jet city amplification?

[Dave L]

Yesterday Mike and I were talking about effects loops and if players would want that at only 20 watts. Clearly, Olaf does, but, is that a high demand feature? Aren't stompboxes sufficient at this level?

 

 

Well, about those loops... although many seem to be fine without them, I guess the absence of one is a kind of dealbreaker for me as well. There are simply too many quality options available at every conceivable price-, feature- and wattage point to settle for anything that isn

[jet city amps]

so a JCA20H with a second channel and an effects loop sounds good?

[EdgeOfDarkness]

so a JCA20H with a second channel and an effects loop sounds good?

I havent owned too many small heads, but My favorite that I did own was a George Dennis Mighty Mouse 30, It had two channels and a FX loop, I could actually gig with it and use my pedal board to its full potential .

[Kidbs]

so a JCA20H with a second channel and an effects loop sounds good?

 

 

Yeah loops are a definite must have IMO. Delays and other effects sound like poop if you can't get them behind the preamp.

[BerkleeBill]

Run along side a Marshall major and level the neighborhood.

I like where this is going

[Duesentrieb]

thanks for the feedback, gents. it sounds like we are on the right direction. if I can get a wide enough price gap between the 50 and 100, it could be worthwhile, and maybe not a high priority. Olaf - please email me at doug@jetcityamplification.com and I will return a couple pics of the insides of JCA20H. Yesterday Mike and I were talking about effects loops and if players would want that at only 20 watts. Clearly, Olaf does, but, is that a high demand feature? Aren't stompboxes sufficient at this level? BTW, Olaf - 20H is only one channel...

 

Thanks a lot, Doug !

[keithtoxic]

When are the 20watts going to be on the market, and how much? I'm looking for a second small head to add to my live equipment to add some texture(maybe become my main if I like it enough) and I love the tone on TTK's video(albeit his playing and choice in settings is insanely boring)

[Duesentrieb]

Can't take too long - they are available in europe since last week for 299 Euros.

[NaturalBornBoy]

For the most part, his tone isn't great either Mic clipping like crazy in most of his clips, cheap mic's and poor room mic'ing = fail. Whoever appointed him tone king should be shot.

 

This.

 

Damn the guy makes me cringe when I watch his gear reviews

 

He needs to watch more PGS demos and learn how to conduct a proper review.

[FastRedPonyCar]

question for the dudes here: do you NEED a 50 watt head? The difference in cost of parts is small, and the perceived volume difference is also small. but IF we offered a 50 watt head, what if it was only 1 channel to differentiate it further from the 100 watter? thanks. D.

 

*Without reading any replies to this I'll post my own 2 cents*

 

 

The cost of building a totally separate amp for this will be a waste if you ask me.

 

I say put a half power switch on the back and call it a day... or a full/half/quarter power like the old carvin X100b's had or something similar to the bogner xtc's class A or old/new switch.

 

9 out of 10 guys would buy the 100 watter anyways. We've seen this with zach's 100 and 200 watt titans. The 100 watters were kicked to the curb and ignored but when he introduced the 3 channel version as a 100 watts only amp, no one minded I've played all of them a few times and admit that there is relatively zero difference between the 100 and 200 watt versions but I've found that taking a 100 watt amp lower than 50 watts DOES have an impact on the sound and this would be a cool option if it doesn't add too much to the cost.

 

 

If you want to build a lower wattage model all together though, focus on a class A version with lower wattage, EL84's/6V6's and aim for hitting the old DC30 type sound maybe with a bit more heat on it... maybe a foot switchable clean boost from some type of built in analog overdrive circuit that is put before the preamp like an overdrive pedal. That would be cool....

 

Bruce egnater's rebel/renegades are trying to crack into this relatively sparse niche of amps with quality sound. They cover a lot of low~ish gain sonic territory but IMO ultimately suffer from mediocre sound quality.

 

There's a point where these amp builders can become kinda like car manufacturers where they spend entirely too much money building all these different models and having several of them overlap and leave customers either confused as to which one they REALLY need or going back and fourth with what options they can and can't live without deliberating over the purchase and are left after buying the amp wondering if they really made the right choice or if they can really live without the options the other amp offered.

 

If chevy only built the Vette, silverado, Tahoe, Malibu and Aveo, there would be no question as to which car someone needs.

 

Same with amps. You want a high gain monster, get the 100 watt high gain amp. You want less gain, get the class A 30 watter.. and neither amp pretends to be the other. The customer knows exactly what they're buying and what the amp was intended to be used for.

 

 

Inevitably though, you'd have some picky asshole that bought a low gain amp, tried to boost it and then comes back bitching to the forums saying that it sucks because it can't do death metal.

 

 

Edit: and loops are manditory whether it's 5 watts or 500 watts.. zero exceptions.. Fryette lost a lot of deliverance sales when he left out the loop of those amps. I was one of them. Zach and scott splawn's loops are killer. SS, bypass and level switches.

[PurpleStrat]

How well are the PCB traces made? Will they hold up to modding?

[Duesentrieb]

I hope so. If Mike himself is part of the company I'm pretty sure the boards will be very well made . . .

 

Doug?

[Californian1988]

so a JCA20H with a second channel and an effects loop sounds good?

Hey!
I came late to this party, but I gotta say these amps look very intriguing.

I gotta add to the chorus (pun intended) that an effects loop is absolutely imperative, as far as I'm concerned. So much so, that I'd rather have a single channel amp with a loop rather than a dual channel without. Like others have mentioned, that would be a deal breaker for me as well. I guess that I've really been spoiled by my VHT's stellar loop.

But if Jet City could pack a loop into the JCA20H, you'd have me hooked. If you could pack a second channel AND loop without mucking up the amp original tone, you'd have me hooked and into the boat! Hell, I'd drive down to Seattle and pick one up personally....

[DoomFred]

Hello there, sorry I haven't read the full topic before, but after a quick visit @ Jet City Amplifiers website, I understand that both amplifiers JCA20H and JCA100H will work under a 16 ohms load (1x16 or 2x8 ohms) only ?

 

I am very interested in this amp, the problem is that as a touring musician, i often don't choose what impedance the cabinets I'll play on will have. And it appears that often, I'm playing on 8 ohms only cabs... Can you Jet City guys confirm what I understood or did i got it wrong ?

[~Abstract~]

http://www.skipzcircuits.com/

 

This guy makes a rad fx loop! TBFX

[Yarbicus]

Hello there, sorry I haven't read the full topic before, but after a quick visit @ Jet City Amplifiers website, I understand that both amplifiers JCA20H and JCA100H will work under a 16 ohms load (1x16 or 2x8 ohms) only ? I am very interested in this amp, the problem is that as a touring musician, i often don't choose what impedance the cabinets I'll play on will have. And it appears that often, I'm playing on 8 ohms only cabs... Can you Jet City guys confirm what I understood or did i got it wrong ?

 

 

Ooh, great question! One of the most practical features of my Soldano-designed T100C is that it has a variable load switch. Makes it super easy to switch cabs.

[jet city amps]

Hi gents. Been out of the loop a few days. Earlier today I was allowed into the stock room of my local GC where I unpacked their JCA20H and JCA12S which looked quite good to my satisfaction. They won't have them on the sales floor until Black Friday however.
@FastRed - thanks for the input here. Mike and I have some ideas which you are validating.
@Purple - like all Soldano designs, we are using 2oz copper traces on thick sturdy PCBs. So I would think they should stand up to mods quite well. What kind of mod are you thinking? if you email me doug@jetcityamplification.com I can email you back a pic of the pcb in detail.
@Doom, yes, we are very flexible with the ohm loads. Soldano's have selector knobs on the back for the ohm load but we just went with separate jacks. So, you can connect a single 16ohm cabinet or a single 8, or even dual 8 ohm loads, no problem.

[HELSTRUME]

I like FX loops myself. Mainly cause I like to run EQs in em.

[Rawkkitten]

Yesterday Mike and I were talking about effects loops and if players would want that at only 20 watts. Clearly, Olaf does, but, is that a high demand feature? Aren't stompboxes sufficient at this level?

I want an effects loop in a 20W amp! In fact, I'd want it in the Pico. Maybe not needed, but I like to put some of my stompboxes in the loop (echo, reverb).

Good luck with your amp biz, entrepreneur guitar guy. :wave:Who in southern CA will be dealing your wares?

[~Abstract~]

Good luck with your amp biz, entrepreneur guitar guy.

[Yarbicus]

Hi gents. Been out of the loop a few days. Earlier today I was allowed into the stock room of my local GC where I unpacked their JCA20H and JCA12S which looked quite good to my satisfaction. They won't have them on the sales floor until Black Friday however. @FastRed - thanks for the input here. Mike and I have some ideas which you are validating. @Purple - like all Soldano designs, we are using 2oz copper traces on thick sturdy PCBs. So I would think they should stand up to mods quite well. What kind of mod are you thinking? if you email me doug@jetcityamplification.com I can email you back a pic of the pcb in detail. @Doom, yes, we are very flexible with the ohm loads. Soldano's have selector knobs on the back for the ohm load but we just went with separate jacks. So, you can connect a single 16ohm cabinet or a single 8, or even dual 8 ohm loads, no problem.

 

 

 

This is all excellent news! I hope the Kirkland store has some, too.

[cmercein8]

If you guys make a single channel amp that replicates the SLO Overdrive channel, than it would be epic. The leads on the SLO are unbeatable, but to ask for almost 4k is a little ridiculous. Best of luck with your new company

[PurpleStrat]

Hi gents. Been out of the loop a few days. Earlier today I was allowed into the stock room of my local GC where I unpacked their JCA20H and JCA12S which looked quite good to my satisfaction. They won't have them on the sales floor until Black Friday however. @FastRed - thanks for the input here. Mike and I have some ideas which you are validating. @Purple - like all Soldano designs, we are using 2oz copper traces on thick sturdy PCBs. So I would think they should stand up to mods quite well. What kind of mod are you thinking? if you email me doug@jetcityamplification.com I can email you back a pic of the pcb in detail. @Doom, yes, we are very flexible with the ohm loads. Soldano's have selector knobs on the back for the ohm load but we just went with separate jacks. So, you can connect a single 16ohm cabinet or a single 8, or even dual 8 ohm loads, no problem.

 

 

Thats great to hear on PCB's! I liked my Atomic 16 but felt it could use some tweeks to make it sound better for my needs.

[Duesentrieb]

The board looks indeed good, thanks for the pic, Doug.

[jet city amps]

Morning everyone.
@Yarb - you're in Kirkland? I know I owe a visit to Soldano to another local here in the forum, maybe we could arrange for a group of us to get together, but I need a few more weeks to get that happening. My understanding is every GC location will get some Jet City, of course some more than others.
@Rawk - thanks for the well-wishes. But! Sorry, Pico is sans loop. Maybe I will talk to Andy about a more upscale model too. For info on dealers in So Cal, check out our dealer locator, it's growing: www.jetcityamplification.com/dealers
@cmercein - I hear you, that has been an internal topic for a while. Here's the skinny: JCA20H's single channel is the NORMAL circuit from the SLO. We are playing with the 2 channel notion and there are 2 directions possible - either the 2nd channel goes for the OVERDRIVE circuit of SLO, OR the 2nd channel becomes the first channel and we clean it up a little bit. That's our current direction for 2 reasons: 1, we feel a cleaner channel might make the amp more versatile and useful, and 2, Mike build a SOLDANO Atomic but with the SLO Overdrive custom for a customer just a few weeks ago. I spent some time with it and it KICKED A**, but, I'm wondering... all that gain at only 20 watts? It seemed a little like killing a fly with a hammer.
I would be very interested in any comments on this topic, timing is good and the input from this group has been quite valuable.
@ the comments regarding PCB trace quality, yeah, thanks. This is actually something important we learned from Mike years ago, and why the Blackhearts have the big 2oz traces also. It's a very basic thing, but a design premise which is important to Soldano - very clean, simple designs with solid constuction from hefty parts will lead to an amp with purity of tone and high reliability.
This may sound like marketing rhetoric, but, this is just me repeating the philosophy Mike had for 20 years before I ever met him.