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Opinions on Roland JC50 amp?


Karma1

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I'm considering buying a used Roland Jazz Chorus 50, but I wanted to check for any feedback here first. I've heard that the distortion on the Jazz Chorus series sucks, but I'd really be using it for it's clean sound which they are supposed to excell at. I'd be using a Zoom G9.2tt with it for distortion. Anybody here own one or used one? Also, any idea on how much they weigh? Thanks.

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I have an old JC-120.

 

The cleans are super clean. As in "so clean you could play a synth through it". It's a different type of "clean" than a fender SS clean. The chorus is better than any pedal chorus I have ever used.

 

You are correct on the distortion. You need to use a pedal for that. The amp's distortion is pretty low gain and only sounds good with humbucker in the neck position.

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I don't have any first-hand experience with the JC-50, but I had a JC-77 for years that I loved for a clean rhythm sound. Yeah, the built-in distortion is horrendous, but a good OD pedal will take care of that.

 

However, the JC-50 is a 1X12 amp - I'd check out one of the two-speaker models before buying it - the stereo chorus they have gives them a 3-D depth, and I don't know if a mono amp could replicate it.

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  • 7 months later...
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I realize this is an OOOOLD thread, but I want leave my two cents for the folks who are considering this amp and doing some research.

 

The JC-120 and JC-50 have GREAT distortion/OD if you like more of a classic Brit type distortion sound or bright fender type distortion with more sustain. It's also cleans up well when you lay back and roll back the vol a bit. The key is using the proper settings on th tone controls.

 

Here are my settings:

 

Maple neck Strat

Bright - Off

Treb - at 9-O'clock

Mid - all the way down

Bass - at 9-O'clock

Dist. - Full

Rev 9-O'Clock

 

Rosewood Strat

Bright - Off

Treb - 12-O'Clock

Mid - 8-O'clock

Bass - 8-O'clock

Dist. - Full

Rev 9-O'clock

 

Les Paul

Bright - Off JC-120 - ON JC-50

Treb - Full

Mid - 9-O'Clock - JC-50 NO MID

Bass - All the way down

Rev - 9-O'Clock

 

Works great for me. Great articulation and presence roll back the guitar vol to clean it up. Fender and classic brit tone al day.

 

:thu:

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Ah yes, I owned one back in the mid 80's. I sold it to Larry Chaney (studio hotshot).

 

Here's how they sound good: Use a decent compressor pedal in front of it and TURN THAT SUMBITCH UP!! Those amps sound really, really good when they are moving some air. If you ever have to play the amp much below halfway up, it will not sound nearly as good as it does when it is allowed to stretch its legs. Seriously, those Roland JC's don't reach the zone until they are about 2/3 of the way up.

 

And yes, that distortion control is pretty sad. It does sound differently when the amp is cranked pretty loud, but it's still not a real positive feature.

 

Btw, a very famous user of the Roland JC-120 is Adrian Belew. The man got sounds to die for from them.

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