Polytone Mini-Brute II

Continuously manufacture and model.
Supported jazztone.
Compact.
12".
110W.
With protect cover.

"Jazztone Test"
S/N:P-29848
Inst:'67 ES175DN,Belden 9778/2.5m
Amp stand:Ultimate AMP150
Setting:Master/Max(Normal way for Master-VR type.Equal to "Black
Face Tone"
Tonal color Switch/Normal(Center position)
Gain/3(Use to VR)
Contour/10???11 o'clock position.
Program/Edge position
Bass/+1
Mid/+2
Treble/+1
Results:Excelnt jazztone by use to "Sonic Circuit"

No ploblems.
"CAUTION"
Side handle design !
"Prevent for the reverb unit troubles"
As well as keeping the "Upright".

About 45 years playing.
Other gear:Nighthawk,APX-10N, '65 Twin Reverb,'66 Vibrolux Reverb
Red knob Twin,Peterson P-100G Mk-???,Envoy 110,GNX-2,etc.

High and Low inputs. Three way 'dark' to 'bright' switch.
EQ switch. Bass, middle, treble, distortion treble, volume, distortion volume, gain, reverb.
headphone out, speaker out, effects loop.
I use this mostly to practice at home.
Takes pedals very well in it's own way.
Not as responsive as a tube amp.
Acquired it for no cost in 1994.

I mainly switch between a strat w/Lace sensors and a Les Paul Custom w/stock pickups.
It suits my style just fine. I use the clean channel with pedals.
It's my bedroom amp though. If it were the only amp I had it would work just fine but I use others for the stage.
The distortion channel I do not bother with.
It only gets noisy when I'm sitting right in front of it.
I took it to practice once and it held up VERY WELL and got
VERY LOUD. With the volume on 4 it already went over the drums.
Tone started to break up a little when turned up. Like a slight overdrive. Impressive.
I've read that jazz and some blues players know and use Polytone and
it sounds right for it. But, as mentioned, it takes pedals really well and I practice alot of rock and some metal through it.

Very dependable. Has never broken down. My reverb still works and I acquired it in 1994 used. You always need a backup, doesn't matter what you're using.

I got it for free, used. Never had to deal with this aspect.

I've been playing for 14 years. I own or have owned a Mesa Dual Rec, VHT 50-CL, Carvin X100-B, Peavey 5150 block, Marshall JCM 900.
I play through a carvin 2x12 or VHT fatbottom 4x12.
I love the Polytones clean channel. I Love how reliable it is.
I Love how different it is from my tube amps.
It is what it is. A Great 1x12 SolidState amp.

this is an update from my previous post. since finding out that my mesa boogie is unrepairable. I am keeping this as my main amp. It has all the features and tone that I need and want.

Like I said in my previous post, you get a classic Santana sound with this amp, which suits me well since I like the classic Santana sound. It produces that high pitched sound even on high bass settings. Anyway, it sounds like Santana.

I have had it since this past summer and has not screwed up on me. Since I have heard from other owners horror stories about the reverb or other features being terrible, I give it a 9 in quality.

i got the manual, so i don't have to deal with the company directly

I love this amp and will not sell it or get rid of for an amp of lesser wattage or value. has all I want and need and will hook up pedals to it. Overall I am pleased with this amp

a basic run of the mill solid state amp with reverb 2 chanels 2 band eq with q a bright/dark switch for contour

clean and distorted. the clean distorts at high volumes but it does not bother me. the distortion channel sounds very good, and has a classic Santana sound to it. i use it playing a Dean Vendetta Xm guitar. even though this amp is made for jazz and blues guitarists, e sound that comes out of my amp suits my styles classic heavy metal and black metal styles very well. I normally use without a fuzz pedal but may a chorus pedal the future. it veedbacks alot on the treble setting but it does not bother me.

it seesm to be very reliable and would gig without backup

never dealt with them but i intend to call them for a manual

i have been playing for 2 and half years and own a holy grail reverb pedal and dano chili dog octave down pedal and a Mesa/Boogie subway rocket reverb amp in the shop. if lost or stolen, i would probaby get another one or get another amp. this amp was intended as a backup for my Mesa while it is in e shop but i intend to keep as a main amp and and as backup when my Mesa comes out of the shop.

I bought my Mini-brute new on sale for about $300 and a jazz chorus trade in. It has the new "sonic-circuit", reverb, 2 channel input, 3-switch tone knob, etc. I never use the effects loop. I play jazz, latin and funk and it rocks.

The amp sounds incredibly clean and warm for a solid state amp of its size. I play it with my Gibson 175 archtop and I sometimes wonder if they are wired for each other. It has never let me down and It has enough power for almost any setting, small jazz clubs to larger venues.

never had a problem, knock on wood..

We'll see, I just emailed them to get a cover...

I've been playing for 18 years and have many other amps, including a 70's Fender Twin. This amp is in class of its own, if you play jazz, funk, fusion, rock or country, this amp can deliver. I would not suggest it for those pure blues enthusiasts but I've gotten some monster blues tone with the built in drive. I definitely recommend it.

Purchased new in 1979 for about $200. 100 watts solid state, one 12" speaker, small cabinet, one channel.

I used this as a practice amp with keyboards, and used it for gigs with my Rhodes piano for big-band jazz gigs. The amp was quiet and clean, throughout the range of the Rhodes. Its volume was adequate for the gigs, even in large dance halls, and it never broke up or distorted.

Never had any problems with it.

I never needed to deal with customer support

I used this amp from 1979 to 1982, when I retired from active gigging. I thought it was excellent. My main sound system was a Yamaha powered PA speaker (100 watts, one 15" and a horn, with a Yamaha mixer), through which I amplified a Rhodes, a Crumar Orchestrator (with bass pedals and customized bass circuitry) and an Octave Cat synthesizer. In reheasal settings, I could use the Polytone and preserve my sound (with the exception of less bass).

my polytone is from 1980! i got it on craigslist from some lady who didn't know anything about guitars or amps and had this sitting in her closet for the last 7 years. i was more than prepared to pay twice what i paid for it, but she said that $200 was all that she wanted. it was my lucky lucky day. it's got two channels (bright, dark), reverb, volume, bass, treble and a distortion control (which i've never used). since the amp has basically never been used, the reverb still works perfectly. it's 90W through an internal 12 inch speaker. i only wish it were a little louder for when playing with loud tenors and trumpets. oh yeah, and it's covered in it's original black velvet covering. yes, black velvet.

i use this with my gibson es-165 to play straight ahead bop and hard-bop type stuff as well as solo jazz guitar. this amp is THE amp for jazz guitarists. five years ago, i decided that joe pass' virtuoso live album was the sound i wanted. with this setup, i've gotten as close to this sound as i think i will ever get. just need to get more chops =). of course, with a big jazz guitar as this, i get some feedback, but if i stand further than 3 feet from the amp, this problem goes away. the sound is deep, dark, full bodied. everything you'd want in a jazz guitar amp. i saw jim hall last month in a pretty big auditorium (maybe seats 1000) and he used nothing but a little polytone mini-brute with a digitech whammy pedal (for the chorus effect) miked to the p.a. system. of course, it sounded wonderful.

i've had this now for about a year and have had exactly zero problems. as i said before, my reverb still works (unlike everyone else apparently) but i guess it was not really ever played much over the last 25 years. for that age, i've never seen an amp in such good condition.

haven't had to deal with polytone.

i've been using this amp in small jazz groups, from guitar trios to quintet sizes and it's been the most perfect amp. i've been playing for about ten years, jazz for the last four. i used to use a big fender blues deville that sounded nice, but was 60lbs. i also previously had a gallien-krueger which was nice, but not quite right. the other amp that i still keep my eye out for (for backup purposes) is a small roland, maybe a jc-77 or something like that. the roland's are nice, but i'd go with polytone any day of the week. forget being stolen, if i ever come across another one for twice the price, i'll buy it immediately just to have two. don't be fooled by the price i paid!! the amp is worth far far more.

The Polytone MiniBrute II has the features that most purist jazz guitarist search for such as a simplified control panel, reverb knob (which seems to rarely work for most polytones :-O) along with a very consistant sound. The 12" speaker is just right, not too small or large and if I need more I can plug in a Rich Raezer Stealth 12 to add more speaker punch. Overall, Tommy Gummina (the maker of these amps) understood back in the day what we all need to play be-bop with an archtop guitar and that is why his amps are so popular in the jazz guitar scene.

The Polytone sound has been around for generations in the world of jazz guitar. I have heard many early recordings from the 1970's of Joe Pass and Herb Ellis (on Pablo) using the first polytone amplifiers. Polytone sounded the same back then, having a very consistant sound and even range. My main instrument is a Gibson L-5CES and this amp does a great job bringing out the beautiful higher register of the guitar as well as helping to articulte the lower register (which can sometimes be lost though a twin reverb because of the sheer power and wattage causing the lower end on the guitar to come out bluury and muddy). However, the downfall (or some consider a plus) of these solid state amplifiers is that whatever you dial in the mix treb/mid/bass is what you get. Therefore, after 10 choruses on Giant Steps, when you really want to pack the PUNCH, the polytone stays on its course and doesnt break up or push the sound at all. With a twin reverb (another popular jazz amplifier, built behind tube construction) you can sometimes get more than you bargain for. With the twin, I usually put all the dials on "4" but I notice that it is very responsive to my touch and attack on the guitar. With the polytone, not so much, and as a result I give it a 7 out of 10. It would be great if we cound have that polytone consistancy, with a little bit more responsiveness

Many of my collegues here in Los Angeles use Polytones and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has had their REVERB DIE. My reverb broke about two years ago, and I can tell a significant difference in the sound of the amp. Granite, this is an easy fix, but their shop is very hard to contact about replacing the reverb units and the polytone dealers are few and far between. The amp has never failed on me completely, however it is a dissapointment that I can't have reverb. So I just use of the boss digital delay pedals to compensate. When Pat Metheny played my polytone (minus the reverb) he said that he actually liked the sound BETTER without the reverb. I didn't know that it was that big of a deal. Compared to a tube amp though, the maintenance is much lower and less of a hassle since there are no tubes to replace.

After my reverb became deceased, I contacted polytone here in North Hollywood. The woman that answered said I would have to bring in my amp on a monday and pick it up before the weekend cause they didn't want to keep it. This was rather inconvient for me because I didn't have a car and I didn't know if I was going to be able to come by and get it. So a year passed, and I called them again. The lady said they didn't have any of the reverb units in and she would call me when they did. That was 2002 and as of today in 2004 I still haven't heard. So I wish they would get their act together and have better customer support. Plus, they really need a place on the world wide web so players can compare their amps to the others popular acoustic image and evans.

I love my polytone because it can handle two guitars well (I use it at this regular gig all the time with my friends ES-175 and my L-5 - this amp really works well). The sound is okay, a bit artificial for me and lacking alot of soul. Someday I really want a nice tube amp, but costs and maintenance risks keep me from getting one. Also, this amp is only 24 pounds compared to many jazz tube amps like the fender twin that weigh over twice that. In the end, if you are looking for a nice botique jazz guitar amp, look no further because you are really paying tribute to the many players that have used polytone. But if you are really picky about your sound, search around because there are much better products out there today for the working jazz guitarist.

I've find this amp in a local music store in the 1997, and it was used, I'll payed $ 300. No reverb, two chanel but I'll never used the distorsion mode 'cause I don't need, loop, estension speaker, out to PA, headphone jack.

I mainly use for jazz standard gig, with a Heritage Eagle classic and a '63 Gibson 330td.I usually play in a big band and this little amps it's OK for a Freddie Green style of compin';to warmer the sound I personally find very good a W-Twin Mesa Boogie tube pre amp between an Alesis Nano-Verb is very clean and deep and full of hadroom.

I'll find a schematic sheet because I have another one smaller (Mega-Brute)but not service on the Web. Every things works at the moment but if I'll need some repair I'll do myself.

You can find schematic , there is some private estimateur that put something in the web just take a look.One year warranty.

I've been playing guitar 30 years, and 12 professionally,I have a fender silver face pro reverb , and an Ampeg Reverb. I've been use for a while Lab L5 and is a very good mosfet solid state amp and I'll like to buy another one.

I like the treble boost/cut feature - very usefull.
The earphone jack caused the inner fuse to blow twice - but maybe it was the jack itself which caused it (?). check it anyway.
the over drive is horrible.

Iplay Jazz, and it is the ultimate jazz amp for me to use in home and on stage. the reverb is more then ok. the only bad thing is (as I mentioned) is the over drive. I never used it.

I bought it used , and the guy who sold it to me fix it for free every time I need.

I have been playing for 13 years. I own a 1964 Epiphone Century, which sounds great with this amp, not only when I play jazz (though the guitar itself is very jazz oriented)