There are Tweeds and then there are TWEEDS and the Lazy J lineup without a doubt, represents simply the most incredible take on a vintage tweed ever produced. The tones, from the most pristine cleans through to the most harmonically beautiful and complex overdrive will take your breath away and keep you mesmerized. There is a good reason why Townshend, Beck, Clapton, Gilmour, Bonamassa, Nalle Colt of Vintage Trouble and so many other greats have chosen the Lazy J as their main stage and recording amps. Once you plug in and play you’ll understand. There are very few amps that can provide the responsiveness and touch sensitivity that the Lazy Js produce. Set the amp for the wildest screaming overdrive, dial your guitar’s volume down to 7 and you have a beautiful singing clean tone without even a hint of dirt.
The Lazy J amps possess the very essence of classic blues, and the soul of classic rock n roll. From the most beautiful punchy clean tones to raunchy tweed grit through to singing, soaring notes with infinite bloom and sustain, the Lazy J is the perfect desert island amp.
"I’m hooked, and that is why I had to bring Lazy J here to America for all to enjoy." - Cliff
Destroy All Guitars is the exclusive dealer for Lazy J in North America.
Lazy J J20
The Lazy J J20 is based on a late '50s classic that has helped define the voice of rock & roll. This amp is a 2 channel, hand build, point to point wired amp, which delivers ca. 18 watts into a 12”, 8 Ohm, Celestion Alnico Blue Speaker. The cabinet is built from finger jointed pine and covered with hand aged, lacquered tweed. The 2 channels are marked Normal and Bright with a volume control for each one. The tone control affects both channels equally. Looking at the 4 inputs from the back of the amp, the 2 on the right are for the normal channel and the 2 on the left are for the bright channel. Both inputs labeled 1 are higher gain than the ones labeled 2.
The interesting thing is that the both volume controls are interactive. The volume of the channel you’re not plugged into has an effect on the tone/tightness of the channel that you are plugged into. In other words, if your guitar is plugged into the bright channel, the normal channel volume affects the way the bright channel responds. This is subtle, but definitely audible. With the bright volume turned up to any given setting and the normal volume off, you hear the sound of the bright channel alone. By turning the normal channel up about halfway, you hear an increase in low mids. By turning the normal volume up to 10, the bottom end will tighten up; from 10 – 12 the sound will get choked, compressed and become quieter. This can be used to get interesting tonal variations from the amp.
The amp is set up with a GZ34 rectifier and a pair of 6L6s in the power amp, and uses two 12AX7s. However, for a different feel and character, the amp will take a 5Y3 rectifier and a pair of 6V6s without the need of re-biasing. An optional feature that can be added to the amp in place of the ground switch is a variable attenuation Control (VAC), which allows the user to dial seamlessly from full output down to ca. 5 watts while retaining the amps character all along the way. Upon request, a Lazy J Reverb Module can be added to the amp. It is a tube driven reverb circuit with a full size reverb tank, adding another dimension to the amp. The reverb circuitry and controls are housed in a small enclosure that is mounted to the inside of the cabinet, on the right hand side when looking at the amp from the back. The controls, reverb volume and reverb tone, are easily accessible. The module is supplied with a cut off footswitch.
Variable Attenuation Control (VAC)
This circuit allows the user to reduce the output of the amp in an even sweep from full power down to less than 5 watts. However, this is not a master volume. This circuit retains the amp's tone and response while reducing its output volume. In other words, you turn your amp up to get the tone you want… which might make it too loud for certain situations. Now you can turn the amp down with the VAC to exactly the level you need while retaining all the character and response of your sound. This circuit is an optional feature on the Lazy J 20, however, it can be retro-fitted to most amps under 40 Watts.
ARTISTS ACTIVELY USING LAZY J AMPS (THE SHORT LIST):
Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Nalle Colt (Vintage Trouble), David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Pete Townshend, Joe Walsh, Steve Winwood.
ARTISTS ACTIVELY USING LAZY J AMPS (THE LONG LIST):
Richard Ashcroft, Jeff Beck, Sam Beer, Bleech, Joe Bonamassa, Doyle Bramhall 2 (Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Arc Angels, David Gilmour, etc.), Dom Brown (Duran Duran), Dylan Burns (The Bodyrockers), Bernard Butler, Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Eric Clapton, Nalle Colt (Vintage Trouble), Alan Darby (Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Queen, Van Morrison, etc...), Gwyn Garfield Davies, Al Duncan, Lu Edmonds (Billy Bragg and the blokes, P.I.L., etc.), Olivier Elen (Gentlemen of Verona), Audley Freed, Noel Gallagher, David Gilmour, Dennis Greaves (Nine below zero), Mark Griffiths (The Shadows), Gary Hooker (Brad Paisley), Neil Ivison (The Misers), Jonas Jalhay (Rita Ora, Them is me, The Saturdays, I blame Coco, etc.), Simon Johnson, Gary Kemp, Mark Knopfler, The Kooks, Robbie McIntosh, The Magic Numbers, Ray Majors, Scott McKeon, John Parricceli, Adam Phillips, P.I.L., Luke Potashnick, Razorlight, Paul Sayer, Ivor Sims (Saint Jude), Dan Smith (The Noisettes), Whit Smith (The Hotclub of Cowtown), Jeremy Stacey, Paul Stacey, Dan Steinhardt, The Temperance Movement, Pete Townshend, Rafael Villafane (Royer Mics, Baby'O Music), Joe Walsh, Paul Weller, Steve Winwood.
- J20 1x12, Tweed w/ Gold & Brown Grill: $3,850.00
The above price is with the amp fully loaded (Reverb unit, Trem unit, VAC and footpedal to control Reverb and Trem). Other, less fully loaded versions of the amps are available by request.