Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

[Nightburst]

I've been looking at this amp and because it can take almost any tube is really sparking my interest!
It's 15W I think and is supposed to be the more toneful spawn of small amps that are flooding the market. I would categorize it together with the Egnater tweaker, which is supposed to be a more toneful breed as well.
The Blackstar stuff seems great too and maybe even more suited for heavier music but I think the picovalve will be more versatile? And it looks cool too.

[jmh151]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

I tried the Picovalve and JCA20H side by side, the JCA20H was geared towards more of what I want tonally, I'm just waiting for the JCA22H. The Picovalve may have some fans, but for me it was just blah and flat.

[Despair]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Picovalve's output depends on the output tube. 2.5/5W switchable with supplied 6L6. Depending on transformer, might be higher with 6550/KT88.

Hopefully like the Univalve it can reach around 25W at full distortion (around 9-12W clean max) with the beefier power tubes.

[guitfiddle]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

GC had the same price for a Pico and a JCA20H, so I took the 20 watter. The little Pico would get it's ass handed to it without micing it on a decent size stage. The JCA20H, on the other hand, can hold its own with some to spare, especially into my C-Rex loaded cab.

[Nightburst]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Hmmm the JCA22H does look a lot better in every aspect...
I'm not so familiar with EL84 tubes though.

[guitfiddle]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Hmmm the JCA22H does look a lot better in every aspect...
I'm not so familiar with EL84 tubes though.

Bit less glassy-ness than a 6L6 or 6V6, and a bit more in the midrange grunt. Little bit easier to distort than the Octal types. Less air, more thickness to the tone.

The second channel on the 22H is the SLO preamp style.

[Red_Label]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Had a Pico for an afternoon back in November. It had some issues, due to obviously being dropped. But in between the crackling I could hear its tone and wasn't blown-away. The Tweaker that I replaced it with right away was a MUCH more capable and toneful amp in every regard IMO.

[Despair]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

If the Picovalve is anything like the Univalve, it's a pretty simple circuit that's a great platform for tube swapping. Finding the right speaker is also hugely important. A lot of people who were unimpressed with the Univalve with stock tubes loved it after a bit of swapping. Unusually responsive to that sort of tweaking.

No idea if the Picovalve will like the same tubes and speakers as the Univalve, given it has a different EQ section.

I'd probably get a JCA22H, then a Tweaker, then a Picovalve, though. All do different things, really nice to have so many interesting inexpensive small amps.

Picovalve is liable to be the best low volume practice amp of the three, though. But yes, you'd need some kind of a monitor setup for most live use, just like a Champ.

[Nightburst]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Ok thanks for the opinions guys!
I was wondering what would be the general buzz about small amps and in what order.
The JCA22H also caught my eye because it has a seperate eq section which makes it the most user friendly amp. Looks great as well.
I have my Ecstasy for gigs, but it would also be nice to have something smaller and portable.
Come to think of it.. the JCA22H looks perfect on paper!

[Nightburst]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Forgot to mention, I'm looking for something American voiced, like Fender or Mesa not another Marshall clone...

[Despair]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Youtube reviews seem to consider the Picovalve an American-style amp. Pretty different from the Univalve, which had a baxandall tone circuit that made it not readily comparable to common US/UK sounds.

I'm bemused by how many metal players are using them with dirt boxes on youtube.

My main problem with the Picovalve is the lack of reverb or effects loop. I know why they did it (combination of price and wanting the preamp to drive the power amp without anything that might compromise the interaction, like buffering or having to design around line level).

But it means that if you want reverb because your practice space sounds bad bone dry, you have to put it in front of the amp, so have to keep the preamp gain down, which... compromises the power amp interaction. *sigh*

[Blind Walker G]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Forgot to mention, I'm looking for something American voiced, like Fender or Mesa not another Marshall clone...

Hi there, here we go. I use the Picovalve side by side with my Blackstar HT-5 Ministack for recordings these days. I've used Vintage Fender Amps in the past 40 years on stage and for studio work, I can really recommend the Blackstar HT-5. Out of the box it's equipped with a Chinese 12AX7 in the pre stage and a German selected TAD 12BH7 power tube. The only thing you have to change is get a TAD 12AX7 CZ for the pre section and you'll be in tonal heaven. If it's a problem to get these tubes, the biggest German online musicshop Thomann sells them for EUR 13,- and sends worldwide. The Picovalve is a completely different animal, out of the box it has no headroom, just thick lead tones in a more modern way and it sounds somewhat flat. I've tried different tubes, the best result to make it more flexible and get a richer tone is the old Fender Tweed thing. 12AX7/12AY7/6V6. Alternative for a more British Vox like tone is EF86/EL84 (needs adaptor). So the Picovalve has a lot of possibilities cause of the self-biasing, out of the box it's awful. With the tube modifications done I still recommend the Blackstar HT-5 if it's a Vintage Fender/Mesa-like tone you're after, the clean tone is as nice as the crunch, a great flexible tone machine for recordings or bedroom sessions. The Picovalve is even with all the tube modifications a one trick pony, a real nice clean tone isn't possible at all with this amp design, but it can be a monster for a satisfying thick and rich lead tone, more Soldano/Dumble than Fender.

[Demanic]

Re: Any thoughts on the Jet city Pico valve?

Warning: Zombie thread!, Zombie thread!
I just had to throw my two cents in on the Picovalve.
I paired mine with a closed back cabinet and a Cannibis Rex. I have a KT-88 in the power section, a JJ's ECC83MG in V1 and a JJ's ECC832 (left side 12AX7, right side 12AU7) in V2. I can turn the pre gain up to about 3.5 before it starts breaking up. I run a TT-Mayhem and a GFS Twin Boost in front of it. It's got a lot more headroom now, with a much sweeter breakup. Very responsive to the volume knob on the guitar. And the tone control. Recording it close, it gives a sound like a stack, but without the attenuator.
Currently I have the KT-88, but I have also run a 6CA7, a KT-77 as well as a JJ's 6L6 in it. The different characteristics of the tubes can certainly be heard.
I think that they can still be had on e-bay for small money.