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Jet City JCA-100H VS. Soldano SLO-100


ourdarkestdays

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Yeah I think that my observation of the amp at stage volumes should come with a caveat stating that it loses in terms of clarity and ability to cut in a full band mix
**When compared to my Titan or Nitro**


It should also be noted that "stage volume" for me is well beyond what most people actually run their amps at. Truth be told, the show that I came to that conclusion at was one of the rare venues that we play that the volume truly reaches those absurd decibel levels. most other places, it's not near as loud and thus wouldn't be much of an issue.


Another part of it is what seems to be the voicing of the amp. It's a very thick and smooth voice. It makes recording an absolute joy and lead work effortless. It's a very different voicing than the Titan and nitro. both of them have a much more raw and cutting sound that can get over the top and out of control with the agression if not carefully kept in check. The JCA doesn't have that problem. It's well mannered and creamy all o'er but far from weak or lacking in punch or power.


so it's sort of a double edged sword but also consider the price tag of the Titan and Nitro. They're both the very definition of stage dominating brutality and amps that cost twice as much as they do will easily get smoked so throwing the JCA at them and expecting it to cream them at ear damaging volume levels is a bit naive IMO.


I'm chomping at the bit though to hear what Mike's Frankensteined JCA with the Onetic OT (and whatever other tweaks he may make) will sound like


Especially compared to the new beast that showed up this weekend...
coolface.gif

 

It showed up!!! Yo!

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Yeah I think that my observation of the amp at stage volumes should come with a caveat stating that it loses in terms of clarity and ability to cut in a full band mix
**When compared to my Titan or Nitro**


It should also be noted that "stage volume" for me is well beyond what most people actually run their amps at. Truth be told, the show that I came to that conclusion at was one of the rare venues that we play that the volume truly reaches those absurd decibel levels. most other places, it's not near as loud and thus wouldn't be much of an issue.


Another part of it is what seems to be the voicing of the amp. It's a very thick and smooth voice. It makes recording an absolute joy and lead work effortless. It's a very different voicing than the Titan and nitro. both of them have a much more raw and cutting sound that can get over the top and out of control with the agression if not carefully kept in check. The JCA doesn't have that problem. It's well mannered and creamy all o'er but far from weak or lacking in punch or power.


so it's sort of a double edged sword but also consider the price tag of the Titan and Nitro. They're both the very definition of stage dominating brutality and amps that cost twice as much as they do will easily get smoked so throwing the JCA at them and expecting it to cream them at ear damaging volume levels is a bit naive IMO.


I'm chomping at the bit though to hear what Mike's Frankensteined JCA with the Onetic OT (and whatever other tweaks he may make) will sound like


Especially compared to the new beast that showed up this weekend...
coolface.gif

 

Like I said, I didn't mean to misrepresent you in any way. Having said that, it seems to me like if the JCA100H is to be considered by players among us who COULD save up the extra coin to get something in the price range of the Titan and Splawn... it should be able to hold its own, but that's not to say I'm not interested in the Jet City.

 

So... I'm pretty excited to hear it with upgraded transformers.:thu:

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Like I said, I didn't mean to misrepresent you in any way. Having said that, it seems to me like if the JCA100H is to be considered by players among us who COULD save up the extra coin to get something in the price range of the Titan and Splawn... it should be able to hold its own, but that's not to say I'm not interested in the Jet City.


So... I'm pretty excited to hear it with upgraded transformers.
:thu:

 

hold its own is an understatement. Although I do not have experience with Titan or Splawn amps, the JCA100H is easily the best amp I've owned in recent times, beating some amps by Marshall, Mesa and Fender. I was using a 2-channel DR before I got the JCA100H and I don't miss it at all. Not to say the DR is a bad amp, but the JCA100H nails the tone I like 100x better. Same with the DSL I had before the DR. I wouldn't trade the JCA100H for any of these amps, unless it was with the purpose of reselling them and buying more JCA100Hs :lol: .

 

It's a phenomenal amp. for the tones I like, I don't think there is a better amp under 1k and if you've been reading my posts for the last year, I've tried them ALL :lol:

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hold its own is an understatement. Although I do not have experience with Titan or Splawn amps, the JCA100H is easily the best amp I've owned in recent times, beating some amps by Marshall, Mesa and Fender. I was using a 2-channel DR before I got the JCA100H and I don't miss it at all. Not to say the DR is a bad amp, but the JCA100H nails the tone I like 100x better. Same with the DSL I had before the DR. I wouldn't trade the JCA100H for any of these amps, unless it was with the purpose of reselling them and buying more JCA100Hs
:lol:
.


It's a phenomenal amp. for the tones I like, I don't think there is a better amp under 1k and if you've been reading my posts for the last year, I've tried them ALL
:lol:

 

I'm itching to plug into one of these things. Believe me, your testimonials are well received :thu:

 

I'd like to be able to simplify my rig down to just a few pedals and a solid two-channel amp so I can spend more time playing than thinking about levels and switching, but I suppose for now I'm a guy who needs many channels and lots of features and such.

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How is the FX loop on the 100?

 

 

I find to loop to be a bit dark sounding, but I don't know if that may have something to do with the tube buffering it. I'm using the stock tube for that right now. My Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus (which is a hot pedal volume wise) sounded spectacular through the loop, but my MXR Carbon Copy and Phase 90 sound too warm and a bit muffled in the loop. Of course, the Carbon Copy is a dark sounding delay and Phase 90s usually sound better in front of the amp. Bare in mind, though, I haven't used an effects loop in 3 years, so it may be my adjusting to a loop causing me to hear this. All-in-all, I'm probably not the best judge for the JCA100H effects loop:lol:

 

All I know is I'm not using the loop on my JCA100H and I'm perfectly happy with that. I still love the way it sounds. I'm taking her to her first show this Friday, so we'll see how she stacks up live:cool:

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I find to loop to be a bit dark sounding, but I don't know if that may have something to do with the tube buffering it. I'm using the stock tube for that right now. My Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus (which is a hot pedal volume wise) sounded spectacular through the loop, but my MXR Carbon Copy and Phase 90 sound too warm and a bit muffled in the loop. Of course, the Carbon Copy is a dark sounding delay and Phase 90s usually sound better in front of the amp. Bare in mind, though, I haven't used an effects loop in 3 years, so it may be my adjusting to a loop causing me to hear this. All-in-all, I'm probably not the best judge for the JCA100H effects loop:lol:


All I know is I'm not using the loop on my JCA100H and I'm perfectly happy with that. I still love the way it sounds. I'm taking her to her first show this Friday, so we'll see how she stacks up live:cool:

 

 

Thanks for the info!

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I haven't tried yet. I am enjoying playing straight into the amp so much I've been keeping my rig as simple as possible, but from what I understand, it's optimized for line-level (rack) processors.

 

That works for me. Hopefully I will have a G-System by the time I get one. :thu:

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All I know is I'm not using the loop on my JCA100H and I'm perfectly happy with that. I still love the way it sounds. I'm taking her to her first show this Friday, so we'll see how she stacks up live:cool:

 

 

We will be expecting a full post-show report!

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I've played a bunch of hotrods against my slo, and I've played the jca 20 but haven't found a 50 or 100 to play yet. Mike's the man. The DeYoung's that he uses in the SLO make a world of difference. An Avenger with an O'netics SLO clone transformers sounds very different then one with Mercury Magnetics, sounds very different then one with the standard transformers being used now.

 

Is there a point where they can be all dialed in to sound the same? Yes. However, the further you drift away from those places on the eq and volume controls the more pronounced the differences become.

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Just to let everyone know, a friend of mine owned an Avenger that was loaded with DeYoung transformer's. Ed Degenaro owned the amp at one point. Not sure if it was a custom model or not. It did rip, we still boosted it with a MIJ Boss SD-1 and it sounded great.

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I play with a drummer with a monster kit with a 28" bass drum. Trust me, if this amp did not sound GREAT at really high volumes I would not be using it. My band is really loud and the JCA100 just excels at those volumes.


I am not sure about consistency, as I only tried one so far, I'm getting another one tomorrow so I will comment on that. But that alone should say something about the amp right there.


.

 

 

Since this thread was bumped, let me just post an update to this: I have now owned 2 JCA100Hs and 1 JCA50H. The consistency and build quality on these amps is incredible. For the time I've been playing them they have been totally issue-free and extremely consistent from one unit to the other.

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Since this thread was bumped, let me just post an update to this: I have now owned 2 JCA100Hs and 1 JCA50H. The consistency and build quality on these amps is incredible. For the time I've been playing them they have been totally issue-free and extremely consistent from one unit to the other.

 

 

How would you describe the difference between the two (100 and 50)?

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How would you describe the difference between the two (100 and 50)?

 

 

They're the same amp essentially so the difference would be just the power section. The 100w sounds a bit bigger and tighter and needs to be really loud to get power tube distortion. The 50w will distort earlier and have a looser low end.

Both amps are loud enough for any live or studio situation.

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