Oldschool JC-120 vs Yamaha G100

[Redwood Cephalopod]

EDIT: To clarify, while I AM playing a Ric bass in my avatar, I'm more of a guitarist these days. Sorry about the confusion.

Okay, so. Got a killer deal on an '80s USA JC-120 for a mere $250 in spring '11. My buddy scoops it up, I meet up with him while out East and ship that thing home. It arrives seemingly 100% fine. A few months later the original speakers have blown out. Then the expensive repair guys put Bugeras in. Then I bought some Celestions and paid for those to be put in. Now the fucking Celestions have blown, or at least I assume-- there's no clean tone to be found in the whole fucking amp, and it doesn't increase in volume past 5.

I'm considering getting a fresh '80s USA one again for 400ish, but I was just recommended the Yamaha G100. Can anyone chime in about it? Only found one mention in ILF history via the search function. I have heard things such as warmer midrange and more headroom, and would love to hear some more opinions.

The scenario: I use a biamp rig-- fuzz through a '74 Twin Reverb, reverb/delay/Space Station through the Roland.

Thanks so damn much in advance!

[devnulljp]

Are you playing bass through these things and wondering why the speakers are blowing?
I bet you could get some old Acoustic gear -- like a 220/230 in your budget and use it for both guitar and bass with it sounding awesome the whole time.

[D.o.S.]

Are you playing bass through these things and wondering why the speakers are blowing?

[Redwood Cephalopod]

NO NO NO NO. Damn my silly avatar, this is alllllll guitar stuff.

[Chankgeez]

I think Pete Cosey played Yamaha solid state amps when he was with Miles and he always sounded great.

[Redwood Cephalopod]

BUMP'd. Anyone else? Anyone? Bueller?

[Rob Fossil]

I've had both a JC-120 and a solidstate Yamaha (VR6000). I can't comment on the G100, but the VR6000 was billed as a JC-120 killer and it really was superior. They were mostly marketed in the UK and Europe, but if you ever come across one grab it. If the G100 is even close to the VR6000, grab it and don't look back.

[Chankgeez]

BUMP'd. Anyone else? Anyone? Bueller?

Wot, you wanted more than just hearsay?

[futuresailors]

Is your friend from New York? And did he get it off this big deal roadie guy?

There's a thread about a g100 over at TGP and nigh a snicker to be seen. It looks like it's that same sort of cheap, loud, clean amp as the JC120 so if the price is right I'd go for it.

[Moustache_Bash]

Depends on which version of Yammie it is. If it is this:

No.


But,

or

Then yes.

But, I would not pay over $200. I'd only pay $200 if it was in awesome shape.

Something else that may interest you is the Randall Commander:

Super clean, and even sounding. And loud. I got mine for $200 and it is in great shape and came with a slip case.

[Gearmond]

i love how the secret to a bitchin jazz electric guitar tone is a mediocre guitar through a solid state.



or a guitar that costs more than a car through a solid state

[theavondon]

Regardless, solid state. $500000 guitar into a fucking jazz chorus

[WeHuntKings]

Sometimes I want to put a charlie christian neck pickup in my strat. One of the best jazz tones I've ever heard was a thinline tele with a charlie christian in the neck into a little princeton reverb...So warm and round.

I say stick with the JC-120 if you can. I dunno much about the yamaha, but there's something special about the roland that is hard to replicate imho.

[Redwood Cephalopod]

Thanks for the input, I'm definitely still interested in as many opinions as I can get.

All the G100s I've seen are silver knob.

WeHuntKings, I'm not looking to replicate anything specific to the Roland except the ability to be loud without breaking up.

FWIW, I play heavy shoegaze/post-punk stuff.

[WeHuntKings]

In that case, old Sunn stuff like the coliseum lead/bass would be right up your alley. Ungodly loud and clean. And super bassy if you need it too. However, you'd need a speaker cab for most of that stuff.

Also, gonna second dev's suggestion on the acoustic stuff, very similar to sunn in terms of mojo and loudness. One of my favorite solid state clean machines I've ever played was an old peavey jazz chorus clone....i think it was the chorus 400? best reverb on an amp I've ever heard. And it was so loud it hurt my brain.