Just bought a Mini Colossal

donnyboy · #1 10-12-2007, 09:15 AM

Just scored me a brand new JSX Mini Colossal for £389 inc delivery. They even threw in a 6m XLR cable with it. I'm a happy guy.

Amp arrives on Monday. Can't wait

Once I've got a feel for it, I'll post some sound clips for anyone who's interested.

jb4674 · #2 10-12-2007, 09:24 AM

I'm definitely interested. What's the going price for a mini colossal on the other side of the pond?

Jimmy

tt0511 · #3 10-12-2007, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnyboy

Just scored me a brand new JSX Mini Colossal for £389 inc delivery. They even threw in a 6m XLR cable with it. I'm a happy guy.

Amp arrives on Monday. Can't wait

Once I've got a feel for it, I'll post some sound clips for anyone who's interested.

I tried this thing out in the store the other day. It is LOUD. I was too shy to turn it up past 1!! It sounded superb though. You will like this one!

donnyboy · #4 10-12-2007, 09:38 AM

Quote:

I'm definitely interested. What's the going price for a mini colossal on the other side of the pond?

List is about £600, but they seem to go for between £405 and £449. Second to the price I paid, the cheapest I found was £406 + £10 shipping.

I've saved myself about £37 if you take into account the £10 I would've had to pay for the XLR cable. Chuffed.

markg5150 · #5 10-12-2007, 09:42 AM

Where from? Let's have a review and some clips when you get it

donnyboy · #6 10-12-2007, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markg5150

Where from? Let's have a review and some clips when you get it

Bought it from Sounds Great Music in Manchester. Nice guys actually.

I'll definitely get some sound clips up asap and I'll let you know my thoughts once I've had a few days to get to know it.

donnyboy · #7 10-12-2007, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tt0511

I tried this thing out in the store the other day. It is LOUD. I was too shy to turn it up past 1!! It sounded superb though. You will like this one!

Are you sure that was the mini colossal and not the 212 combo? The mini is only a class A 5 watter, so I can't imagine it being that loud on 1

tt0511 · #8 10-12-2007, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnyboy

Are you sure that was the mini colossal and not the 212 combo? The mini is only a class A 5 watter, so I can't imagine it being that loud on 1

You're in for a surprise. It was not the 2x12 combo, lol. Maybe I was just expecting it to be real quiet until turned up. It's a hot little amp my friend. Hot enough that I was scared to buy it because the only way to change the tone is by the volume knob. So, to get it to break up you have to crank it pretty good, ...and I think it would be too loud for my normal home jamming.

) I could be wrong but that was my impression. Like I said, I didn't get it higher than around 1-1.25 on the volume in the store.

One other factor may have been the amp's location in the store. When seated it was directly in front of my face at eye level, and it was in a shelf so all of the sound was projecting right at me. If it was in open air and not in front of your face, ...maybe it'd be different, lol.

Inzane · #9 10-12-2007, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tt0511

I tried this thing out in the store the other day. It is LOUD. I was too shy to turn it up past 1!! It sounded superb though. You will like this one!

How did the Mini Colossal compare to the Classic 30? (both are amps I'd be considering for my first tube amp).

donnyboy · #10 10-12-2007, 11:46 AM

Cool. I'm looking forward to it even more now! I haven't had chance to try one yet and the only demo I've been able to find is the Mini Colossal Song that satch did.

If you're worried about the levels, don't forget the power sponge (control is on the rear of the amp). You can crank the gain as hard as you like then use the power sponge, which is a power attenuator like a Hot Plate, to control the output, just like you would with a master volume control. It goes from the full 5 watts right down to zero.

I'll be using the XLR output most of the time, which bypasses the power sponge, so I'm not really worried about the output being too high (I'll just set the sponge to 0). That was the main selling point of this amp for me. But if you want to hear the air move you'll still be able to hit the sweet spot at "bedroom" levels.

FloridaNative · #11 10-12-2007, 11:54 AM

Congratulations!! +another 1 on the sound clips.

markg5150 · #12 10-12-2007, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnyboy

Bought it from Sounds Great Music in Manchester. Nice guys actually.

My favourite shop - Top blokes !!!

tt0511 · #13 10-12-2007, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inzane

How did the Mini Colossal compare to the Classic 30? (both are amps I'd be considering for my first tube amp).

Well, I guess I forgot about the power sponge aspect. Not being familiar with that feature, I didn't realize I could have cranked that little thing up, so I can't really speak to how they compare. Obviously, the 12" Classic 30 should be able to have lower frequencies, and there should be a small presence difference that's distinguishable, ...but without A/B-ing them, I really can't say. I was interested in that thing for sure, but I'm UBER happy with the Classic 30!!!

Guitarmiester · #14 10-12-2007, 02:13 PM

I couldn't justify spending $500 on the Mini Colossal. Enjoy your new amp though!

Darin · #15 10-13-2007, 12:43 PM

don't forget. that little thing into a 4x12 turned up all the way freakin rips. didn't try a 2x12 though. don't be discouraged by the sound of the amp by itself. that little speaker sounds like what it is, small. but just imagine your favorite head with a small speaker for sittin around the apt jammin. that's pretty much what it is. but it will power a cab. it doesn't have the "wonk" of a 100w head. but it has plenty of nice usable gain. roll back your guitar and you got crunch, roll back some more you got blues gain, some more and you got clean. it perfect in it's simplicity. throw a compressor pedal in front of it and you got more options than you can shake a pick at.

enjoy brother.