Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Simon D on December 15, 2007, 07:32:36 PM
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The search for a new amp continues, and I'm curious about the JSX. A few stores have very good deals on them at the moment, making them look very attractive on paper. Does anybody have any experience of them?
It's a one shot deal for me this, and I'm after a decent amount of versatility - I play primarily classic and modern heavy rock and blues, but dabble in country and metal for fun (although I suck at them) - so it's got to be able to cover a lot of bases. I'm considering the Mesa Roadster, but it's so expensive in the UK, I'm exploring other choices.
Any thoughts/comments/opinions are welcome and gratefully received. Cheers guys, Si
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I'm not clued up on the JSX but I thought from my very limited knowledge that it was more of a metal amp... (could be totally off-base there though).
If you're into blues, rock/heavy rock with some dabbling in country and metal, something like an ENGL Screamer or a Genz Benz El Diablo could be cool.
I presume you're budget is high hundreds-£ somewhere if you're looking at JSX's?
This is a great video demo of the Genz Benz showing its blues-rock-heavy rock settings.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CaWdWZFBf8w
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Cheers man, I'll take a look at that.
Should have mentioned budget - £1300 for the head is about the ceiling. (Obviously the Mesa is more, but I'm trying to find cheaper options!) Also looking for a minimum of 3 channels.
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Ah right cool.
Well in that case the Genz Benz slots in perfectly. I think its a smidgen over a grand.
Only 2 channels though if I remember correctly.
You've also got some higher end ENGLs that you could afford in that price bracket. Maybe a Savage or something which has at least 3 channels. 4 I think.
EDIT: Savage:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/engl_savage_120_e610.htm?partner_id=59917
And also there's Orange or Matamp to look at which could definitely suit your needs.
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Rivera KR55!
But just sold my mint one, sorry :(
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Yeah, I saw that Rivera on the forum, but didn't have the cash at the time. Real shame. I'm guessing you'd recommend one? Was yours the 100watt version?
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Here's a VHT Pitbull for an opening bid of £999...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VHT-PITTBULL-50CL-All-Tube-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ200184181082QQihZ010QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This will cover everything you want and sound fantastic while doing it.
:twisted:
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The crunch channel is simmilar to a Peavey Classic 30 but with more oomph. The ultra or is it insane? I cant remember is well, OTT.
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Was 55watter.
Clean chan. = Fender Clean, Crunch Chan.= Blues/AC/DC/Metal, Gain Chan.=HEAVY Metal to Nu Metal (inc. mid scoop pull sw etc.).
VERY versatile and YES would recommend (only sold as am 80% living in USA now.
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i wasn't much fussed on the jsx... if you play a lot of blues and classic rock i don't think you'll like it (though i could be wrong).
brunetti xlr-evo is a very nice amp for around your budget... i've seen them (new) on shops' ebay sites for around £1000. EDIT: savage would probably be cool too (based on my savage se)... ditto vht and rivera. it's really up to you. i just think you can do a lot better than the jsx.
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Thanks Dave, I'm going to take a look at the Engl and the Brunetti. I've already had a look at the Rivera on their website, and I like the sound a lot. Sadly they are quite pricey - I'm still annoyed that I didn't have the cash together when Dakine sold his KR55.
I was bored in work today, and had a look at the Peavey site, and discovered, on closer inspection, thaT the JSX doesn't have reverb on it. What an odd thing to leave off a £1200 head. Might be because Satriani uses some sort of rack reverb unit, but for God's sake, put it on the amp so the rest of us have the option. What might have been a contender has now faded into the background, especially given some of the useful suggestions made here.
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well, i mean if it does the sound in your head, you'd be willing to buy a reverb pedal, lol. but if like me you aren't fussed to begin with, it's just another reason why it's "meh", IMO. And I'm a big satch fan, so it's not that I don't like the dude.
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From what I remember of the reviews when they first came out, the lead tones are supposed to be fab but it's garbage for rhythm. A real soloists amp.
If I was after an uber three channel amp, I'd look more towards H&K than Peavey.
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aw come on...
http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/dragon-head/68258
:D
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Cheers man, I'll take a look at that.
Should have mentioned budget - £1300 for the head is about the ceiling. (Obviously the Mesa is more, but I'm trying to find cheaper options!) Also looking for a minimum of 3 channels.
I have heard the JSX in my room on my cab (someone bought the cab) and it was the most awful sound I ever heard sans the one time I checked on my hifi if the shiva line out was frequency corrected (it wasn't).
It was thin, harsh, and not very musical to my ears, maybe just the settings or tubes were out ...
I would recommend to get for a decent brand with that kind of budget, if metal, rock and blues should be covered, I am wondering if not a Marshall JVM might be a good option for you? Or what about a used Mesa Stilletto or Lonestar?
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For that price I would get a Fender Supersonic head - i played one recently and thought it awesome. Probably not cool enough for most here, though.
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I would recommend to get for a decent brand with that kind of budget, if metal, rock and blues should be covered, I am wondering if not a Marshall JVM might be a good option for you? Or what about a used Mesa Stilletto or Lonestar?
Thanks for the suggestions Hunter. I've tried the JVM a couple of times, with different guitars, and I didn't really like it. There didn't seem to be much low end in there - it was very mid-range heavy, and quite spikey in the treble too. There also wasn't enough tonal variation between the channels for my liking.
Mesa Stilleto looks interesting - I'll have to check those out. I've played a Lonestar too, and liked it a lot - for blues, country and classic rock, it's one of the best I've heard. Sadly, it doesn't have quite enough gain for those more metally moments, but it could be a contender. I'll have to see if the guy I know who has one will let me try my Warpig-loaded Warmoth through it!
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I personally think the JSX is among the best amps currently on the market and that it can easily compare with other units much more expensive.
You should really try one. It has a quite cutting midrange IMO but you'll love it in a band.
thaT the JSX doesn't have reverb on it. What an odd thing to leave off a £1200 head. Might be because Satriani uses some sort of rack reverb unit, but for God's sake, put it on the amp so the rest of us have the option.
Apparently many people prefer to use an external pedal than the typical spring reverb.
The new Marshalls feature a digital reverb for a reason I guess.
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Cutting midrange you say? Probably not really going to be for me in that case, I discounted the Marshall JVM because it was too midrange heavy.
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I run a JSX head into a legacy Cab (V30's) in it and I've got the mids
well under control. the JSX is not a head you can just plug into and wail.
The Active Eq is really sensitive and you have to spend some time with it.
I run mine with KT 77's and they really smoothed out the mids and made it sound "bigger and fuller".
Plus I use an MXR 10 band EQ in the loop and it does wonders.
I slightly boost the lower mids and cut the highest freqs just a tad and it makes this amp sound 'right", like you'd expect it to.
I play my Carvin 7 string thru it (Nailbomb/Coldsweat combo) and it
sounds freaking amazing ( as do my Loomis sig 7 and my Jackson SL2H
soloist).
I think they may have some kind of build issue with these though, as
I've heard quite a few people complain about a "honking " midrange tone
that they can't dial out.
Well mine doesn't have it ................ at all (even with EL34's), so if you
are going to look at a JSX play a bunch of them so you get a 'good" one.
I'm going to try and Post a couple of clips tomorrow (god willing the wife
and daughter give me a couple of hours to my self :roll: ) so you can see
how mine sounds. It's a pretty versatile amp if you take the time and really play around with it.
The Stilleto Deuce would also be a good one to look at for what you've mentioned.
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Had a proper playtest of this and the XXX the other day.
While the XXX was plain awful, the JSX was better - But still no Powerball, if you have the money, then I can see no reason to buy a JSX over the other amps at the £1000 region.
It's better than a Mesa Single Rec, but it pales compared to a Framus or a Powerball.
Edit: Infact, although not a direct competitor - I'd much rather my Screamer to the JSX even, and it's signifcantly cheaper...
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I would prefer an Engl over the JSX as well. I played an SE (el34's)
for a few hours a while back and I loved it.
Here in the states however, my JSX (brand new) only cost me $700.00).
(I know , I got a sweet deal on it but ),an Engl SE would cost me $3000.00.
For that type of cost difference I have no problem with my JSX.
Ultimately an SE or a Mesa Mark IV would be my "Ideal" amp.
but they cost 2 or more times what the JSX does.
But over there if a Powerball is in the same price range as a JSX, I'd go Powerball.
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I'm going to take a good long look at some of the Engl stuff - something like a Powerball can be had in the UK for £1000 or so, and serveral Mesa amps are also up for consideration. I don't really want to buy a new amp and then start messing around switching tubes to get the sound I'm really after. Plus, the lack of reverb on the JSX really does put a dampener on it for me - I'm trying to pare my rig down to a quality amp with a 2/3 pedals, so I need reverb on the amp.
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just to point out, the powerball doesn't have reverb either, as far as I can remember.
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just to point out, the powerball doesn't have reverb either, as far as I can remember.
A quick check on the Engl website reveals you're right about that! Damn, that's another one off the list. :(
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i can understand your wanting reverb (i know i did too), but at the same time, when you can buy a nice reverb pedal, it seems a shame to be discounting amps which might do what you want solely because they don't have reverb. Up to you of course, but for me, reverb is a nice bonus, rather than something which makes or breaks the deal.
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i dont understand this need for reverb either, i see the amp for getting all the tone.. then you add effects yourself in the FX loop... The only amp ive ever had with built in reverb was the mesa mk4.
It will limit your amp choices massively if you are requiring built in reverb, probably to an amp with inferior tone than one without built in reverb.
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The need for reverb on the amp is simple - I want to use as few external effects pedals as possible - ideally just a chorus, wah and tuner. If I fall in love with an amp's sound and it doesn't have reverb, then I'll have a rethink, but until that happens...
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If you're looking for a versatile amp and want to save a bit of cash without sacrificing quality, check out the new Epiphone SoCal. It's an excellent tube head and has a super deep reverb. Its worth checking out, you might be pleasantly surprised!
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For that price I would get a Fender Supersonic head - i played one recently and thought it awesome. Probably not cool enough for most here, though.
+1
An easier version of the Prosonic in some ways
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hi i had a jsx and cab ,infact the first one in the country and thay are cr@p the best amps for metal and lead are a modded marshall plexi or splawn quikrod ,cornford aint bad , Have just sold a diezel herbert didnt like that too low down heavy.Depends if you want organic sweet spot crunch.
Also looking for a b c rich gunslinger if anyone ahs one