass through a sans amp bass di to "warm" up the tone a little into this little box
seems to have all the right frequencys to cut through the mix guitarists and a powerhouse drummers no midrange control but thats ok
sans amp fixes that
o yea i play alot of styles but mostly Punk

had it about 2 years and i left it in one time when i went out of town for 2 weeks and the reverb Still works not the best reverb ive ever heard but its ok in its own unique way

n/a

i love this little black box. Polytone rules i wish i would have bought one years ago
Clean Clean Clean and Loud did i mention that
yup id buy another

bought this amp new in the mid 70s, for guitar & bass use. previously owned gold fender bassman purchased in the 60's which i used w/lots of bands. could care less about distortion in an amp-if you can't play it clean on guitar or bass-don't play it is what i always have said. the reverb is adequate for guitar. my amp has 90 watts w/15" speaker & one main set of controls-no separate volumes, plus it has separate bass & treble knobs but no middle. it does have all the other features-hi/lo inputs, brite-middle-lo control, main out, ext. spkr, etc. it has a carpeted cover & i placed metal protector grille over the 15" speaker. it has the ability to make my '66 EBO gibson bass sound trebley when desired-something almost no other amp in the early mid-70s could accomplish near the $4-500 price range. it had/has all the features i care about.

prefer 50's 60' rock n' roll, soul, etc. why would anyone want distortion if they are trying to impress someone w/their ability to play? fantastically, an impressive compact-powerful-quality sounding bass amp. for my '62 jag it sounds good to my ears & is one of only a few 15" bass amps that works well w/guitars.

Nothing else touches this amp for total combination of clean sound & portability & it's nice to have the reverb thrown in for guitar. it would be hard to replace it w/anything else. i loved my old bassman but not having to lug it around.

I bought my Mini Brute IV in 1981 (sic!) because of the fact it was such a basic amplifier. When I bought it, I intended to use it mainly for amplifying my double bass (with the all-famous Polytone pick-up); in hindsight, I think I have been using it more as a bassguitar amplifier than anything else. The model I own, has a volume, treble and bass control and the bright switch. Nothing else. Which is exactly what I need(ed).

I use it as my main amplifier for double bass and fretless Fender Jazz Bass. As such, it produces the tone like I expect to be: warm, mellow and jazzy.

I have had some problems with it: it has happened twice now that the internal power-amp IC (the LM391N) has blown up. Apparently, this happens more often withis IC in power amplifier enviroments, so I just replace it and I play for another 10 years without problems..

Never called them - I live in the Netherlands, I don't think they even have a service point here in Europe.

I intend to keep this beastie for the time to come: in fact I completely restored the carpetting since it was completely worn on the edges. I also replaced the original foam and speaker mesh with a metal shield. It looks a bit more modern now.

I play straight ahead jazz like most of the others reviewing this amp, for jazz and portability this amp has no equals. Weights 32 pounds, has 110 watts with plenty of headroom, spring reverb and a on/off switch that allows you to switch polarity, which can quite operation when using noisy single coils although only slightly. These are the features I've used, as for distortion I tried it, but there's nothing here that anyone would want to use in a live situation. One of the few amps that can actually hold up, as I've had mine for a few years now and can attest to the top quality construction and problem free playing day in and day out. A 15" speaker is a great voice for just about any guitar and in the world of jazz where most have a warm, dark, rich tone it can help you get there without mudding up the signal.

I use this with my main jazz axe: Telecaster w/ Warmoth maple/ebony neck 9.5 straight radius, solid swamp ash body, Charlie Christian neck pickup, Nocaster bridge pickup. This guitar sounds like heaven with the CC pup. As for Archtops I've played them through this amp and I don't get the impression that the Polytone sounds right playing my Johnny Smith or my ES175, as my Fender 65' super reverb sounds much better for these type of guitars. The tone is bright and articulate and the 15" thumps, sometimes you have to look down and see this little beast to believe that such a little box could sound so good. I?ve seen Pat Martino once play through one of these in Chicago and was blown away at the huge tone he got out of it, of course we all wish we could sound that good.

The debate between, tube or not to tube, is an old one by now and the only thing I can say is that the compressed nature of tube amps does sound very nice, but the solid state amps especially this one can achieve a great tone, but some still consider the solid state to be less than pleasing and sometimes even dull in the tone department so each to their own. This isn't a tube amp, but the warmth is there and the tone is there at least when talking about these closed backed combo's like polytone.

Very reliable, especially when compared to Fender tube amps. I've not had one rattle, buzzing, clipping or cutouts. I take good care of my amps and try being gentle with them when transporting them to gigs and jams, and why not this amp is not cheap and money doesn't grow on trees. I'm a solid state man as I play the Roland JC120 and that's a great amp also, but very heavy and noisy so it stays home in the studio 99% of the time, but these solid state amps are very nice in that they just work every time you turn them on, tube amps on the other hand, seem to have problems left and right at least fender amps do. My '65 super reverb has crapped out on me more times in the past few years and gotten to the point that it stays in the closet where it can do no more harm. Sorry Fender but you need to go back and do your home work as I've had a '59 Bassman, Deville 410 and the above mentioned amp and they've all had problems and that's not including tubes which can be replaced with no problem.

I don't know anything about customer support for Polytone as they don't have a website, but at the same time these things don't break down very often. I would imagine their support is as great as the amps that they build and they would do you right if you had a problem.

I've been playing 18 years. I've got too many guitars, but my Tele's equipped with single coil neck pups are my favorites, my other guitar that is played through this amp is a USACG tele with the same neck as above and a Jason Lollar Dog Eared P90 which also sound like heaven. I like the portability and tone and hate nothing about it although I wish I could find an extension cab w/ 15" speaker to add to it. I choose this amp because it's a jazz amp that I've heard Pat Martino and Peter Leitch play in person and was very impressed with it so I gave it a try. I'll probably get a second one when I sell my Fender tube amp.

I have no idea how old this amp is. I bought it off the director of a jazz band I play in, who himself bought it off the Army Blues band a long time ago. When did they start making them? This is probably one of the first ones. I play my guitar through it and I play everything from jazz to metal. The distortion on the amp isn't the best but it works fine with a pedal. I use almost all of the features cuz I play lots of styles. I also frequently hook my trombone up to an instrument mic, run it through effects pedals, and into this amp. It works great for this- it's got enough kick to work fine in small club settings where I play with my band (like 100 people).

I use a Danelectro electric 12 string, a cheap Yamaha Pacifica which i've messed with quite a bit, an American Strat, and a Bach Stradivarious 42 trombone. As mentioned, I play all sorts of styles, though I usually end up playing sort of a dark funk/metal/jam type thing. It's perfect for the sound I'm looking for, but a lot of that has to do with my phase shifter and delay pedals. It's got such a big sound though that it works really well for the sort of "wall of sound" I like to go for. There is some buzz but only when everything's on 10. The clean channel doesn't really distort.

I had to repair this amp once but it was just a 25 dollar job because it was a loose wire. Apparently it's been working since the 70s or something, so it's probably pretty reliable.

Never called them...

I also have a couple of bass amps that I used to like to play through-a big Peavey amp and a small fender amp, but I have more fun playing through this one. I've used a Carvin for a while (a loaner from a bandmate) and played through a Marshall valvestate half stack, and, though those have more power, this sounds more like what I want (the Carvin is great too though).

I bought it used as part of a package(acoustic bass,case,stand,roll-dolly,amp,cords,bass pick-up)in Jan.2001. Amp was built July,1995. I
use the amp for my Squier 5 string in the City of Dunedin,FL,
Concert Band. This is a conventional Concert Band:Piccolos,Flutes,Bb
Clarinets,Alto Sax,Tenor Sax,Oboe,Bassoons, Bb Trumpets,French Horns,
Bb Tenor Trombones,BBb Tubas,xylophone,snare drum,cymbals,Bass Drum,
and 2 tunable Timpani. I play the 5 string with a foam rubber mute,
under the strings,barely touching the strings, just in front of the
bridge: this is to keep the overtones/sustain to a minimum. I use a
very firm/hard "Carol Kaye" pick for the bump/punch sound. I only use
the low impedance input, master control @ max. I do not use channel
switching, effects loops, reverb,headphones. I keep bass @"0," treble
@"-5," gain @ "6." The amp has the punch/boxy sound that I like and
cuts/bottoms through all of the wind and percussion instruments. I play the electric bass wide open: volume turned all the way on---and
get the dynamic sound levels indicated on the printed music---pp
through fff by digging/not-digging the pick into the strings. This is
a solid state amp( I use a 1965 Ampeg "Tube" B-15, amp when I play the
Squier 5 string with a Swing Big Band--19 pieces AND I PICK WITH MY FINGERS--no,"Carol Kaye" hard pick----a very mellow acoustic bass sound, very loud, because that of the leader's personal taste)

Refer to features narrative

Excellent in all respects. No service/repair/maintenance since purchase in Jan.2001. I wipe off with a cloth and auto/truck dashboard
spray. I really like the idea of the metal grill in front of the 15"
speaker(wish my '65 B-15 Ampeg Amp had this feature).

Amazed the company does not have an official company website---I guess
they are all too busy making amplifiers. I have never contacted the
company---even though I need an instruction book---I have learned everything I know about using this amp from this forum/customer feedback feature---and the respondents answers to your questions.

Using amps and picking acoustic and electric basses for over 50 years.
Own acoustic,electric upright and several 4/ + one 5 string electric
basses. I enjoy the boxy/punch that this amp puts out---if it were stolen I'd probably just use my '65 Ampeg B-15 until I ran into
another package deal (Instrument,Case,Cords,Straps,Amp) for a good
price. I personally think that this amp would fit any electric bass
players need for a good, honest, boxy/punchy sound---and it weighs
55 pounds less than my '65 Ampeg B-15 amp!

This is a 1988 Polytone MB IV. I have used it as my main amp since then. Clean guitar - it approximates the wonderful sounds of my 7 string guitars - Borys, D'Aquisto, Foster, Carvin - The amp is the most beautiful solid state design. It has a 15 inch speaker which is the ONLY solution for th elow "A" seven string guitar.

Quiet. As before, I use seven string guitars - from full carved top through to solid bodies with magnetic and Piezo pickups. The amp is versatile. Solo guitar is "iffy" at best considering the rooms I played in. This amp can adjust to any situation.

Since 1988, this has been my main amp - enough said

Never called 'em

I have two othe rpolytones - one for recording and one for rehersals- they ride around in all kinds of weather and are built very well. No name branded vintage snobbery - just great reliable CLEAN amplifiers.

This is a 2001 Amp. It is very versatile for jazz or anything that you want a very clean sound for. It has a second channel with an excellent aproximation of tube warmth. THe attemted rock sounds sound similar to putting a tube screamer in front of the pre. I don't use this for loud rock, though it would probably make a decent blues amp. It plays LOUD, if you want it to.

I mostly use a single pup Guild X-150 archtop. It also sound good with a Tele, especially on the neck pickup. It is quiet. This is not an amp for someone wanting to emulate White Zombie or any other overdrive types. It is a clean and nearly perfect jazz amp. I have the feeling it might work well as an acoustic amp, also. It goes very loud without distorting. Using the second channel overdrive lends a tube screamer sound.

Feels well built. It's got a metal grate speaker cover which should help protect the 15" speaker. Otherwise, I don't know.

I called one day. They called back the next with my answer. I've never tried to repair it. Warranty is one year.

I've been playing this for 5 months. It is my only amp. If it was stolen or ost, I might move to an amp that was more suited to more types of music. But probably, I'd buy another one. I love the sound, but I dislike the one dimensionality. My amp before was a Fender Blues Jr, and if it were quieter, I'd still be using it. If I had more money, I'd buy a Vibro-King which is the best sounding thing I've ever plugged my guitar into. For jazzers, this is the best in it's price range. I also play weekly through a Roland JAzz Chorus and the Polytone beats the Roland hands down.