Roland JC-77 (Was Re: Clean Sounds From Tube Amps)
Jim Vence ISSC
>
>Have you ever played through a Roland JC77? The 120 is way too big (and
>heavy) for my needs and I've been seriously considering a JC77 - I could
>pick one up for $325. Also have you had the opportunity to play through a
I was looking into Jazz Chorus amps for a while, because they sound so
cool on record. With some amp model lines, you would of course
expect a difference in overall tone between 10" and 12" speaker configs
(i.e. the silver Fender's w/master vol), but by and large they sound
somewhat similar.
With the JC's however, I found that I didn't care for the JC-77. The
amp simply didn't seem to have the same presence as the JC-120. Perhaps
the solid-state amp with 10" spkrs. doesn't cut it for me (not to imply
I don't care for SS amps - I've been happy with the Fender Stage 112SE
I recently purchased).
Of course, this is IMHO only, which means that this is *the* irrefutable,
authoritative answer on the subject! (HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ...)
Jim Vence
Richard Gordon
From Tube Amps)>, 'ji...@mailroom.itc.kodak.com (Jim Vence ISSC)' wrote:
>>Have you ever played through a Roland JC77? The 120 is way too big (and
>>heavy) for my needs and I've been seriously considering a JC77 - I could
>>pick one up for $325. Also have you had the opportunity to play through a
>
>I was looking into Jazz Chorus amps for a while, because they sound so
>cool on record. With some amp model lines, you would of course
>expect a difference in overall tone between 10" and 12" speaker configs
>(i.e. the silver Fender's w/master vol), but by and large they sound
>somewhat similar.
>
>With the JC's however, I found that I didn't care for the JC-77. The
>amp simply didn't seem to have the same presence as the JC-120. Perhaps
>the solid-state amp with 10" spkrs. doesn't cut it for me (not to imply
>I don't care for SS amps - I've been happy with the Fender Stage 112SE
>I recently purchased).
>
Last fall I was looking for a combo stereo chorus amp to use with my Ricky
370/12. I was looking at "the available field" of 2x10 stereo chorus amps,
including the JC-77, the Fender Princeton Chorus, etc. (I was not seriously
considering any of the larger 2x12 models, such as the JC-120, Fender
Power/Ultra/Ultimate Chorus, etc., becuase I too thought they were overkill
for my more modest "play-along-at-home" type needs - too big, heavy and
expensive.)
But, I wound up with a used Fender Power Chorus after all. It is a
2x65wattx12 combo. (I believe it is a bit smaller and lighter than the
JC-120 though). At $350, in absolutely mint condition, it was considerably
less expensive than any of the JC-120's I saw. The Power Chorus was made
in the early 1990's, before Fender redesigned it somewhat, stripped it of
several of its features, and renamed it the Ultra Chorus. Given its price
(and all its extra features that none of the Roland or any of the other
Fender chorus amps have - much more flexible controls - a 4 button foot
switch - two sepatate inputs useable in a unique "dual channel" stereo mode
that is perfect for the Ricky's stereo output), I decided that it was a
much better deal than any of the 2x10's I had been looking at in the same
price range (or for that matter any of the more expensive 2x12's.)
Sound-wise I'm very happy with it as well. It can sound very "twin-like",
or it can sound very "JC-120-like". It's distortion channel is nothing to
write home about, but then distrotion is not exactly the JC-120's strong
point either! (And besides, if distortion channel performance is important
to you, it is is easily solved with an outboard stomp box.)
I have since seen several of these amps for sale - you might want to look
for one and try it out. You just might like it - and it really isn't all
that much bigger or heavier than the JC-77.
Richard Gordon
rgo...@usa.pipeline.com
Graydon D. Stuckey
> >Have you ever played through a Roland JC77? The 120 is way too big (and
> >heavy) for my needs and I've been seriously considering a JC77 - I could
> >pick one up for $325. Also have you had the opportunity to play through a
>
> I was looking into Jazz Chorus amps for a while, because they sound so
> cool on record. With some amp model lines, you would of course
> expect a difference in overall tone between 10" and 12" speaker configs
> (i.e. the silver Fender's w/master vol), but by and large they sound
> somewhat similar.
>
> With the JC's however, I found that I didn't care for the JC-77. The
> amp simply didn't seem to have the same presence as the JC-120. Perhaps
> the solid-state amp with 10" spkrs. doesn't cut it for me (not to imply
> I don't care for SS amps - I've been happy with the Fender Stage 112SE
> I recently purchased).
Jim,
I have a JC120 head, played through a pair of Fender 2-12 cabs
with Celestions. It does sound great, but it doesn't quite have the tone
of my Boogie. However, it used to sound better. I had an old Fender
Bandmaster 2-12 (I think that's what it was called) that had a divider
between the two 12" speakers, and it was wired in stereo, with a pair of
mismatched speakers (Celestion and Eminence I think). THAT sounded
great! For a SS amp, it was very warm, and soulful.
I have played through the JC77 only a few times, but I always
thought it sounded basically the same as my 120. One other guitarist I
talked to once actually liked thte 77 better because he liked the sound
of 10s better than 12s.
I have had good luck using the Boogie slave out into the JC120
input, to warm up the JC sound. THAT sounds really nice.
Either way, you get that awesome chorus!
Later,
Graydon D. Stuckey
gra...@apollo.gmi.edu
Flint, Michigan USA
'86 Audi 5000 CS Turbo Quattro, GDS Racing Stage II
'85 Mazda RX7 GS 12A-leaning-towards-a-13B-soon