Jackson XLS amp...anybody own one?

Lewguitar · Apr 5, 2006

My buddy AJ just had one given to him! Along with a Fostex mixing board, some Crate monitors and a Tama drum set with Zildjian cymbals.

AJ works for a non-profit here in Boulder and distributes furniture to needy families in the area and he also hires folks who are out of work or down on thier luck to help him with deliveries.

He helped out a guy a couple of years ago like that and the guy called him at home the other day, thanked him and told him he was very sick and knowing AJ is a musician, gave him all his stuff!

The Jackson is a 50 watt combo amp that AJ says has two 12" Celestions, but one of the speakers seems to be in it's own sealed baffle and the other is open back...both in the same cabinet

What do guys know about this amp that I can pass on to AJ?

Thanks!

lew

theodie · Apr 5, 2006

Re: Jackson XLS amp...anybody own one?

Jackson???? Christian knows all of the odd and obscure stuff! If its the same Jackson company as the guitars, you know to ask Zerb.

flipside · Apr 5, 2006

Re: Jackson XLS amp...anybody own one?

Yeah its the same dude that has his name behind the Jackson guitar company. Lee Jackson got into modding older Marshalls, most notably JCM 800's giving them more gain. I heard somewhere that Zakk Wylde used some of Lee's modded 800's, and i believe some of the "Jackson" amps Lee made himself. So i would venture a guess that the amps your buddy owns runs along the lines of a modded JCM 800. This is all strictly second hand gossip, so you might want to take it with a grain of salt. I almost bought one off of ebay, as they are rather cheap, and Harmony Central gives them great ratings, but i like to play before i pay so i just bought my Ashdown. I hope he has fun, i'm sure he will.

Lewguitar · Apr 6, 2006

Re: Jackson XLS amp...anybody own one?

any other info? thanks!

JeffB · Apr 6, 2006

Re: Jackson XLS amp...anybody own one?

I had the head version....FYI "lee jackson" stuff (like the Ampegs ) and "Jackson" (guitar company are different things.

I don't recall Jackson guitar company making combo versions, but maybe they did?

Anyhoo...Teh Jackson head I had was def a Marshall type amp. Darker. Kind of congested or compressed sounding. Not as brilliant or open as a 800 or NMV head. El34s. High gain: about like a Jubilee or 2205/2210 of the day, a bit more maybe...IIRC it actually had two gain knobs. It had a 3 position mid filter, that would put a spike at various points in the midrange frequencies. The tone controls I also believe were active.

Overall..it was OK. Nothing special. I ended up just patching into the loop with a Marshall 9001 pre-amp. Which sounded MUCH better at least at lower to moderate volume levels. I felt the Jackson performed best CRANKED and with the gain backed off quite a bit. It got quite loose and undefined with the gain up.

That was MANY moons ago though...I very well may like it more (or less) nowadays. If anything it should serve as a good platform for mods if one does not like the basic tone.

75lespaul · Apr 7, 2006

Re: Jackson XLS amp...anybody own one?

I also had the head with the matching speaker cabinet. It had the tweed covering. I really dug the knob that said "more" for more overdrive. That was cool. The amp seemed to have a lack of bass, but great overdrive. I saw a combo on ebay and lost the auction, which is why I jumped on the half stack when I saw it. I sold it a few years ago, and always thought I'd be sorry but they never seemed to catch on as far as being collectible.

Lee Jackson also worked with Crate on an amp called the Stealth. I had the combo. THAT was an awesome amp, but the eq was really different from any other amp. If you set it up like a Marshall or with no mids it sounded ghastly. Low volumes were horrible too. Cranked though it ruled when eq'd right.

iekobrid · Apr 7, 2006

Re: Jackson XLS amp...anybody own one?

http://www.leejackson.com/XLSC.htm

iekobrid · Apr 7, 2006