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NAD Jet City JCA20H

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  • NAD Jet City JCA20H

    I had to buy it. I know.. its a ....ugh... mini amp head.... but its really not that small .
    No frills, 20 watts, all tube, no effects loop, no channel switching. What does it sound like? That's super easy.
    It sounds EXACTLY like a Soldano Astroverb (without reverb of course) or the Atomic 16. Exactly. With the gain dimed out you could do old school Kiss, Thin Lizzy, any classic rock and some early 80's metal. If you want super high gain 80's hair band metal you will need an overdrive pedal.
    I throw a Zakk Wylde ZW44 overdrive pedal out in front with the gain on the pedal at 4 and the gain on the amp at 6 and it sounds absolutely outstanding. The clean tones are good providing you don't need them too loud. I wouldn't recommend this amp for the clean player.
    It sounds like a Soldano amp. It is rumored that the circuit is identical to the Astroverb and the Atomic 16 except for the transformers. I totally agree. Its a VERY well made amp inside. You would be very surprised. If you are looking for the crunch tone of the infamous SLO100 and you have around $300 to spend to get it.. this is your amp.
    If you are in an Allman Brothers band and you want that infamous Warren Haynes Soldano SLO100 tone.. this is the amp. The reason for that is Warren never used much of the gain on his SLO but he used ALL of its tone. The JCA20H nails that tone. I have tried it with 4 x 12 cabs with V 30's, 2 x 12 cabs with 80w Celestions and it sounds equally as good with both. With a 4 x 12 cab you could easily play a gig with a loud drummer.
    Its clean pure sounding crunch. Its a great amp and a fantastic addition to your stable of amps. I like it better than the Blackstar HT-5 even if its not as versatile. If I could figure out how to get a solo boost with it I would use it live but it has no loop.

  • #2
    Cool. I dig my Astroverb. Been using it with a tube screamer lately - Soldano pre about 1/2 way up and then a dimed tubescreamer for singing sustain and extra chunk.
    -------------------------
    Blank yo!

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    • #3
      Great score man! I've got the combo version of the JCA20 and love it.

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      • #4
        Those amps are built very well too. Don't let overseas thing get in the way. Mike made sure these were built right.

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        • #5
          My tech has a 20 and a 22 that he modded. Both sound great thru a 412. He scored the 22 for $160!!
          Its a complete catastrophe. But Im a professional, I can rise above it. LOL

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          • #6
            I got my JCA20H in mint unused condition for $200
            Possibly the best $200 I have ever spent on an amp. That round 333 logo is BUTT ugly though!

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            • #7
              I had one of the ones Dave Friedman modded...it was a MONSTER.

              BE/SAT/Metro loop.

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              • #8
                I got one of these used a year and a half ago for the same price and I love it. My brother has modded a 2 channel version and it kills. I want to mod mine I think. Nice score John.

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                • #9
                  I probably already know the answer to this but....
                  How would you get a solo boost out of this amp? Obviously... using the amp gain won't work because throwing any type of pedal in front of it just adds gain. Even a Boss GE7 does pretty much nothing. I also tried dialing down the gain on the amp to around 5 and using an MXR ZW44 Zakk Wylde pedal out in front along with a LPB-1 power booster (for solo boost) and it only gives around a 1db boost and a TON of added noise.
                  I read where many owners have had effects loops installed into the amp. Is that my only solution?

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                  • #10
                    Probably depends on the pedal and how squished the preamp has already gotten. Best boost I've gotten is running the preamp around 11 o clock and a level maxed out Tubescreamer with moderate output pickups. Your results may vary depending on how much boost you need. Once the preamp is up in the 2-3 o clock range it's pretty squishy and boost only adds more swamp to the sound.

                    Sorry I'm also talking about an Astroverb.
                    -------------------------
                    Blank yo!

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Grandturk View Post
                      Probably depends on the pedal and how squished the preamp has already gotten. Best boost I've gotten is running the preamp around 11 o clock and a level maxed out Tubescreamer with moderate output pickups. Your results may vary depending on how much boost you need. Once the preamp is up in the 2-3 o clock range it's pretty squishy and boost only adds more swamp to the sound.

                      Sorry I'm also talking about an Astroverb.
                      Yea, I think the only way to get a proper solo boost for live use is to install an effects loop in it. Its a great sounding amp. I think I am going to just leave it home and use if for home noodling. Its my poor mans Soldano.

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                      • #12
                        I have the 22h and it is all kinds of awesome. Sadly it doesn't get much playing since I got a 5150iii

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                        • #13
                          I bought one not long after they came out and was impressed how well it was made and how it sounded.
                          I have AB'd with an Atomic 18 and they are a lot alike.
                          Good score.
                          Really? well screw Mark Twain.

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                          • #14
                            I think I am going to buy the metro amps metro loop for it and install it. This amp is too good to just sit around my house and its not useable to me live unless I have a way to boost for solo's. With the loop I can throw my pedal board in it and have a nice 20 watt all tube rig to gig with.
                            Has anybody had any experience with this loop? It looks super simple to install.

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                            • #15
                              I ended up ordering the Mojotone loop and when I install it I will post a review. It just takes some basic soldering skills and direction following and a little drilling. No biggie. The amp is certainly worth it. My goal is to gig with it. 20 tube watts is perfect to gig with.

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