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

[rhoads157]

My JSX experience.

OK guys, I don't post hardly at all on the board but I do check in and read quite a bit.
I work as a mgr. for GC here in indy and for about 3 weeks straight I went in to work and played the JSX every work day and last week I finally had to have one.
I got the head and an Avatar red 2x12 cab loaded with vintage 30's and a metal grill. I have owned 5150 heads, DSL's, Mesa and even a Vetta. I considered the new Marshall Vintage Modern but I want versatility.
One of the reason's that I bought it was b/c of the clean channel. Stick a simple Boss reverb pedal in front of it and WOW!!!!! For a 3 channel amp to have a clean channel like this with the simple addition of a reverb pedal is great.
I was also really impressed with the crunch channel for good chord definition ala' VH. The lead channel will suit my needs too and if I want to really push it I could throw an EQ pedal in front of it for a Rhoads type tone or even a MXR Zakk pedal or maybe a Boss OD.
The amp takes pedals quite well and and has so much tweaking potential if that makes sense..... I will stick with the EL34 tubes b/c I am sooo sick of the 6L6 tones heard in so many of todays high gain amps.
At work I would play a Charvel strat style headstock guitar loaded with active EMG single coil sized active pickups (brass trem) and at home a PRS singlecut. I soon hope to have a Charvel EVH.

Just my 2 cents and if you all have any questions please give me a shout.
-David

[mantis]

Dude cool your digging your JSX head but why didn't you get the JSX cab??

[rhoads157]

I probably should have gotten the JSX cab and I still may but I only spent $200 for the Vintage 30 loaded Avatar 2x12. Couldn't pass that up.

[Chad]

Regarding cleans, I quite like the Blackface module in my Randall MTS amp, and I can get nice gain sounds with other modules. Check out this interview with Ty Tabor where he comments on the Randall MTS amps (near the bottom of the pate):

http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/001184.html

[lerxstcat]

I very much want to know the answer to this question. How does it sound with the 6L6's vs the EL34's. If it sounds cleaner , I think the amp is for me. It just seems alittle cloudy on the clean channel. I didn't seem to beak up in nay way just not as clean as I would like it. I cursed with being a purest I guess.

I have played JSX amps now 5 times. 1 combo and 4 1/2 stacks. I have tried them with my 2005 Jackson Sl3, Fender American Strat, High way 1 series, Les Paul Studio, a Schector with EMG"s( which sucked badly) a Jackson Dinky model with a maple frett board and 2 humbucker pickups. All was straight in with a guitar cord. No effects nothing. I want to hear the amp as it may.
All of them had the EL34's , all amps where new at various guitar stores around me in NJ and PA.

Dan

Do a search on "JSX" and look for posts by Twisteramps (Pete). Pete is very knowledgeable about amps and has posted a lot about the JSX in the past couple of years. He has a used one in the Classifieds right now. If you're interested you could PM him from his Classifieds ad and ask him. He'll give you the straight scoop and answer any questions. He will not tell you it's something it's not.

[Twisteramps]

6L6s give a tighter low end, better highs, and scoops the midrange slightly, which combats the 'wah' tone I hear people bitch about but I've never heard with my rig. Also, on the clean channel, scooping the mids slightly and adding lows and highs makes it more fenderish. I can't think of anyone who has put 6L6s in their JSX and preferred the EL34s.

Pete

[khabibissell]

I'll tell you guys, the more I play this amp the more I love it. I found that the "wah" sound is only really obvious at lower volumes if you crank the master and use the channel volumes for your output. Using it this way pretty much leaves the EQ out of the picture. I think maybe the power section is voiced a certain way? I dunno. The reverse seems to be best with the JSX... Turn the channel volumes up! Also, I know that people say it all the time, but a 120 watt tube amp should not be used as a bedroom amp, and I think most of the haters don't play in a band or use it at the volumes it was designed to be played at. This amp really shines when you can crank it up a bit (though it does sound damn good a whisper volumes as long as you turn the channel volumes up as stated above). Pete is right about the clean... scoop some mids out and the clean sounds great. I'll admit that when I first brought the amp home I was feeling SERIOUS buyers remorse. Once I got things figured out (its not hard, but I'm not much of a tweaker... plug in the guitar and go), it really sounds sweet. I had 6L6's in there, but I went back to the stock pre and power amp tubes (JJ EL34's, EH pre's) once I got it figured out, though I did keep a Tung Sol 12AX7 in V1. The JSX is really a killer amp, and I'm glad I bought it. I won't know the whole story until tomorrow night at band practice, but I'm pretty confident that it will sound great.

If you can't get a good tone out of a JSX, then you are doing something wrong. I didn't at first and that is why.

[mantis]

6L6s give a tighter low end, better highs, and scoops the midrange slightly, which combats the 'wah' tone I hear people bitch about but I've never heard with my rig. Also, on the clean channel, scooping the mids slightly and adding lows and highs makes it more fenderish. I can't think of anyone who has put 6L6s in their JSX and preferred the EL34s.

Pete

I think thats exaclty what that amp needs. They say you have one for sale, is it still or did you sell it already? lets talk a bit. Do you also have the JSX cab?
Just curious,

Dan

[kmanick]

From the peavey forum. here is a video of a guy playing a JSX first with El34s and then with 6L6's. Clean, then Crunch, then lead.

http://www.beggat.com/planket/forsman/forsmanjsxtubechangetest.wmv

that weird thing you saw on th eback of the JSX cab is a
Microphone-simulated XLR direct output so the user gets Joe's live, onstage tone (speakers remain active when direct output is used) without using a separate mic and stand)

[GodWentPUNK]

My JSX just came in the mail today. Its about 1 degrees outside so I'm going to let it sit in the box (inside) for a couple of hours to get to room temp. After that, LOOK OUT...

joe...

[mantis]

From the peavey forum. here is a video of a guy playing a JSX first with El34s and then with 6L6's. Clean, then Crunch, then lead.

http://www.beggat.com/planket/forsman/forsmanjsxtubechangetest.wmv

that weird thing you saw on th eback of the JSX cab is a
Microphone-simulated XLR direct output so the user gets Joe's live, onstage tone (speakers remain active when direct output is used) without using a separate mic and stand)

Very cool man. Dudes pretty good. His tone is pretty good 2. I think I like the 6L6 tone alittle better but the EL34 tone was also very good.

[shreddermon]

I tried out a JSX head the other day at GC for about a half-hour. I've got to say that I was pretty impressed. It's been quite a while since I've played a Peavey. They've come a long way in that time.

A lot of versatility in this amp, and I liked the tones on all three channels. The one (minor) drawback I thought about was that the amp isn't switchable between 50/100w. And not so sure I loved the cab's speakers. Otherwise, though, it was pretty killer.

I'm going to try out another couple of amp options, but the JSX is definitely in the running.

[usrname]

I very much want to know the answer to this question. How does it sound with the 6L6's vs the EL34's. If it sounds cleaner , I think the amp is for me. It just seems alittle cloudy on the clean channel. I didn't seem to beak up in nay way just not as clean as I would like it. I cursed with being a purest I guess.
Dan

The main voicing of the amp is the same with both, but with the 6L6s you get more lower mids and smoother highs. This makes it sound thick and beefy. I have to say that this was the only amp I had that I could bump up the bass knob and not get a pile of mud.

Also, the main key to the tone is the mid knob. It controls the gain and volume more than you would think, so scooping really takes away from the sound. The clean channel was designed not to break up at all.

When I talked to Peavey, they said the JSX speakers were similar to the XXX speaker, which were based off the V30. When I had mine, I used the XXX speakers because they sounded smoother than the V30 to me. The XXX cab also seemed voiced just right for the JSX.

I think it does metal just fine, especially with the 6L6s. You have to be careful with those active tone controls, though. Start at 12:00 and adjust from there. I say if you like the voicing of the amp, get it. You can change tubes, cabs, etc., but you can't change that! Just my two cents! Good luck.

[mantis]

The main voicing of the amp is the same with both, but with the 6L6s you get more lower mids and smoother highs. This makes it sound thick and beefy. I have to say that this was the only amp I had that I could bump up the bass knob and not get a pile of mud.

Also, the main key to the tone is the mid knob. It controls the gain and volume more than you would think, so scooping really takes away from the sound. The clean channel was designed not to break up at all.

When I talked to Peavey, they said the JSX speakers were similar to the XXX speaker, which were based off the V30. When I had mine, I used the XXX speakers because they sounded smoother than the V30 to me. The XXX cab also seemed voiced just right for the JSX.

I think it does metal just fine, especially with the 6L6s. You have to be careful with those active tone controls, though. Start at 12:00 and adjust from there. I say if you like the voicing of the amp, get it. You can change tubes, cabs, etc., but you can't change that! Just my two cents! Good luck.

Sweet man and thanks.

I played it yet again today and spend some quality time trying different things like running the master volume up to about 6 then bringing in the preamp volume, then tried it the other way with setting the preamp volume then bringing in the master volume. I got a great tone out of the crunch channel. It actually sounded much like a stock JCM800 with a 1960 cab. How I know this I played one right before the JSX and I tried to recreate that classic tone. It did it very well. I dialed in the lead channel to a heavy metal tone and the clean channel to well very clean.

I gotta admit, this is a fine amp for a wide range of playing. I can't see myself not being happy with it. I plan on picking one up in the near future.

Thanks again for al the comments,

Dan