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Are JC-120s good amps?


Steve Howe

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The JC-120 rolled out about the same time as the Roland(Boss) CE-1 Chorus Ensemble pedal (circa '76?). The CE-1 chorus/vibrato circuit is built into the JC-120 (and continued to be, even long after the CE-1 was discontinued for the less organic CE-2). It was one of the earliest productions of the modern chorus circuit (the Univibe is just a mislabeled phase-shifter, not chorus)

To explain how the stereo chorus/vibrato worked, you have to know how a regular one works. A chorus pedal splits the signal in two and slightly delays one half of the signal. The slight difference in time between the two signal creates the chorus effect. In the JC-120, the dry signal goes to one speaker, the wet (delayed) signal goes to the other. Unplug either speaker and you get no chorus at all, but put the two signals together and the chorus sound is created right there in midair. Like the far more complex horn/baffle Leslie rotating speaker, it's a spacial thing you have to be present to get the full effect of.

The amp is clean and shimmer, a jazz standard. And I have heard some great tones from one being played by the blues artist T-Model Ford. Others find them a little sterile. They are also massive and heavy. I don't own one anymore because I wouldn't get enough use from it to justify losing the floor space at home.

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The amp is clean and shimmer, a jazz standard. And I have heard some great tones from one being played by the blues artist T-Model Ford. Others find them a little sterile. They are also massive and heavy. I don't own one anymore because I wouldn't get enough use from it to justify losing the floor space at home.

 

 

What do you use in its stead? One of the things putting me off about it was its size. It's a lot of floor space for a combo.

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What do you use in its stead? One of the things putting me off about it was its size. It's a lot of floor space for a combo.



I don't really.

My main amp is a '60 tweed Deluxe, about as far from a JC-120 as one can get. And I have an Allen Accomplice for when I want Fender cleans. But that's the sweep of my tones. I don't play out anymore, my life has gotten busy with a family and other hobbies. But if someone had need of the sound, they would make room for it.

You could just buy a JC-60, much more portable, but not stereo.

jc60.jpg

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I don't really.


My main amp is a '60 tweed Deluxe, about as far from a JC-120 as one can get. And I have an Allen Accomplice for when I want Fender cleans. But that's the sweep of my tones. I don't play out anymore, my life has gotten busy with a family and other hobbies. But if someone had need of the sound, they would make room for it.


You could just buy a JC-60, much more portable, but not stereo.


jc60.jpg



Jeez, not a one of those on ebay. Guess I'll have to do some searching.

How much would one of those typically run?

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Its just better. Trust me. Somebody else can probably give you a technical explanation...but not me.

 

 

Here's the technical explanation, because it is stereo. Nobody wants mono, that's why you don't drink after people. Once you get mono you just want to lay around all day watching game shows because you are too tired to sound awesome.

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great cleans. Not as shimmering as a twin, but nice nontheless.

Cleans are all they do though. IMO they turn *any* distortin pedal to instant chainsaw/beehive. Nice if that's what you want I suppose, but if organic sounding distortion/OD is your thing, these wont do it.

A 120 is also WAY too loud for any jazz setting I've ever been in

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