Polytone is one of those brands that has become legendary over time, instantly associated with jazz tones. We find a good range of options that make this amplifier a versatile little gem with plenty of power. The creative force behind POLYTONE's 35-year history, in which musicians' needs are the first concern, is Tommy Gumina, an innovative musician and the designer of the POLYTONE “sound.”

Tommy has “walked in the shoes” of musicians, building a dynamic and interesting career both on stage and in the studio. All of this on top of his design work as president of Polytone. With endless energy for developing any new idea, this independent thinker is always at work producing and designing gear to improve and assist musicians.

Polytone got its start in 1968, and the motto “made by musicians for musicians” became its calling card. Always innovative, Polytone revolutionized the industry in 1976 with the introduction of the Mini-Brute line of powerful, easy-to-carry amplifiers. Tommy worked closely with the famed upright bassist Ray Brown to develop a superior bass product, including the acoustic pickup for upright bass. Likewise, esteemed guitarists such as Joe Pass contributed their expertise to the development of guitar products. Countless hours of research have gone into every product, and they are built under strict quality control to make them the industry's highest standard.

Joe Pass was the first guitarist to play and approve POLYTONE amplifiers, and Ray Brown the first upright bassist to play and approve Tommy Gumina's first bass amp, #101. That partnership continued for decades until Joe died in 1994 and Ray in 2002.

The list of Polytone users includes: Ron Affif, Howard Alden, Ron Anthony, Chuck Berghofer, George Benson, Norman Brown, Jimmy Bruno, Arni Egillson, Herb Ellis, Jim Fox, Jim Hall, Jim Hughart, Vail Johnson, Carol Kaye, Peter Leitch, Mundell Lowe, Chuck Nenniker, Dave Stone, Phil Upchurch, Buster Williams, Barry Zweig, and many others...

Other Polytone Models
MEGA BRUTE 1,070 €
MINI BRUTE II 1,129 €
SONIC BASS I 1,106 €
MINI BRUTE IV 1,166 €
SONIC BASS II 1,226 €
MINI BRUTE V 1,250 €
TAURUS ELITE 1,346 €
Bass resonator 423 €

Our Test Bench
The biggest surprise of this amp is its light weight and absolutely compact size relative to the sheer “meat” it can put out. We unpacked a little “monster,” only slightly bigger than a baby... but when we plugged in the cable, we got the power of one of the big guys.

Because of this great size-to-power ratio, I find the amp especially convenient. It's very easy to carry and takes up very little space in the rehearsal room, studio, home, or on stage, yet it can generate all the power needed for a wide variety of applications.

Control Panel
Beneath a rugged, practical build, we find all the controls on the front of the amplifier. The design of the controls and knobs is basically “vintage.”

Features
Two inputs that can be controlled with a pedal (optional, I assume). A “Preamp out” jack, especially useful for sending the preamplified sound out through the line, that is, with warmth and a little color.
- Headphone output.
- Output for extension cabinets.
- FX loop input and output.
- Three-band equalizer: bass, mid, and treble.
- Channel 1 volume.
- Three-position CUT/BOOST selector.
- Master.
- Channel 1 gain.
- Lo-Hi knob for channel 2.
- Three-position WARM-EDGE-DRIVE selector.

The Sound and How to Shape It
As I anticipated a few lines ago, the amp's power pleasantly surprises, given its small size.

Thanks to the controls I mentioned above, you can shape your guitar's sound quite well. Its low-end power stands out, as you'd expect. You get very jazzy sounds with dark timbres, which you can then sharpen up with the EQ.

After reveling in the darker sounds, I went looking for more “versatile,” brighter, more crystalline tones. Fiddling with all of the amp's controls while choosing the most suitable pickups on the guitar, I got enough variety to conclude that its versatility is more than reasonable.

Next I moved on to exploring the reverb (3-spring Hammond Reverb), of which I can only speak well, since it provides a pure, “aesthetic,” good-quality addition. Once I had analyzed the clean possibilities and the tonal variety, I set out to squeeze the most out of the saturation, changing the CUT/BOOST, WARM, EDGE, and DRIVE settings and turning the gain up considerably.

This really isn't an especially shrill amp, though I personally liked the range of overdrive voicings and shades of warmth it offers. We won't get (without the help of a pedal or effect) all-out-war sounds, but in vintage overdrive territory it moves well. If we consider helping the amp with some kind of pedal suited to our tastes, I think we can get by perfectly in almost any style.

To wrap up the sound section, in my opinion this is a good amplifier, capable of recreating very warm environments (within the realm of semi-clean), clear and, on top of that, especially powerful in clean low end and with a touch of roasted grit.

More Information on Polytone Amplifiers
You can visit the manufacturer's website, www.polytoneamps.com, or the website of the brand's distributor in Spain, http://www.olmo10.es/

Conclusions
In my opinion, we're looking at a professional amplifier with clear sonic characteristics and quirks. Regardless of its worldwide fame, its track record, and the fact that it's a regular tool for various guitarists, the amp performed extraordinarily in our tests. Lots of power, little weight, a specialty in deep, dense tones, reasonable versatility for a variety of styles, and a price in line with the quality it delivers. It isn't cheap, but it's a little gem of guitar amplification, especially if your tastes don't center on wild, high-gain distortion. In any case, by complementing the amp with the right effects, I think it could be used in any setting, with good quality and plenty of volume for just about any application.