NAD and NCD

[man-in-moon]

Went to one of the local guitar centers Thursday to get some strings. I happened to take my bugera 333xl infinium 2x12 and a few pedals. Just in case something caught my eye. The used section was boring as always. Then I noticed a head that was turned around I walked to the other side and saw it was a jet city 50h. I have never seen or got to play a jet city in person. So of course I had to plug in.
After about 20 minutes I was sold. Talked to the sales guy I usually deal with. Asked if they had any 1x12 or 2x12 cabs he said they were out. But if I was interested he had a 4x12 that had been there awhile. I said sure I would check it out. He brings out a Marshall 1960A cab. It's brand new the 1960 badge fell off and there's a few small scuffs. On the bottom edge from being moved around.
I ask him to see what they will do for trade.
He comes back and says they will do an even trade for the bugera, my tc triple delay, and Morley lynch wah. I jumped on it I had around $550 in all 3. I may not have been the deal of the century. But i thought it was a good deal. The head is mint not a scratch on it and has a brand new set of JJ 6l6's.
I will replace the speakers later as I do not care for the g12t 75's. But I am not in a big hurry. Enough rambling here's a pic.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: NAD and NCD

Awesome! Congrats man.

So how does it sound? I'm assuming it's a good step above your bugera but what made you trade it for this one tone-wise.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: NAD and NCD

Nice!

I own the same amp. I've liked it very much, especially for the price. I run mine through four V30s.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: NAD and NCD

Nice!

I wish that more B&M dealers would've gone all in on JC before they went exclusive to Musician's Friend. I always wanted to try a JCA100HDM. I've tried the 20 watter and that was pretty sweet. Never got to try that 50 watter.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: NAD and NCD

That deal is so insane, they oughta put you in a straitjacket and look you in padded cell!
So when you and Lucid gonna get a band going together? Ya know you should! Alabama blood is thicker than water.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: NAD and NCD

Nice work. Sweet rig.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: NAD and NCD

You scored just on the cabinet alone.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: NAD and NCD

Thanks guys so far I really like the setup. I only have one complaint the distortion is real bright and harsh sounding. With the bass at around 2 o'clock the mids at 1 o'clock the treble at noon and the presence at around 8 o'clock or completely off. It is still very bright. My wife heard me playing today and asked if I had the bass barely up or off completely lol. It's not a bad sound really just lacks warmth and balls.
The cleans sound great I am leaning toward the speakers I never cared for the 75's anyway. Overall I do like it better than the bugera. The 333xl was a decent amp a lot better than I was expecting. It covered a lot of ground and sounds but at the same time seemed kind of lifeless. i am not going to jump into swapping anything out just yet. But what would be some good speakers to look at to darken the tone a little? I never cared for vintage 30's and am afraid the high mid spike will make it harsher.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: NAD and NCD

The amp through my v30s doesn't sound harsh or bright. It may well be too middy for some. I can't remember the settings I use as I set them up a long time ago.

I can believe that the 75s can sound harsh and bright. They suit certain amps and styles, but I wouldn't prefer them with a JCA50.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: NAD and NCD

Thanks guys so far I really like the setup. I only have one complaint the distortion is real bright and harsh sounding. With the bass at around 2 o'clock the mids at 1 o'clock the treble at noon and the presence at around 8 o'clock or completely off. It is still very bright. My wife heard me playing today and asked if I had the bass barely up or off completely lol. It's not a bad sound really just lacks warmth and balls.
The cleans sound great I am leaning toward the speakers I never cared for the 75's anyway. Overall I do like it better than the bugera. The 333xl was a decent amp a lot better than I was expecting. It covered a lot of ground and sounds but at the same time seemed kind of lifeless. i am not going to jump into swapping anything out just yet. But what would be some good speakers to look at to darken the tone a little? I never cared for vintage 30's and am afraid the high mid spike will make it harsher.

Congrats, you did well!

And yeah, that harsh high end has alot to do with the 75s. I have 75s, Chinese V30s, and British V30s, along with a couple Eminence types, and have had a couple other Eminence types along with Carvin British Series. The Chinese V30s still have a midrange spike, but it's smoother than the Brits, and I've had good results with mixing 75s and the Chinese V30s together in the same cab. Some of the harsh high end gets shaved off of the 75s and the midrange of the V30s gets evened out a little bit. So that may be worth a try. That way you'll only need to find a couple used V30s to throw in there, and if you don't like it, you can always get your money back out of the '30s.

Another speaker I would consider would be the G12K-100. I don't own any yet, but one of my local shops has an Orange cab loaded with them and I've played through it a couple times. They sound great, great enough that I'm planning on installing them in at least one of my cabs. They have a prominent top end, but it's not harsh like a G12T-75, a fair amount of mids (quite a bit more than the sucked out mids of a '75, but not over the top like a V30), and a nice, big and tight low end. I love 'em.

 

[Sleepy]

Re: NAD and NCD

I had the exact same rig for a while (JCA50 into 1960a with G12T-75s).

How much gain are you using? The amp gets brighter as you turn down the gain. It's an issue with a lot of Soldano-designed amps. Look up "Warren Haynes mod" with Soldano or Jet City keywords.

I'm one of those guys who plays with natural breakup then kicks on a tubescreamer for leads so I couldn't click with the JCA50. I didn't try any mods before flipping it.

I did try it with the Eminence Jet City speakers (which are as far from GT12T-75s as you can get, more greenbackish) to no avail. I could get OK cleans and obviously very saturated high gain, but when I tried to get some vintage crunch, OUCH!!! Kitchen-appliance tones!!!

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: NAD and NCD

I had the exact same rig for a while (JCA50 into 1960a with G12T-75s).

How much gain are you using? The amp gets brighter as you turn down the gain. It's an issue with a lot of Soldano-designed amps. Look up "Warren Haynes mod" with Soldano or Jet City keywords.

I'm one of those guys who plays with natural breakup then kicks on a tubescreamer for leads so I couldn't click with the JCA50. I didn't try any mods before flipping it.

I did try it with the Eminence Jet City speakers (which are as far from GT12T-75s as you can get, more greenbackish) to no avail. I could get OK cleans and obviously very saturated high gain, but when I tried to get some vintage crunch, OUCH!!! Kitchen-appliance tones!!!

Gain levels may well explain the difference in experiences. I have my amp set on death metal level gain. I use other amps for lighter styles.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: NAD and NCD

I have my gain set to around 3-4 o'clock. Which is higher than I normally run it. I have read about people removing the C21 and C28 caps to tame some of it. Removing one of the caps I can't remember which is supposed to be the same as the Warren Haynes mod just not on a switch. Removing the other is supposed to act like disengaging the bright switch on a slow SLO.
I am going to do more research before I do anything though. I know a speaker change will help some. I tried it through a peavey XXX cab and it wasn't nearly as bright sounding.

 

[d1dsj]

Re: NAD and NCD

Awesome, you lucked out for sure!

 

[GilmourD]

Re: NAD and NCD

Thanks guys so far I really like the setup. I only have one complaint the distortion is real bright and harsh sounding. With the bass at around 2 o'clock the mids at 1 o'clock the treble at noon and the presence at around 8 o'clock or completely off. It is still very bright. My wife heard me playing today and asked if I had the bass barely up or off completely lol. It's not a bad sound really just lacks warmth and balls.
The cleans sound great I am leaning toward the speakers I never cared for the 75's anyway. Overall I do like it better than the bugera. The 333xl was a decent amp a lot better than I was expecting. It covered a lot of ground and sounds but at the same time seemed kind of lifeless. i am not going to jump into swapping anything out just yet. But what would be some good speakers to look at to darken the tone a little? I never cared for vintage 30's and am afraid the high mid spike will make it harsher.

Are the preamp tubes the stock Chinese tubes? Sometimes those have a bright thinness to them. I forget which position is which in that amp (I could look it up when I get a chance) but swapping a different tube (like a JJ ECC83S, which tend to be a little darker sounding) into the dirt channel would take the edge off.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: NAD and NCD

The all of the tubes are JJ pre and power. I am still leaning toward the speakers being the biggest issue. I talked to Brian at bfg amps and he brought up a depth control mod. He said it's real popular on the jet city amps.

 

[Sleepy]

Re: NAD and NCD

The combo version of the jca50 comes stock with the depth control if you can find one to try

Played it and it definitely changes the low end warmth but it didn't sort out the brightness for me

 

[dystrust]

Re: NAD and NCD

The combo version of the jca50 comes stock with the depth control if you can find one to try

Played it and it definitely changes the low end warmth but it didn't sort out the brightness for me

+1

A depth control adjusts the dampening in the power amp which influences how deep or tight the bass response is. You can make the amp sound bigger, but it really won't influence treble response.

To the OP: the T75s are probably the cause of your problems, so I'd try changing them first,

 

[GilmourD]

Re: NAD and NCD

+1

A depth control adjusts the dampening in the power amp which influences how deep or tight the bass response is. You can make the amp sound bigger, but it really won't influence treble response.

To the OP: the T75s are probably the cause of your problems, so I'd try changing them first,

Agreed, especially if the T75s are practically brand new and not broken in, yet.

 

[mamm]

Re: NAD and NCD

With the bass at around 2 o'clock the mids at 1 o'clock the treble at noon and the presence at around 8 o'clock or completely off. It is still very bright.

What's stopping you from cranking the bass and lowering the treble? Is your treble knob stuck at noon? lol...

Not that 75s aren't awfully shrill speakers, they certainly are. Want to tame shrillness and add body with a speaker change? Cannabis Rex FTW.

But turning those knobs first will cost you nothing - and maybe solve the problem.