Thoughts on Roland JC-40 (or Jazz Choruses in general)?

[tchen]

Despite the JC-120 being a staple of the shoegaze genre that I love so dearly, I've never considered it. Admittedly, I guess I've always been kind of a tube snob.

BUT, for some reason, the JC-40 has really grabbed my attention lately and I'm seriously thinking about pulling the trigger on one. That said, I haven't actually played one yet (might go do that today) or ever played any Jazz Chrous for that matter. I'm not really playing out or in a band context hardly at all these days, but I guess some things that really appeal to me are:

- My other amp is a silverface Pro Reverb; awesome amp, but kinda overkill for home playing. It seems like the JC-40 would make a great 'bedroom amp' but could easily hold its own in a band context as well? I like the idea that its not going to be heating up the room with tubes, has a headphone out (never thought I'd look for this in an amp) and line outs for recording.

- Stereo Ins! I've been experimenting with drone / soundscape stuff running from stereo pedals into my pro reverb and old Gibson 10" combo. Seems awesome that you could run stereo into the JC-40, and it actually treats the two 10"s as two separate amps.

- I can finally see what all the jazz chorus fuss is all about? Pristine cleans, perfect pedal platform, etc?

[Tall Walls]

I got excited about the JC-40 last year for some reason, but once I got it home I learned about the famous Jazz Chorus hiss--something I'd never heard about before, but once I experienced it for myself and went looking I found all kinds of people talking about it. It's not incredibly loud, but it's there, and for me it was borderline intolerable. And it's not there if you use the headphone jack! Do they have a special hiss generator going to the speakers?

What convinced me to return it to the store was that the stereo separation is not total. I can't find anyone talking about this, so maybe I was missing something, but on the one I had it was maybe a 75%/25% split. There's always something from the left input going to the right output and vice versa. This was the same through headphones. If what you want is just a stereo-ish sound, then I'm sure this is fine, but for my purposes it was useless.

[tchen]

I got excited about the JC-40 last year for some reason, but once I got it home I learned about the famous Jazz Chorus hiss--something I'd never heard about before, but once I experienced it for myself and went looking I found all kinds of people talking about it. It's not incredibly loud, but it's there, and for me it was borderline intolerable. And it's not there if you use the headphone jack! Do they have a special hiss generator going to the speakers?

What convinced me to return it to the store was that the stereo separation is not total. I can't find anyone talking about this, so maybe I was missing something, but on the one I had it was maybe a 75%/25% split. There's always something from the left input going to the right output and vice versa. This was the same through headphones. If what you want is just a stereo-ish sound, then I'm sure this is fine, but for my purposes it was useless.

Hmm, I have come across the hiss issue in my research. I guess I really should try one first to make sure it's not a deal-breaker.
And that's really interesting about the quasi-stereo; I feel like I've read multiple accounts of people using the stereo and praising it for being such a unique feature, and like you said, I haven't seen anyone mention it. And you're definitely talking about the 75/25 issue happening, while using the stereo ins, not just the stereo effects loop?

[Gone Fission]

IIRC, the loop send in the JC-40 is mono, which is a great way to kill the stereo image from the inputs. That was a deal killer for me and a stupid big of half-assery on their part.

Oh, and two speakers in the same cab is very limiting for stereo except for the very specific JC-style stereo chorus thing where one side is dry and one side is the full-wet modulated super short delay that would be vibrato on its own. Panning delays don’t move as dramatically, phase inversion tricks with spread speakers collapse, and so on. So even if this had been executed with full separation from input to speaker, this would still have been an over-promised platform.

Putting aside all that, JC sounds are good, though maybe a bit bright/brittle with some dirt and fuzz. I think Medicine might have leaned into that.

[qersty]

Medicine used amps?

[Gone Fission]

Medicine used amps?

How much on the early albums is hard to say, but at least live, and sounds like Medicine to me.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=qgVEVv3JFDI

Early days with Jim Putnam, later of Radar Brothers, on rhythm guitar.

[coupleonapkins]

Despite the JC-120 being a staple of the shoegaze genre that I love so dearly, I've never considered it.

Well, you should

There are a few threads I'll peek around for, but the consensus I recall was that nothing compared to the original JC 120, as it does what it does & that's why it's the staple, and also why it costs what it does.

Also, I can't recall NOT ever hearing about the hiss problems with the JC's, so maybe we are on opposite sides of the universes

Edit: just buy a Peavey Stereo Chorus 212, or any Peavey 2-speaker amp, and you will probably be as happy with (hopefully) less hiss woes and a significantly cheaper, virtually indestructible amp! Loud SS cleans & a great platform 4 peddles, of course

[Tall Walls]

And you're definitely talking about the 75/25 issue happening, while using the stereo ins, not just the stereo effects loop?

Yes, this was going into the front of the amp. I only had a 24-hour period where I could return it for a full refund, so it's all kind of a blur, but I'm pretty sure I tried the effects loop as well, because I was trying everything.

[Christophe]

FWIW, a friend of mine had a JC-60 that I used extensively, for recording and rehearsing. It sounds fantastic and takes any pedal you throw at it. A few years later I stupidly bought a JC-50, thinking it would be a similar amp. Bam! Wrong. The 50 doesn't like dirt very much, and is far from being up to par with a 60. One of the differences is that the JC-50 has no mid knob. Could it be the reason why, I don't know. But if you find a JC-60 at a decent price, just grab it!

[rfurtkamp]

I have a JC-55 - it does the JC thing stupid well, with the weaknesses of the absolutely shitty dirt circuit (I've used it once in twenty years!).

It got effectively replaced, however, by the CE-2W.

The CE-1 circuit in the pedal IS the Jazz Chorus sound, without 50 years of circuit drift and that little bit of background hiss.

Should you try a 40, I'd be sure to check the line outs to make sure that it's quiet enough for you.

I haven't played one so can't comment, but often times combo line outs suck - ok, most of the time.

[Bartimaeus]

also consider a fender princeton chorus. 35W solid state and stereo fx loop. still super cheap on the used market. but if you need band volume you might need the fender ultimate chorus though.

[Ghost Hip]

- My other amp is a silverface Pro Reverb; awesome amp, but kinda overkill for home playing. It seems like the JC-40 would make a great 'bedroom amp' but could easily hold its own in a band context as well? I like the idea that its not going to be heating up the room with tubes, has a headphone out (never thought I'd look for this in an amp) and line outs for recording.

- Stereo Ins! I've been experimenting with drone / soundscape stuff running from stereo pedals into my pro reverb and old Gibson 10" combo. Seems awesome that you could run stereo into the JC-40, and it actually treats the two 10"s as two separate amps.

- I can finally see what all the jazz chorus fuss is all about? Pristine cleans, perfect pedal platform, etc?

Yes, yes, and yes. My friend and bandmate has a JC40 he records and rehearses with. Holds up in a full band context no problem. Drum kit, Traynor YBA-2 stack, and a Sunn Solarus in a noisy rock setting for context. Can be a quiet or loud recording/practice amp. Easy pedal platform. It does treat stereo input how you described. He had a JC-120 in the past and he does not mention missing it mostly due to it being crazy heavy to transport. It is definitely an amp I hope to have myself in the future. It's size to loudness ratio is too great. If you're looking for a more manageable and versatile pedal platform amp for shoegaze adjacent, I definitely recommend it.