A friend has a JC-77 with an Eminence Legend replacement speaker which makes a HUGE difference, especially for rock tones. Cool mid sized amp.

Nico Adie wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2023 3:10 am I’m assuming they’re not common stateside but HH amps are excellent, especially the IC and VS models. Swore by them for years.

They aren't at all. I've been searching for an HH IC100-S stateside for years without luck.

Did sound for a band last week that had a brand new JC-120. They're still just as great as ever. Probably the most WYSIWYG amp of all time.

They were doing a shoegazey thing w/ a lot of "clean" (clean in this case meaning not super distorted, they were super affected though) guitar parts and it was perfect, even w/ the original speakers. I didn't detect any of the brittleness, stiffness, or harshness that I often read about them.

Garth wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2023 8:37 am Did sound for a band last week that had a brand new JC-120. They're still just as great as ever. Probably the most WYSIWYG amp of all time.

They were doing a shoegazey thing w/ a lot of "clean" (clean in this case meaning not super distorted, they were super affected though) guitar parts and it was perfect, even w/ the original speakers. I didn't detect any of the brittleness, stiffness, or harshness that I often read about them.

Yeah, that's what those speakers are designed for: shimmery modulation. Distortion and fuzz can get ugly really fast though, why something dark and inefficient like the Legend fit in nicely.

It would be fun to swap out and experiment with JC-120 speakers, but for what that would cost (even used) you could buy 2 Traynors.

penningtron wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2023 9:02 am

Garth wrote: Tue Oct 17, 2023 8:37 am Did sound for a band last week that had a brand new JC-120. They're still just as great as ever. Probably the most WYSIWYG amp of all time.

They were doing a shoegazey thing w/ a lot of "clean" (clean in this case meaning not super distorted, they were super affected though) guitar parts and it was perfect, even w/ the original speakers. I didn't detect any of the brittleness, stiffness, or harshness that I often read about them.

Yeah, that's what those speakers are designed for: shimmery modulation. Distortion and fuzz can get ugly really fast though, why something dark and inefficient like the Legend fit in nicely.

It would be fun to swap out and experiment with JC-120 speakers, but for what that would cost (even used) you could buy 2 Traynors.

You're hitting on a good secondary point here, a couple of the key factors that drives a lot of folks to solid state amps is A.) weight-savings B.) cost-savings and C.) reliability. I can't speak to the 3rd point but the JC-120 does neither A nor B.

Garth wrote: Mon Oct 16, 2023 6:09 pm

Krev wrote: Mon Oct 16, 2023 5:02 pm

Garth wrote: Mon Oct 16, 2023 3:08 pm

but does it tub

...like you read. I don't really play anymore, but am reluctant to sell it due to rarity.

This is the first nice thing I think I've read about them (beyond the faceplate looking monolithic and rad as hell). I confess I've never heard one though at least not to my knowledge.

Makes me wonder if back in the day Ampeg was really trying to voice it to respond more like a tub amp and that's why it will do the dark throb thing...and then folks 20-30 years later were expecting it to sound more "solid-statey" so they chalked it up as being "one of the shitty ones."

Not having an "ultra lo" switch on it though...that's a concern. Maybe doesn't need it?

The front end is similar to a V series. It does have the two EQ switches. It's fine for bass or (really loud) guitar.

Mine was blown up when I got it, but was lucky to find a tech who specialized in old solid state. It had all 12 transistors, the caps, and the IC chip replaced.

benadrian wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 5:14 pm I love the Peavey Bandit 65s. I had a crazy idea to get a couple of them as a stereo rig for a junky weird band idea that never happened.

I'm on this shit again. I kinda want to get two Bandits as a stereo rig for Helix, or as a just "plug in and make people suffer" guitar rig. I don't know why. I just have a kind of "fuck everything" feeling on gear at the moment. I think it just might be burnout from the day job. Spend all day thinking about sound and tone in extreme detail. Spend the evenings making noise on random budget shit.

benadrian wrote: Sun Jul 13, 2025 10:46 pm

benadrian wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 5:14 pm I love the Peavey Bandit 65s. I had a crazy idea to get a couple of them as a stereo rig for a junky weird band idea that never happened.

I'm on this shit again. I kinda want to get two Bandits as a stereo rig for Helix, or as a just "plug in and make people suffer" guitar rig. I don't know why. I just have a kind of "fuck everything" feeling on gear at the moment. I think it just might be burnout from the day job. Spend all day thinking about sound and tone in extreme detail. Spend the evenings making noise on random budget shit.

I'd be more than happy to have a big ol fuck off stereo Peavey Musician Bass 400 head doom setup with 2 2x15 cabs. Whole rig would colst like $500. Start a band called Cyber Drunk or something.

I've been using a Peavey Mini-Max for bass. It's a small, reliable, and decent sounding solution. The other guy at our practice space has been using it and loving it. I would not weep if it walked off or got stolen. Another 250$ and I'm set. It's definitely on the Unsexy side of Peavey.

I fire it up for guitar every now and then. Has a nice and pleasant clean, unfiddly. Serviceable. Would use for guitar in a pinch.

It gets me thinking though. Dylan Carlson uses one of those Trace Elliot Elf amps. The little TC Electronics bass amp has made the rounds at a few shows I've been at. I've been pleasantly surprised seeing bands with a full Quilter backline.

One of these days, I'm gonna be too old to drag the big shit around. And I'm playing at bars anyway. Do I need 100 watts of tube power? Hmm.

Edit: I have the 500 watt version with chicken head knobs. Those affect the tone, I'm certain.

I just scored my 5th Randall Switchmaster.