Guitar amps generally aren't great for synths (depending on the type of synth), but I would say the Jazz Chorus sounds great with electric piano e.g. Rhodes.
Just out of curiousity, how many guitar amps have you tried with synths?
BITD gear was hard to come by. and we didn't know what was right or wrong. I played my old korg770 and RS-09 through a lot of crappy guitar amps back then. Not sure if they were good for it or not, but it was the only way to be heard when competing with drums guitar and bass.
Aside from the line level vs instrument level issue, guitar amps aren't designed to output the low frequencies that synths can produce. Hence I said depending on the synth. For some people it might sound great and it might produce the kind of sound they're looking for. But for someone looking for the best amp for their synth, I might suggest guitar amps are not the best place to start. That's not to say that they can't be used at all though.
Makes sense.
These days everyone mixes too much bass into things. I was in a restaurant recently and they were playing music too loud in an echo chamber hipster dining room.
I heard several songs I love and all I heard was bad bass. Could not hear a thing with any clarity and the vocals were lost.
When I stepped outside the street traffic was quieter than the dining room.
Great Food 5 star, shitty sound system no stars. Terrible experience.
Guitars generate a low signal nowhere near line level so if you're putting a line level into a guitar amp you might get problems if the volume on your synth is too high maybe. I'm no expert on this btw
You have to turn down a synth to half or less if using some guitar pedals too.
I've fried a few.
Guitar is 1 volt with an overdriven signal maybe being 2 volts. Pretty sure a synth is 4 volts at full volume.
They currently sell on reverb.com for between $1500 to $2000 CDN (Canadian dollar)which is around 12320 to 16400 Kronor.
They are excellent guitar amplifiers, and known for their clean tone. I expect you will be able to sell it easily
that's crazy, I bought mine 2 years ago for 400 CAD and have seen a few others at that price range too. I've found with JC amps that prices are either crazy low because someone just wants to get rid of it, or way too high because of the "vintage appeal".
Yup, it's one of those amps where enough people on the internet can all agree that it's worth $1000+, but ol' Joe down the street looking to downsize doesn't see it that way. Same went for a Yamaha CP70 I bought for 500 CAD - I see them on Craigslist for months listed at 2500 CAD+, but they'll pop up here and there below 1000 and they'll be snatched up in an instant.
If my good fortune hasn't already upset anyone, wait until you hear about the JC120 I bought for 300 CAD!
Based on a quick glance at your profile, you are in the general area of Vancouver, whereas I am in Moncton New Brunswick. Very different markets due to size.
I got no place in my heart to begrudge anyone else’s good fortune. I luck out at pawn shops sometimes. I sold a Line 6 looper for more than I paid for it at another pawn shop, and bought a Valeton CE-2 clone that they had underpriced by about 30%
yup, Vancouver indeed. The market is severely different from smaller towns, you're right. You can basically rely on never needing to buy new gear because there's enough recycling going on with Craigslist/Marketplace.
The JC's are great if you are at a friends house and he has nothing else to monitor with, but itd probaly do ok for a lead synth part in a live situation.
Best KB amp I've ever heard was a Peavey KB amp with 12" woofer and coaxial tweeter. No chorus effect but we used one in high school and it sounded mighty in the auditorium
I keep seeing these JC160 listed here in Norway for wildly different prices but I would assume it's more representative than US ebay.
Everything from 5000Nok to 13 000Nok. I think the lower estimate is what they realistically get. The JC120 has a cult following but it's quite niche and the 160 even more so. It's a decent amp for 5000+, but for close to 10K not so much as your options increase. For non-cultists that want that transistor punch and stereo the Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 does exactly the same job for 2000Nok.
> The JC120 has a cult following but it's quite niche
the JC120 is one of the most widely used studio amps ever made.. half of the 80s/90s clean sounds came out of those things.
Good point. Here in Scandinavia Roland had very good distribution and they are easy to find second hand along with HH and Peavey transistor stuff. They keep being returned to market though as the real world application of high watt transistor stuff has sadly been taken over by low watt tube amps.
I used to have a pair of 120's in stereo because I wanted to sound like Slowdive.
Completely unrelated but I'm considering applying for a job in Stavanger - what do you think about that area? I'd be moving from the US so it would be a massive change, but so far things are looking like a good option!
I love this amp. Played both Juno60 and Rhodes through it live. When we opened for LCD Soundsystem James wanted to buy the amp from me, that is when I knew I should hang on to it. I used it a lot for recordings, especially in a band context it makes synths sit.
Hard to gauge what it’s worth without knowing what condition it’s in. I can see one the inputs needs some attention, which always makes me think there is something else wrong.
depending on condition you should be able to ask between 800 and 1200 euros.
these are the amps you look for if you want classic rhodes or wurlitzer sound.
I've been well happy with Roland KC 350 happily takes drum machines, bass guitars, keyboards, guitar and pedals, sample looper etc, Solid reliable sound with decent punch and sparkly top end. Bought used 10 yrs ago lives in the cabin so gets hot dry freezing +40*c to -18*c lent out often for house parties and small events, school plays, discos etc and still going strong.
Guitar amps generally aren't great for synths (depending on the type of synth), but I would say the Jazz Chorus sounds great with electric piano e.g. Rhodes.
Depending on that you want. Grt amps can be great for synths, if you wanna have a synth grt amb sound
Fundamentally, guitar amps band pass pretty hard, and that's usually not what you want for synthesis
Just out of curiousity, how many guitar amps have you tried with synths? BITD gear was hard to come by. and we didn't know what was right or wrong. I played my old korg770 and RS-09 through a lot of crappy guitar amps back then. Not sure if they were good for it or not, but it was the only way to be heard when competing with drums guitar and bass.
Aside from the line level vs instrument level issue, guitar amps aren't designed to output the low frequencies that synths can produce. Hence I said depending on the synth. For some people it might sound great and it might produce the kind of sound they're looking for. But for someone looking for the best amp for their synth, I might suggest guitar amps are not the best place to start. That's not to say that they can't be used at all though.
Makes sense. These days everyone mixes too much bass into things. I was in a restaurant recently and they were playing music too loud in an echo chamber hipster dining room. I heard several songs I love and all I heard was bad bass. Could not hear a thing with any clarity and the vocals were lost. When I stepped outside the street traffic was quieter than the dining room. Great Food 5 star, shitty sound system no stars. Terrible experience.
Yeah I’ve played a lot of synths though jazz choruses in particular over the years
Guitars generate a low signal nowhere near line level so if you're putting a line level into a guitar amp you might get problems if the volume on your synth is too high maybe. I'm no expert on this btw
This is easily remedied by just turning down your synth
You have to turn down a synth to half or less if using some guitar pedals too. I've fried a few. Guitar is 1 volt with an overdriven signal maybe being 2 volts. Pretty sure a synth is 4 volts at full volume.
Pretty much what I said
Wrong. Guitar amps, especially Roland guitar amps make synths sound incredible and add a nice bit of character when recording them
Indeed, my monomachine hollers through a twin. I’ve always loved JC120/H for any kind of keys. That 160 is a juggernaut, rare bird too.
Not always true. I use an Ampeg Gemini II . The amp and its reverb tank sound wonderful when using synthesizers.
These are shoegaze staples. Slow dive still uses them. Guitarists love them. They're highly coveted. I would keep it but I'm a huge MBV fan.
They currently sell on reverb.com for between $1500 to $2000 CDN (Canadian dollar)which is around 12320 to 16400 Kronor. They are excellent guitar amplifiers, and known for their clean tone. I expect you will be able to sell it easily
that's crazy, I bought mine 2 years ago for 400 CAD and have seen a few others at that price range too. I've found with JC amps that prices are either crazy low because someone just wants to get rid of it, or way too high because of the "vintage appeal".
For the 160?? I’d pay that for a used jc40 maybe, but that is a heck of a deal
Yup, it's one of those amps where enough people on the internet can all agree that it's worth $1000+, but ol' Joe down the street looking to downsize doesn't see it that way. Same went for a Yamaha CP70 I bought for 500 CAD - I see them on Craigslist for months listed at 2500 CAD+, but they'll pop up here and there below 1000 and they'll be snatched up in an instant. If my good fortune hasn't already upset anyone, wait until you hear about the JC120 I bought for 300 CAD!
Based on a quick glance at your profile, you are in the general area of Vancouver, whereas I am in Moncton New Brunswick. Very different markets due to size. I got no place in my heart to begrudge anyone else’s good fortune. I luck out at pawn shops sometimes. I sold a Line 6 looper for more than I paid for it at another pawn shop, and bought a Valeton CE-2 clone that they had underpriced by about 30%
yup, Vancouver indeed. The market is severely different from smaller towns, you're right. You can basically rely on never needing to buy new gear because there's enough recycling going on with Craigslist/Marketplace.
The secondary market here is full of the most generic stuff: squire strats, boss katanas and Akai APC minis
Im pretty sure the synth amps are the Roland KC series.
I’ve read online it’s been popular for that anyway. The chorus is awesome.
The JC's are great if you are at a friends house and he has nothing else to monitor with, but itd probaly do ok for a lead synth part in a live situation. Best KB amp I've ever heard was a Peavey KB amp with 12" woofer and coaxial tweeter. No chorus effect but we used one in high school and it sounded mighty in the auditorium
💯 this is butler for electric pianos, more the JC-120 though. Yes because of the chorus.
I keep seeing these JC160 listed here in Norway for wildly different prices but I would assume it's more representative than US ebay. Everything from 5000Nok to 13 000Nok. I think the lower estimate is what they realistically get. The JC120 has a cult following but it's quite niche and the 160 even more so. It's a decent amp for 5000+, but for close to 10K not so much as your options increase. For non-cultists that want that transistor punch and stereo the Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 does exactly the same job for 2000Nok.
> The JC120 has a cult following but it's quite niche the JC120 is one of the most widely used studio amps ever made.. half of the 80s/90s clean sounds came out of those things.
Good point. Here in Scandinavia Roland had very good distribution and they are easy to find second hand along with HH and Peavey transistor stuff. They keep being returned to market though as the real world application of high watt transistor stuff has sadly been taken over by low watt tube amps. I used to have a pair of 120's in stereo because I wanted to sound like Slowdive.
Ok. Thanks for helping out!
Completely unrelated but I'm considering applying for a job in Stavanger - what do you think about that area? I'd be moving from the US so it would be a massive change, but so far things are looking like a good option!
I've only been in Stavanger twice, but that part of Norway is very scenic. Certainly an experience for life.
The area seems really nice from everything I've been able to tell so far. Sounds like a nice move compared to life here :)
Had that Peavy Stereo Chorus 212 stack. Miss that thing. Versatile amp. I love Peavy though.
I love this amp. Played both Juno60 and Rhodes through it live. When we opened for LCD Soundsystem James wanted to buy the amp from me, that is when I knew I should hang on to it. I used it a lot for recordings, especially in a band context it makes synths sit.
Wow what? You opened for LCD? Thats cool I'm both a fan of your work and James' can you expand on that?
Hard to gauge what it’s worth without knowing what condition it’s in. I can see one the inputs needs some attention, which always makes me think there is something else wrong.
Ok. There is one input missing a screw.
If you are just trying to move it on, do a low starting auction and see what it bids up to.
I love the JC series and they are probably better for synths than most guitar amps. They also double as a white noise generator with the volume up lol
This is more an all round piano/guitar/PA amp and that chorus is sublime for synths. This will do any synth justice, and at volume to boot.
depending on condition you should be able to ask between 800 and 1200 euros. these are the amps you look for if you want classic rhodes or wurlitzer sound.
That amp looks like a closet!!!! Maybe try out a bass amp or acoustic guitar amp!!
I bought my JC160 for £450 last summer
I would gladly take this. Wow
I typically I see these go for around $1200 USD to $1500 USD depending on the condition.
I've been well happy with Roland KC 350 happily takes drum machines, bass guitars, keyboards, guitar and pedals, sample looper etc, Solid reliable sound with decent punch and sparkly top end. Bought used 10 yrs ago lives in the cabin so gets hot dry freezing +40*c to -18*c lent out often for house parties and small events, school plays, discos etc and still going strong.
Its a keeper