JSX Satriani Amp

john5959

New member
Has anyone played one yet? Whats the news on these.... they're getting rave reviews. Guitarist mag called it one of the best amps they have ever played.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

I tried one and HATED IT. It was flat sounding, the clean channel was very clean but had little character. Mid channel (crunch) was decent but not overly inspiring. The lead channel was terrible, flat sounding, generic.....just not there at all in my opinion. Overall the unit had a very solid state sort of feel to it....it was static rather than dynamic sounding. Aside from making cash I truly cannot see why Satriani would want to work with such an amplifier. (I am waiting for the day that a guitarist makes a sig model amp that is a real killer, kind of like what Blackmore did with his ENGL....a high end, expensive but breathtaking piece.)

Overall the JSX just didnt work for me.....but Peavey's never seem to do it for me. I find they dont respond very well to the player when compared to other amps.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

drew_half_empty said:
i liked the range of distortion

but i've also heard he uses bassman's exclusively in the studio

THere is a photo on his site (at least there used to be) of his studio amps.....he has about 9 heads: Soldano, Marshall, Fender, PV.....and a bunch more.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

He uses the Bassman for a LOT of his clean/slightly-dirty work now but on the new record he mentions using a Wells, a Cornford, the JSX, a Soldano SLO100, a Dual Rectifier, and a '69 100W Plexi. From the pic looks like there's a random peavey, his old 6100 Marshall, and a 5150 in there too. Those XXX's have the JSX proto guts inside 'em since Satch used the XXX as his template for the JSX.
DSCN3427_1.jpg


to Archer: This amp sounds great on record... kind of a cross between a Soldano and a Marshall. Did you have this amp up to gigging volume when you tried it out or did you just play it at a lower volume? Even the best tube amps don't get their best tone until you get the volume around/past 5-6 ;) So unless I've cranked a tube amp up to really let it shine, I can't really pass fair judgement on it.

Hopefully next time i go up to LA the Sam Ash will have them so I can give 'em a test drive.
 
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Re: JSX Satriani Amp

B2D said:
He uses the Bassman for a LOT of his clean/slightly-dirty work now but on the new record he mentions using a Wells, a Cornford, the JSX, a Soldano SLO100, a Dual Rectifier, and a '69 100W Plexi.

to Archer: This amp sounds great on record... kind of a cross between a Soldano and a Marshall. Did you have this amp up to gigging volume when you tried it out or did you just play it at a lower volume? Even the best tube amps don't get their best tone until you get the volume around/past 5-6 ;) So unless I've cranked a tube amp up to really let it shine, I can't really pass fair judgement on it.

Hopefully next time i go up to LA the Sam Ash will have them so I can give 'em a test drive.

We had it cranked in a pretty large room. THere were 4 of us in there for several hours....conclusion was that it wasnt living up to the hype.

That doesnt mean that others wont find it good, but the humble conclusion of 4 guys in Vegas were that it is not a very good unit.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

What speakers were you using? That is a huge variable
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

Ah, 'tis Archer. How goes it?

I've yet to play on a JSX, but I suppose I'd like to give one a whirl just to see what all the fuss is about.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

If it's better than the 5150, XXX, and Ultra, it should be a worthy contender for that price range.

There's no way it'll touch a Bogner 101B or Diezel VH4, but neither will it's price tag.
I'd bet that half of Satriani's income is from his endorsements, much like an athlete.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

I think someone on this forum also said he uses a DS-1 (Keeley), Wylde OD, and a Tubescreamer (and probably even more stuff) to get his live tone. So his head is just one piece. A large one, but there's lots more.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

I havent tried this amp but if his live tone is anything to go by..
I really liked his tone on the G3 live in (i cant remember where but the first G3 DVD with Eric Johnson) I also liked it on Live in sanfrancisco but on G3 live in Denver i really didn't like it at all. His tone seems very sterile and flat, just no dynamics, Ok couls have been simply not as good a mix or recording but it dodnt sound as good as the other 2 shows..
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

TheArchitect said:
What speakers were you using? That is a huge variable

Ive heard that the speakers make a huge difference with the jsx. Check out the reviews for it at Harmony-Central and notice how all those using it with the 2X12 cab love it and nearly all those using the 4X12 cab think its terrible.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

FretFire said:
Ah, 'tis Archer. How goes it?

I've yet to play on a JSX, but I suppose I'd like to give one a whirl just to see what all the fuss is about.

It is going well.

This place is SO much nicer than that other board that is now hacked to oblivion.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

y2stevo said:
I havent tried this amp but if his live tone is anything to go by..
I really liked his tone on the G3 live in (i cant remember where but the first G3 DVD with Eric Johnson) I also liked it on Live in sanfrancisco but on G3 live in Denver i really didn't like it at all. His tone seems very sterile and flat, just no dynamics, Ok couls have been simply not as good a mix or recording but it dodnt sound as good as the other 2 shows..

I thought his tone one the original G3 with Johnson was his worst ever... thought his tone on the newest one was a little too middy and compressed but way better.

I've seen satch live twice and its funny... the sound live is so much different and better from the sound on record. I think he's one of those rare examples where you just can't accurately capture the sounds he makes on tape.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

I wonder sometimes if guitar mags have to please their sponsors by giving their products great reviews but all the reviews I've read give the jsx the highest possible rating.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

Looks' like there's a classic 50/100 head in that pic.

Satriani's JSX promo clip is powerful and very solid. He's so comfortable playing at high volume, he'll sound great through any decent roaring tube amp. It's kinda like the supermodel in a brown paper bag. They'll both have it, regardless of the tools.
 
Re: JSX Satriani Amp

i played on one about a month ago. i wasnt to terribly impressed. mabye the cab coul have been better, but i can generally tell what an amp will sound like with most speakers (i build amps, i havta know). the ultra channel sounded like it had some jfet clipping going on, just like sats normal tone (think boss pedals). it was also super distorted, even more so than a dual rec. the rest of the amp wasnt to thrilling. tyhe cleans did show a bit of promise, though.

germ
 
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