LAZY J AMPS

PREMIER GUITARS is proud to be the exclusive dealer for Lazy J amps in Australia.

We have a Lazy J J20 in our Sydney showroom which is available to try by appointment. Just call Adam on 0414 994 506 or email us at sales@premierguitars.com.au to arrange a suitable time to inspect.

Available to order -

Why buy a Lazy J ?

There are Tweeds and then there are TWEEDS and the Lazy J line-up 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 mesmerised. 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 early 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.

From Jesse Hoff –

“Over the years I have built quite a few amps, one offs to order, and it never crossed my mind to start building amps for a living. The reason for that was that not too long ago building an amp by hand, because of the time involved, would inevitably price it in the same region as most vintage amps …. and being a vintage nut myself, I always thought that given the choice between a vintage or a boutique amp, most people would always go for the vintage/collectable.

Well, that seems to have changed now as virtually all of the vintage equipment has moved into a league of its own as far as the price goes.

On top of that, vintage amps have become a bit of a Catch 22 for most players. They’re really expensive, and they really need attention … which means replacing bad caps, resistors, transformers, etc … and ultimately reducing their collectable value.

That now leaves hand built amps as a really viable option for a lot of players.”

Lazy J J20 – the original and most popular Lazy J

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 labelled 1 are higher gain than the ones labelled 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 about 5 watts while retaining the amp’s character along the way.

As an option, a Lazy J Reverb Module can be added to the amp. It is a wonderful tube driven reverb circuit with a full size reverb tank which delivers in every way - from subtle “room” sized embellishment to out-there cavernous Dick Dale tones . The reverb circuitry includes a tone control and the module is housed in a small enclosure mounted on the inside of the cabinet, on the right hand side when looking at the amp from the back. The controls, reverb level and reverb tone, are easily accessible.

There is also an optional tube driven tremolo module which adds yet another dimension to the amp. This is as good as tremolo gets – everything from the subtle pulsing of a Vibrolux or Deluxe Reverb to the monstrous throb of a brownface Super amp.

The reverb & trem modules are supplied with a footswitch that controls level/speed and on/off for both.

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.

PREMIER GUITARS has a Lazy J J20 in our Sydney showroom which is available to try by appointment. Just call Adam on 0414 994 506 or email us at sales@premierguitars.com.au to arrange a suitable time to inspect.

PRICING INFO: Lazy J sell all their amps priced in UK Pounds, so prices in Australia will vary from time to time.

Once an order is placed through PREMIER GUITARS in Sydney, the price is locked in at that time and converted into AUD. Shipping from UK and import duties etc need to be calculated separately

For example the J20 1x12 with Tremolo & Reverb is currently £2,397 (Nov 2023)

On 22nd November 2023 £2,397 was approx AUD$4,585

The above price is with the amp fully loaded (Reverb unit, Trem unit, VAC and foot pedal to control Reverb and Trem). Less fully loaded versions of the amps are available by request, and of course would be cheaper.

HOW TO PURCHASE – Once you have decided to buy, Adam at PREMIER GUITARS will confirm the exact price converted from UK Pounds to Aust $ on the day. Once a 15% deposit has been paid, Adam will put you in touch directly with Lazy J’s Jesse Hoff who will communicate with you direct through the build process, payment of balance & delivery.

Please call Adam at PREMIER GUITARS for pricing info on all models – 0414 994 506

ARTISTS ACTIVELY USING LAZY J AMPS (THE SHORT LIST):
Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Clapton, Nalle Colt (Vintage Trouble), David Gilmour, Peter Green, Mark Knopfler, Pete Townshend, Joe Walsh, Paul Weller, Steve Winwood.

ARTISTS ACTIVELY USING LAZY J AMPS (THE LONG LIST):
Richard Ashcroft, Jeff Beck, Sam Beer, Bleech, Joe Bonamassa, Doyle Bramhall II (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 lame 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.
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Here’s the link to the Lazy J website – http://www.lazyjprojects.com/

Definitely worth a visit for the full story as well as some amazing reviews reviews from respected sources.

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The Models -

For full details on each of the Lazy J models, please click the links below & go direct to the Lazy J website -

Lazy J J10 – the newest Lazy J model, added to the line-up in 2018
http://www.lazyjprojects.com/lazyj10.html

Lazy J J20 – the original and most popular Lazy J
http://www.lazyjprojects.com/lazyj20.html

Lazy J J35 – 3 x 10” combo

http://www.lazyjprojects.com/lazyj35.html

Lazy J J40 – combining the essence of a J20 and a J80

http://www.lazyjprojects.com/lazyj40.html

Lazy J J80 – powerful 80w 2 x12” combo