Roland JC-120, should I get it?

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bball_1523

New member
Do you guys know how the Roland JC-120 sounds at low volumes for practice? I've heard good things about this amp, such as the cleans, chorus, fx loop, and of course the massive 120 watts of power. I've heard that this amp is very very loud. But I'm wondering whether I can use this amp to play in an apartment room at very low volumes?

I use a fender frontman 15 watt practice and I bearly turn my knob below 1 on the distortion volume, and around 2-4 on the clean volume.

I would like an amp with a really nice clean channel, lots of power in case I jam with friends/drummer and play live at venues, I want a reliable FX loop that works well with pedals such as the boss gt-8, and I want to be able to play at very low volumes equal to my fender frontman volume to practice and play privately.

What do you guys think? Is the JC-120 for me or is there another good amp I should look at?
 
I like it, esp. for a solid state amp. I do not own one but I have played with it for a bit at guitar center.

You should try it out if you can.
 
bball_1523 said:
have you played the roland jc-120 though? I would really like input from people who've played the amp.
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Yes. But for the record I have played a lot of other solid state amps and they all work the same.
 
Highly Recommended

I've got a pair of JC-120s. These amps are awesome and very versatile. I've gigged and recorded with them for over 10 years and they work flawlessly. Well known in the industry for their clean sound. I've used them on Acoustic guitars, Strats and SGs -- even keyboards.

About the only thing I don't like about the amp is the built-in distortion. However, you can definitely use this amp to run stereo effects pedals through the stereo loop jacks in the back of the amp.

You can great clean tones going direct without any pedals. Up until last year, live set up was: Gibson SG/Fulldrive II/CryBaby/Delay/JC-120 and I always got compliments on the sound, especially from other guitar players.

The volume knobs are pretty sensitive from 0 to about 1 and a half, but you can still get it pretty quiet. The trick is to turn the knobs for bass mid and treble all the way down and move the amp up off the floor. For small gigs and rehearsals I usually set it between 2 and 3 and it's plenty loud, especially with the Fulldrive pedal engaged.

I say go for it. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Cheers, Rez
 
I've got a JC120 as well, great amp with plenty of headroom in my opinion. It's got a very solid, clean, and crisp sound. If you can find one for a good price that's in good condition, you should go for it. I would suggest trying it out first if possible.
 
Classic Amp with its own character, really you cannot go wrong with them.....so if you can get one for a good price go for it.

Eddie :)
 
I've had mine since 1986. I've tried to sell it a few times, but couldn't do it. It just kicks too much ass. So I ended up taking part time jobs instead. To answer your question about "apartment" level volume, I do that most of the time. The older ones were built more sturdy than the more recent ones. Different and heavier bracing, etc.

For clean, there is nothing better. But for versatility, you'll need to add something like a Sansamp. I occassionally front mine with a Mesa Boogie V-Twin. I've always received complaints on the sound I get using the Sansamp or V-Twin.

I also run my a steel string and nylon string through mine. Works great for that.
 
I'm just afraid to buy this amp and not have a low and quiet, but playable volume level.

I've tried the JC-90 at GC, but their 120 was broken. The JC-90 sounded pretty good, and I tried the boss gt-6 on it and it was still sounding good.
 
Bball, I've had my JC-120 since it first came out in 1975 or 1976. You can definitely pay at low volume and still get GREAT sound! I use it for recording so I seldom have any reason to crank the volume. If you ever get a chance to watch jazz musicians in concert, it seems the JC-120 is a pretty standard piece of equipment, miked just slightly off centre between the 2 speakers. The built-in distortion on any Roland amp may be less than you want if you're into metal, etc. But then, a Boss disortion pedal will surely give you what you want. IMHO
 
Flovern said:
Bball, I've had my JC-120 since it first came out in 1975 or 1976. You can definitely pay at low volume and still get GREAT sound! I use it for recording so I seldom have any reason to crank the volume. If you ever get a chance to watch jazz musicians in concert, it seems the JC-120 is a pretty standard piece of equipment, miked just slightly off centre between the 2 speakers. The built-in distortion on any Roland amp may be less than you want if you're into metal, etc. But then, a Boss disortion pedal will surely give you what you want. IMHO
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I'm definitely into metal, but am seeking a sweet clean sound that will let me use the boss pedals to pump up the distortion, that's all I care about. I'll check into the 120 a little more. Thanks for your input.
 
Great amp! I've had one for about 12 years or so. It really does give a great clean tone, very different from a clean tube tone. The thing is built like a tank and will take a beating. You can defintely get a quiet sound out of it for practice, but it shines at higher volumes. I personally think it is difficult to get a great sound out of an amp at such low volumes. The amp needs to move air!
 
e_rock said:
Great amp! I've had one for about 12 years or so. It really does give a great clean tone, very different from a clean tube tone. The thing is built like a tank and will take a beating. You can defintely get a quiet sound out of it for practice, but it shines at higher volumes. I personally think it is difficult to get a great sound out of an amp at such low volumes. The amp needs to move air!
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that may be true, but I'm satisfied with low volumes with my fender practice amp. So I may be satisfied with the roland if it compares well with the fender. I've been thinking about buying a Fender FM212R for 300 bucks, it's a 100 watt solid state, that has good cleans and has an effects loop. But the roland has interested me more because I've heard even better things about it.
 
bball_1523 said:
that may be true, but I'm satisfied with low volumes with my fender practice amp. So I may be satisfied with the roland if it compares well with the fender. I've been thinking about buying a Fender FM212R for 300 bucks, it's a 100 watt solid state, that has good cleans and has an effects loop. But the roland has interested me more because I've heard even better things about it.
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I actually prefer the Fender solidstates to the Roland. The Fenders just tend to seem more "chime-y" and open. I think it was the Ultimate Chorus and the Bullet that I played and really liked. For cleans they are hard to beat. The Roalnd is just kinda sterile in many ways. But the chorus is still fantastic.
 
Outlaws said:
I actually prefer the Fender solidstates to the Roland. The Fenders just tend to seem more "chime-y" and open.
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well I've tried the Fender FM65 and of course my own practice amp, and I am satisfied with the clean tone, but I need effects/amp models because that's what my ears desire. So if the Roland does a better job playing external effects/multi-fx pedals than the fender at both low and high volumes, then I'd go with Roland. I'm still waiting for input on how effects sound on both amps. But so far, people have said the Roland does the job.
 
bball_1523 said:
well I've tried the Fender FM65 and of course my own practice amp, and I am satisfied with the clean tone, but I need effects/amp models because that's what my ears desire. So if the Roland does a better job playing external effects/multi-fx pedals than the fender at both low and high volumes, then I'd go with Roland. I'm still waiting for input on how effects sound on both amps. But so far, people have said the Roland does the job.
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Why don't you go play them and see how they sound to you?
 
Outlaws said:
Why don't you go play them and see how they sound to you?
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I tried a JC-90, but not 120 because it was broken at GC. I couldn't find the JC's at any other guitar shops nearby, so I can't really test them to the fullest potential. I tried a boss gt-6 on JC-90, and it sounded pretty decent even though it wasn't in the effects loop. That's why I'm asking you guys to see if any of you have tried a boss gt-6/gt-8 or any other multi-fx effects unit with the Roland JC-120, to see if it sounds good.
 
bball_1523 said:
I tried a JC-90, but not 120 because it was broken at GC. I couldn't find the JC's at any other guitar shops nearby, so I can't really test them to the fullest potential. I tried a boss gt-6 on JC-90, and it sounded pretty decent even though it wasn't in the effects loop. That's why I'm asking you guys to see if any of you have tried a boss gt-6/gt-8 or any other multi-fx effects unit with the Roland JC-120, to see if it sounds good.
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anyone else have anything to say?
 
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