Hayden? Jet City? Medium amp needed!

thatbliss

Hi folks. I've just sold my Peavey Classic 30 to a mate and need a replacement. Sold the Classic 30 due to him really wanting one and me wanting a change. I've got about £300 to spend, requirements are two channels, fairly clean would be nice and fairly filthy on a second channel. Gain wise I'm not playing metal- something hairy but in the 90's alt rock vein (my go do dirt sound is a MI Audio Crunch Box into the Classic 30 clean channel for an example).

Had a peek into Jet city- the 20W 2 channel 1x12 seems nice and in budget new. Also seen a Hayden combo- H-40 which also ticks a few boxes.

What say you Fretboard-ians? I don't mind second hand and have an open mind. Thanks!

ThePrettyDamned

I have tried the Hayden amps and they sound really, really great.

But I know that ICBM reckons the Jet City amps are really well built for the price, and they also sound really great.  

You probably can't go wrong with the Jet City, you could sell the crunch box I reckon.

leerocker

you could get a decent laney amp secondhand for that sort of budget.

digitalscream

If you get the Jet City, you won't be needing any dirt pedals. Maybe a clean boost, though.

Also...the Eminence speakers you get with the Jet City combos can be a bit piercing in the top end. I'd replace it with a V30 for your purposes.

Feckin' brilliant amps, though. As far as I'm concerned you can't get a better amp for double the money, let alone the prices they go for now.

thatbliss

I was leaning towards Jet City, the JCA2212 combo specifically. Only problem is that I can't try it out before hand, don't think anyone stocks it near me (in sleepy Suffolk anyway). Gah I hate buying amps, they're heavy and not as exciting as buying a new guitar. 

digitalscream

Unfortunately, I don't know anybody near you with one of those. If you ever end up in the Peterborough area, there's an open invitation for any forumites to come and try out my Jet City amps - I've got a stock JCA50H and one with upgraded valves. The main differences between those and the 20W 2-channel amps are:

1 - The effects loop is in a different place on the 20W (after the master volumes, instead of in the traditional Soldano place on the 50W/100W versions, which is directly before the tone stack)

2 - As a result of #1, there's slightly more gain available in the 20W amps.

3 - There's a bit more chunky bass on the 20W amps (counter-intuitive, I know)

Dave_Mc

I've only tried the 50 watt jet city head- i'm with digital scream, they're hard to beat for the money, and if ICBM says they're buit well (I've heard that elsewhere too, to be fair), that's good enough for me.

I like Eminence v12s with mine- good bit cheaper than a v30 and IMO suits the amp slightly better. Don't get me wrong, V30s suit it pretty well, too, and would likely be my second choice- but the v12s just sound like they're made for it, and being a fair bit cheaper that's a win-win in my book. Soldano uses v12s in his cabs, fwiw.

I've got a hayden petite 5 which is also very nice, but a bit more vintage-sounding. It's made in the UK, though, and I suspect is totally different from the Hayden you're talking about.

ICBM

I would definitely change the speaker in the Jet City - but possibly not for a V30. I don't like the Eminence speakers Soldano use at all - a friend of mine just got an Astroverb with the original speaker, and it sounded really poor until we put a G12H-30 in it. I don't mean just a bit less good - really quite rubbish. Boxy, thin and harsh, and not very loud. (And I'm sure it's not faulty.) With the G12H-30 the amp sounds twice as loud, much fuller, chunkier, clearer, more open and just in every way better. I have no idea why they would fit such a poor speaker to such a good amp in the first place - it can't be cost, the Astroverb isn't a cheap amp. Maybe they sound better in a closed cab, I don't know - I've never actually heard an SLO through a Soldano cab.

Although I didn't have a V30 to try in the Astroverb I know the difference between the H30 and the V30 pretty well, and I don't think the V30 would suit it as much unless outright cut in a mix is the top priority. In my opinion V30s don't sound their best in small open-back 1x12"s, and especially not front-loaded (which the Astroverb is, although I think the Jet City might not be).

digitalscream

ICBM said:

Although I didn't have a V30 to try in the Astroverb I know the difference between the H30 and the V30 pretty well, and I don't think the V30 would suit it as much unless outright cut in a mix is the top priority. In my opinion V30s don't sound their best in small open-back 1x12"s, and especially not front-loaded (which the Astroverb is, although I think the Jet City might not be).

Fair enough - I only know that the V30 in my 2x12" works well, albeit with a G12T. A G12H-30 has been on my list to try for a looooong time...

All Jet City amps and cabs are rear-loaded, FYI

JMP220478

Ive used my jca20h with a variety of Celestion loaded cabs GT75's  , V30-G12H combo , V30-CL80 combo, G12H-G12 65 combo  - the cabs were closed backs.

My personal favourite with it was the G12h/G1265 - though both of those are 70's vintage - so maybe not an easy budget option - I would stay away from V30's alone - offset their distinctive influence with something else ..

The jca22h is a total steal .... get a a cheap 2x12 to match - great gig rig

 

ICBM

digitalscream said:

Fair enough - I only know that the V30 in my 2x12" works well, albeit with a G12T. A G12H-30 has been on my list to try for a looooong time...

Yes, a V30/G12T-75 mix in a 2x12" is a very different thing from a single V30 - possibly something like an H30 in some ways! More loose bottom-end and clear top than the V30 alone, and less focused in the mids. I'm actually not a big fan of 75s on their own, but they do work *very* well with V30s.

I thought the JC cabs were rear-loaded, but I wasn't sure - thanks!

Dave_Mc

ICBM said:

I would definitely change the speaker in the Jet City - but possibly not for a V30. I don't like the Eminence speakers Soldano use at all - a friend of mine just got an Astroverb with the original speaker, and it sounded really poor until we put a G12H-30 in it. I don't mean just a bit less good - really quite rubbish. Boxy, thin and harsh, and not very loud. (And I'm sure it's not faulty.) With the G12H-30 the amp sounds twice as loud, much fuller, chunkier, clearer, more open and just in every way better. I have no idea why they would fit such a poor speaker to such a good amp in the first place - it can't be cost, the Astroverb isn't a cheap amp. Maybe they sound better in a closed cab, I don't know - I've never actually heard an SLO through a Soldano cab.

Although I didn't have a V30 to try in the Astroverb I know the difference between the H30 and the V30 pretty well, and I don't think the V30 would suit it as much unless outright cut in a mix is the top priority. In my opinion V30s don't sound their best in small open-back 1x12"s, and especially not front-loaded (which the Astroverb is, although I think the Jet City might not be).

Now you mentioned it, I did like my jet city with my heritage (55Hz) g12h30s- but far too expensive to get especially for a fairly cheap amp like the jet city (and I only have mine because I got a good deal on the lionheart cab). I can't remember if I tried the jet city with an anniversary g12h30 alone, but if I did I don't think I liked it as much as some other options. Granted, mine might not have been fully broken-in when I tried it )

I haven't tried the v12 in an open-backed cabinet (and it is a bit quieter than a v30 or similar, as you said), but I tried a bunch of speakers with my jet city (like... tons. virtually everything even half-readily available and well-known) and I liked the v12s the best. Admittedly, at fairly low volume levels. YMMV and all those usual disclaimers )

I have a vague feeling the v30 and g12t75 combo you mentioned worked pretty well, too (and I think soldano used to fit that combo before he switched to eminence).

EDIT: if you want a g12-65-type speaker, the wgs et65 might be worth a try. I didn't like it as much as the v12, either, though, IIRC it was maybe a little fizzy. Also I haven't tried the celestion version (i got the wgs as the heritage celestion costs double!), so I don't know how close it is.

daveyh

Never really considered Jet CIty, how does the 50w compare to the Blackstar HT50 for example?

Dave_Mc

Well it's actually all-tube for a start )

digitalscream

daveyh said:

Never really considered Jet CIty, how does the 50w compare to the Blackstar HT50 for example?

Honestly? It's just generally better. More punch, more variety of tones, greater gain range, more controllable at lower volumes, sounds better (subjectively) at higher volumes...take your pick

Dave_Mc

I should probably add I haven't tried the HT, just the artisan 15 (which is all-tube).

digitalscream

Dave_Mc said:

I should probably add I haven't tried the HT, just the artisan 15 (which is all-tube).

Well, they're a lot less vintage-y than the Artisan

daveyh said:

Never really considered Jet CIty, how does the 50w compare to the Blackstar HT50 for example?

In case you're curious and find yourself in south Wales, that's where the Jet City UK distributors are based. Alternatively, if you're ever wandering past the midlands, you're always welcome to come and try mine out.

Dave_Mc

digitalscream said:

Dave_Mc said:

I should probably add I haven't tried the HT, just the artisan 15 (which is all-tube).

Well, they're a lot less vintage-y than the Artisan

Yeah that's what I figured )

daveyh

One of the major points of use for me of the Blackstar HT stuff has been the emulated out - very useful indeed. I've noticed there is something built into some of the Jet City cabs, going to have to investigate.

 

daveyh

digitalscream said:

daveyh said:

Never really considered Jet CIty, how does the 50w compare to the Blackstar HT50 for example?

Honestly? It's just generally better. More punch, more variety of tones, greater gain range, more controllable at lower volumes, sounds better (subjectively) at higher volumes...take your pick

That's pretty all-encompassing! My ballpark sound is that hod-rodded Plexi, JCM 800 sound which I've found the HT does a decent enough mimic of the tubescreamer into a valve amp thing. If the Jet City can get that without the compression you get in the HTs I may be very interested indeed.

ICBM

The Jet City 50 does a *really* good hot-rodded JCM800-type sound. They're actually more 'Marshally' than the full-on Soldanos they're based on. (The guitarist in my band has both.)

The reason the HT sounds like a Tube Screamer into a valve amp is because it is, basically .