JC 120 vs JC 60/50

[Securb]

I have been GASing for a JC120 for a while now. I have owned one in the past and regret selling it. The thing is I don't really think I need another large amp. I was thinking of picking up an 80's JC 60 or JC 50, not a Roland Cube. I know they have a single 12 so they are not stereo, not a big thing for me. I am wondering if they still have that same core lush tone of the JC 120. It would be nice to have at least one powerful amp I can carry with one hand.

Any info that anyone has on the 50/60 series would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: JC 120 vs JC 60/50

Same here. Alwys wanted (and will one day have) a real JC120. One of the best pedal platforms ever conceived IMO.

I've also been considering the JC-77 (dual 10s).

I can't imagine a single-speaker JC, just because the tone I fell in love with back in 1988 was coming out of twin speakers. Maybe if you could stick an extension cab on it for less than the cost of a twin-speaker combo, then yeah, but for me, it's got to have 2 speakers. The chorus is just too lush to confine it to one speaker.

As well, I seem to recall something I read many moons ago that said the amp used a panning effect for the chorus so it moved from speaker to speaker.

 

[dystrust]

Re: JC 120 vs JC 60/50

Same here. Alwys wanted (and will one day have) a real JC120. One of the best pedal platforms ever conceived IMO.

I've also been considering the JC-77 (dual 10s).

I can't imagine a single-speaker JC, just because the tone I fell in love with back in 1988 was coming out of twin speakers. Maybe if you could stick an extension cab on it for less than the cost of a twin-speaker combo, then yeah, but for me, it's got to have 2 speakers. The chorus is just too lush to confine it to one speaker.

As well, I seem to recall something I read many moons ago that said the amp used a panning effect for the chorus so it moved from speaker to speaker.

I've played a JC-120 & 77, but not a JC-50 or 60. As great as they sound, I honestly prefer the SS clean channel from an ADA MP-1. The chorus is just as lush, the built-in compressor is an amazing bonus, and the EQ seems more versatile.

I don't know if you still have an MP-1, but if you do, you pretty much have the JC clean when you want it.

 

[Securb]

Re: JC 120 vs JC 60/50

Same here. Alwys wanted (and will one day have) a real JC120. One of the best pedal platforms ever conceived IMO.

I've also been considering the JC-77 (dual 10s).

I can't imagine a single-speaker JC, just because the tone I fell in love with back in 1988 was coming out of twin speakers. Maybe if you could stick an extension cab on it for less than the cost of a twin-speaker combo, then yeah, but for me, it's got to have 2 speakers. The chorus is just too lush to confine it to one speaker.

As well, I seem to recall something I read many moons ago that said the amp used a panning effect for the chorus so it moved from speaker to speaker.

Not too worried about the stereo thing when I had the JC I rarely used the onboard effects. I think I used the distortion once. I am more concerned with the tone stack. I am curious if they used the same circuit in both amps.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: JC 120 vs JC 60/50

I had an old jc60 and so did a friend of mine.
Yeah they sound pretty much the same as a jc120.
Two downsides tho:
they are old amps now and both of them developed problems, so be prepared for some potentially costly amp tech time on what is a fairly cheaply constructed and not particularly collectible amp.
The other downside was that playing it for long periods made my head hurt. Don't know what that was...i even swapped the speaker for something warmer. It wasn't that it sounded bad, in fact it was a pretty good thick jazz tone, it just caused fatigue.

Re: old cubes....yep same issues with reliability and they just dont sound as good as JC's. maybe it is the small cabinet.

Honestly i don't really understand their reputation for a killer clean sound. It is clean for sure, but its not in the same league as pretty much any blackface/silverface/modern reissue fender. On its own...yeah sure it sounds pretty good, but if you have a fender sitting next door to it in plug into that, it suddenly doesn't seem as sweet. Switching the drive channel on and keeping the gain on zero was useful for warming things up a bit. The chorus was pretty delicious tho if you are a chorus user, but nothing you cant squeeze out of a pedal.

In the interests of full disclosure i will admit to being a tube amp snob, but part of what led me to becoming a tube amp snob was using JC's (and cubes).

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: JC 120 vs JC 60/50

I'm seeing old 120s for cheap and newer ones still at the same $1000+ they went for in the 80s. Are the newer ones more reliable than the originals were by comparison?


And I do still have the MP-1s, and the cleans are very nice. However, a combo and a rack into monitors aren't quite the same, as I've been learning recently.

As for the fatigue from the amp, I know the feeling, and I think it might be the aluminum cone. There's this prevailing "ring" they have, which might be the issue.

 

[akio]

Re: JC 120 vs JC 60/50

Did you see the new JC-40 that's coming out in September? 40W 2x10 combo, most of the goodies, only 1 channel though. Supposedly weighs about 35 lbs.

 

[Securb]

Re: JC 120 vs JC 60/50

I had an old jc60 and so did a friend of mine. Yeah they sound pretty much the same as a jc120.

Thanks man that is what I wanted to know.

Did you see the new JC-40 that's coming out in September? 40W 2x10 combo, most of the goodies, only 1 channel though. Supposedly weighs about 35 lbs.

They have made a few models with 10's. I really want a 12 in this new amp. I already have a SS amp with 4x10