Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2011 Hi everyone, This is my first post, yay! I recently got myself a JCA50 and its such a great amp I'm selling my Engl which is something I thought would never say! Anyhow I came on to these amps in a weird way as I do a fair amount of recording and was/still am using a couple of sims based on a solando SLO (ingnite NRR1 & LePou LEXTAC VSTS). So the more I used these plugins the more I fell for the sounds and starting digging on the web and read about Jet City. I drove to a music store 40 mins from my place to try one to see if the amps were all I had read was true and it was love at first site! So I had 30 mins to kill the other day so I decided to do a little test micing my JCA50 up to see what results I would get, and its the first time I have just put a mic up infront of a cab, played and been fairly happy with what I was hearing. I opened up an old demo project of some big sustained riff rock/metal in cubase and played along, one guitar panned left and the other panned right. This isn't mixed by any stretch and the only bit of processing was a slight bit of eq around 1.2k@3db so here it is http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5377857/333%20test.mp3 Sounds great man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pvb Posted February 4, 2011 Members Share Posted February 4, 2011 Hi JCL, Just joined, first post. I own a JCA 2112RC and did a tube swap today. My objective was to swap the 2 EL84's and V1, V2, and V4 (PI) with a 12AX7, 12AT7, and 12AX7 respectively. They are all the Preferred Series tubes from The Tube Depot except the 12AT7 (ECC81) which is a JJ. I installed everything, biased the output tubes and buttoned everything up. Turned on the amp and played a bit but noticed the reverb wasn't working. I took it apart again and tried putting the original 12AX7 back in V2. This brought the reverb back. I then decided to see what would happen if I put the 12AT7 in V3 which is one of the tubes for the reverb (there are two). When I did that, the reverb was totally changed into an incredibly deep and strong reverb which I thought was fantastic because the stock sounding reverb seems a bit weak to me. However, I noticed that when I played it seemed like the amp wanted to cut out. For example, as the sound of a chord faded, it sounded like the amp output in general was fading with it. This made me a bit nervous so I pulled the 12AT7 and just left it with all 12AX7. So, my questions are: 1. Why would the reverb sound so much stronger with a 12AT7 in V4? 2. Was this damaging the amp (it sounding like it was going to crap out)? 3. I was following the tube layout in the attached picture. Is it correct? [ATTACH=CONFIG]331306[/ATTACH] Thanks, Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OverTheEdge Posted February 7, 2011 Members Share Posted February 7, 2011 Add me to the group! I just picked the guitar back up this last fall after laying it down about 20 years ago. Started out with a VOX VT40+ that shot craps after about 2 weeks. Now I'm the pround owner of a jca2112rc. I'm concidering playing around with tubes to try and clean it up a little. Anyone have any success with this? and which tubes did you replace with what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 7, 2011 Thanks, Phil It sounds like you have bad tubes. The AT and AX are interchangeable in the reverb position and shouldn't cause any problems. As for tonal difference you may notice the reverb will sound a little clearer with the AT so that's probably what's causing the impression of a stronger reverb. Anyway, I'd contact Tube Depot and swap the bad tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pvb Posted February 7, 2011 Members Share Posted February 7, 2011 It sounds like you have bad tubes. The AT and AX are interchangeable in the reverb position and shouldn't cause any problems. As for tonal difference you may notice the reverb will sound a little clearer with the AT so that's probably what's causing the impression of a stronger reverb.Anyway, I'd contact Tube Depot and swap the bad tubes. Thanks, that may be it. I'm going to try the swap again to confirm the behavior and then contact Tube Depot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pvb Posted February 7, 2011 Members Share Posted February 7, 2011 Add me to the group! I just picked the guitar back up this last fall after laying it down about 20 years ago. Started out with a VOX VT40+ that shot craps after about 2 weeks. Now I'm the pround owner of a jca2112rc. I'm concidering playing around with tubes to try and clean it up a little. Anyone have any success with this? and which tubes did you replace with what? The recommendation for the 12AT7 in V2 swap came from Bitmo mods and their Sufra mod description. You could also do their mod for more clean headroom. Check to see how much you need by maxing out the master volume with the preamp all the way down, then bring up the preamp to see how much clean you get before the breakup starts in the amp or your ears. The Bitmo page is here: http://www.bitmomodkits.com/servlet/the-108/BITMO-SUFRA-JET-CITY/Detail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OverTheEdge Posted February 8, 2011 Members Share Posted February 8, 2011 I'm confused on something else too. I thought I read on here that someone reset the bias after they changed their tubes? I emailed Jet City and they said there's no need to worry about biasing because Jet City amps are fixed biased. Obviously I believe what Jet City told me.... so what are the guys doing if they believe they are adjusting the bias? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pvb Posted February 8, 2011 Members Share Posted February 8, 2011 I'm confused on something else too. I thought I read on here that someone reset the bias after they changed their tubes? I emailed Jet City and they said there's no need to worry about biasing because Jet City amps are fixed biased. Obviously I believe what Jet City told me.... so what are the guys doing if they believe they are adjusting the bias? I'm not really the best person to answer this as I'm a bit of a newb to amp modding however I think the amp would be classified as "Adjustable Fixed Bias" meaning there is an adjustable potentiometer. Check out the information here: http://thetubestore.com/bias.html http://acruhl.freeshell.org/mga/main/bias.html I followed this video to bias the amp: That being said, if you get a pair of matched EL84's I'm sure you'll be fine running with them without biasing. There's some more mod info here: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2671801-NAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blakkwater Posted February 8, 2011 Members Share Posted February 8, 2011 they say that because the bias range of the trim-pot inside the chassis is minimal, so regardless of where in its range it is set, it won't be burning out tubes or anything if you stick to the 5881/6L6 or 6L6GC tube type That said, if you're planning on changing tube types (to EL34s, or KT88s or something like that), you will want to double check the bias to make sure you're in the appropriate operating range for those tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimosity Posted February 8, 2011 Members Share Posted February 8, 2011 For the love of all things holy, would somebody please get some of the JCA100HDM heads to AmericanMusical.com so I can buy one?! They show up as "Coming Soon" or "Available on X/X/XXXX" -- but that date comes and goes and then gets moved off again into the future. I've been waiting MONTHS for them to get them and the carrot keeps getting thrown out further and further. I'm starting to think that the 100HDM is a myth and they will never get them. Grrrr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 8, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 8, 2011 Originally Posted by jimosity For the love of all things holy, would somebody please get some of the JCA100HDM heads to AmericanMusical.com so I can buy one?! They show up as "Coming Soon" or "Available on X/X/XXXX" -- but that date comes and goes and then gets moved off again into the future. I've been waiting MONTHS for them to get them and the carrot keeps getting thrown out further and further. I'm starting to think that the 100HDM is a myth and they will never get them. Grrrr. The HDM not a myth lol the amp exists, but yes I feel your pain. JCA is having major issues with the distribution of their products and it looks like you can't find anything other than the 100w head and the 20w head/combo and the cabs. I was waiting for months to buy a second 50w as a back up and ended up giving up on it and bought the 100w. I also have been waiting for months to get the ISO cab. I buy from AMS because of their payment plans and this been going on since September, it's not that it gets sold out quickly, it is just that the units don't even get there. I have also been waiting forever to get metal plates for my amps and they are back ordered on JCA's site. I love the amps and the company, but this is really annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Squier Fat Telecaster Posted February 8, 2011 Members Share Posted February 8, 2011 Why is there so little buzz for these amps? My gosh, I paid $220 for a used JCA2112RC and feel like I robbed a bank. It is so good! Doesn't do cleans but it sure can sing the blues with a telecaster. I like the overdriven tones better than the Palomino V32 I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 8, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 8, 2011 Originally Posted by telemike Why is there so little buzz for these amps? My gosh, I paid $220 for a used JCA2112RC and feel like I robbed a bank. It is so good! Doesn't do cleans but it sure can sing the blues with a telecaster. I like the overdriven tones better than the Palomino V32 I had. There is a big enough buzz that they are struggling to supply their demand. So I guess that's good. And I agree, these amps are killer, regardless of price. The more I play my JCA heads the more I am convinced they are THE amp for me. I've been working on my tone a lot lately and I am getting what I'd consider near perfect tone out of my rig right now. I couldn't be happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimosity Posted February 9, 2011 Members Share Posted February 9, 2011 Hahaha...for the tenth time, the "available date" has been changed on americanmusical.com.Yesterday it was 2/10/11....just looked today and its now 2/14/11.This is just plain ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FastRedPonyCar Posted February 10, 2011 Members Share Posted February 10, 2011 Bump cause I just made this.http://www.netmusicians.org/files/79-JCA100_WB_AB.mp3EBMM JP6 w/Aldrich bridge pup -> JCA Afterburner overdrive (kicked on at 1:15) -> JCA100H -> Whitebox 2x12 W/V30 & G12H30 -> SM57, MD421 and Apex 205 micslittle reverb added to the right side of the mix, ZERO post recording EQ'ing done. Light compression on each track to get them sitting nicely together.Amp settings:I used the amp's clean channel with the gain at a hair past 3 o'clockBass - 1 o'clockMid - 3 o'clockTrebel - 4 o'clockvolume - noon (looooud)presence - 3 o'clockAfterburner settingsvolume - 2 o'clocktone - 1 o'clockgain - offboost - between 9 and 10 o'clock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blakkwater Posted February 10, 2011 Members Share Posted February 10, 2011 as expected, sounds great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Seattle Doug Posted February 10, 2011 Members Share Posted February 10, 2011 YES! Thanks Drew, really great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yarbicus Posted February 10, 2011 Members Share Posted February 10, 2011 Originally Posted by Seattle Doug YES! Thanks Drew, really great! Hey Doug! Speaking of afterburners... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yarbicus Posted February 10, 2011 Members Share Posted February 10, 2011 Originally Posted by FastRedPonyCar Bump cause I just made this. http://www.netmusicians.org/files/79-JCA100_WB_AB.mp3 EBMM JP6 w/Aldrich bridge pup -> JCA Afterburner overdrive (kicked on at 1:15) -> JCA100H -> Whitebox 2x12 W/V30 & G12H30 -> SM57, MD421 and Apex 205 mics little reverb added to the right side of the mix, ZERO post recording EQ'ing done. Light compression on each track to get them sitting nicely together. Amp settings: I used the amp's clean channel with the gain at a hair past 3 o'clock Bass - 1 o'clock Mid - 3 o'clock Trebel - 4 o'clock volume - noon (looooud) presence - 3 o'clock Afterburner settings volume - 2 o'clock tone - 1 o'clock gain - off boost - between 9 and 10 o'clock Dammit FRPC! Will stop being awesome for just a moment so that we mere mortals can catch up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FastRedPonyCar Posted February 10, 2011 Members Share Posted February 10, 2011 The clean channel cranked I think is that amp's best kept secret. JCA needs a 3 channel version that can switch between totally clean and THAT crunch sound and then still have a lead channel..... pretty much the line of thought that led me to the cerberus. That crunch is too awesome to relinquish just to have a clean channel. Imma roll my volume back instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tacotele Posted February 10, 2011 Members Share Posted February 10, 2011 Proud Member of the Jet Setters(Jet City Lounge) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FastRedPonyCar Posted February 14, 2011 Members Share Posted February 14, 2011 Though I would bump this thread up with this.http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LLS2/A guy on youtube has been frustrated with the fx loop on the JCA100 not really working well with his pedals so he got that thing per his tech's recommendation and lo and behold, the pedals now sounds great.I may snag one soon as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted February 14, 2011 Members Share Posted February 14, 2011 Originally Posted by FastRedPonyCar Though I would bump this thread up with this. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LLS2/ A guy on youtube has been frustrated with the fx loop on the JCA100 not really working well with his pedals so he got that thing per his tech's recommendation and lo and behold, the pedals now sounds great. I may snag one soon as well. Cool! I ended up getting TC Electronic Nova Repeater for my delay pedal. It's only $150 and has a ton of great features and works great through my loop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stringsNstuff Posted February 14, 2011 Members Share Posted February 14, 2011 um.... ...im in? =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimosity Posted February 15, 2011 Members Share Posted February 15, 2011 American Musical JCA100HDM new updated "available date" of disappointment = 2/18/2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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