Replace XXX with JSX?

[sabrex]

I have been using the XXX for the better part of the decade. Years ago, owned a Rockmaster. I really like the Peavey Ultra tone.

 

I play Satriani style shred, DS-1 grainy style shred music. Have been recording with the XXX and it has been good to me. The only grip is that it has too much bass, which may be the speakers I am using.

 

Tried a used JSX at guitar center the other day. I really like that it has the resonance and presence controls, and the amber channel makes it a bit more versatile. Also the fat switch seeems nice. Is there anything else I am missing?

 

However, when I tried it out, it sounded almost the same as my XXX!? I mean _really_ similar. The resonance and presence were nice, better than the switch on the XXX, but they didnt make huge difference...

 

The EQ sweep on the JSX seemes less sensitive, or at least different. Can someone verify if the tone controls are different?

 

THe FAT switch seemed to do almost nothing. I heard it, but it sounded like a nudge of the mids, or cranking the amp a bit louder would get the same thing.

 

I couldnt get the best demo because while I was in the "amp room", the JSX was buzzing, and the guitar they gave me, a $1500 JS-1000 had a horrible setup.

 

The nice thing about the JSX is the amber channel. Nice vintage low/mid gain. It seems like the JSX ultra is more like the XXX crunch. So I would be giving up the XXX ultra channel.

 

 

I heard a JSX demo on youtube that sounded very versatile. Got all kinds of progressive and fusion tones.

 

Can someone who has owned both comment on the differences.

 

I was hoping for a XXX with more versatility, but what I heard was just variations on the XXX.

[DrakkarTyrannis]

I had both amps. I had the XXX first, then got the JSX. I soon sold my XXX. The fat switches add a little girth which you really only notice with low gain, or at low volumes. It changes the feel of the amp, which you can notice but it's not a huge difference. Playing with the amp for a while, you begin to hear the difference between when it's off and on. The JSX's EQ is active, but doesn't have as wide of a sweep. I find the amp to be more focused and punchy, and I prefer it over the XXX.

 

Mainly it's a slightly smoother, slightly punchier, more versatile version of the XXX with a change in the mid character.

[FZRJunkie]

the red channel on the Satch = the yellow channel on the Triplex. They are the same by design, as I recall. Sound the same to me. I've A/B'd both in my studio. Cleans on each are comparable, and the yellow channel of the Joe is the Peavey Classic imitation. They have a few differences and a lot of overlap but ...

 

Ch 3 - JSX == Ch. 2 Triplex...power tubes aside (EL34s in each when I compared them).

[eudaimonia02912]

The amber channel on the JSX is based on the Classic 50.

[GibsonVMan]

Can the JSX get as aggressive as the XXX?? Does it have a Presence control?

I used to own a XXX but never got to try the JSX....

[DrakkarTyrannis]

The clean on the JSX is MUCH better than the XXX. The ultra channel on the JSX and the crunch on the XXX don't sound alike at all. The ultra channels on both amps were extra gainy and thinner than the crunch channels. The crunch channels were the meatier of the gain channels..on both these amps this is true. I don't really think the crunch channel on the JSX sounds like a classic 50. The JSX is really just a modded XXX with lots of the same characteristics.

 

The JSX is smoother than the XXX and can't get as aggressive (although it's not way off). It does have a presence knob.

[eudaimonia02912]

The XXX responds very well to tube changes. If I were you, I'd try different tubes rather than spend hundreds on getting an amp that's not hugely different.

 

Try putting a Jan 5751 in V1 to cut the gain and make the amp smoother.

Try a NOS EI in V2 to add sizzle and nice gain. (It can help your crunch channel sound more like a 5150, if you like that.) Or, go with a Tung Sol.

Try Tung Sols or JJs in V3 and V4.

 

Use Winged C/SED EL34s properly biased instead of the 6L6s.

[FZRJunkie]

at Gibson V, no. The XXX is brutal as Mecha-Streisand. It is a stiffer amp than the JSX and 5150s, too, so when I say "brutal" I mean in that Triple Recto 'brocore way.

 

The JSX has presence, yes, and a few other knobs the XXX doesn't ...

 

... but, despite both having "active" tone stacks the XXX's tone stack is waaaayy more radical - the {censored}ing front end of that amp is one of the most dynamic there is, so it doesn't "need" a presence nor resonance knob per se, (though I'd have liked them, and they are nice to have on the milder JSX)

 

and even though the red JSX and yellow XXX are "identical", the one on the XXX simply has an extra magical bit of perfection that I can't explain. Add some dark red gnarly fur on the XXX red channel and you can get as sludgy and shovel-on-concrete stoner-doom sludge Satan as any 666 watt Electric.

 

So, no the JSX is nowhere near the XXX's evil hometown of Devil-Satan-Land. The Triplex is Jack Scratch in a box. It will kill your whole ass.

 

 

XXX SECRET:

engage fx loop and max the send and return for TWICE THE AMP VOLUME as when the loop is off or when the send and return are at normal levels.

 

Nothing needs to be in the loop for this to work.

 

Variate send/return for amount of internal boost when hitting the FX button on the footswitch -- it's like having a 2nd master volume on the back

 

anyway, I shat a brick when I discovered that

[ENdtime]

 

The clean on the JSX is MUCH better than the XXX. The ultra channel on the JSX and the crunch on the XXX don't sound alike at all. The ultra channels on both amps were extra gainy and thinner than the crunch channels. The crunch channels were the meatier of the gain channels..on both these amps this is true.

 

 

 

The JSX does have the better clean, but the Ultra on the JSX is similar to the Crunch on the XXX.. BU tthe JSX has a different hi mid/treble response..

 

But the Ultra channel on the XXX is definitely the fatter of the 2 lead channels on the XXX.. It is not thinner than the crunch and actually doesnt have any more gain than the Crunch.. The Ultra is more low-mid focused and a bit looser.. The Crunch is more hi-mid focused and tighter..

[sabrex]

 

The XXX responds very well to tube changes. If I were you, I'd try different tubes rather than spend hundreds on getting an amp that's not hugely different. Try putting a Jan 5751 in V1 to cut the gain and make the amp smoother. Try a NOS EI in V2 to add sizzle and nice gain. (It can help your crunch channel sound more like a 5150, if you like that.) Or, go with a Tung Sol. Try Tung Sols or JJs in V3 and V4. Use Winged C/SED EL34s properly biased instead of the 6L6s.

 

 

Thanks, im going to try that EI in v2. I am always looking for more edge on top. When the amp is cranked and the mic is up close, it cuts. Smooth amps start to sound muddy when cranked.

[eudaimonia02912]

 

Thanks, im going to try that EI in v2. I am always looking for more edge on top. When the amp is cranked and the mic is up close, it cuts. Smooth amps start to sound muddy when cranked.

 

 

Cool. One word of caution: Make sure to get it from a good dealer who will test it extensively. The EIs are awesome, highly musical, high gain, and have lots of harmonics. They are low noise, but many of them are microphonic.

[sabrex]

 

at Gibson V, no. The XXX is brutal as Mecha-Streisand. It is a stiffer amp than the JSX and 5150s, too, so when I say "brutal" I mean in that Triple Recto 'brocore way. The JSX has presence, yes, and a few other knobs the XXX doesn't ... ... but, despite both having "active" tone stacks the XXX's tone stack is waaaayy more radical - the {censored}ing front end of that amp is one of the most dynamic there is, so it doesn't "need" a presence nor resonance knob per se, (though I'd have liked them, and they are nice to have on the milder JSX) and even though the red JSX and yellow XXX are "identical", the one on the XXX simply has an extra magical bit of perfection that I can't explain. Add some dark red gnarly fur on the XXX red channel and you can get as sludgy and shovel-on-concrete stoner-doom sludge Satan as any 666 watt Electric. So, no the JSX is nowhere near the XXX's evil hometown of Devil-Satan-Land. The Triplex is Jack Scratch in a box. It will kill your whole ass. XXX SECRET: engage fx loop and max the send and return for TWICE THE AMP VOLUME as when the loop is off or when the send and return are at normal levels. Nothing needs to be in the loop for this to work. Variate send/return for amount of internal boost when hitting the FX button on the footswitch -- it's like having a 2nd master volume on the back anyway, I shat a brick when I discovered that

 

 

Cool. This reminds me why I think the XXX is so cool. I think both gain channels have a "throaty" quality that the JSX idnt have.

 

I need to demo a JSX again. If its as different as you say, Ill keep the XXX and use them both.

[FZRJunkie]

at Sabrex

 

okay, but I'm afraid I may have misled you a bit. I don't think they are all that different, I just think the XXX pushes the envelope more in an aggressive, metal way, and I was answering Gibson V on whether the JSX can keep up in that regard.

 

of the 3 PVs the 2 I'd suggest would be the XXX and one of the 6505150s instead, and yet the JSX is not a distant 3rd, but you cover more bases adding a 515065+05 that's a 10-4 good buddy. Join the 5150 Crew.

[Toneranger24]

kt 77s in the xxx will eat that jsx for breakfast ,completely changes its voicing

[Romanian Reaper]

I had a gig Friday night and used my JSX again. That amp sounds so good and cuts thru during shows. I started using the low gain input and am really enjoying it. I don't have as much noise and the clean channel sounds cleaner.

[Holy-diver]

Xxx>jsx

IMO

[DrakkarTyrannis]

I'd been GASing for a 3120 for a while..still kinda do. I don't think I'd fully be into it without it taking a trip to FJA, but I'm still considering picking one up.

[Polaris20]

JSX is a lot smoother sounding, with better cleans. The Ultra channel on either is useless IMO, but more so on the XXX.

[DrakkarTyrannis]

 

JSX is a lot smoother sounding, with better cleans. The Ultra channel on either is useless IMO, but more so on the XXX.

 

 

I do sort of agree. The crunch channel on both amps is where it's at, although you can put the ultra to good use if you know how.

[TheEsupremacy]

 

kt 77s in the xxx will eat that jsx for breakfast ,completely changes its voicing

 

 

Same thing can be said for the JSX. Mine had KT77's in it and I used a Maxon OD808 to boost the ultra channel and I got some sick ass metal tones from it. Heavier than a 6505 in some regards.

 

OP - I was told by a Peavey tech that the Clean/Crunch channels of the JSX are straight from the Classic 50.

[Polaris20]

 

I do sort of agree. The crunch channel on both amps is where it's at, although you can put the ultra to good use if you know how.

 

 

I use the Ultra with the gain below half, and was able to get some interesting tones. At that point it's like the Crunch with a different voicing.

 

Anything above that though is just ridiculous though. I had been wanting a two channel 50w JSX 1x12 combo, but that never materialized. Even the JSX50 never did.

[DrakkarTyrannis]

 

I use the Ultra with the gain below half, and was able to get some interesting tones. At that point it's like the Crunch with a different voicing. Anything above that though is just ridiculous though. I had been wanting a two channel 50w JSX 1x12 combo, but that never materialized. Even the JSX50 never did.

 

 

Get the butcher, throw in two 6550s drop the wattage to 50 watts and you'll have your JSX50

[TheEsupremacy]

 

Get the butcher, throw in two 6550s drop the wattage to 50 watts and you'll have your JSX50

 

 

I'm not quite sure it works like that...

[Polaris20]

Get the butcher, throw in two 6550s drop the wattage to 50 watts and you'll have your JSX50

 

Meh, I've moved on. I'm happier with the DC than I've ever been with an amp.

 

Still would love to play the Butcher anyway, especially since there's a dealer right down the street from me.

[DrakkarTyrannis]

 

I'm not quite sure it works like that...

 

 

Well you'd have the closest thing you could ever get to the JSX50 idea. The JSX50 was touched up and became the Butcher, so the Butcher is your best bet.