-
+1 on the great clean sound of the old JC model with 2 tens. Forgive me, I forget which model number that was.
+10 on the the problem with the weight. I got tired of lugging it to solo gigs (which is mainly what I've always done and do).
+1000 on the hiss, that was the deal breaker. It drove me crazy. But then, I've mainly used dead-quiet amp set-ups and play in relatively quiet venues.
But that clean. It sure had its own character... I too will watch for some real-user reviews of the new model.
-
07-10-2015 02:52 PM
-
I saw on one of the NAMM videos it was said that they have redesigned the distortion circuit. Not sure what exactly that means... but I had actually found a nice use for it. I only care about whether or not they've done something about that HISS. haha.
-
Originally Posted by Fidelcaster
Originally Posted by barrymclark
This is all we can know ATM:
Originally Posted by http://www.roland.com/products/jc-40/
Here it is:
-
this prompted me to trot out the old jc77 and give it a whirl as i periodically do and those clips sound pretty much like mine. which is to say, sort of like ass, so i guess they nailed it. yay?
honestly, it isn't bad, it just isn't for me. i never really liked it with electric guitars. acoustics, archtops, bass, e-drums, keyboards, vocals, and an ad hoc boom box, sure, but electric guitars? not so much. its usually fine. they sound a little stiff and sort of just... there. that comes though even in these demos. two dimensional may be the term i'm looking for. its better with solid bodies and effects, at least.
and to nobody's surprise, i hate the reverb and chorus, too.
-
Lots of jc120 owners here, personally have a JC 55. Bucking tradition, I find it better rock amp than for more traditional forms of jazz. The one 20th also abusively heavy, just a little shy of twin reverb territory. The chorus is great but noisy. Quite a few people have posted, but I have no personal experience, that some of the amp models in the newer Roland amps sound very similar, are quieter, and the enter a bit more flexible. The only thing that 90% of the owners agree on is that the distortion is painfully horrible.
-
they re-did the front end on this new jc-40...the pre-amp is now in stereo...also they redesigned the distortion to be useful...something it never quite was on the jc-120...albeit it's got 2 10" speakers and is only 40 watts...so its not gonna be huge like the jc-120 can be..volume wise..tho size and weight wise is also applicable...hah
i'm interested in checking it out
i know lots of guys that love the old jc-120..real workhorse
cheers
ps- good bit from the good guys at sweetwater
Last edited by neatomic; 10-26-2015 at 09:40 PM. Reason: ps-
-
The old Jazz Choruses were kind of famous for having a low-level persistent hiss which bothered a lot of people. I have a JC-77 which has this---too bad--if not for this, it would be a wonderful amp. I like the tone, both for jazz and blues/rock (I'm not a overdrive kind of guy.) Probably in a band setting, the hiss would not be noticeable...but for home use, it's not ideal. Some people say they take pedals well, but I've not tried, so have no opinion.
Strangely, I have an old "orange cube" Roland which is quiet and sounds good...40 watts. For $75 it's a great little amp.
Maybe the hiss has been done away with on the newer models...is that what you're looking at?
-
The first hands on report I've seen said that it was much quieter than the old JC's. They seem to be just making it to the stores now which would explain the lack of buzz on the forum. Originally Posted by goldenwave77
-
i like my old jc77 as everything but a "jazz" guitar amp. just a tube guy, i suppose. i will note that it does sound great with acoustics and floaters, to my ear. i much prefer it for that than i do electrics or archtops with set in pickups. and as you'd expect, its a pretty good pedal platform, though it can be picky with drives. pretty sweet clean with lots of time based effects.
haven't tried the new one, of course.
-
I'm struggling to see how 40 watts ( or is it 2x20 watts?) will provide enough headroom to gig with, at least in a band with a drummer.
-
I don't understand anything about how amps work, but I've seen buskers play outdoors through a Roland Street Cube, being heard at a distance; and that's a 2.5W+2.5W amp! The Street Cube is a digital amp, however, but I don't know if that makes any difference.
I love the JC clean, and am hoping the JC-40 doesn't hiss like its big brother, because I'd be using it mainly at home.Last edited by Fidelcaster; 10-27-2015 at 06:21 AM.
-
When Roland introduced the JC amps in the 70s, motion on a guitar signal...chorus ...was popular (Scofield, Stern, Metheny, Hall, etc.). I used the 120 back then for rock and jazz and liked it a lot. Bet the new 40 is good. No hands on experience though
-
Their unpopular GA-212 had 200W. They could have done a lot more than 40, here. I think they didn't want to muscle into JC-120 territory. Originally Posted by entresz
-
Thank you all for your replies.
I just always want a new toy, and besides, two speakers look good.
A little creative wiring and you've got a $600 extension cabinet.
Here's another 'creative' rationale: using this as one of a pair of different amps,
like one with tubes; not much discussed here and probably for good reason, but I'm in the dark.
-
It's a true stereo amp both input and output and even in mono, the 2x10 setup will sound very different than a one speaker amp. It has a place. Originally Posted by Chazmo
-
Apparently there can't be such a thing as a hiss-less JC:
-
I had a JC-60 for about 20 years. Like half of a JC-120, but with just one speaker. I think the chorus was a bit sweeter on the JC-120 because of the two speaker spread. Roland was wise to get two speakers into the JC-40, imho.
And yes, mine had a permanent low level hiss...but holy moly the clean sound was just super squeaky bright and clean. Good for mimicking everyone from Adrian Belew to Pat Metheny to Terje Rypdal. In fact, it always made me imagine icy nordic fjords! Quite lovely, very upfront and present--but not at all a "warm" sound, imho.
It was pretty dang heavy for solid state amp of that size, or so it seemed to me.
I ran a DOD analog echo, and an early ProCo RAT distortion pedal in front of it to dirty it up for rock.Last edited by Flat; 11-12-2015 at 06:13 AM.
-
Heh, I don't speak Japanese, but I sat through that whole video waiting for him to play something! So it's just a video about the hiss! Originally Posted by Fidelcaster
-
Hiss really is a universal language! Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
Last edited by Fidelcaster; 11-13-2015 at 07:25 AM.
-
Originally Posted by Fidelcaster
ヒス (hisu Japanese)
嘶 (si Chinese)
siblo (Esperanto)
psssssssss (Roland JC amp)
-
To dispel all doubts, the same guy also did a video for us rusty Japanese speakers! Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
-
What is it with the Roland hiss. I've got a Cube 60 that sounds excellent but there is this constant hiss even when the volume is at 0 even with nothing plugged in. Amp is good for live applications with playing with others but not in a solo setting playing sparse passages or for recoding.
-
That's weird. I have one of the first gen digital Cube 30s and it's really quiet. No notable hiss really unless you turn the volume and gain to 10. In Australia these sold with a 3 prong plug which may have something to do with it -- I know in some countries they came with a two prong. I'm a Mesa Boogie guy and you should hear those things on the gain channels -- it's like frying eggs (no it's not the preamp tubes just the nature of cascading preamp gain designs); but it's not noticeable once a drummer in a band situation starts hitting his/her cymbals. You just don't hear the hiss anymore; and your mind focuses on what guitar does best -- the midrange. Originally Posted by curbucci
Last edited by wildschwein; 12-27-2015 at 12:45 AM.
-
MOSFETs = Hisssssssss. MOSFETs sound like tubes/valves; that's the reason why.
No, I don't know why the Roland JCs hiss. MOSFET-hiss was something that was bandied about in audiophile circles back in the day. So, over time, a myth grew that MOSFET = Hiss.
As for herssss, that's hiss with more bass energy. Like pink noise. Pink noise. Hersss. Geddit?Last edited by Jabberwocky; 12-27-2015 at 12:35 AM.
-
Even with its 40W, the amp seems to be pretty loud:
Reply With Quote
Soul Serenade
Today, 05:23 PM in The Songs