JCA OWNERS!!! (RE)JOIN THE JET CITY LOUNGE!!!

[Tortuga]

Whoa - anyone see this?

Hi all!
So I joined the club of happy JCA22H users club few months ago
Needles to say that I love that overdriven sound, reminds me of a crossing between the 80s-90s hard rock sounds (thing Skid row and the likes) and some more modern sounding drive.

So in a nutshell here's what i've been using on this amp rather successfully so far, and sorry but some contradicts what has been said so far I think

Guitar > Tuner pedal > Clone central TS9/TS808> Donner/Mooer Noise gate >amp
Effects send > Ibanez EQ > Joyo D-SEED (yes it works brilliantly) > TC Dito (as well) > Effects return.

So the DSEED and Dito do actually work flawlessly on this amp.

Now the issues i've encountered were with the noise gate.
If i put it in the effects loop, which i initially wanted to do, i'd hear a loud POP when switching it on, and the frequencies would really be cut on the signal.
I'm looking for a gate that could be used on this effects loop, so if anyone has a reference... I heard of the GString but it's way ove army budget.
Maybe the TC electronics one ? (I had a quick discussion with whoever takes care of the JCA Facebook page, and he was sort of pointing at TC Electronics gear generally) or maybe the EHX Silencer ?
Has anyone tried any of these ?

Next, a reverb. I'm about to order T-Rex's Ghost Tone. It's cheap and sounds promising.
Has anyone tried that one in the loop ?

Thank you all for your feedback (if i can say so )

Sorry, but I have no experience with using noise gates on this amp - not even my Boss NS-2, which I bought and use on my Marshall's front-end. I'd recommend trying the NS-2 and possibly the Decimator, which many seem to like.

Have you swapped tubes and gotten you bias set properly? This may help with any noise issues you are experiencing. There's also an elevated heater mod and other ideas listed in the references section at the start of this thread to help with noise, but they're fairly non-reversible.

Also haven't tried using reverb on it, other than what was available with my POD500X, which I briefly tried (successfully) in 4CM.

[Philming]

Thanx for your reply man, i think i'm going to go the TC Sentry route, it seems to have a good reputation.

Regarding the mods, i'd rather stay away from them. I heard most people who did ended up reversing to the original state. I'll check them out anyway.
The noise issues I have are mainly when I kick in the tube screamer on the drive channel. I dont think the amp in itself is that noisy. But the TS really cuases the problem, as it should

Regarding tubes, did anyone change his at some point on the same JCA22H amp ?

I want to smooth out the clean channel a bit and intend to put a 12AT7 on position 1.
http://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/Tubes/ ... :1408.html

For the other preamp tubes, I'm stiking to 12AX7 like these ones :
http://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/Tubes/ ... 1::53.html

and for the power stage :
http://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/Tubes/ ... ::144.html

Does that make sense to you ? There are many references for these kind of tubes, so i picked them more by instinct than by fact to be honnest.

I had a talk with someone on JCA's Facebook page, and he said biasing the amp, regardless of the tubes i'd put in there was not usefull.
Any thought on this ?

Thanx for your help !

[Tortuga]

If you took the time to read this thread, you'd see posting after posting advising getting the bias adjusted. Nearly everyone who's done that has been shocked at how "cold" the bias came from the factory (probably in order to save life on the crappy tubes they come with) and were ecstatic with the difference it made.

If you're going to take FB dude's word over the PAGES AND PAGES of recommendations here, you're probably in the wrong place. Same goes for mods - not sure who "most people" are that have reversed their mods, but I have yet to hear of anyone here doing that. I can't remember anyone saying they weren't happy with the depth knob (which the company offers, due to popular demand). Consider your source.

I installed a full set of JJs in my amp, and have been happy with the results. There's been a lot of alternatives used. Again, take the time to read through the thread for recommendations.

A couple of guys used a 5751 in V1 and/or the PI with good results. Haven't tried it myself, but was always interested. I did the clean switch mod to "tame" the crunch channel, which made it usable.

Lots of guys here go to Laura, The Valve Queen (www.valvequeen.com) , to buy their tubes. She's got a ton of experience, and is very helpful. I personally went to Eurotubes, which has had generally positive reviews.

[GuitarBilly]

Whoa - anyone see this?

damn... that is cool. I can't find any information about it though...

[Meelocheck]

Amelia eh? Looks berry berry interesting. Can't find anything on Google regarding that one. May want...

Also, what did you do to tame the crunch channel? I think it is ripping as it is...What I need is a mod that will compress or tighten everything up a bit to get rid of some of the flub. But that Amelia has got me intrigued.

Philming - this thread is the be all end all for JCA amps. Grime knows his shit and doesn't mess around. All the advice he has given you is good - especially biasing. I'd have to believe that anyone who says biasing these amps is useless is prolly useless themselves. Get them shits sizzlin'...The difference isn't night and day, it's more subtle for sure, but there is a definite benefit to biasing these amps properly as they are shipped on the cold side.

Anywho, rock on, hambone.

[Tortuga]

The Amelia has got to be a nod to the Earhart (ie: the prototype that Sahlmonic has), which was very much in the Cornford lineage.

Can't wait to find out more about it.

Thanks Meelo

[Ostinato Rubato]

The Jet City amp I have my eyes on is the JCA20HV. Seems like the right one out of the smaller heads.

[Tortuga]

The Jet City amp I have my eyes on is the JCA20HV. Seems like the right one out of the smaller heads.

I really want to hear one of those in person.

[Meelocheck]

The Jet City amp I have my eyes on is the JCA20HV. Seems like the right one out of the smaller heads.

I really want to hear one of those in person.

Same here. I'd be curious to hear how the voicing has changed and what changes were made inside. I bet it rips.

[Philming]

Hi all
In no way did I intend to offend anyone here with my message.

The fact that the Bias setting wasnt needed after a tube change comes from whoever entertains the official JCA's FB page (Doug. White?). Not just some random guy i would have heard of... But indeed, user experience is probably more important.

People reverting to factory defaults after mods on this amp, I think I heard from M. Soldano himself, on a Youtube video where he does some work on the so called "tone king"'s amp. Now there's mod and mod, and again. I'm a white page regarding these.

As a matter of fact, I still have most to learn about this, started to read this thread but didnt come that far yet. Most of it (including mods etc) is out of my reach cause I never done anything like this so far. Maybe one day

Also, i've asked this question about the tubes because I need to order them along with some cable and jacks to finish my pedalboard. Days are busy, nights also, so I allowed myself to ask up front. I'll learn more about it as I read along

[Tortuga]

It's all good, man - the point is, there's a bunch of us here that have spent time with these amps, talked about them, experimented with various pedals / speakers, and many of us have modded them. Whenever someone new to JCA stops by, we always make sure to tell them that changing tubes, setting bias, and possibly putting in the Depth control is a great starting point for getting the best tone out of these amps. JCA has always put extremely cheap tubes in these amps and set the bias cold (low), so as to make them work ok with the amp. It's not a bad strategy - it keeps the price down, and gives you something decent to start with.

Doug is absolutely correct - changing out the power tubes with quality replacements does not require resetting (generally increasing) the bias to make them work. That's marketing - any brand of power tube can be used, and the amp will function. What he's not saying is that you can further improve the performance and tone of the amp by setting the bias properly for those new tubes. This is the same for any amp using any tubes - by nature, they're all a bit different and have to be tuned to get the best performance, and that's why the designers will typically include a bias control to perform this tuning.

Don't get me wrong - I really like Doug and what he's done with the company. He's been here before, and I believe he's taken feedback and ideas that he got from us and others that use his products, and used those ideas to further improve their offerings.

And, as far as Mike Soldano stating that people revert their mods, consider this - he's the designer, and he wants everyone to believe he's the guru Why would he want anyone to think that what he's designed is less than optimal? He's marketing his brand, and himself - he's got to The thing is, several of these mods (specifically - depth, clean switch, slope resistor) are all mods that have been done countless times on Soldano's premier products (SLO100, for starters) - so, there is some validity to people, even pros, wanting these changes made.

[Philming]

Hey,
Yes i fully understand your point.
I wish i would be able to do these mods myself, but just changing the tubes seems like an adventure to me.
I'm pretty sure once i'm on it, it will go peachy, but I have to get going and foresee a little what i'm up against
I havent finished reading the thread yet (i'm around page 10, it's dense...) so i dont know if there's some data about it. But I would love to find a step by step video/tutorial on how to do this (changing the tubes, setting the Bias, specifically on the 22H).
It doesnt look difficult but I have absolutely no idea about it. I saw the video on p6 or 7 and it doesnt seem to be rocket science.

[Tortuga]

It's not that difficult, but you have to be careful - setting bias requires pulling the chassis, which potentially exposes you to high voltages stored in the large filter caps.

Eurotubes has videos (I believe) on their website that'll tell you how to do the bias settings on several different amps. The procedure is the same, regardless of manufacturer, as long as the bias isn't permanently set, ie: Mesa Boogie uses fixed resistors to set bias, and they have to be physically changed out, but Marshalls and many others provide a pot for adjusting the value.

Eurotubes also sells bias checker equipment and provided me a lot of information when I was learning this a few years back, which is why I went with them. Laura and other tube sites may do same.

Make sure you check the references on the 3rd posting of this thread (page 1) - I probably have earmarked how to do Bias already.

Good luck, and again - welcome to GAB!

[Meelocheck]

FWIW, THIS is the tutorial I used to bias my amp. It applies to both the 20 and 22H. It's fairly easy to follow and is pretty straight forward. As with all things amp related, pay attention and don't light your ass up. Always be very careful when poking around in there.

All that being said, my little 22H is a fire breather after the few mods I have done. I first biased the thing - which was way cold. I then did the depth mod and messed with different slope resistor values. I put C6 on a switch and added a small cap to one of the legs of some resistor in there - I can't recall which. I also changed the values of a few other components as well...Most of the mods are pretty easy while others take a little more know how. It's also pretty easy to revert things back to stock should you dislike any of the changes. Again, just pay attention so you don't get lit up and you'll be ok.

[Tortuga]

Thanks Meelo! That biasing link is going in the references section right next!

[Philming]

Perfect thank you very much

[Brad]

I'm late to the Jet City scene but better late than never. A Music Go Round just opened by me so I traded some stuff in and got a JCA20H for $70.00 three days ago. One thing I traded was a Bugera so that should get me some street cred points! I had no issues with the Bugera, though.

This amp is in near perfect condition, just a few tolex scuffs. I already have a piece of metal for a front baffle and will post update After shots when I'm done. I still need to open it up and see what tubes are in it.

I used the amp with a Marshall 1936 cab at a jam and it kicks all kinds of ass.





PS This is my first post but I'm not new. I can't remember my password and have PMd Billy. I was Eddy Current, so this post may end up being deleted if that profile gets resurrected.

[Tortuga]

I'm late to the Jet City scene but better late than never. A Music Go Round just opened by me so I traded some stuff in and got a JCA20H for $70.00 three days ago. One thing I traded was a Bugera so that should get me some street cred points! I had no issues with the Bugera, though.

This amp is in near perfect condition, just a few tolex scuffs. I already have a piece of metal for a front baffle and will post update After shots when I'm done. I still need to open it up and see what tubes are in it.

I used the amp with a Marshall 1936 cab at a jam and it kicks all kinds of ass.





PS This is my first post but I'm not new. I can't remember my password and have PMd Billy. I was Eddy Current, so this post may end up being deleted if that profile gets resurrected.

Heya, Eddy - that's a hell of a deal for $70! I'd have bought that all day long. Loads of mods available for that head

Good luck with the user account

[Eddy Current]

How do people cut the expanded metal that is being used for some grills? I have looked online on how to do this and people are saying use welders, jigsaws, plasma cutters etc. none of which I have. Won't regular sheet metal snips do it?

[theDogger]

I just did this before I sold mine you can use a grinder with a small cutting wheel on it and tape the line so you go straight or use a Dremel with a cutting wheel on it

[Eddy Current]

Thanks for the advice. I tried some tin snips and they did the job perfectly. I've got it cut and painted I'm going to let it dry while I'm at work and put it together tonight or tomorrow morning and will post some photos. Now I got to get some chicken head knobs for it. I found some purple LEDs I'm going to try on the inside but I really want blue ones.

[Tortuga]

Seems like I used snips to start the cut then went to a hacksaw

[heavyredmetalneck]

They used to have some smaller expanded metal at home depot that you could cut with a stout pair of side cutters, but I never see it in there anymore. The thicker stuff needs a Dremel or a jig saw

[heavyredmetalneck]

Hey fellers, I bought a JCA50H a few weeks ago and love it. I bought a 2212c last year and really liked it but had to sell it. No worries though because I digging the 50h way more. I did some mods that make me love it even more. Bias set and tube rolling. Then I replaced the ridiculous 39k nfb resistor with a parallel 4.7nF cap/220k resistor in series with a 100k resistor for a fixed depth/nfb mod. It really woke up the power amp and gave more thump and juice. I swapped the slope resistor for a 33k. I borrowed an idea from the Carvin VL100 and put a 560pF cap across the plate resistor of V2A that smoothed out the OD channel. I also tried that 100k resistor in series with the PA input cap but it didn't seem to do anything st all, and I did that mod first before all the others. I also did a mothership-bright LED mod lol. That Grimespace dude put a TON of work into this thread, and I salute him for it. Rock on, Jet City brothers.

[Tortuga]

Would love to hear clips!