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Went down to my local shop over the past couple of days and checked out the JVM line of amps. I really liked the 212 combo over the half stack. I tried out the 205c, which is the 50 what 2 channel version, and thought it sounded pretty good, so today I took my Charvel down there and played through it for over an hour.
It probably took me about 30 minutes to get used to the controls and to start to dial in some really good sounds. With 3 modes per channel, I kept going back and forth until I could understand the different voicings. I was also nervous because there were lots of people in the shop, so I wasn't playing so well. But once I got over that, things started coming together.
The clean channel is very nice on this amp. Granted, I didn't get to crank it, but I turned it up to about 3 or so on the master volume (which is the only volume that works for this mode). Definitely loud and clean. I could get some shimmering sparkling tones out of it as well as more darker, warmer clean tones (which is what I like) just by playing around with the EQ settings.
The next modes in the clean channel increase the gain by a couple of stages. There's colors associated with each mode, but I can't remember the colors (green, red, and orange, I think). The second mode on the clean channel is warm and crunchy. Stage 3 has a lot more bite and can dial in some nice overdriven sounds. I think it sounds very similar to the first mode of the overdrive channel.
The second and third modes of the overdrive channel are noisy, like others have said. It's not near as bad as the 60 cycle hum from a single coil, but there is a hum on these channels; however, it goes away when playing, so I think I can live with it.
Still, the overdrive channel shines. It's smooth, warm, very tight, resonant, and has loads of sustain. The second and third modes are very similar, though the third has a bit more gain. Playing songs like Bark at the Moon, Lay it Down, Still of the Night, and others, I was able to dial in some sweet tones. Leads were very dynamic, and the amp responded very well to pick attack.
The footswitch is really cool. It has four buttons--clean/crunch, overdrive, master (like a boost), and reverb. I think there's switchable FX loop too but I couldn't figure out how to switch it with the pedal. Anyway, the first two buttons scroll through all six modes, so it's very close to having a 6 channel amp, though the EQ settings won't change. What's really cool is that it uses a standard guitar cord to plug in, which is a plus.
The amp is compact and light. It's got handles on the side like a 4x12, so it's easy to carry. The pot posts are plastic. I pulled off one of the knobs to verify, and yep ... plastic. But I pulled off a pot on one of the vintage moderns and saw that they had plastic posts too. I'm wondering if the DSL and TSL series were the same. I remember when I had a rectoverb and thought the knobs were plastic, because they didn't feel like metal. So, I don't know. I wouldn't doubt it if a lot of companies use plastic now. It's cheaper, lighter, and probably holds up just as well under normal use. I mean, we're not going to be yanking on our knobs, are we? Well, maybe some of us are.
Anyway, I liked the amp so much I went ahead and put it on layaway. I got it for $1700 plus tax, which I think is a pretty good deal. I'll pick it up sometime in the next few weeks and will try to put up some vids with it and my Charvels.
Anyway, I'd like to read some other feedback about the JVMs from anyone else who owns them.
Thanks!!!
It probably took me about 30 minutes to get used to the controls and to start to dial in some really good sounds. With 3 modes per channel, I kept going back and forth until I could understand the different voicings. I was also nervous because there were lots of people in the shop, so I wasn't playing so well. But once I got over that, things started coming together.
The clean channel is very nice on this amp. Granted, I didn't get to crank it, but I turned it up to about 3 or so on the master volume (which is the only volume that works for this mode). Definitely loud and clean. I could get some shimmering sparkling tones out of it as well as more darker, warmer clean tones (which is what I like) just by playing around with the EQ settings.
The next modes in the clean channel increase the gain by a couple of stages. There's colors associated with each mode, but I can't remember the colors (green, red, and orange, I think). The second mode on the clean channel is warm and crunchy. Stage 3 has a lot more bite and can dial in some nice overdriven sounds. I think it sounds very similar to the first mode of the overdrive channel.
The second and third modes of the overdrive channel are noisy, like others have said. It's not near as bad as the 60 cycle hum from a single coil, but there is a hum on these channels; however, it goes away when playing, so I think I can live with it.
Still, the overdrive channel shines. It's smooth, warm, very tight, resonant, and has loads of sustain. The second and third modes are very similar, though the third has a bit more gain. Playing songs like Bark at the Moon, Lay it Down, Still of the Night, and others, I was able to dial in some sweet tones. Leads were very dynamic, and the amp responded very well to pick attack.
The footswitch is really cool. It has four buttons--clean/crunch, overdrive, master (like a boost), and reverb. I think there's switchable FX loop too but I couldn't figure out how to switch it with the pedal. Anyway, the first two buttons scroll through all six modes, so it's very close to having a 6 channel amp, though the EQ settings won't change. What's really cool is that it uses a standard guitar cord to plug in, which is a plus.
The amp is compact and light. It's got handles on the side like a 4x12, so it's easy to carry. The pot posts are plastic. I pulled off one of the knobs to verify, and yep ... plastic. But I pulled off a pot on one of the vintage moderns and saw that they had plastic posts too. I'm wondering if the DSL and TSL series were the same. I remember when I had a rectoverb and thought the knobs were plastic, because they didn't feel like metal. So, I don't know. I wouldn't doubt it if a lot of companies use plastic now. It's cheaper, lighter, and probably holds up just as well under normal use. I mean, we're not going to be yanking on our knobs, are we? Well, maybe some of us are.
Anyway, I liked the amp so much I went ahead and put it on layaway. I got it for $1700 plus tax, which I think is a pretty good deal. I'll pick it up sometime in the next few weeks and will try to put up some vids with it and my Charvels.
Anyway, I'd like to read some other feedback about the JVMs from anyone else who owns them.
Thanks!!!
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