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Topic: Anybody ever use one of these for an amp? |
Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 30 Aug 2007 7:51 pm |
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I know it's only 60w, solid state...
But in the 6-string guitar world it's considered a great clean tone amp, even at ear drum bleeding volumes. Clean for days, and pretty decent sound.
Does anybody here use one or know anyone who does? There's one for sale locally and I'm thinking it might be a cheap alternative to a big Nashville 1000. 
Thanks! |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 30 Aug 2007 7:56 pm
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OK, I'll bite -
One of WHAT?
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 2:08 pm
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Sir,
The suspense is murder! Please divulge the identity of your hopeful find! Puuhleeze!! 
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 2:10 pm
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Question 1 , is it bigger than a breadbox? Nineteen to go. Come on guys, lets figure this one out 
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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Duane Reese
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 5:00 pm
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Hi Colin,
What make and model of amp is it  |
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Chris Bauer
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 5:12 pm
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| I used to use one but once I found out what it was, it wasn't nearly as fun to play through. |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 6:05 pm
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Q2- does it contain valuable minerals?
Q3- does it have a naugahyde covering?
Q3- have many people attemted to use it for electric amplification of a clarinet?
Come on guys, lets finish the 20 Questions.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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Rick Abbott
From:
Indiana, USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 6:10 pm
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Ok , I'll stop. While I was posting my silly Questions you answered.
I have never heard a JC-120 that had a midrange that I could deal with. If you ran it with a Fender Twin Reverb they are nice together, they blend well. MY very humble opinion. Nice amp for sure!!
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer 1963 Gibson Falcon |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 6:30 pm
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Yeah, I'm looking at Twins too--not to have in addition to the Roland, but instead of.
The Twin is actually my first choice but again there's one of these Rolands for sale in my neck of the woods and since it's solid state I'm thinking I should be able to steal it for a good price. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 6:49 pm
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Only steal stuff you can use.... 
Pass. Wait for a Twin. Actually, I think a Twin is overpowered unless you play REALY loud, and a Pro Reverb is a better choice.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 7:05 pm
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Thanks Jim. Now would you say one of these...
Fender-65-Deluxe-Reverb
is underpowered for say, a 900 sq ft bar?
I'd love to have an amp that works for 6-string guitar and the pedal steel... |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 31 Aug 2007 10:44 pm
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I think a stock Deluxe Reverb is underpowered for most live PSG situations, unless the volume is very low. We're discussing hot-rodding Deluxe Reverbs again on this thread - http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=1006127 There are also lots of old threads on Deluxe Reverbs if you do a search.
I think many of us also recommend digging up an old Deluxe Reverb instead of the reissue. There's one in the Amps for Sale section right now.
As far as getting a single amp that is great for both PSG and 6-string - well there are varied opinions on that, but I don't think it works so well unless you really like very clean 6-string sounds or somewhat distorted PSG sounds. Again, there are lots of threads on that subject if you do a search. |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 1 Sep 2007 9:02 am
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| Quote: |
| As far as getting a single amp that is great for both PSG and 6-string - well there are varied opinions on that, but I don't think it works so well unless you really like very clean 6-string sounds or somewhat distorted PSG sounds. |
Yeah, that's what I figured...Well, I'll go tell the wife I need TWO new amps then...  |
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Michael Johnstone
From:
Sylmar,Ca. USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2007 9:22 am
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| A JC-120 can sound real good for steel if you tame those harsh mids with an outboard EQ. I used to see Gary Morse play a mid 70s D-10 MSA thru one and I could find no fault in his tone.What you need to do is scoop out the midrange - start w/about a 6db cut at around 2K w/a medium width Q and sweep around in that general range till your ears say bingo. |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 1 Sep 2007 7:01 pm
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Yeah...I don't want anything I have to attach extra equipment to though. I'm a guitar-->cord-->amp kinda guy. Unless we're talking outboard tube reverb or a delay unit or something. But if I have to improve the basic tone of an amp with extra stuff I'll pass.
I went and played the one in the local shop I was talking about today...sounded pretty good with a strat, but it had some kind of problem--a high pitched whistle(???)that I couldn't dial out with the knobs, it only went away if I turned my guitar's volume down. We tried another outlet (probably on the same circuit  ), but no dice.
They also had "The Twin", or the "evil Twin" as some like to call it, but the guy wanted $600 for it. I tried not to laugh my head off... I can get a SF Twin on Ebay for less than that. I might go back and offer him $200 for it, I wouldn't pay anything more than that for something I can't get rid of if I want to. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2007 9:48 pm
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| Quote: |
| 'd love to have an amp that works for 6-string guitar and the pedal steel... |
Yep, we've had innumerable threads on this lately. It a case of " you can't get there from here." - with one amp, either the guitar or the steel is not going to be getting a very good overall tone.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2007 10:13 pm
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| played steel through a JC 120 on stage for years.. I closed up the open back and that mod scooped the mids enough... It sounded as good with a steel as any amp I ever used... bob |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 2 Sep 2007 3:54 am
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Are you using it for steel or straight guitar?
| Quote: |
| ...in the 6-string guitar world it's considered a great clean tone amp, even at ear drum bleeding volumes. |
Totally meaningless. Pedal steel and straight guitar are entirely different instruments. The Vox AC-30 will split your skull, too, when used with straight guitar. But it's a terribly lousy pedal steel amp, with zippo headroom.
Have you considered a steel amp other than the Nashville 1000?
FWIW, I've used the Roland - nice chorus, but it's not really great in the headroom department. Lack of a mid-shift also limits what it will do, tonally (that's probably why Bob modified his). It'll do for small-to-medium gigs, though.
If you're going to use it for playing steel, I'd go with one of the Peavey 400-series amps, either a modded or later version. |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 2 Sep 2007 11:39 am
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I know typically a steel has different amplification needs than straight guitar. But since both Twins and these Rolands have been known for their stellar cleans, and AFAIK there are a lot of steel players that use Twins, I thought maybe this could be a cheap, accessible alternative.
Given the problems this one had though, I dont think I'm very interested in it unless someone can tell me it's an esay fix. I've already started a thread about it another guitar-related forum where a lot of great amp techs hang out, so we'll see where that goes.
In the meantime, though, I'm setting my sights on a SF Twin. They seem to be relatively plentiful, and go for a pretty fair price. That's good enough for me. If I want to push the tubes a little harder at a small gig I'll just get an attenuator.
Thanks again everyone. |
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Chris Johnson
From:
USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2007 1:01 pm
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i've played a JC-120 a few times live for a backup amp. i cant stand the tone and the non existent headroom. i've spent days trying to dail in a setting that was bearable (and could never find it). JC-120:a great standard guitar amp, but steelers beware  |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 2 Sep 2007 5:01 pm
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| Quote: |
| ...and AFAIK there are a lot of steel players that use Twins... |
A few use Twins, I wouldn't say "a lot". I have noticed a steady stream of people selling used RI Twin Reverbs. I don't know who's buying new, but most of them don't seem real happy in the long run, and put them up for sale. The T/R was a very popular amp at one time, but the combination of expensive, regular "tune-ups", and the relatively low headroom for any but the "Ultra-Linear" and "Super Twin", versions seem to turn most steel players off. Strangely, straight players think they're too powerful and clean? I guess the amp is stuck smack-dab in the middle as far as capabilities, and that makes it not really desirable for either one.
Yes, there's a few die-hard fans who still use them, maybe one out of every 20 or 30 players, but it's no longer a significant percentage like it once was. |
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Chris LeDrew
From:
Canada
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Posted 2 Sep 2007 5:24 pm
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The JC120 is a popular amp for 12-string Rickenbacker. You see them from time to time on stage with Tom Petty and Roger Mcguinn.
_________________
Jackson Steel Guitars
Web: www.chrisledrew.com |
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Colin Mclean
From:
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
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Posted 2 Sep 2007 10:48 pm
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Well, when I say "a lot" I didn't mean the majority. I've only played for a month or so and haven't so much as shook hands with another steel player yet!  I guess I somehow got the impression that there was at least a significant amount still using them.
They're not necessarily unpopular with 6-string guitarists. Anyone who wants natural overdrive at reasonable volumes or has to load their own equipment is probably going to look elsewhere, but I know of several Fender enthusiasts that love theirs. I'd say Peavey amps have less of a following sith 6-stringers than Twins--as a result I was surprised to learn that what appear to be the most popular amps for steelers are made by Peavey.
I for one don't mind the service and maintenance of tube amps, and will probably end up with one (a SF Twin). My back will probably hate me for it though... |
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