Jc 120

[bfloyd6969]

Yes, the famed Roland JC 120! Roland has their Cube series amps which offer the clean channel based on the JC 120. Of course this is a simulation of that amp, but to those that have played both, how close does the simulated JC 120 on the Cube series amps come to the actual JC 120? Thanks.

[barrymclark]

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

Yes, the famed Roland JC 120! Roland has their Cube series amps which offer the clean channel based on the JC 120. Of course this is a simulation of that amp, but to those that have played both, how close does the simulated JC 120 on the Cube series amps come to the actual JC 120? Thanks.

I can't say just how dead on it is... but I can say it definitely has that vibe to it in its sound.

[Vihar]

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

Yes, the famed Roland JC 120! Roland has their Cube series amps which offer the clean channel based on the JC 120. Of course this is a simulation of that amp, but to those that have played both, how close does the simulated JC 120 on the Cube series amps come to the actual JC 120? Thanks.

It's perfectly the same tone, only through the speaker configuration/cabinet of the given Cube model - and without the dreaded hiss of some JC models. I think the JC clean channel didn't require much COSM modeling, only some EQ to match the real Jazz Chorus' tone stack. That's probably why it's a separate channel and not just another model on the right side of the rotary knob.

The JC amps are basically durable hi-fi amps with a Fender-style tone stack, some full range speakers and a fancy chorus circuit that was all new and unique back then.

[bfloyd6969]

Thanks for the replies guys - much appreciated. I currently have the Cube 30X and have been contimplating getting the bigger, newer Cube 80XL as I really can't afford a JC 120. I suppose I could look around for a used, older model JC like a 77 or 80, but if the Cube 80XL will do the trick then why not go with it, eh? Plus it has some other cool features to it as well, like the looper and some delays, not to mention all the other amps...

[0zoro]

I looked at the cube 80xl as well as the 20xl, I wanted to try a cube 40xl but the store was out of them at the moment. I thought the 80 sounded great on the JC setting, and i would have taken it with me but for the 15 kg weight of it. I expect to move a new amp around a bit and I have a bad hip so the 15 kg is a factor for me. Didnt really have time to check the other settings, no sorry, didnt really have the interest for the other settings but Im sure they were as good. I gave the loop a try, thinking that 80 seconds of loop time was alot, and found that 80 seconds slipped by without me putting down my track. Am I slow, or are 80 seconds just 80 seconds? too short. The only thing I can say about the 20 is that there was a buzz, very disturbing! Especially after having read so much about buzz in Fenders Mustang III models. So much so that any evalutation was impossible so I just left without any further impression.

[Bertrand tB]

I play the 60 for some time now. Alway's use the JC what really does the trick for me, so I can sure recommend any of the Roland Cube's.

[vinlander]

I had 2 JCs in the past, an early 80s model with metallic speaker center and a newer 1998 one. Not much of a difference between them.
However I stupidly ended up selling them at some point for some Marshall stack.
I recently bought a Cube 80XL exactly because I wanted back that tone and to be frank, I don't miss my JCs anymore ;-)
It is compact, little bit over half the weight and you get 11 other amps and effects, I could not be more happy with that amp.
Like I already said in another thread one of the best music gear buy I made in a long time...

[SamBooka]

I have never owned a JC. Last time I played through one would have been around 1990 or 91 and it wasnt jazz.

I have heard that a big part of the JC sound is that the chorus is stereo chorus and the JC has two power amps so it actually runs stereo, different signals to each speaker. Myth?

[Vihar]

Originally Posted by SamBooka

I have heard that a big part of the JC sound is that the chorus is stereo chorus and the JC has two power amps so it actually runs stereo, different signals to each speaker. Myth?

That's actually true. Without the chorus on, it's pretty much just a pristine clean amp with a "guitar-amp" tone stack, to give you that mid dip to balance the resonance peak of the pickups somewhat.
They run two 60 watts power amps to each one of the speakers. When one side is delayed slightly and have a touch of "warble" (vibrato) on it, you get the chorus. Instant early Pat Metheny tone, only squeezed into a single amp.