Very thorough review and great sound! I really enjoyed listening to the functions of all of the mods, not many other reviews go into that kind of detail. All of my JC amps are modded in one way or another, lots of fun to do any they sound killer.
@@totallyradguitars959 Good luck with the search. The 50 / 100 is a lot of fun, stupid loud, haha! There are some killer mods from Epic Amplification for them.
@@totallyradguitars959 silly question but I wanted to ask, what in your opinion is the lifespan of a tube? meaning I've only had one tube amp and I'm reluctant to get another one cause I'm worried I won't know when the tubes are going cause I don't have the best ear also the retube cost is kind of off putting (another conversation maybe). but yeah do they keep going and one day sound crappy or do they slowly fade away? how do you know when to change them?
@@iiizeroiii1636 I'm sure there will be differing opinions on this, but to me, preamp tubes basically last forever unless there is a defect (either the tube or the amp). The only preamp tubes I've ever had to replace are tubes that got damaged or bumped around during shipping/handling, or once when repairing an amp that was sending roughly double the correct voltage down the rails to V2 (it kept popping V2 preamp tubes, there would be an audible pop and then no sound, and the tube was white inside since it physically cracked). Basically, unless you treat your gear very roughly or have some other major electrical issue preamp tubes last forever. Poweramp tubes do wear down but similar story for me - I've only ever had a single power tube go bad, a JJ KT77, and it was due to a very hot bias issue in a Marshall TSL (these amps are notorious for bias issues). Since I have so many amps and I'm always playing different ones I'm still on the original tubes on just about every amp I own. However if you only had one amp and regularly played loud shows multiple times a week, you might find the power tubes wearing down faster. Usually they outright fail, no really audible difference until you start hearing popping and crackling and then not long after, no sound at all. If you get an amp that has 2x EL34's, it's probably smart to just buy a backup pair for ~$50 or so and just keep them around, and pad them nicely and take them with you anytime you play away from home in case you need to swap a bad tube on the fly. Reports online of blowing tubes make it look worse than it is - ex, you'll find a post of someone saying that they blew a power tube on a Marshall DSL or something. Then remember that they made a few hundred thousand DSL's, and I know from trading a lot of used gear many times the original tubes are still in there decades later. I just picked up a '96 VHT Pittbull with the original VHT branded tubes in it and it sounds as good as new even at full volume. Sorry for the long reply. In short, they last a very long time unless you run them particularly hard or treat them poorly.
@@totallyradguitars959 Thanks for the reply, reason I asked is I sold my MkV a while back (dumb) and got a kemper but never really got over that amp and now that I sold the Kemper all I play mainly is the Reaxis Amp sim of a Triaxis so long story long I really want either a MkIV / V or triaxis (which I know is tube heavy), I live in the middle of nowhere so I have to take what I can get. I think tube wise I'll try get a set of tubes as backup so as to pacify my ocd on the subject but this is quite reassuring and I don't play out so it'll just be chillin in my room maybe the odd rehearsal space jam or two. Thanks again.
If you are good with wood working you could make that combo into a head unit, the first tube amp I bought was a Peavey 6505+ combo converted into a head until with the speaker seperated.
I thought about doing that but decided it'd just be easier to sell it and buy a head version later on. The other thought in the back of my mind is "do I need an excuse to buy an SLO-30 or an Avenger/Hot Rod/etc"
@@totallyradguitars959 I would go with the SLO 30 😀, hey but Jet City is actually making custom heads now. A guy I know that plays in a punk band called Huntingtons just got one that's a Plexi/ Silver Jubilee style head and he said it's 👌. I believe they are 20w head's
Really? That sounds awesome. I was eyeing the Amelias which look great but I was not wowed by the demos. Really, I think I'd just have to get one and find out for myself.
What a little face ripper of an amp! The head versions used to pop up in the UK for cheap and I feel like a fool for not grabbing one now. Sounds like it covers from 2203 territory to quite a lot heavier.
Yeah they are great - they still pop up cheap here and there, I would love to get a head someday to replace this combo. They just don't come up as often, or they are well-used or already modded etc. because they were so popular and reliable for so long they got a lot of use, and the people who kept them pristine in home studios and such don't want to sell them (understandably)
I had the 50watt head in 2007 but I didn't like how it sounded for metalcore, sold it for a bugera boogie clone. It was too Marshall sounding for my taste.
it's not mean sounding at all, it's that you are not in standard tuning.. despise ppl like you modding (destroying) gear that is getting harder and harder to find unmolested by people who think they are better amp designers than Mike.
Hey, I normally would totally agree with you about modding gear, I have many high end amps I wouldn’t dream of modifying in any way. But this amp was $150 and they made literally thousands of them on a mass production line. It’s not like I modded a real SLO. Plus, the mods were to give it the same values that Mike thinks are best - same as SLO - so I don’t think I’m a better designer than him, I copied him exactly 1:1 here, just left the ability to return to stock JCA values too.
Very thorough review and great sound! I really enjoyed listening to the functions of all of the mods, not many other reviews go into that kind of detail. All of my JC amps are modded in one way or another, lots of fun to do any they sound killer.
Thanks! I’m hunting around for another JCA, I’d like to get a 50 or 100 this time, and I’ll probably do the exact same voicing switch mods
@@totallyradguitars959 Good luck with the search. The 50 / 100 is a lot of fun, stupid loud, haha! There are some killer mods from Epic Amplification for them.
this one seems like a hidden gem of an amp, the growl is quite astounding.
18:04 very nice
Yeah it's very gritty and aggressive sounding, lots of cut and brightness. Perfect for those heavy styles for sure, and best of all - they're cheap!
@@totallyradguitars959 silly question but I wanted to ask, what in your opinion is the lifespan of a tube? meaning I've only had one tube amp and I'm reluctant to get another one cause I'm worried I won't know when the tubes are going cause I don't have the best ear also the retube cost is kind of off putting (another conversation maybe). but yeah do they keep going and one day sound crappy or do they slowly fade away? how do you know when to change them?
@@iiizeroiii1636 I'm sure there will be differing opinions on this, but to me, preamp tubes basically last forever unless there is a defect (either the tube or the amp). The only preamp tubes I've ever had to replace are tubes that got damaged or bumped around during shipping/handling, or once when repairing an amp that was sending roughly double the correct voltage down the rails to V2 (it kept popping V2 preamp tubes, there would be an audible pop and then no sound, and the tube was white inside since it physically cracked). Basically, unless you treat your gear very roughly or have some other major electrical issue preamp tubes last forever.
Poweramp tubes do wear down but similar story for me - I've only ever had a single power tube go bad, a JJ KT77, and it was due to a very hot bias issue in a Marshall TSL (these amps are notorious for bias issues). Since I have so many amps and I'm always playing different ones I'm still on the original tubes on just about every amp I own. However if you only had one amp and regularly played loud shows multiple times a week, you might find the power tubes wearing down faster. Usually they outright fail, no really audible difference until you start hearing popping and crackling and then not long after, no sound at all. If you get an amp that has 2x EL34's, it's probably smart to just buy a backup pair for ~$50 or so and just keep them around, and pad them nicely and take them with you anytime you play away from home in case you need to swap a bad tube on the fly.
Reports online of blowing tubes make it look worse than it is - ex, you'll find a post of someone saying that they blew a power tube on a Marshall DSL or something. Then remember that they made a few hundred thousand DSL's, and I know from trading a lot of used gear many times the original tubes are still in there decades later. I just picked up a '96 VHT Pittbull with the original VHT branded tubes in it and it sounds as good as new even at full volume.
Sorry for the long reply. In short, they last a very long time unless you run them particularly hard or treat them poorly.
@@totallyradguitars959 Thanks for the reply, reason I asked is I sold my MkV a while back (dumb) and got a kemper but never really got over that amp and now that I sold the Kemper all I play mainly is the Reaxis Amp sim of a Triaxis so long story long I really want either a MkIV / V or triaxis (which I know is tube heavy), I live in the middle of nowhere so I have to take what I can get. I think tube wise I'll try get a set of tubes as backup so as to pacify my ocd on the subject but this is quite reassuring and I don't play out so it'll just be chillin in my room maybe the odd rehearsal space jam or two. Thanks again.
Its nice to see a gear related channel where the schematics are analyzed. There are so many gearguys who dont know shit about tube amps.
Jet city made and makes some great sounding amps
Just scored a mint Jet City JCA 100H half stack $569. Nice review to.
Nice! They are definitely some of the best bang for the buck amps out there, I’d love to get my hands on a beater JCA50 myself
If you are good with wood working you could make that combo into a head unit, the first tube amp I bought was a Peavey 6505+ combo converted into a head until with the speaker seperated.
I thought about doing that but decided it'd just be easier to sell it and buy a head version later on. The other thought in the back of my mind is "do I need an excuse to buy an SLO-30 or an Avenger/Hot Rod/etc"
@@totallyradguitars959 I would go with the SLO 30 😀, hey but Jet City is actually making custom heads now. A guy I know that plays in a punk band called Huntingtons just got one that's a Plexi/ Silver Jubilee style head and he said it's 👌. I believe they are 20w head's
Really? That sounds awesome. I was eyeing the Amelias which look great but I was not wowed by the demos. Really, I think I'd just have to get one and find out for myself.
What a little face ripper of an amp! The head versions used to pop up in the UK for cheap and I feel like a fool for not grabbing one now. Sounds like it covers from 2203 territory to quite a lot heavier.
Yeah they are great - they still pop up cheap here and there, I would love to get a head someday to replace this combo. They just don't come up as often, or they are well-used or already modded etc. because they were so popular and reliable for so long they got a lot of use, and the people who kept them pristine in home studios and such don't want to sell them (understandably)
I had the 50watt head in 2007 but I didn't like how it sounded for metalcore, sold it for a bugera boogie clone. It was too Marshall sounding for my taste.
it's not mean sounding at all, it's that you are not in standard tuning.. despise ppl like you modding (destroying) gear that is getting harder and harder to find unmolested by people who think they are better amp designers than Mike.
Hey, I normally would totally agree with you about modding gear, I have many high end amps I wouldn’t dream of modifying in any way. But this amp was $150 and they made literally thousands of them on a mass production line. It’s not like I modded a real SLO. Plus, the mods were to give it the same values that Mike thinks are best - same as SLO - so I don’t think I’m a better designer than him, I copied him exactly 1:1 here, just left the ability to return to stock JCA values too.