Jet City Amps - Master list of models and descriptions

[jimmer_5]

As I have gotten into Jet City Amps, it has occurred to me that their product lineup can be a little bit confusing. They all look pretty similar, but there are few models that diverge from the rest. I am thinking we could make a master list with each of the current models and descriptions to help people make an informed decision. I am familiar with the JCA22 series, but if others could share their feedback on the other amps, it would be appreciated.

Heads:

JCA20 - 20 Watts, 12AX7 / EL84, single "normal" channel, can do clean to mid gain crunch

JCA20HV - 20 watts, 12AX7 / EL84, single "normal" channel, same as JCA20 but has a Joe Perry mod than makes it darker in voicing and a bit lower gain.

JCA22H - 20 watts, 12AX7 / EL84, two channels. "Normal" channel, can do clean to mid gain crunch. "OD" channel has Soldano SLO voicing, can do saturated high gain sounds.

JCA50H - 50 watts, 12AX7 / 6L6, two channels. "Normal" channel, can do clean to mid gain crunch. "OD" channel has Soldano SLO voicing, can do saturated high gain sounds.

JCA100H - 100 watts, 12AX7 / 6L6, two channels. "Normal" channel, can do clean to mid gain crunch. "OD" channel has Soldano SLO voicing, can do saturated high gain sounds.

JCA100HDM - 100 watts, 12AX7 / 6L6, two channels. "Normal" channel, can do clean to mid gain crunch. "OD" channel has Soldano SLO voicing, can do saturated high gain sounds. Depth control has been added to allow increased bass response.

 

[jimmer_5]

Combos:

JCA2112RC - 20 Watts, 12AX7 / EL84, single "normal" channel, can do clean to mid gain crunch

JCA2212C - 20 watts, 12AX7 / EL84, two channels. "Normal" channel, can do clean to mid gain crunch. "OD" channel has Soldano SLO voicing, can do saturated high gain sounds.

JCA5012C - 50 watts, 12AX7 / 6L6, two channels. "Normal" channel, can do clean to mid gain crunch. "OD" channel has Soldano SLO voicing, can do saturated high gain sounds.

JCA5212RC - 50 watts, 12AX7 / 6L6, two channels. "Normal" channel, is very clean, has no gain control. "OD" channel is lower gain than other Jet City Amps, does mid gain sounds.

 

[Syrus]

You can classify them into 4 different groups:

• JCA 20H
• JCA 20HV
• JCA 22H
• JCA 50/100/100HDM

JCA20H is low gain, not Soldano' ish - more Marshall 2061x like and a bit beyond. One very dynamic channel, no fx loop.

JCA20HV is even lower gain with a dark voiced stack and they hint VOX' ish. Also equipped with a Mojotone designed tube buffered (12AX7) fx loop at instrument level.

JCA22H has the fx loop post master at instrument level, but it has the exact SLO100 pre-amp.

JCA50/100/100HDM also have the correct SLO100 pre-amp with the power section only as variance, also the fx loop is mid-amp between pre and power stage and it is line level. Meaning that it is designed to work with 19 inch rack effects modules.

HDM has an added swappable LED's lightening section and the 'Depth' mod (adjustable negative feedback loop) increasing bass response in the power section, akin to how the 'Presence' adjusts treble response in the power section. Ow, and the grill is black & metal. Black metal. Yay.

A bit of a stiff upcharge from the regular 100H... Depth mod is a pot and a cap...

So in essence JCA20H, JCA20HV, JCA 22-100(HDM) pre-amp wise.

FX loop wise it is 22H & 20HV VS 50-100(HDM)

JCA22H feels like the highest gain version - some account this to the placing of the effect loop, as there is no loss in between pre and power section. This makes sense in a way. Some people also hardwire bypass their SLO100 fx loop to achieve this effect. To my ears it sounds like high-end reduction. Can be remedied with a buffer in the loop.

Example:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v2ryUeGZj4[/ame]

All JCA models are fixed-bias.

Switchable amps come with a single fixed cable footswitch equipped with one blue bright as f*** LED. Channels are not switchable without the switch!

Luckily, the switch is as basic as it gets. It is durable, made out of steel and the switch is not flimsy. Basically the same switch you would receive with the 'real' SLO100. Shape and all.
The JCA version is blue and the SLO100 version is white.

Speakers in combo versions are OEM Eminence and sound fine - really good for a stock speaker. Nice chunky lows with the high gain sizzle without ice-pick highs or beaming.
Speaker is equipped with a heavy ceramic magnet and a ribbed cone.

Any SLO100 mod can be applied to the the JCA22-50-100 safely.

There are old and new versions - newer versions have plastic lighted switches, older models come with the metal switches and a separate pilot light with a blue jewel. These old versions have a tendency to burn-out the pilot light LED, which is some kind of weird hard to find LED. That's the reason for the switch. Can be replaced by a regular LED but this requires a new pilot light fitting.

Faceplates are swappable and this doesn't void the warranty or anything.

Jet City amps are also available with pre-fitted mods or a unique tolex via BFG or Amp Factory (M. Soldano himself).

Personally, I own the JCA20H and the JCA50H.
One of my buddies owns the JCA5012C.

 

[jay1williams]

Some people also hardwire bypass their SLO100 fx loop to achieve this effect. To my ears it sounds like high-end reduction. Can be remedied with a buffer in the loop.

Example:
Soldano SLO100 Loop Mod Comparison Clip (Stock vs. Mod) READ DESCRIPTION! - YouTube

How would one achieve this? small jumper cable between send and receive?

 

[jimmer_5]

Fantastic info Syrus! I will have to go incorporate that into my opening post.

My main goal is to provide info on what each amp sounds like, and to help people understand which ones sound similar and which ones sound different. For example, the JCA22H and the JCA50H have the same controls and both have two channels. Do they have the same voicing of the channels (excepting the fact that the power tubes are different)?

Another good example would be the Jet City 50 watt combos. The 5012C (1x12 combo) appears to be voiced like the JCA50H head. However, Jet City 5212RC (2x12 combo) has a different voicing for the two channels - a true clean channel, and a lower gain OD channel. It's not really obvious until you look closely, and I would say it's a bit confusing.

 

[Syrus]

How would one achieve this? small jumper cable between send and receive?

Not really, in a SLO100 you get 4 pre-amp tubes without a FX loop and with an FX loop they add in an extra gain stage to drive the FX loop. (12AX7/7025 as the manual states)

So in essence this would require hard bypassing a complete tube stage and not closing the connection with a minimal load aka a jumper cable.


EDIT:
With the buffer part I'm referring to a typical 1U 19" Rack Delay / Multi FX, as these commonly recover gain to unity - in fact buffering the loop some more.

 

[Syrus]

Fantastic info Syrus! I will have to go incorporate that into my opening post.

My main goal is to provide info on what each amp sounds like, and to help people understand which ones sound similar and which ones sound different. For example, the JCA22H and the JCA50H have the same controls and both have two channels. Do they have the same voicing of the channels (excepting the fact that the power tubes are different)?

Another good example would be the Jet City 50 watt combos. The 5012C (1x12 combo) appears to be voiced like the JCA50H head. However, Jet City 5212RC (2x12 combo) has a different voicing for the two channels - a true clean channel, and a lower gain OD channel. It's not really obvious until you look closely, and I would say it's a bit confusing.

Don't be fooled with the name part - the JCA22/50/100(HDM) and the combo variants all have the same pre-amp section.

Indeed, yet the JCA5212RC is another exception and it has a different voicing too... based on the Lucky 13
Keeping it simple, are we Jet City?
(The Lucky 13 'clean' is the tame and modded for lower gain version of the SLO100 'normal' channel, which is the 'crunch' channel on a typical JCA front panel)

So - the JCA5212RC is the same on the gain side as the JCA22/50/100 (Crunch = Overdrive here), minus the mislabelling confusion...

btw
Soldano is a pre-amp based amp, 99% of the voice is in the pre-amp.
You don't want to run a Soldano amp into poweramp distortion. So in essence the power section only affects available clean headroom.

There's also a difference in having a reverb onboard - this adds 2x12AX7 tubes. If this tank ever fails - an Accutronics 8EB2B1B or equivalent is what you need to replace it or any other reverb tank at 800 ohm input / 2575 ohms output.

 

[Big John]

...the JCA5212RC is another exception and it has a different voicing too... based on the Lucky 13...the JCA5212RC is the same on the gain side as the JCA22/50/100 (Crunch)

From my understanding, the 5212 combo is based on Soldano's Reverb-O-Sonic, and the 5012 is the combo version (1x12) of the JCA50H.

 

[jimmer_5]

This my understanding of the voicings so far:

Voiced like Soldano Astroverb (normal channel):

JCA20H Head
JCA20HV (with mod to make darker and lower gain)
2112RC Combo

Voiced like Soldano Astroverb (normal channel) and Soldano SLO100 (OD Channel)

JCA22H
2212C
JCA50H
5012C
JCA100H
JCA100HDM

Voiced like Soldano Reverb-O-Sonic OR Soldano Lucky 13 (normal and OD channels):

5212RC

 

[Syrus]

This my understanding of the voicings so far:

Voiced like Soldano Astroverb (normal channel):

JCA20H Head
JCA20HV (with mod to make darker and lower gain)
2112RC Combo

Voiced like Soldano Astroverb (normal channel) and Soldano SLO100 (OD Channel)

JCA22H
2212C
JCA50H
5012C
JCA100H
JCA100HDM

Voiced like Soldano Reverb-O-Sonic OR Soldano Lucky 13 (normal and OD channels):

5212RC

This is getting more complicated than it should be, but 20H & 20HV are not voiced the same...
Crunch on JCA = normal on SLO100 for JCA22/50/100H (HDM)
5212RC is the only exception (Lucky 13 clean), plus the regular 20H's combo version. Which is the same voice as the 20H head.

 

[tinman402]

Simply put... My JCA2212C goes chugga chugga squeally squeal and sounds amazing doing it..