The JSX has opened my eyes but I got a few questions

[mantis]

Whats up everyone,
I'm most likely starting a cover band. Nothing serious just for fun and if it turns into more then so be it. But

I got a problem. I currently own a Krank Rev 1 combo which is great for very heavy metal tone but If I want to play like Rock and roll type stuff or 80's metal tones, I find the Krank to heavy. After my last adventure to the GC, I discovered the Peavey 6505+ didn' have a great clean channel or the versitility I'm now looking for in an amp. The JSX seemed to fit the bill but I was wondering if any of you JSX owners can get crazy heavy with that amp? I know the 6505 kills but can the JSX? I played it and loved the crunch chnnel as I was thinking of all kinds of things I could do with it. The clean channel was clean enough even for me(Fender amps Back ground) But I don't remember how heavy I got the lead channel which would bete amps heaviest channel?? I remember it sounded great and I perferred it over th 6505 side by side with there respected cabs.
I'm pretty much thinking I found an amp thats very versitile but still and rip with the best of them. Am I off base here ? I would buy the top cab and head. I probably could put a Tube screamer in front of it like I read most people do with 6505 but even that amp I didn't see that need.
I'm used to how my Krank responds. My Krank has the power of a bass amp. It thunders down low and thats one thing I thought the 6505 lacked. I noticed the differnce in design between the 6505 and the JSx in the preamp tubes. JSX has 3 and the 6505 has 6. assume the JSX shares all 3(which I find a bit odd not having 4) in all channels???
Another question is the tubes. I know EL34's come with it. I also kno 6l6 tubes can be installed. Has any owners tried both ways? I assume the 6l6's would provide more punch in the gain. I bet they sound more high gain then the EL34's. But I culd be off base here just thinking theory.

Talk to me JSX owners. I'm hot for a new amp and I don't think the Bogner is in my cards right now or I would get that. That Ubershall is fantstic but just the head is 2699.99, then I would need the cab. I would be cool with that if I also wasn't shopping for new effects and another guitar.

Thanks guys for taking anohr JSX 6505 type thead. I know they get talked about alot around here but a good thing is worth talking about right???

[GodWentPUNK]

I just picked up a JSX to replace my TSL100. As for tubes, I'm going to try the KT77 which from what I understand is a EL34 replacment but has the sound of something between the El34 and the 6L6gc. I did get my on ebay used and saved myself around $300. The JSX does actually have 4 preamps...One is the phase inverter.

I'm in a cover band and we do 80's - current rock stuff.

JSX opened my eyes and my checkbook.

joe...

[lerxstcat]

Pete (Twisteramps) swears by 6L6s as being necessary to get the best tone from the JSX. I believe he still has his in the Classidieds as he went back to a VHT 50CL because he prefers the tone and because the effects loop is bertter for his purposes. He's asking $800 and his already has 6L6s in it.

He can also answer any questions about the amp as he is also a builder himself. AFAIK he's the most knowledgeable and experienced amp guy, at playing and buildingt, here on the board.

[GodWentPUNK]

+1 on Petes knowledge.... and playing...

joe...

[mantis]

Thanks guys I'll have to talk to Pete on this.

Dan

[Roidster]

i own a Krank rev 1 as well,these setting from Krank manual
rock settings=, classic rock settings
Presence 4 =,5
sweep 2.5=, 2
bass 7.5 =,7.5 i would go with less
mid 5=, 7
treble 5= ,4
Gain 3=, 1

play around with it find what you are looking for

[Randog]

Man, I try to shy away from pimping them too much but I MUST say that the ADA MP-1 has awesome dirty tones as well as great clean tones. Of course, it's just a preamp and you'll have to spring for a decent tube power amp as well, but all of that should fit well within your budget and you'll be armed with some killer tone.

My MP-1 is stock and I can get everything from Dokken to Pantera tones with it, as well as super clean, chorus laden jazz tones. Just a suggestion.

[mantis]

i own a Krank rev 1 as well,these setting from Krank manual
rock settings=, classic rock settings
Presence 4 =,5
sweep 2.5=, 2
bass 7.5 =,7.5 i would go with less
mid 5=, 7
treble 5= ,4
Gain 3=, 1

play around with it find what you are looking for

I have tried every possible setup I can think of and the more I try the more I find the amp is just designed for heavy heavy metal tone. It doesn't sound good doing anything else. Trying to get like AC/DC type rock tone out of it sounds like ass. It's to grungy even with the gain way down. It's to bass heavy as it sounds like it's going to pop. The combo I believe has 2 much power or something as I can't turn it up past 3. When I go to 4 or 5 it sounds like the speakers are going to come out of the cabnet in pieces. The internal Pressure of the cabnet is to high. The closet back gives you a real tight sound at low volumes but sucks at high volumes.

Thanks for the settings, I have them already. When I got this amp, I was looking for an amp like it. Today my needs changed a bit and I'm finding versitility is priceless. Now I know why Modeling amps are so widely used. I can see why people use Line 6 Vetta 's and what have you.

Dan

[sworn_enemy]

In my opinion the JSX makes a much better rock amp than a metal amp. If you're playing mostly rock with some occasional metal than it will do fine, but if you're playing mostly metal I wouldn't go for it. It lacks that aggressive quality of a Recto or 5150. That's why I got rid of mine.

[khabibissell]

I just picked up a JSX yesterday. After playing through it for probably five or six hours at all volumes and EQ settings, I've noticed a very pronounced "cocked wah" sound on the crunch and ultra channels. It totally reminds me of the times I plug in my pedal board and the wah is on. I'm running straight into the amp for these tests though. I'm not sure if my cabinet is playing a role in this (it is a recto traditional straight 4x12 w/V30's), but I'm kinda bummed. I'm wondering if a JSX cab or a Marshall 4x12 with G12T-75's would be better. For the record, I've tried it w/6L6's. I played the JSX twice before buying it and never noticed this quality. I can't dial it out either... with the mids on 0 you can still hear it, but only in the back ground. I won't be able to try it with a band until Wednesday to see if it works better in an ensemble situation.

[slayer]

Here is one on Ebay with 10 hours on it

Ebay Item number: 140082522520

Jack

[Twisteramps]

I just picked up a JSX yesterday. After playing through it for probably five or six hours at all volumes and EQ settings, I've noticed a very pronounced "cocked wah" sound on the crunch and ultra channels. It totally reminds me of the times I plug in my pedal board and the wah is on. I'm running straight into the amp for these tests though. I'm not sure if my cabinet is playing a role in this (it is a recto traditional straight 4x12 w/V30's), but I'm kinda bummed. I'm wondering if a JSX cab or a Marshall 4x12 with G12T-75's would be better. For the record, I've tried it w/6L6's. I played the JSX twice before buying it and never noticed this quality. I can't dial it out either... with the mids on 0 you can still hear it, but only in the back ground. I won't be able to try it with a band until Wednesday to see if it works better in an ensemble situation.

I didn't hear that with mine - but I use 6L6s *and* a GT75 or GT85 loaded JCM900 or 800 cab mostly. What cabs did you play through before when you didn't notice this?

Pete

[khabibissell]

**UPDATE**

To answer the question, when I played the amp, it was through a XXX cab. None of this matters because right after I made this post...

After reading all I could about different speakers, I decided to go to Guitar Center and check out the 1960 cabs with G1275T's and also the JSX cabs because I knew they had them (I bought the amp from one of the "little guys" around here). I read that the G1275's have a "scooped" quality to them (which SUCKED with my Recto, so I avoided them in the past). Anyway, I was able to go in the "vault" room with a JSX and a 1960 as well as the JSX cab. The amp sounded great through both! So, $750 later, I left with the JSX cab (mainly due to the direct recording out on the back, which is a neat feature). Like I said, the amp sounds great through both cabs. I just think the Recto cab I have is way too harsh for the voicing of the JSX. Right now, I've got 6L6's in there (EH), and a mix of Tung Sol and JJ preamp tubes (I like darker tones). The amp sounds outstanding now!

I've gone through about six different heads in the last two years, and had the same "harsh" complaint about all of them... well with the exception of the Randall RM50 I have and the Single Rec I foolishly sold. Now I realize it was either my 4x12 has some issues or I just don't like V30's all that much. I'll have to check out other V30 loaded 4x12 cabs to see if it is an isolated incident. My Recto 2x12 sounds pretty good.

Also, I noticed that the amp is not all that loud unless the effects loop is turned on. I don't know if this was done on purpose or not. I suppose I could use this as a lead boost. I'll have to check it out more Wednesday.

Now that I've got a better sounding cab, I like to check out a 6505 again...

[mantis]

I gotta be completely honest here, the combo sucks ass. I played it today at Sam Ash in Cherry Hill NJ and I was completely dissapointed. What I wasn't dissapointed in was they had my last guitar there fixed. My 2005 SL3 was hanging there and I knew it was mine as I changed the pick up ring on the bridge position humbucker to chrome. The other 2 they had still had the stock black trim ring.
The combo sounds awefull. I can't believe it's the same amp. It sounded so compressed. So lifeless. I was alittle shicked at first. The amp was only on for about 5 minutes so I figured I gotta get these tubes hot before I start judging it. I switched to the crunch channel and started chugging away. I played a few different things and I couldn't get anywhere the tone I wanted. It had some drive but not like I like it. the lead channel was almost the same exact tone with alittle different gain setting. One thing I noticed different was the combo had reverb. Why the head doesn't have it is behond be but I looked in the back and it looks alittle like a Fender spring reverb unit in a vinyl black case.
So I sat and just was happy to see my old guitar. I loved how it played and I almost took it back home. It has a Jackson Trem instead of a Floyd Rose like my 2006 model but It feels better.
So I sat there and played and played waiting for the tone to clear up, for something that I remembered the 1/2 stack sounding like. It didn't. the combo doesn't have the open clear sound that the stack does. I'm also wondering If my Krank would een sound better if I got the 1/2 stack over the combo...Hmmmm. The Clean channel holds no candle to my Krank and doesn't have any Fender like clarity. But even the combo still has a far better clarity then the mighty6505 plus. I wish that amp had a better clean I would get it.
So the quest continues. Your wondering why I didn't play the 1/2 STACK?? THEY HAD THE HEAD BUT NOT THE RIGHT CAB. I don't want to hear another cab until I hear the correct matching one first.

I understand stores not having to much in stock due to overhead and what not but if you carry it, it should be there to try out man.

Dan

[mantis]

**UPDATE**

To answer the question, when I played the amp, it was through a XXX cab. None of this matters because right after I made this post...

After reading all I could about different speakers, I decided to go to Guitar Center and check out the 1960 cabs with G1275T's and also the JSX cabs because I knew they had them (I bought the amp from one of the "little guys" around here). I read that the G1275's have a "scooped" quality to them (which SUCKED with my Recto, so I avoided them in the past). Anyway, I was able to go in the "vault" room with a JSX and a 1960 as well as the JSX cab. The amp sounded great through both! So, $750 later, I left with the JSX cab (mainly due to the direct recording out on the back, which is a neat feature). Like I said, the amp sounds great through both cabs. I just think the Recto cab I have is way too harsh for the voicing of the JSX. Right now, I've got 6L6's in there (EH), and a mix of Tung Sol and JJ preamp tubes (I like darker tones). The amp sounds outstanding now!

I've gone through about six different heads in the last two years, and had the same "harsh" complaint about all of them... well with the exception of the Randall RM50 I have and the Single Rec I foolishly sold. Now I realize it was either my 4x12 has some issues or I just don't like V30's all that much. I'll have to check out other V30 loaded 4x12 cabs to see if it is an isolated incident. My Recto 2x12 sounds pretty good.

Also, I noticed that the amp is not all that loud unless the effects loop is turned on. I don't know if this was done on purpose or not. I suppose I could use this as a lead boost. I'll have to check it out more Wednesday.

Now that I've got a better sounding cab, I like to check out a 6505 again...

Can you post how the different tubes sound in that head?? I'm wondering if the 6L6's sound heavier or clearer or what have you. I'm hot to keep checking it out and want to know more. Also have you been able to get a goodheavy metal tone out of it??? Closer to the 6505 type.

Thanks,
Dan