Polytone Mini-Brute III

Year made: 1989-1990. Given the features, it's probably what's called the 1985 model by the Musicparts.com (they sell amp schematics).

Versatility: This is perfect for my bass work in acoustic jazz and folk, both of which I play. It's a 100 W, so I don't use this when I work with traps, electric guitarists, horns etc.

One ch & headphone out. No ch switching, no fx loops,

Very few control knobs: volume, bass, mid/treble (stacked). 3-way switch for dark/middle(whatever that is)/bright.

I'm giving it a 2 because it's really good at what I use it for, but it is not a jack-of-all-trades.

For quiet jazz gigs, it's ideal. Tight, fat sound on thumb (not slap), and a little growly if I go to finger style.

I use Mini Brute III with a 6-string Roscoe SKB3006 bass which has a Bartolini soapbar pickup made for Roscoe.

As far as I can tell it's quiet, but I don't crank the treble.

Like I said above, this amp is perfect for jazz (e.g. Jaco sound for lack of a better descriptor). Surprisingly, it also has a tight slap-sound despite what others here have said. But it's not loud enough for live funk or fusion gigs. I've used this amp for slap on recordings.

No distortion -- but that's not really relevant to me.

I don't know how reliable it is because I've only gigged with it a dozen or so times, since I bought it a 2 months ago.

Polytone does NOT seem to care about the customer. To this day, I cannot get a manual. They act irritated if you call, and their emailed answers, if you get one, is superficial and therefore, a little suspect.

So far, I haven't had problems, but I really hate to think about having to deal w/ Polytone about repair or advice or anything.

I have played (jazz, latin, R&B, blues, folk) for 25 yrs.

Other amplification systems: BBE Bmax preamp; Line 6 Bass Pod XT; QSC PLX1602 power amp; Tapco Juice 800 power amp; Ashdown Electric Blue.

Basses: Roscoe SKB 3006; Alembic Essence 6; Moses Graphite Custom fretless jazz bass.

I love it, and if it were stolen, I would cry and buy something else (but see "Customer Service" above).

The only thing I wish it had was a manufacturer that was a little more attentive and organized.

my poly is a 1995.feature:high low input,3 tone knobs,no reverb,distortion section(never use,doesn't work anyway),never really use reverb either,has boost switch and mellow and brite on power switch,100watts(this thing is loud),28lbs.15inch speaker,head phone and speaker out on back

this amp is warm,and clean. My has a hiss but only with tone knobs set high and boost on,I keep my settings flat! I use a Ibanez thin hollow(not semi)body with a 57 neck pup on Thomastik infeld strings...nuff said.this amp with any decent hollow body sounds great,if you know how to play.the amp lets you get your warm or semi brite bebop style on!

Mine is a 95 and still kicking.had to go in and tighten a few screws,no sweat...its old!its installated inside with the board up top and everything else down bottom. the power cord isn't very long or thick,but is decent.Sold a fender 410 and bought this!

N/A

This amp gets a 9 cause it fits the bill!!!!If your looking for a lite,power(very load)sturdy amp that doesn't need back up tubes, this is it.I don't even think about a back up.If you need a back up somethings wrong.You don't drive your car with someone following you with''it might break down''mentality. Know/research your equipment(know as much as the repairmen does)before you purchase.The 410 is a great amp but not for giging,I'm 28 and trying to get a head start on saving my back!One trip in, one trip out!I only play a hollow body out of it so I don't know what any other guitar sounds like out of it(always kept a hollow body). Anythings possible,but these and Roland jc's are not built for rock ...they are for jazz playing.Blessed with a talent,Blessed with a good amp!

I bought this amp pre-owned from my jazz accordion teacher and use it for jazz accordion. I believe it is two years old. It has the clean channel and the sonic effects channel which I've never really used. It lacks a reverb, otherwise it's the same amp as the the Mini Brute IV. I don't require a reverb as I like the accordion with a "dry" sound. I can use this amp all the time as there is no venue I play which this cannot fill.

Bear in mind, that Polytone was established in 1968 by Tommy Gummina, a virtuoso and jazz accordionist. I play a late 1950's model accordion: the Sonola Ernie Felice model. This was a special order box with only two sets of the finest hand-made reeds on the piano side through a double tone chamber with a mechanical mute. It has crystal pick-ups. When the bassoon reeds are played through the Polytone, the tonal quality is no less than amazing! None of the tinny sound that may occur with a Musette tuned accordion through a PA. As far as the bass reeds are concerned, there is zero distortion when played through this amp.

I've only owned the amp for a short while. But since it was pre-owned and appears to be "as new," I don't expect that there should be much issue. The fit and finish is excellent and exudes a quality build.

I did have occation to call Polytone when trying to decide which model would be best with the accordion and left a message on their answering machine. A very pleasant lady called me back the next day (long distance) and described their models in detail. She then took the information on my instrument to review with some of their musicians and called me back the next day once again, having narrowed down the choices to the Mini-Brute IV (same as mine but with reverb) or one of the Taurus models. I have nothing bad to say about that kind of support.

I have one other keyboard amp which is a Duovox Mini-Titan also with a 15" speaker. I play an Iorio "Accorgan" through it with a fairly vast array of electronic organ sounds (not MIDI). It's an excellent keypoard amp, but as far straight accordion in the idiom of jazz, it simply can't compare to the Polytone amp's tone, fullness or clarity of sound. If my Polytone was lost or stolen, I would definitely get another. To me, I can't imagine playing jazz accordion through any other amp. I'm sure many jazz guitarists feel the same way.

The actual features are pretty limited, but the amp is not. I bought a Mini Brute III in 1980 when I was at school and have been using it in a variety ways since. I play full time and have used the amp for rehearsals, teaching, recording and playing in small clubs. When recording I find it mixes better with my tube DI much better than the vintage Ampegs found in studios. I recently finished recording a CD where we couldn't quite get the right jazz guitar sound. Suddenly I remembered I had my Mini Brute in my car and was blown away by how good it sounded with a big jazz guitar. Instant classic jazz tone.

I use the Mini Brute with a variety of basses, but really love the sound I get with my hollow body Lakland. The amp does not have a huge amount of low end, but often that is what is right for the gig. Last night I tried it on a rock gig in small club (instead of my Ashdown) and discovered that the tons of low end the Ashdown puts out is totally wrong for the room. Suddenly I could hear all of my notes.For once everyone else in the band could hear themselves and the usual volume war did not take place. Bass players tend to look how an amp delivers lows exclusively, whereas I think low mids are much more important for definition and the Poly really delivers.

After twenty plus years I had to have the power cord replaced. This amp is so simple, any qualified repair person should be able to fix it. I have used it with no back up for years. When I go on the road with this Rockabilly band I play with, we take it with us as a back up amp for me or the guitar player. I once had to use it in a large venue and just had my DI run though the monitors for the other players. No sweat.

I have dealt with the company. I ordered a vinyl cover for my amp that never showed up, but that was many years ago. I liked the mom and pop vibe back then, but wished they could have delivered a little better. George L is a better example of a m&p vibe that works. This was a long time ago. Getting the amp repaired was very, very easy.

Every so often I look around at other small amps to make sure I am not missing anything. I use a head with various cabinets depending on the gig. In the small amp cat the Poly is my favorite. I don't try to make it something that it's not and it keeps showing me more uses. If it got ripped off I would buy another, but would probably look for one used.

Purchased new in 1982 and is the black wrinkle finish version. Has only three single knobs and three position bright/dark switch.
Hi and lo inputs.
Single channel. No effects. 15" speaker.
It is covered in weird black tolex and has a spongy, removable grille. So what!
It weighs 30 lbs. Speaker line out to drive another cabinet.

Heavy duty construction-

For bass, this has offered fine service, with what I think is good sounds.

Has been used (gigged) with the gear I've had over the years Fishman p/u on URB, Ampeg baby bass, Muscicman Sabre and Stingrays, multiple Fender P basses (69-98), Peavey Foundation, Ken Smith bass.

Wedding, pop, casuals/private party gigs, low volume venues, big band, smaller jazz combos. Very quiet R&R.

Clean all the way up-speaker rattle at higher volumes which can be helped with an extention cab (2x10, 2x12, 4x10, 1x15)

It's a clean, almost uncolored sound. I like it for bass.

Have used it with guitar--better with arch tops than solid electrics.
A faur marginal guitar amp, better for practice, perhaps.

I still have this device.
It has been used at all kinds of parties,and events. (Sometimes it went through the PA. Very clean and quiet)
Always had a second back-up of some sort, never used it.
(in 23 years!)

Never needed any help. I don't know.

If mine were unavailable, would try to replace it with a similar unit.
The sound quality vs weight/reliablity/problem issues have been great. It's never been back to the shop!


I've played as an amateur 33 years on basses, functionally four or five years on guitar.

Bigger, heavier stuff may sound somewhat better, but I'm my own roadcrew and this is very important to me.

I wish I had two or three because my son is now starting to play; he likes it too.

I can recommend this unit strongly.

I have owned a Mini-Brute III from new since 1987 and i bought it London, England.

I bought it to amp a nice old German double bass for playing dinner jazz and then have the flexability to use with my Musicman for the dancing after.
It is has a basic low/high channel with single volume, treble and bass controls. This is very basic, but it sounds great for D/bass and I've found it adequate for guitar, though not that powerful if you really want to pump it out. That notwithstanding it makes a really nice fold back speaker if you are putting a line into an in-house system.

The sound is warm. Which i personally like and i have found it fine. The amp can, under some stage lights, pick up a hum. This could be due to the fact that in England we are using 240volts. The variety of sounds are limited, but that is not an issue with me. Distortion isn't my thing.

It has been fantastic, always worked, until last year. Well i feel that over 25 years good sevice an't bad! I've really looked after the amp and it's outward condition is almost as good as new. There was a problem with heating. I blew some transducers and the speaker - this was major. The repares were not too exspensive and I was going to have the speaker re coned but opted for a new one that had a lower frequency respose, so that my new 5 string's low B/C would sound.

Yes i wrote to Califoria and also spoke to them on the phone. Technical support was fine, though as a Brit I find "Have a nice day" a bit hard going. I feel that the company have more than met their obligations under warrenty!!

I was a semi pro player. Over the last ten years I've played more for my own interest and pleasure. I think I would recomend these amps to anyone with the understanding that they have their limitations but for a small comact package they are hard to beat for quality of sound and for me reliability.
I originally bought this amp becacuse it was the last one in the shop and on offer, and I feel it turned up trumps for me.
I have used Marshal, Vox and Carlsbro gear in the past and they all tend to be heavy and lack character. This is not the case with my Mini Brute III.

I have two Mini Brute III amps. One was purchased new in 1984 and is the black wrinkle finish version with only three knobs and three position bright/dark switch. The other is a newer version with "Overdrive," FX Loop, covered in dark blue vinyl and with the handle on the side.

I don't use the effects loop and the only thing I feel is missing in this model is reverb, which I would like for occasional use with a guitar. As I primarily perform with either a Fender P-Bass or an upright, and only playing "straight ahead" jazz, it isn't a big issue. I can get an acceptable (only slightly cheesy) reverb effect using a Zoom 508 between the guitar and the amp when I can't live without it. The lack of reverb is why I rate these amps at 9 out of 10.

I use a Fender P-Bass, and ancient Kay upright with a Barcus Berry tranducer. I have used a variety of archtops and semi-solid body guitars with it, ranging from an L-5 CES down to a recently purchased Peavey JF-1. Both editions of the amp give me a nice "dark" jazz tone with anything I have tried with humbuckers. Never had the opportunity to play any "jazz boxes" with single coil pickups through either amp.

With an upright bass, I sometimes feel that Fishman and Barcus Berry pickups are too "thin" sounding, but at least I can carry these amps.

I would rate the Mini Brute III series as well suited to the P-Bass in a jazz combo and didn't feel hampered when the local college drafted me to play with their big band (25 years after I dropped out) when they didn't have a student bass player available.

In my opinion, it isn't the "ultimate" amp for an upright bass, which is mostly why I rate it 8 out of 10 for "sounds."

After 15 years use, I had to take the back off the oldest one and tighten the knobs used to wrap the power cord around for transport. That is the sum total of failures. Period. (I also know several guitar players who use the Mini Brute II. One of them noticed that the reverb unit had failed after several years...by accident, because the guy never uses reverb. He has never bothered to have that fixed, and aside from the issue I had with the knob that needed tightening, it is the only breakdown anybody I know personally has ever had with a Polytone.)

I have no clue. You buy the amp, and play through it until your hair and whiskers turn grey (or fall out).

I call myself a "semi-pro" bass player because I only moonlight as a musician. As a jazz guitarist, I am definitely in the "hobby player," class. I have been playing for about 35 years, taking it seriously for about 20, and gigging as a bassist in jazz combos for the past 15.

Since I picked up a second Mini Brute III second hand, I guess that answers the question as to whether I'd buy another.

I love the light weight and the clean tone.

I have compared this to Fender Bassman amps (tube and solid state), as well as a range of amps too numerous to mention. Most target the rock market, and the high end bass market, is simply too pricey (and bulky and heavy and so on) for me. I'm not trading.

As I said, there are times I wish it had reverb, but...

three knobs (bass, treble, and volume) and a bright switch... figure it out yourself. solid-state usually blows, but this is a rare exception. i like the fact that i don't need to retube it. another great feature is that it is 30 pounds! easy on my bones.

i was very skeptical about a solid state amp producing a clean sound comparable to that of my 60's fender twin reverb. but i'm starting to think otherwise. this amp is for jazz, jazz, jaaaazzz, and more jaaaazzzzz. i believe it was designed primarily for archtops or the double bass. i use a gibson 335. the sound is very smooth and clean. a lot darker than the clean sound of the fender twin reverb. it can be somewhat boomy at times, but using the bass knob with care helps. i managed to whip up some very unpleasant breakup with the treble pickup maxed out, the bright switch in the 'bright' position, the treble halfway up, and the volume at 3/4. i would not recommend using this amp for loud, dirty sounds. out of curiousity i threw a tubescreamer in front of it, but that too sounded awful. for dark, gooey, clean jazz tones this may be your ticket. did i mention that it is very loud, with a ton of clean headroom? oh yes!

seems sturdy

polytone has no contact info. i dread the day i have to get it fixed.

sounds good. if you play jazz and want a light, portable, and loud clean amp for small gigs and practice, this will do it.

Made in '99, before the 'sonic-circuit'. Wonder why they even come with distorsion, sounds terrible (doesn't all distorsion sound terrible???). One 15" speaker gives you a nice tone. The Mini-Brute III hasn't got any reverb, all other models has. I use an Alesis Nanoverb for reverb.

I play a Gibson ES-175, only using the neckpickup. Thick flatwound strings and heavy pick. It sounds just the way I want it to sound, very 'standard' clean jazz. It's obvious why Joe Pass, Herb Ellis and all the other great players use a Polytone - they're the best!!

I heard that they could broke down if someone farts in the same room, but it's seem reliable to me.

I spoked alot with Bill Fender at Legatoguitars, and I'm sure that he could help me.

If it were stolen or lost, broken or whatever, I would by another Polytone Mini-Brute III or a II. I love the big sound and it's size. I hate that it doesn't come with reverb, so I have to carry the Nanoverb with me, but I guess that the Nanoverb sounds better then the reverb that comes with the other Brutes.

Current model (c 2002) Mini-Brute III
1 X 15" guitar/bass combo
2-channels + effects loop
HF Horn w switch
Brite-normal-dark switch
Separated knobs (gone are the combined stacked pots)
Headphone and out jacks, etc.
No reverb in this model.

I use for archtop Jazz guitar with mounted humbuckers.
Very light/portable
Slightly bigger sound than the little ones
Very quiet and hum free
Industry standard Jazz tone
Clean headroom with a bit of speaker breakup/grit at higher volumes (good for Blues)
These also sound good with a Fender Telecaster guitar too.
Sounds just like the old ones (I had an earlier version Mini-Brute III some years ago, without the HF horn or tone enhancer circuit "channel 2").
Very versatile tone ranges for clean Hi-Fi SS amp sounds. Can be transparent for use with processors or reverb pedal.
Clean enough for keyboards, acoustic guitars, whatever.
No longer has the dreaded Polytone "distortion" channel.

I've had several Polytone amps in various models over the years.
None have ever given me any trouble whatsoever.

I keep a direct box as a spare just in case, but have never needed it with a Polytone.

1 year warranty

Perfect grab and go clean amp.
Love that it's light.
Power to spare.
I also have a tube amp for other uses besides straight ahead Jazz.

Was thinking of a Walter Woods, Clarus, or other compact head like a Mini-Brain, etc., but decided on the ol' standby Polytone Mini-Brute III because I've had one before and preferred it to their other models by a slight edge, though I like almost all their models except the bigger, heavy (103) ones. 102 is the heaviest I've personally had, though it had a nice sound.
They are all familiar and sound fine, easy to tweek, generally light to schlep, etc.

Seems like I always have had a Polytone of some caliber around, though some have sat neglected and gotten traded off eventually.
But when it's time for straight ahead Jazz, or light grit Blues, they are definitely in their element.
I'd get another MB-III if something happened to this one.

I have played guitar since the early sixties.