New amp: Instant picking response.

[jb4674]

Get the JSX, the amp speaks for itself.

Jimmy

[Toadfish]

I have a JSX and am consistently floored by the quality and depth of the sound it throws out. I have mine hooked up to a PortCity 2x12 wave cabinet and it sounds huge, very touch-responsive (it'll highlight EVERY nuance of your playing, good or bad!).

If you got a fizzy sound out of yours when you had it, I'd recommend trying it again and tweaking the controls cos it's got a great, fat, singing tone to it - no buzziness unless you set out to make it sound that way.

Have fun man!

----------------------------
www.flailingpits.com
www.myspace.com/sukhryatt
----------------------------

[Chrisb-83]

I just got my Legacy head in this week. I've found it has very good response. The subtleties (and your mistakes!) come right through. Like people mentioned its not for everyone, the bottom end isnt super thick, so it may not best of chunky palm muted metal, but I honestly haven't tried to dial in a good metal setting. Once you get it dialed in, its quite sweet! Also its loud. I've heard through the grape vine a Bogner Shiva has a similar sound, but even better. Its in a whole different price bracket though. I got my legacy head for $666 brand new from Carvin since it was a "blem" model. The tolex had a tiny scuff, plenty more of those are in store anyways.

[Silverburst]

+1 on EL-CeeDee's comments. I found the lead channel too mid-oriented for my needs, maybe that's partly the wooly sound. Now I have MP-1 3TM which I like alot. At last something we can get our hands on in Belgium

Clean on the legacy was prob the best I've ever had. and indeed very responsive amp (painfully at times as mentioned).

[Whey]

Since I went to Bad Cat (Hot Cat) I don't think I will go back to anything else.

Amazing machines for everything but very extreme gain music that tubes can not produce without some help from their digital friends. So much definition, response and 3D dimension. Hard to really explain, but an excellent choice in amps just starting to get noticed the past year or so, get/try one before they skyrocket in price.

[Andy43]

I suggest a Mesa Mark IV or a Mark III for a more stripped down version. The Mark IV is an incredibly tight amp, and it has to be the most versatile amp of all time. It is incredibly dynamic and has a very fast response, just like you are looking for. It's also one of the smoothest amps around. I truly believe this is the amp for you. You should have no problem getting any of those tones (Vai, Govan, Eklundh) with it. I had one and sold it because it was TOO tight and didn't have enough sag for me, but I used to have very similar tastes to you and have since moved away from that kind of sound. I'm now using a Rectifier, but that's probably the exact opposite of what you want.

I don't know how much you dig Petrucci's sound, but he uses Mark IV's exclusively (with the exception of his solo stuff and 2 DT albums which were Rectifiers).

The Laney VH100R is supposably a fantastic amp also, but obviously less versatile than the Mark IV.

[linthat22]

Thought about maybe trying out old Randall amps just for kicks?

I have an XP series model and it still kicks ass. The louder you turn it up the smoother it gets.

[sveto]

Originally Posted by Toadfish

I have a JSX and am consistently floored by the quality and depth of the sound it throws out. I have mine hooked up to a PortCity 2x12 wave cabinet and it sounds huge, very touch-responsive (it'll highlight EVERY nuance of your playing, good or bad!).

If you got a fizzy sound out of yours when you had it, I'd recommend trying it again and tweaking the controls cos it's got a great, fat, singing tone to it - no buzziness unless you set out to make it sound that way.

I'm thinking about the JSX now. Please tell me, how is the quality of the mid-gain? Do you think it can do a good Robben Ford sound? And, second question: is the JSX tight, medium-tight or loose in character (in the distorted modes)?
sv

[Meedlyx10]

Originally Posted by Andy43

I suggest a Mesa Mark IV or a Mark III for a more stripped down version. The Mark IV is an incredibly tight amp, and it has to be the most versatile amp of all time. It is incredibly dynamic and has a very fast response, just like you are looking for. It's also one of the smoothest amps around. I truly believe this is the amp for you. You should have no problem getting any of those tones (Vai, Govan, Eklundh) with it. I had one and sold it because it was TOO tight and didn't have enough sag for me, but I used to have very similar tastes to you and have since moved away from that kind of sound. I'm now using a Rectifier, but that's probably the exact opposite of what you want.

I don't know how much you dig Petrucci's sound, but he uses Mark IV's exclusively (with the exception of his solo stuff and 2 DT albums which were Rectifiers).

The Laney VH100R is supposably a fantastic amp also, but obviously less versatile than the Mark IV.

The petrucci comment isn't entirely true. He used the Mark IV on Systematic Chaos, LTE2 (it might have actually been the first one, but I'm 9(% sure it was 2), and the "evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess" cd (which is a great display of the amps lead tone). He made extensive use of the Mark IIc+ on a lot of the other stuff, maybe that's what confused you.

[wallie!]

Originally Posted by sveto

I'm thinking about the JSX now. Please tell me, how is the quality of the mid-gain? Do you think it can do a good Robben Ford sound? And, second question: is the JSX tight, medium-tight or loose in character (in the distorted modes)?
sv

The mid gain is great for rhythm playing..I know a lot of guys will crank the gain a bit more and use it as a lead channel.
In my opinion the distorted channels arent tight, probably leaning towards medium tight.
As for Robben Ford sounds...In my opinion I would say no, I find his lead sound to be more 'transparent' then the sound I get using any of the JSX distorsion channels. I wish I had my JSX here and could give you a more detailed explaination..
For memory he uses dumble amps? Whatever amp he uses, it gets him a rather unique tone, so in conclusion I would say no, I don't think the JSX is similar. Thats not to say you wouldn't get a nice sound out of it though...

[sveto]

In an interview on Harmony Central one guy describes the distortion sound of the JSX as slightly lacking:

"The overdrive doesn't have much sole, so to speak. There isn't much debth to it. The distortion feels as if it is added on top of the channel instead being created by overdriving the channel. The red channel espicially has this feel."

This is discouraging, as i hate sounds without a strong fundamental (i mean the basic tone under the first overtone/partial)...

sv

[Andy43]

Originally Posted by Meedlyx10

The petrucci comment isn't entirely true. He used the Mark IV on Systematic Chaos, LTE2 (it might have actually been the first one, but I'm 9(% sure it was 2), and the "evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess" cd (which is a great display of the amps lead tone). He made extensive use of the Mark IIc+ on a lot of the other stuff, maybe that's what confused you.

I meant that he uses the Mark IV's exclusively now. Check out this video:

http://mesaboogie.com/gallery_artist...Petrucci2.html

He mentions that he actually prefers the IV to the way overhyped IIC+ (partly due to himself ), as do I. Also, the IV and IIC+ can be very similar sounding amps. But their new CD, Systematic Chaos, is the best example of what the IV sounds like.

[Meedlyx10]

You said that he used the Mark IV on all but 2 DT albums and his solo album, which was incorrect. He hasn't always preferred the Mark IV. I wasn't trying to start a "which amp is better" argument, just correcting something you said

[Toadfish]

Originally Posted by sveto

In an interview on Harmony Central one guy describes the distortion sound of the JSX as slightly lacking:

"The overdrive doesn't have much sole, so to speak. There isn't much debth to it. The distortion feels as if it is added on top of the channel instead being created by overdriving the channel. The red channel espicially has this feel."

This is discouraging, as i hate sounds without a strong fundamental (i mean the basic tone under the first overtone/partial)...

sv

You can't let yourself get discouraged by what one person (or even 1,000 people) might say - just go try the damn thing out! Everyone has their own opinion and everything will sound different with different guitars and different fingers. Mine sounds huge, soulful, harmonically rich and juicy. I've ended up selling every overdrive/distortion pedal I own (and I had some nice ones) because I just don't need them anymore.

It might not be right for you, but you won't know that until you give one a good thrashing with your guitar and your fingers.

Good luck man!

[sveto]

I will try to play and compare some amps, but for that i will need to travel 300-400 km - to the Thomann-Store; train tickets are very expensive in Germany - as there are no good shops in my home town. We'll see...

sv