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So... what about Jet City?

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Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1385
edited May 2018 in Amps
Hi guys, I don't want to hijack the other thread on small 30w tube heads, so will start another if that's ok. But feels free to delete mods if it's out of order!

I'm not gigging at the moment, but on the look out for a tube head. In my gigging days, I gigged 60W, 40W, 30W and 15W tube amps, and found the sweet spot most of the time with a 15W Blues Junior and a 15W setting on an Orange Dual Terror. The Blues Junior was fine, but got lost sometimes in some of the bigger venues.

I use a Quilter solid state head at the moment for the odd gig, so going to look for a single channel tube head too, and think a 20W might just have the extra poke that I need.
A Laney Cub might do the trick, but again, it's a 15W....

The Jet City has my interest, the 20HV.
I understand people mod them, but would it not be better just saving for a "better" amp instead of having Trigger's brush? 
They're so cheap? What's the catch? Are mods really necessary? A tube change I guess would be a good start. Are they just made to be modded?
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Comments

  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    There isn't a catch - they really are excellent amps in their own right. As many on here know, I've sold lots of much more expensive units in favour of my Jet City amps. That includes...

    Soldano Decatone
    Victory Kraken
    Framus Cobra
    ADA MP-1 + Marshall 20/20

    The only irritation, and one of the more popular targets for modding, is the effects loop on the Soldano-designed ones. The JCA50H/JCA100H have a line-level loop before the tone stack, which is really blood awkward and causes all sorts of issues unless you have the right pedals. The JCA22H has the loop after the master volume control (good) but it's line-level (not so good for some). The JCA20HV, I believe, has the same loop as the JCA22H. The Custom 22's loop is after the master volume and instrument level.

    The reason they're so cheap in the UK is that they're sold direct from the distributor. There's no compromise on build quality (a few techs have commented that the build quality is higher than most amps in the sub-£1k bracket), except perhaps that the transformers are fairly close to tolerance (I've never heard of a transformer blowing on them, but it does mean that using KT88s or EL34s in the 50W and 100W amps will probably be problematic). There are upgraded transformers available, mind.

    If I was going to go back to amps from my Helix, I wouldn't even think about it; Jet City are the only ones for me.
    <space for hire>
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  • webrthomsonwebrthomson Frets: 1029
    I've got a JCA22H and it is great little amp - sounds just fine. The only difference with mine from stock is a tube change to clean up the cleaner channel a bit.

    I think the modding thing comes about due to their low cost and the ease with which they can be, they certainly dont need it IMHO :)
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  • Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1385


    The only irritation, and one of the more popular targets for modding, is the effects loop on the Soldano-designed ones. The JCA50H/JCA100H have a line-level loop before the tone stack, which is really blood awkward and causes all sorts of issues unless you have the right pedals. The JCA22H has the loop after the master volume control (good) but it's line-level (not so good for some). The JCA20HV, I believe, has the same loop as the JCA22H. The Custom 22's loop is after the master volume and instrument level.

    I mainly put everything through the front of the amp so a loop wouldn't necessarily be a problem for me. I had been looking at them on Thomann (I'm in Ireland). At that price, I'd be open to upgrading tubes and transformers if required. I'm going to have to look into this!! GAS.....
    I'd love to A/B beside a CUB head etc, but don't have that luxury...
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    The valve upgrade is easy, although I actually quite like the stock Chinese ones (I even asked Doug to send me a couple of sets that he had lying around, for spares).

    If you're after transformers, you might have to get hold of Doug; I don't think they're available in the UK, so you'll have to get them direct from the main company in the US. He's usually available on the Jet City Facebook group:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/jetcityamplification/?ref=group_browse_new
    <space for hire>
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  • Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1385
    edited May 2018
    I guess I picked the wrong time to delete my Facebook account.

    The one thing I don't like about the 20HV head is the colour of the front. Looks like a potato sack!
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    I guess I picked the wrong time to delete my Facebook account. :)
    LOL! Just email Jet City themselves if you really need it - info@jetcityamplification.com

    I'd recommend just trying the amp as-is, though. You might be surprised :)

    One tip - don't be afraid of having the presence on zero. These are bright amps, and most folk just ignore the presence altogether. The exception is when you have the depth mod, in which case the presence control becomes more usable.
    <space for hire>
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  • Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1385
    Yeah, I read about that a while ago. Any tips on tube upgrades?
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    Yeah, I read about that a while ago. Any tips on tube upgrades?
    Well, I had some NOS CV4004 preamp valves that worked really well in all my Jet City amps. As for power valves...not really, pretty much anything goes. I did try some KT66s in my JCA50H, but one of them developed a short and blew a resistor on the board, so my natural inclination is to avoid those ;)
    <space for hire>
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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    I've had loads of amps and the Jet City stuff is as good as anything mass produced.

    JCA22H is a great little amp if you don't need very clean cleans.
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  • Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1385
    edited May 2018
    I like the single channel idea, so it would be between the 20H and 20HV. I wouldn't use much amp gain, all pedals, and think the 20watts would be enough for me, with a little more poke than a 15 I'll check out the 20 as well.

    Just going off the vids online, the 20HV sounds brighter, but a lot of demos with strats. I probably wouldn't use the full gain on the 20H, but seems like 6 of one, half dozen of the other....

    I like just breaking up, not clean clean...
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    The JCA20HV is a better pedal platform than the 20H - the 20H has a *lot* more gain, which in turn makes it harder to dial in that clean-ish sound you're after.

    You might want to look at the Custom 22 too - the clean channel on that is better than all the others (with the possible exception of the Amelia).
    <space for hire>
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    I've had five Jet City amps and still have a Custom 22 and a 20H as my main gigging amps. 

    The loop on the Custom is fine and I installed a Metro amps loop on the 20H, which I'm pretty sure is the same as the one factory installed on the 20HV. Both work fine with all pedals. 

    Don't worry too much about budgeting for valves, I have dozens and dozens of nice old British and American valves and after extensive experimentation I ended up running the stock Chinese valves in all my JC amps. 

    They're tough and reliable, and sound great at all volumes. 

    I've delved into the guts of all of mine to have a play about, but every mod I've ever done has been switchable, because I don't want to lose the excellent stock sounds. 

    They're well built out of proper components, there really is no catch. 
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    p90fool said:

    They're well built out of proper components, there really is no catch. 
    Exactly. It's not that Jet City amps are cheap - it's just that other amps are overpriced due to the number of entities between the factory and the customer, all of whom need to make a profit. And, evidently, quite a few other manufacturers take shortcuts with the manufacturing process.
    <space for hire>
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  • Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1385
    Well, it's a no brainer then. I've been looking for a single watt 20 watt amp for a while, and totally forgot about these....
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  • p90fool said:
    I've had five Jet City amps and still have a Custom 22 and a 20H as my main gigging amps. 

    The loop on the Custom is fine and I installed a Metro amps loop on the 20H, which I'm pretty sure is the same as the one factory installed on the 20HV. Both work fine with all pedals. 

    Don't worry too much about budgeting for valves, I have dozens and dozens of nice old British and American valves and after extensive experimentation I ended up running the stock Chinese valves in all my JC amps. 

    They're tough and reliable, and sound great at all volumes. 

    I've delved into the guts of all of mine to have a play about, but every mod I've ever done has been switchable, because I don't want to lose the excellent stock sounds. 

    They're well built out of proper components, there really is no catch. 

    Are you using the stock cabs with your amps @p90fool, any preference on speakers with the Jet City heads?


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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26451
    @kennedydream1980 - I had a brief flirtation with V30s when I was gigging the Jet City amps, but I found that the stock speakers were much better for the more modern high-gain sounds I used. Much lighter than V30s, too.
    <space for hire>
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    I'm using open backed cabs with Celestion Classic Lead 80s and Neo Creambacks. 
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  • mudslide73mudslide73 Frets: 3049
    I've been gigging with a JCA50H and a Marshall 1922 for about 3 years. I clipped the bright caps and put some nos RFT ecc83s in. I get some great comments especially about the lead sound. I'm a big fan to say the least. 
    "A city star won’t shine too far"


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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    JCA20HV user here. Pub rock covers and it’s a brilliant little amp that sounds great. I use a Zilla cab with greenbacks and it’s pure classic rock. 

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  • newi123newi123 Frets: 850
    I use a zilla open back with a g12h and a v30 with my 20hv - sounds great. Have also played a couple of recent gigs with the stock closed back (because I still haven't managed to pull the back off) jet city 1x12 - also sounds good........
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