Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

[wickenspoet]

A week or so ago, I posted about my Roland JC-120 sounding great clean, but kinda harsh when used with a distortion pedal.

It was suggested that my problem might be because of the silver cone speakers that come stock with the amp, and that I should change them.

Does that sound like a good idea? Is there a speaker that would compliment the JC-120, giving me the nice cleans I already have, but be more distortion pedal-friendly?

Or do you think I shouldn't risk changing the silver cone speakers?

If I decide to change the speakers... would Celestion Vintage 30's work... or perhaps a particular Eminence speaker of some kind?

Any other recommendations/advice?

Thanks.

 

[baritone]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

Those Roland speakers are supposed to be pretty nice, but I still prefer Eminence. With an amp like that, it would be a good idea to use 2 identical speakers.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

Back in the 80s, I had the same exact problem with the two 120s in the rehearsal studio. Beautiful clean, but the distortion on the amp SUCKED and it didn't take pedals well at all. I'm with Baritone. If you can afford to give it a try, get some Eminence speakers.

 

[saladin]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

A nice tube amp would help, LOL.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

The fact that that JC-120 doesn't take pedals well has NOTHING to do with the speakers, and everything to do with the design of the premap.

Bill

 

[wickenspoet]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

The fact that that JC-120 doesn't take pedals well has NOTHING to do with the speakers, and everything to do with the design of the premap.

Bill

That is disheartening. I've spent a ton on pedals.

 

[baritone]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

Which distortion pedal are you using? It's important to note that overdrives and distortions sound coooler through tube amps, and running distortions through solid state amps creates a little different sound. I think the Boss Mega Distortion sounds awesome with both tube amps and solid state amps.

 

[Kivitel]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

The speakers are probably carefully voiced to the amp/pre. I wouldn't change them, and I doubt they are the issue.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

I used to play through a JC77. Its basically the same amp but it had 2 10" I think. I sold it a long time ago, but to get a decent Overdrive sound I experimented with a lot of pedals (The onboard OD as most people know.... sucks bigtime)I would up using 2 a Rat and a Boss Super Overdrive. IF I used both of them at the same time I could get this really creamy overdrive.... perfect for some heavier blues type of stuff.

Once I bought my Super Reverb..... The amp sounded so sterile by comparison so I sold it!

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

The fact that that JC-120 doesn't take pedals well has NOTHING to do with the speakers, and everything to do with the design of the premap.

Bill

While you're probably right, I have an amp that took pedals soooo much better after a speaker change. A 59 Bassman clone with 2X12s. However, I don't know squat about the inner workings of an amplifier at all. I just play it by ear.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

I used to play through a JC77. Its basically the same amp but it had 2 10" I think. I sold it a long time ago, but to get a decent Overdrive sound I experimented with a lot of pedals (The onboard OD as most people know.... sucks bigtime)I would up using 2 a Rat and a Boss Super Overdrive. IF I used both of them at the same time I could get this really creamy overdrive.... perfect for some heavier blues type of stuff.

Once I bought my Super Reverb..... The amp sounded so sterile by comparison so I sold it!

Actually, my Rat sounded the best out of the three pedals I had at the time, which were the Rat, MXR Distortion + and a Marshall Supa Fuzz (still got that one). Didn't sound good mind you, just the best, lol.

 

[Diego]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

That sounds (to me) like buying a classy BMW and complaining that doesn't go as quick as a Porsche. It's a matter of design. It might improve with the Eminence, but I still think it will be far from satisfactory for you. The amp simply was designed in a certain way that will take distortion pedals and make them too harsh. Nature of the beast, I reckon.

 

[saladin]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

Actually most of the players who used them in the 80's changed out the speakers.

 

[baritone]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

That sounds (to me) like buying a classy BMW and complaining that doesn't go as quick as a Porsche. It's a matter of design. It might improve with the Eminence, but I still think it will be far from satisfactory for you. The amp simply was designed in a certain way that will take distortion pedals and make them too harsh. Nature of the beast, I reckon.

That sounds pretty accurate, too. The Jazz Chorus amps are highly stylized for a certain sound, and that's what they are famous for. But I think the right distortion pedal for it is somewhere out there.

 

[wickenspoet]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

Pedals I've tried...

AMT Du Hast

Boss: DS-1, DS-2, Metal Core

Coffin: Blood Drive

Electro Harmonix: Metal Muff

Landmine Distortion

T-Rex: Mudhoney

Zoom: Hyper Lead, Tri Metal, Zoom Driver 5000 (these pedals were made before Zoom started making cheap stuff)

The ones I liked most were the T-Rex, Blood Drive, and Hyper Lead.

The guy that works at this music repair shop says that the Roland metal cone speakers were designed to be more high mid and treble focused. He wants me to bring it in, and figures he can find some Eminence speakers that will improve the tone, if I'm interested.


Here's what I thought when I bought the amp... "I'm afraid of the maintanence and reliability issues of tube amps. Well, I'm looking for the cleanest amp to work with so that any distortion pedals I use will already have a good foundation to build a sound from. These Roland JC amps seem to be exactly known for their nice clean. It can only get better from there, right?"

Well, I'm not sure I'm right anymore, which is why I'm thinking of cashing in and buying the nicest and most reliable tube combo that will give my pedals a nice clean channel where they can truly shine and still be heard in a band... hence my other thread inquiring about the Crate Palomino amps.

Am I thinking about this the wrong way... that a good clean amp should provide a nice foundation for distortion pedals? Or am I half-right, but I just need a tube amp? ...Or am I wrong all together?

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Is a speaker change a good idea for a Roland JC-120?

Try using an EQ pedal with your distortion . . . you should be able to tailor your sound to anything you want by doing that . . .