Hayden? Jet City? Medium amp needed!

daveyh

ICBM said:

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 .

Ooh! I do like the TS/Marshall thing obviously, but I'd like a bit more option as to when its happening. How does the speaker out thing on the Jet City cabs work then? does it mute the speakers or is it simply a line out to save miking? The emulated out on the Blackstar is something like, got really good results with in the past.

Looks like my shopping list just expanded.

digitalscream

daveyh said:

Ooh! I do like the TS/Marshall thing obviously, but I'd like a bit more option as to when its happening. How does the speaker out thing on the Jet City cabs work then? does it mute the speakers or is it simply a line out to save miking? The emulated out on the Blackstar is something like, got really good results with in the past.

Looks like my shopping list just expanded.

I presume you mean the emulated out on the JCA12S+ and JCA48S+ (note that the 2x12" JCA24S doesn't have it)?

It doesn't mute the speakers - it's literally just an alternative to sticking a mic in front of the cab. You can get the JetDirect box and put an appropriate dummy load on it if you want (really, the "+" cabs just have the JetDirect integrated).

In January, the UK store (http://www.jetcityamplificationstore.co.uk/) will have the Jettenuator in stock - it's a much more in-depth product than the JetDirect, which is really just a DI box. It's a normal attenuator which can go all the way down to zero output to the speaker (although you still need a speaker attached) for silent recording, and it also has line outs with the MicSim bit optional so that you can use the raw output from the amp at line-level with impulses.

That said, I believe they're working on a JetDirect 2, which will have the option of turning off the built-in mic/cab sim.

ThePrettyDamned

Blackstar amps sound awesome, like... Er... A blackstar. Thick and compressed, but with good highs. I know they have a TS style circuit in them, but if it's basically a HT pedal, it's not a 'normal' tubescreamer.  It's much fatter.  

The Jet City is a hot rodded Marshall sound.  A friend of mine just got one and puts it into a cab with Eminence speakers (no, really...) with a higer power rating, maybe a swamp thang and something else? Anyway, it sounds incredibly good, though a bit scooped - might be the speakers, because they're not a scooped sounding amp.

digitalscream

ThePrettyDamned said:

The Jet City is a hot rodded Marshall sound.  A friend of mine just got one and puts it into a cab with Eminence speakers (no, really...) with a higer power rating, maybe a swamp thang and something else? Anyway, it sounds incredibly good, though a bit scooped - might be the speakers, because they're not a scooped sounding amp.

The stock valves have an awful lot to do with the sound on Jet Cities - I've now got two 50-watters, one with stock valves and one with Sovtek 5881s and a mixture of JJ and Sovtek preamp valves. The most noticeable difference between the two is that the one with stock valves lacks the mid-range punch that the upgraded valves provide.

daveyh

Interesting, in which case I'm extremely interested

ThePrettyDamned

digitalscream;95972" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:The Jet City is a hot rodded Marshall sound.  A friend of mine just got one and puts it into a cab with Eminence speakers (no, really...) with a higer power rating, maybe a swamp thang and something else? Anyway, it sounds incredibly good, though a bit scooped - might be the speakers, because they're not a scooped sounding amp.





The stock valves have an awful lot to do with the sound on Jet Cities - I've now got two 50-watters, one with stock valves and one with Sovtek 5881s and a mixture of JJ and Sovtek preamp valves. The most noticeable difference between the two is that the one with stock valves lacks the mid-range punch that the upgraded valves provide.

Ah okay, he's got stock valves and using eminence speakers, which are more American voiced anyway. It does sound great though - almost Peavey - meets - Marshall.

Dave_Mc

Funnily enough I don't really think my jet city sounds *that* marshally, to me it's a fair bit more compressed and modern-sounding and -feeling. My Laney GH50L sounds a lot more marshally to my ears (though admittedly I nomally run it into more "marshally" speakers to maximise how close it sounds). I suppose it depends on what you mean by "hot-rodded", though. I'm guessing there's more than one way to hot-rod a marshall, my laney sounds more or less like a marshall with more gain, pretty open and crunchy, whereas i suppose a lot of 800s were hot-rodded to sound more modern and compressed?

I suppose to be fair it's not a million miles from a marshally type of tone, but it doesn't strike me as being exactly the same, either. Whereas I can dial my Laney in to sound almost identical to my 18 watt clone, for example (I suppose a cynic might say that an 18 watter doesn't necessarily sound that Marshally ) ).

digitalscream

I know...I don't think the JCA50H sounds Marshall-y at all, personally. The JCA22H, on the other hand, does (especially when you wind it up). EL84 power section having an influence, perhaps?

Dave_Mc

No idea, I haven't tried the 22 )

But yeah to my ears (and I could well be wrong about this) 800/hot rod marshally tones are kind of like early 80s hard rock and metal, whereas soldano/jet city are more like later 80s hard rock/metal tones.

ICBM

Dave_Mc said:

Funnily enough I don't really think my jet city sounds *that* marshally, to me it's a fair bit more compressed and modern-sounding and -feeling. My Laney GH50L sounds a lot more marshally to my ears (though admittedly I nomally run it into more "marshally" speakers to maximise how close it sounds). I suppose it depends on what you mean by "hot-rodded", though. I'm guessing there's more than one way to hot-rod a marshall, my laney sounds more or less like a marshall with more gain, pretty open and crunchy, whereas i suppose a lot of 800s were hot-rodded to sound more modern and compressed?

I suppose to be fair it's not a million miles from a marshally type of tone, but it doesn't strike me as being exactly the same, either. Whereas I can dial my Laney in to sound almost identical to my 18 watt clone, for example (I suppose a cynic might say that an 18 watter doesn't necessarily sound that Marshally ) ).

digitalscream said:

I know...I don't think the JCA50H sounds Marshall-y at all, personally. The JCA22H, on the other hand, does (especially when you wind it up). EL84 power section having an influence, perhaps?

That's exactly why I think the JCA50H sounds Marshally - to me, 18-watters don't! Despite everyone saying they sound like a mini Plexi… not to me they don't. Nor do 20-watters.

To me the proper Marshall sound is a Plexi 50, Super Lead 100, 2203 etc, and is definitely a big-amp, EL34 sound. EL84s just don't have the big crunch tone, they're brighter and 'smaller' sounding.

I haven't tried a JCA22H, but the Soldano Astroverb (which I think is a very close relative) doesn't sound anywhere near as much like a Marshall as the JCA50H does.

Dave_Mc

I figured you were going to say something like that )