JC 40 or JC120

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manwithtitties
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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by manwithtitties » Sun Jan 01, 2023 6:51 am

I dont need a bigger/louder amp than a jc77, so i think the 40 will do.

I can recommend the 77 and 85 as well, but they dont do low volume well, so im considering getting a 22 as well.

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by OffYourFace » Tue Jan 03, 2023 1:44 pm

I had written off the JC40 because it has digital chorus but I'm impressed by them. A friend's band uses them live and both guitarists have one on stage. They are pretty loud amps. We were playing together at a festival in October inside a big historic theater in downtown L.A. and I was struck at how loud and clear they were. They said the volume control never goes past 2 ???

They each use old 1983 Squier Strats with original pickups(!!) and just a few pedals; distortion, delay, etc. Oh and their drummer is pretty loud too so those amps work. I'd be quite happy with one but I'm still using my '76 Deluxe Reverb.

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by doclambo » Fri Jul 28, 2023 8:01 pm

I use a JC40 with a Mackie PA speaker. JC120 is great, but not that great moving it around.

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Sun Jul 30, 2023 3:33 pm

Jc-40 is perfect. Stereo in. Stereo direct out. Loud. Very loud. Forget what they say about digital chorus. It’s a good chorus. It captures the vibe for sure. I don’t use the chorus all that much though

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Tue Aug 01, 2023 12:02 am

I'm glad this topic came up, because a JC-40 was on my wish list for quite a while, but then I got a free vintage Cube Chorus and figured a second one of those would be great for a stereo set-up instead. I'm now thinking the JC-40 might be a better option both for portability and versatility.

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Tue Aug 01, 2023 6:38 am

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:
Tue Aug 01, 2023 12:02 am
I'm glad this topic came up, because a JC-40 was on my wish list for quite a while, but then I got a free vintage Cube Chorus and figured a second one of those would be great for a stereo set-up instead. I'm now thinking the JC-40 might be a better option both for portability and versatility.
I got it for a backup to my Matchless. I ended up just liking it so much that I sold off the Matchless to fund a dream guitar of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed that Matchless. But I weighed the pros and cons of having something around that expensive and started using the JC-40 more for the convenience alone. I eventually plan to grab something else down the road to satisfy my tube cravings. But, my ambient style is perfectly suited for the Jc-40 for now

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by øøøøøøø » Tue Aug 01, 2023 8:20 am

Something I haven’t seen mentioned:

The JC amps are a bit noisy (hissy) in terms of static noise floor

A JC120 turned way down will make this more apparent than a smaller variant turned up a bit

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Tue Aug 01, 2023 8:01 pm

øøøøøøø wrote:
Tue Aug 01, 2023 8:20 am
Something I haven’t seen mentioned:

The JC amps are a bit noisy (hissy) in terms of static noise floor

A JC120 turned way down will make this more apparent than a smaller variant turned up a bit
True about the JC-120.

The JC-40 has little to no noise that I notice

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by øøøøøøø » Tue Aug 01, 2023 11:14 pm

Yep, I think that’s because gain staging on a JC40 is sensible at sane levels.

JC120 is so loud it’s usually very far from wide open, so quiescent noise becomes significant.

JC40 can be turned up to beat the noise floor

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by OffYourFace » Wed Aug 02, 2023 12:07 am

The JC-77 is the noisiest. I always assumed this was due to Roland's early SS preamp and power amp designs.

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by tequila_in_teacups » Wed Aug 02, 2023 1:57 am

Noise gate in the effects loop helpful?

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by eggwheat » Fri Aug 04, 2023 3:13 am

JC-40 does not sound like a JC-120. It has digital chorus, and digital reverb emulated on a DSP chip. The DSP bit does not bother me...hell, I use a Line 6 floor live. It just the emulations are not of the classic and unique analogue JC chorus. It seems to be an emulation of the later space chorus. The reverb is some kind of digital hall reverb, not a spring reverb emulation.

You may like this... you may even love it in its own right. Personally I did not.

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Fri Aug 04, 2023 3:21 am

eggwheat wrote:
Fri Aug 04, 2023 3:13 am
JC-40 does not sound like a JC-120. It has digital chorus, and digital reverb emulated on a DSP chip. The DSP bit does not bother me...hell, I use a Line 6 floor live. It just the emulations are not of the classic and unique analogue JC chorus. It seems to be an emulation of the later space chorus. The reverb is some kind of digital hall reverb, not a spring reverb emulation.

You may like this... you may even love it in its own right. Personally I did not.
Again, thanks for that. Are the newer JC-120s also digital or did Roland keep those analogue?

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by eggwheat » Fri Aug 04, 2023 11:06 am

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:
Fri Aug 04, 2023 3:21 am
Again, thanks for that. Are the newer JC-120s also digital or did Roland keep those analogue?
I think they have kept them analogue...but Im not 100% sure.

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Re: JC 40 or JC120

Post by øøøøøøø » Fri Aug 04, 2023 11:42 am

eggwheat wrote:
Fri Aug 04, 2023 3:13 am
JC-40 does not sound like a JC-120. It has digital chorus, and digital reverb emulated on a DSP chip. The DSP bit does not bother me...hell, I use a Line 6 floor live. It just the emulations are not of the classic and unique analogue JC chorus. It seems to be an emulation of the later space chorus. The reverb is some kind of digital hall reverb, not a spring reverb emulation.

You may like this... you may even love it in its own right. Personally I did not.
Ah, that's interesting. I've never tried the new JC-40.

I think I made some assumptions based on the old JC-90, JC-77 and JC-120

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