Re: Got to crank the JSX this weekend
Can you give me a full review of the amp? I have my eye on a used one, may try to make a move on it.
Anything in particular you're wanting to know?
The cleans have probably been the biggest surprise to me, they're not just "useable" but are actually GREAT. I can dial them in to be pristine and sparkly or fat and chewy.
The crunch channel is definitely my favorite. With the gain lower it's great for SRV-style blues, and with the gain higher up it gets into modded Marshall territory. I usually leave the fat switch off for a tighter attack, with it engaged the amp feels looser and has more sag.
I'm still experimenting with the ultra channel. I see great potential but it hasn't been as easy to dial in for me as the crunch. The highs seem a bit "harder" to me if that makes any sense. I've found that I roll the treble off quite a bit on this channel. There is more gain on tap here than I would ever use, in fact I've been running this channel with the gain around 10 o'clock and the channel volume around 2 o'clock and have been pretty pleased. The noise gate comes in handy when you take the gain past 1 o'clock or so on this channel.
I've found that, with both the crunch and ultra channels, keeping the channel volume pretty high (noon or better) will keep the gain from sounding buzzy. The presence/resonance controls are nice, I've found they let me adjust the amp to the room I'm playing in nicely. With the resonance past noon you can get some MAJOR low end thump.
Also, this thing is very loud. I was playing with another guitarist using a Vetta 2x12 combo and a bass player with a big 8x10 stack and had the master around 3-4. That said, even running through a 4x12 I can get perfectly useable tones at conversation volumes here at home. They aren't as satisfying since you're not pushing the power section or the speakers, but still.
Overall I'm pretty happy with it, it has 2 channels I am very fond of and another I will probably like more as I spend time tweaking it. It can get a bit bright if you're not careful with the EQ, but thats what the knobs are for.
