Jc120

[RIFF WRATH]

Have a opportunity to pick up a Roland JC120 for well below market value....she's showing her age and needs a couple of switches and some TLC.......man is this sucker heavy....any comments on the amp???
thanks
Gerry

[buckaroobanzai]

Fabulous amp for cleans and jazz. On-board distortion is essentially useless. I've had its little brother (JC-60) for over 25 years and it's never needed a thing. Always a great amp to have in the fleet. Great for keyboards and modellers too...

[Paul]

The JC-120 was a prime metal amp in the 80's when everyone was getting their distortion from pedals on the front end.

I used to have a JC-77, and I wish I still did.

[Hamm Guitars]

Just my opinion,

But after doing sound for twenty years, I've never heard a Roland Jazz Chorus produce a sound that I thought was even remotely good - but then again most I've never heard a Jazz player plug into one, which I assume is what they are made for.

I owned one myself and hated it. I used to plug into my mother's fireplace/stereo and that is exactly what the JC sounds like, only with less warmth.

[greco]

my mother's fireplace/stereo .

A combination fireplace and stereo :food-smiley-004:

Those were the days, my friend.

Dave

[bcmatt]

A combination fireplace and stereo :food-smiley-004:

Those were the days, my friend.

Dave

Are you serious? They used to do that? It seems like a really weird combination; but perhaps something James Bond would have in his pad. My impressions are that if you are a creepy guy with a big round revolving bed, you need one of these too.
No offense intended. I do not think your mom is a creepy womanizer.

[Mooh]

Loved the cleans, but used it mostly in a two amp system with a Princeton for distortion. Would buy another.

Peace, Mooh.

[Hamm Guitars]

Are you serious? They used to do that? It seems like a really weird combination; but perhaps something James Bond would have in his pad. My impressions are that if you are a creepy guy with a big round revolving bed, you need one of these too.
No offense intended. I do not think your mom is a creepy womanizer.


I had a hard time finding pictures of one, but here are a few different ones:

http://kijiji.ebayimg.com/i18/03/k/000/7a/a7/ba72_20.JPG

http://woodstock.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-furniture-Bookcase-Bar-stereo-fireplace-all-in-one-unit-W0QQAdIdZ51141867

We had a pimpin one like this with the Martini Bar:

http://www.hammguitars.com/pub/gc/open_stereo_fireplace.jpg


Ours had 'faux brick' and the speakers pointed into the fire.

I also had red velvet curtains and a matching robe...

[SinCron]

There's a JC 120 head here and it sees use as a guitar amp, PA amp and now as a bass amp. Loads of power and yes, the distortion is useless.

[Kenmac]

Same here, I had a JC-77 and it was great for clean sounds. The built in distortion was terrible and like the others I also used pedals for distortion. I never did try the JC-120 but I would imagine it sounds just as good, if not better, for clean sounds.

The JC-120 was a prime metal amp in the 80's when everyone was getting their distortion from pedals on the front end.

I used to have a JC-77, and I wish I still did.

[Accept2]

I got a JC120 in the 80s and sold off all my Marshalls. I am now on JC120 #3, and may have to get #4 soon. They are absolutely great amps for doing clean, or using as a power amp for distorted sounds. I have used mine for running a rack thru, and its better than a power amp, because you have way more control over the sound, and the built in chorus is amazing. But of course, with all things guitar, you have to be looking for that tone. If you arent, you just wont get it..........

[bagpipe]

I dont know anything about Roland amps but that "martini bar/fireplace/record player" is awesome! It looks like it came out of an Austin Powers movie: "Shall we shag now, or shall we shag later?"

We should start a thread about these instead!


We had a pimpin one like this with the Martini Bar:

http://www.hammguitars.com/pub/gc/open_stereo_fireplace.jpg

[RIFF WRATH]

dang, had I known I could have started the thread with 3 chieces, love or hate the JC120 or prefer the fireplace cum sterio..........we couldn't afford one a nice as that as kids, still had b&w tv, but I remember seeing them.....I guess that was either a way to make an out right non essential piece of furniture appear more practical, or perhaps a way to "keep up with the Jones"

[zontar]

My main amp is a JC 60.
I've put up with sneers and condescension from stack & half stack owners--but it's louder than it looks.

And yes, the distortion isn't any good, but i already have pedals, and the chorus,a s mentioned is terrific.

It fit my guitars, and my tone quite well.

I got it on sale, and I just missed a JC-120, which I would have got instead.
I also just missed a Lab Series L-5--which is a nice amp itself.

Maybe I would have got that one instead.

But I have not regrets getting the JC-60.

I don't use it as much, as I'm preferring smaller amps these days. I've been considering some smaller amps, although I haven't decided on one yet--or even if I'm getting one. But that's nothing against the JC-60 itself.

[RIFF WRATH]

picked up the JC120 last night, actually picked up isn't absolutely correct, more like dragged......weighs as much as my line 6 2x12.......boy do I appreciate low wattage tube amp combo's.......anyway......this is a real veteran, and shows it.........was missing a few knobs..."depth" pot...knob and shaft pull right off, but seeing as I don't know what that knob does no biggie.....lol..........she fires up, and goes loud.....speakers are mismatched...Jensen C12K and a JBL K120......there are 2 taped end wires hanging in the back with rca speaker type ends???.......there is also a heavy guage wire bolted to one speaker chassis that has a "u" end that isn't attached to anything.....as I know nothing about effects and loops really have no idea what the jacks on the back are for, or what they do even though they are labeled.......it appears that the back panel has been reworked in the past......vibrato knob works, but the chorus position didn't make any sound difference???.....methinks that I'm going to need someone who knows the amp to come by and help me sort it out...I have a Boss BD-2 blues driver in stock, but might need a Boss CH-1 for the chorus????? so anyone with any info is welcome to comment...line up left to right on the back are as follows: pot?...... 2 ext speaker jacks.....1 jack line out....1 jack chorus.....1 jack reverb....1 jack distortion....2 jacks main in - with a magic marker line joining them.......hmmmmn...ps, I did down load a manual....
cheers
Gerry

[devnulljp]

I had a hard time finding pictures of one...We had a pimpin one like this with the Martini Bar:
Ours had 'faux brick' and the speakers pointed into the fire.
I also had red velvet curtains and a matching robe...

Wow. Did it come with a selection of Burt Baccarat and Engelbert Humperdink records? Resisting the urge to find a pic of Austin Powers...

(We had a big oak coffin-looking thing with a valve radio in the middle, no drinks cabinet...it sounded great though)

As for the JC120, it always sounds kinda 80s to me (didn't Alex Lifeson and Andy Summers use them?) -- I wonder what it would sound like with a good modeller like a sansamp in front of it? I used to have a JC-60...it was OK, nothing special.

[mhammer]

Unfortunately, too many people think of this amp in terms of listening to it at the back of the room, which is basically mono. I can assure you that the experience of standing in front of it while the chorus is on yields a fundamentally richer experience.

Stereo chorus is a wonderful thing to behold and not enough folks get to experience it.

I bought a little Fender SK20 Chorus amp recently; the Junior Whopper to the JC120 Porterhouse Steak. On paper, it's a piece of crap. A pair of cheap 8" speakers in a single cab that looks a bit like a Deluxe that shrunk in the wash, and 10W a side from a pair of TDA2030 chips (the practice amp chip used everywhere), with cheesy LED clipping. But turn on the chorus and that sucker is beautiful to sit in front of as the sound swirls around you. To be honest, I did a couple of mods to it to thicken up the sound a bit and improve the bass, but the original sounded pretty fine too.....in stereo. In mono, it's just another solid-state practice amp.

[RIFF WRATH]

was monkeying with the amp and was going to install the closed back panel it came with and noticed a speaker wire was off........sounds better now...lol.........because the speakers appear to be replacements, was wondering what it originally came with????.....also looking into 2 Emmerson Cannibis Rex 50Watters to put in.......anyone have any experience with the CR's.......and.......if I get pulled over with the amp will I get charged with possession of cannibus ............lol
cheers
Gerry