Johnson Exits the Amplifier Business

[pri0531]

FYI
GP


August 6, 2002 -- Johnson Amplification will no longer be manufacturing the current line of Johnson Amplifiers. They will however continue to support their products. The Johnson Amplification warranty statement remains unchanged so you may buy Johnson Amplifiers and factory refurbished amplifiers and receive full support and service. The company's warranty covers parts and labor required to repair or replace defective components for one year.

Johnson Amplification will continue to supply the J-Station.

[bduersch]

I saw that press release and was a little broken-hearted. Although I stopped playing Johnson gear only recently (switchted to a Triaxis/2:90 rig), I had quite a bit of their gear:

JM150 Millennium -- main amp for 3+ years
JM120 Marquis -- backup amp
J-Station -- recording amp

I absolutely loved the JM150, and really thought that it's interface and tone were quite ahead of its time. The collection of models and effects was pretty comprehensive, and sounded great, even if not 100% true to the sound of the amp being modelled. Hey, it has tubes & Celestions, so I think that was part of the charm! While it doesn't have the tone of my current rig, it sure was a heck of a lot simpler to set up and use! Seeing some of the close-out prices on JM150's recently, I've almost considered picking up a new one to use as a backup amp!!

The JM120 was quite good too, for the money. It didn't have quite the flexibility or tone as the JM150, but the simpler interface (nothin' but knobs) made patch building much easier. Interestingly, the JM120 had some different models & effects that were not part of the JM150, so it gave me a little extra flexibility around the house.

The J-Station, I still believe, is the best recording amp on the market today. For the price, the models and effects are great, and the PC-based editing software is a life-saver! (Of course, the J-Station isn't going away yet, but I had to put my $0.02 in for it!)

<sigh>

Even though I don't currently use any Johnson amps, I still use a 2x12 Johnson cab (with Celestion Vintage 30's) with my Mesa rig, and wouldn't mind picking up a second one of those cabs on closeout. Awesome cabs for the $$$!

--B

[Drew]

damn, too bad. my j-station just bit the dust, though; think it shorted out. If i can't get it resurected, i was thinking of checking out a V-amp which is supposed to sound poretty decent, as well, and which has LED knobs so you actually know where all the presets are set at.

but the mark IV sim through the "amewrican tweed" 1x12 is just SO sweet...

-drew

[kirk]

Surprise, surprise......

[Jason Stone]

Surprise, surprise......

Huh? What?! So Line6 is next in your opinion?

J

[Two hands31]

Dude, don't be dissing Line6!! Unless it's the Variax.

[kirk]

Originally Posted by Jason Stone

Huh? What?! So Line6 is next in your opinion?

J

Nope. IMHO, Line 6 is a superior product that has a much longer life span both in business practice and in equipment durability. Johnson "rested on their laurels" instead of trying to develop new products, and upgrading older products.

I do predict that the Vetta is the next AX(Sys/212) model - overpriced, over complicated and discontiunued!

[bduersch]

Originally Posted by kirk

MHO, Line 6 is a superior product that has a much longer life span both in business practice and in equipment durability. Johnson "rested on their laurels" instead of trying to develop new products, and upgrading older products.

I don't know about the longer life span part (I beat the living crap out my Johnson and it held up like a champ), but I do think the downfall of Johnson was the "resting on their laurels". Once the modeling amp market became competitive, Johnson didn't put any new products on the market. The product line became stagnant. No money for R&D, I guess...

I was always waiting/wishing for Johnson to release the JM175, the big brother to the JM150... with an upgraded FX section and all-tube power amp!

--B

[Carlo]

musican's friend is having a BLOWOUT on Johnson amps.

the JM150 is like 700 bucks (originally $2099)!!! and the head is 600 (originally $1799)!!!!


Plus they have a 'free shipping' offer for orders over 200 dollars.


If i had the cash....I would have jumped on it immediately.

[mike777]

I agree with Kirk. These didn't sell very well in the store that I worked in. We had one on display and it just wouldn't go. Someone that I worked with thought it would be a good idea to take in a used one. It' ended up looking brand new and the "new" display model looked used sinceit had been there so long. My store was blowing out Johnson stuff at least a year-year and a half ago.

The Line 6 stuff was lighter, cheaper, easier to understand and get clear sounds out of. Although they are a young company, thay had already established that market. the creation of the Johnson name helped establish the competition and the interest of other brands to join in. However Johnson was a newer and even more unfamiliar brand so that didn't help matters any. Line Six and the Vox Valvetronix series are doing so well, how can Johnson compete. It's ALMOST like having a Mom and Pop 5&10 next to a Wal Mart.

Mike 777 Haug

[toshiro]

The trouble with Johnson was stagnant R+D.. The Millenium came out the same year the Line6 AX2(or whatever it was called) did, and never changed.. Their whole line is more than 2 1/2 years old now..

No marketing, no hype, no cheap line, these are the things that killed them.. We had a Millenium in the store, alongside a used FlextoneII 212.. Now yes, the JM150 was way overpriced, but it murdered the line6 in tone and volume, based on everyone that heard them against each other..

Of course, I think the POD, V-amp, and J-Station are great ideas, but I always saw the modelling amplifier as a joke at best.. None of the ones I've heard have the dynamics of even a good solid state amp..

[ChrisReedSmith]

I see many many more pros using PODS and Pod Pros then ones NOT using them!! There's more to Line'6s success then a mere "joke". These modeling machines have come a long way in a very short time and if guitarists like Ty Tabor use a POD Pro for his MAIN amp, and a REAL Dual Rec for BACKUP, then you know that Line 6 is doing something right.

I myself would take a POD into ANYTHING over a solid-state combo or head.

[toshiro]

Maybe I should've been clearer - When I said they were a joke, I was refering to the 'Flextone', 'spider', and other *amplifiers*.. The POD and POD Pro do sound great live, but usually though a very high wattage SS power amp, or even a tube power amp.. I've seen the guts of a Flextone II, the preamp might be high-tech, but the power section looks like something out of a Pyramid car stereo..

SState has come a long way from the old Crates, Peavey, and Randalls years ago.. Peavey's newer Transtube stuff, Tech21's analog modelling, and some of the other SS amps on the market blow away most of the digital stuff, IMO..

The Vetta, and Zentera, might sound better, but for the price they want, I'd want a regular amp..

[Two hands31]

The Vetta sounds amazing, and I've heard good things from the Flextone II HD too.