I’ve had this amp for a little over a year now... it’s a lovely amp and a such a classic for good reason. I found the 40 to be a great compromise to the 120... it has most of the sound but a fraction of the weight. For recording, the 10” speakers I think are barely indistinguishable from the 120s 12”ers. As the reviews say, this truly is a GREAT platform for pedals if you want to deviate from the unit’s beautiful clean tone. You can really hear the nuance of what your pedals are bringing to the table. As usual, great review, Mitch 👍🏻
A great review as usual Mitch! Efficient, concise and complete. This JC-40 is SO much better for the average small gig than the JC-120, it just may find a place in my amp collection. I really like the clean flat response palette it gives one to start shaping your own sound from... and its' portability! Thanks very much for another consistent demo!
back in the mid 80's the guitar player in my band had one, I loved that sound! It just reminds me of the Smiths, the Sundays, so many of those bands from that time! Such a great, clean sound. Awesome. I might get one of these, now that I traded my bass for a guitar!
the first time i heard this in my church when a visiting guitarist brought it in, i was amazed. i sounded so incredably full and i thought it was the chorus effect but seeing this review i am thinking its the stereo that make it just fill the room up.
I had a JC 120 in the early 90s and it had a distortion, but it sounded awful. I'm not sure if I liked this one much better. I'd have to mess around with it for a bit. If you only require a bit of dirt I think it would do quite well.
Played two of these amps over the last few months. They sound better then my old 120 from the 80s. None of that god awful hiss the old JC120 had. totally getting one of these.
Looks like Roland has given us the best of both worlds with this new JC. We have that amazing unique chorus that only Roland has produced direct from an amp and now FINALLY distortion for when we want to rock with this amp as well. For only $599.00 this will definitely be my next amp!
Great demo of an interesting product. I didn't quite understand the stereo thing at first but you explained it very well and extra cred for you miking up both the speakers! I was wondering about the distortion. Obviously most people are likely to keep it at low settings, but when you turn it up does the volume increase (as if it was the traditional 'drive control' on most amps) or does it blend the distortion in, thus keeping the volume intact?
I checked this amp out at GC last weekend and couldn't pull myself away from it. I plugged a LP Studio, loaded with the 490 humbucker set, into it and I was absolutely blown away by the tone of this amp. I have always been a tube amp guy but this is one SS amp I have to get. The cleans are obviously rich and sweet, but the distortion is a bit unlike anything I have heard from most SS units. One thing I found was that the mid and bass controls really help shape the distortion tones. The mid control especially can take it from a thinner, scooped tone to a lush, almost vocal and compressed tone like that of a tube amp as you turn it up. I wish he would have demonstrated just how must versatility the EQ section has on this amp but still a great demo vid nonetheless. I am loosing sleep over wanting this amp. Got sell some stuff off.
@@CarlitoM77 No, I decided to hold off on it. I don't recall if I heard any hissing or grounding problem when I checked out the amp then again I didn't have the amp cranked all that loud either.
@@gib412 right on thanks! I think the problem is more evident while practicing quietly/studio work. Nevertheless, I love the idea of running my modulations and delays in stereo. I may have to bite the bullet and send back if the noise is too prominent.
Distortion at 25%: "that was kinda nice" Distortion at 50%: "Oh Cool. Not Bad. Alright, let's go home." Distortion at 100%: "WHOA WHOA WHOA THERE, LITTLE MITCH! IT'S LIKE THE METAL ZONE! YOU DON'T JUST DIME IT!" Lol. I was pleasantly surprised though. Distortion wasn't too bad.
Hi, Beto. Yes, the JC-40 can definitely do most gigs. It has a ton of headroom and stays very clear even at higher volume levels. Thanks for your interest! Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320
I have been using a peavy stereo chorus for years and it's about that same as a 120 jazz. The only thing is the amp is back breaking heavy. So the Jazz 40 I would imagine is a lot lighter in weight
I put two Eminence Rajin Cajuns in mine for better low-end definition for jazz guitar. Lost some volume (8 ohm vs. 4 ohm), but certainly gained in low-end tone. Mic it for more volume...
Best video on this amp so far. The distortion is still bad but you were able to get the real quality of the cleans to come through. I was thinking of something as an extra but I think I'll stick with Henriksen. Used but great shape was just a pinch more than this. Still if I can get my hands on one I give it a try.
Dumb question. I have a stereo out guitar. Can I play it through both channels and it will come out left and right? Sorry, it's my first stereo out guitar.
Great amp, going to get one. When you say that the dry signal is in one side of the amp, and the chorus in the other, don't you mean that one side is dry, and the other is vibrato? It only becomes chorus when the two are mixed surely?
Wow! They really changed the distortion on these! I used to have a JC120 that I sold like an idiot and have been thinking of getting one of these smaller Seems like a lot of advancements!
This or the JC22? Just for home playing. But sometimes I get to play loud too. Gonna get a good multi effects. I’m into Steve Vai and Whitesnake now. Too old to gig already.
Mitch, how about the new Fender Tone Master Pro into the JC40? Inquiring minds wanna know. HAAAAA. And since I have a Sire H7V on order maybe use that to drive the rig. Or I can just wait.
Can you post up one about the JC 77? Does it have all the same inputs n the back? Can you go into more details on how to do all the stereo stuff, for those of us not familiar with these amps yet, or have not owned one?
@SweetwaterSound James Hetfield of Metallica uses the Jazz 120 and also the rare Jazz Chorus head. Question. Are they offering a New Jazz Chorus head reissue for 2015.
Add a good Delay pedal, and a Friedman OD Pedal, and you'll have Church Clean, to Blues, to Jazz, to molten Randy Rhoads and Michael Schenker tones in one lightweight, extremely versatile package !! 🎸
Hi, peterbergen5662. Roland doesn’t make a 3-button footswitch at this time. Closest thing would be to get three of the FS5L footswitches. Those can lock together but you’d still need to run three individual cables to make it work. Those amps aren’t super well known for their distortion sounds so most people use a FS6 2-button footswitch for the reverb and chorus, and then use the overdrive pedal of their choice for a better drive sound. Thanks for your interest! Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320, charlie_davis@sweetwater.com
Hands down, best solid states ever built.
Orange Super Crush 100.
Excellent demo - your concise fast talking gets more quality into less time.
Atrocious demo.
I’ve had this amp for a little over a year now... it’s a lovely amp and a such a classic for good reason. I found the 40 to be a great compromise to the 120... it has most of the sound but a fraction of the weight. For recording, the 10” speakers I think are barely indistinguishable from the 120s 12”ers. As the reviews say, this truly is a GREAT platform for pedals if you want to deviate from the unit’s beautiful clean tone. You can really hear the nuance of what your pedals are bringing to the table. As usual, great review, Mitch 👍🏻
David Michael Johnson thanks!! I’m thinking about downsizing from 120 to 40.
Hey man, thx for the info. Which pedal/pedals would you recommend for this beauty?
Do you still have the amp David? Do you gig with it? What's the verdict?
The best Roland JC-40 demo!
A great review as usual Mitch! Efficient, concise and complete. This JC-40 is SO much better for the average small gig than the JC-120, it just may find a place in my amp collection. I really like the clean flat response palette it gives one to start shaping your own sound from... and its' portability! Thanks very much for another consistent demo!
I miss my old JC 120, this sounds terrific and great upgrades to this design. great video! btw Mitch, looking great with the new look!
That distortion made my eyebrows raise. Surprisingly good.
Mitch Gallagher is one of the best reviewer out there.
Just played this amp at guitar center. Sounded awesome! Great headroom and all the tonal verity were great sounding and workable.
Wish the JC-120 models had the same features as this little guy.
The original JAZZ Chorus had no intention of having a distorted or overdriven sound
This is what a gear demo should be-clear concise info with plenty of actual gear demo-BINGO!
The most professional review of Roland JC-40.
back in the mid 80's the guitar player in my band had one, I loved that sound! It just reminds me of the Smiths, the Sundays, so many of those bands from that time! Such a great, clean sound. Awesome. I might get one of these, now that I traded my bass for a guitar!
the first time i heard this in my church when a visiting guitarist brought it in, i was amazed. i sounded so incredably full and i thought it was the chorus effect but seeing this review i am thinking its the stereo that make it just fill the room up.
Sounds great, and thank you for recording this amp in stereo.
Thumbs up for recording this demo in stereo!
outstanding Mitch, great review!
Thanks for watching, Ruben Trevino!
+SweetwaterSound If I'm playing this with the chorus off, does my dry sound come out of both speakers?
Why wouldnt it?
yes, both speakers are always active
I love this amp! Very versatile and adaptable to any situation.
wow that distortion really shows the versatility of this amp. I always thought that jc's were for cleans only but damn this vid changed my mind
Because they changed the distortion circuit form 80's jc , they finally admit that the original one sounds pretty bad , but now it's on spot !
I had a JC 120 in the early 90s and it had a distortion, but it sounded awful. I'm not sure if I liked this one much better. I'd have to mess around with it for a bit. If you only require a bit of dirt I think it would do quite well.
I don't really like the distortion, I miss warms and fullness.
This is the way to demo the dimensional Chorus of the JC family. Pan potting so we get it the same home! Way to go. The best I've seen. Bravo
Of course not through Headset. The real dimensional stereo effect happens only when the two sounds mix in the air.
Great review! Thank you! I've been wanting to get a JC-120 for a while now - but this just changed my mind!
Quite simply the best demo/review in history.
That's a GREAT sounding amp!! Nice demo!
Played two of these amps over the last few months. They sound better then my old 120 from the 80s. None of that god awful hiss the old JC120 had. totally getting one of these.
Mitch is the worldwide master of gear reviews.
Best review by far
the stereo input and effect loop is very appealing
I wonder how it takes od and distortion pedals ?
Jean-René PIRLET I would say pretty well, I use a SD1 and a Fulltone FB3 and they get along together just fine!
Great review! Finally - a useable demo of this amp 👍
Great video. So hard to find good amp reviews!
Thank you. Your clear easy to follow review prompted me to purchase one.
It would be nice to hear the lineouts as well, Roland are getting good at it, if they work they can save time at gigs!!
This amp sounds great and I love the options!
Great review as always Mitch! This is going to be my next amp to go along with my Roland Blue Cube Stage 60w :).
If your thinking about getting this amp but not sure.. just get it trust me. Plenty of bass with the 10 inch speakers
Great review, Mitch. Mine just arrived.
i used to love using the old school jc120 with a russian big muff pi.
Looks like Roland has given us the best of both worlds with this new JC. We have that amazing unique chorus that only Roland has produced direct from an amp and now FINALLY distortion for when we want to rock with this amp as well. For only $599.00 this will definitely be my next amp!
Great demo of an interesting product. I didn't quite understand the stereo thing at first but you explained it very well and extra cred for you miking up both the speakers!
I was wondering about the distortion. Obviously most people are likely to keep it at low settings, but when you turn it up does the volume increase (as if it was the traditional 'drive control' on most amps) or does it blend the distortion in, thus keeping the volume intact?
Jonatan OTW it increases the volume but not drastically.
Excellent review and walkthrough. Thanks for sharing.
I checked this amp out at GC last weekend and couldn't pull myself away from it. I plugged a LP Studio, loaded with the 490 humbucker set, into it and I was absolutely blown away by the tone of this amp. I have always been a tube amp guy but this is one SS amp I have to get. The cleans are obviously rich and sweet, but the distortion is a bit unlike anything I have heard from most SS units. One thing I found was that the mid and bass controls really help shape the distortion tones. The mid control especially can take it from a thinner, scooped tone to a lush, almost vocal and compressed tone like that of a tube amp as you turn it up. I wish he would have demonstrated just how must versatility the EQ section has on this amp but still a great demo vid nonetheless. I am loosing sleep over wanting this amp. Got sell some stuff off.
Hey did you end up getting one? I heard it has some hissing/ ground noise.
@@CarlitoM77 No, I decided to hold off on it. I don't recall if I heard any hissing or grounding problem when I checked out the amp then again I didn't have the amp cranked all that loud either.
@@gib412 right on thanks! I think the problem is more evident while practicing quietly/studio work. Nevertheless, I love the idea of running my modulations and delays in stereo. I may have to bite the bullet and send back if the noise is too prominent.
Excellent review
Wonderful video. Right to the point. All the info I needed. Thank you
Great Review on this Amp. Can't wait to get one!
Sounds great. How’d you get the p-90s so quiet? No hum. Is the guitar volume low? All good. Sweetwater thanks.
Distortion at 25%: "that was kinda nice"
Distortion at 50%: "Oh Cool. Not Bad. Alright, let's go home."
Distortion at 100%: "WHOA WHOA WHOA THERE, LITTLE MITCH! IT'S LIKE THE METAL ZONE! YOU DON'T JUST DIME IT!"
Lol. I was pleasantly surprised though. Distortion wasn't too bad.
Cosm - cube updated woulda been nice to hear it for a second WITH the chorus kicked in , instead of just dry tho...
One of my favorite gear testers.
best solid state amp ever...a classic
great review, this was straight to the point and not endless talking, one video where i didn't have to set the speed setting to 1.75!!! lol
That distortion sound awesome!
Thanks for the great review. Do you know if this amp can be used in mono at the full 40watts or is it only 20 watts per side?
Awesome demos as always! Is this amp capable for giging on stage? enough headroom and volume?
Hi, Beto. Yes, the JC-40 can definitely do most gigs. It has a ton of headroom and stays very clear even at higher volume levels.
Thanks for your interest!
Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320
I have been using a peavy stereo chorus for years and it's about that same as a 120 jazz. The only thing is the amp is back breaking heavy. So the Jazz 40 I would imagine is a lot lighter in weight
amazing sounding amp. so lush!
I put two Eminence Rajin Cajuns in mine for better low-end definition for jazz guitar. Lost some volume (8 ohm vs. 4 ohm), but certainly gained in low-end tone. Mic it for more volume...
thank you Mitch, great review.
Excellent review. Thank you.
Best video on this amp so far. The distortion is still bad but you were able to get the real quality of the cleans to come through. I was thinking of something as an extra but I think I'll stick with Henriksen. Used but great shape was just a pinch more than this. Still if I can get my hands on one I give it a try.
Great review...
great review Mitch, it did need jack for extension spkr love the sound of the 10s
Fun n well done Demo, Outstanding Amp.
great demo Mitch, great amp too!
Dumb question. I have a stereo out guitar. Can I play it through both channels and it will come out left and right? Sorry, it's my first stereo out guitar.
It would be helpful if some single line melodies were played...
That's it. My new tone is a JC-40 with the distortion at 25%!
Me too. Only I am a 50% kind of guy. Damn, that is one sweet sounding amp. Now I know why Metallica uses it!
Yeah, that distortion at 25% sounds so nice!
Metallica used the JC120
Back the Treble right down with distortion. It sounds fine then and much better than the original JC 120..... Pete.
Great amp, going to get one.
When you say that the dry signal is in one side of the amp, and the chorus in the other, don't you mean that one side is dry, and the other is vibrato? It only becomes chorus when the two are mixed surely?
Why does no one demo this amp playing jazz?
Thanks for this review!
Wow! They really changed the distortion on these! I used to have a JC120 that I sold like an idiot and have been thinking of getting one of these smaller Seems like a lot of advancements!
This or the JC22? Just for home playing. But sometimes I get to play loud too. Gonna get a good multi effects. I’m into Steve Vai and Whitesnake now. Too old to gig already.
I bet an ADA MP-1 with rack effects would make this rig rock.
Best amp ever. Love mine.
How did you get the noise out? My JC40 produces very noticeable noise, at all levels.
What song is Mitch playing at the very beginning of this demo? It almost sounds like something from the movie Once upon a time in america.
I want to record with the jazz chorus sound. Would this sound as good as the 120 miked up?
Dream amp right here
Mitch, how about the new Fender Tone Master Pro into the JC40? Inquiring minds wanna know. HAAAAA. And since I have a Sire H7V on order maybe use that to drive the rig. Or I can just wait.
Can you post up one about the JC 77? Does it have all the same inputs n the back? Can you go into more details on how to do all the stereo stuff, for those of us not familiar with these amps yet, or have not owned one?
Great review.
Those first 30 sec feature some of the most beautiful guitar sounds I have heard in nearly 50 years of making music.
@SweetwaterSound
James Hetfield of Metallica uses the Jazz 120 and also the rare Jazz Chorus head.
Question. Are they offering a New Jazz Chorus head reissue for 2015.
How does it take drive pedals and fuzzes? I'm not a fan of the onboard distortion but love everything else about it.
Can u put a multi effect board threw. See how it sounds with a nice distortion
A first rate review. Thanks very much.
this plus stereo out on a gt1000 with the bass knob boosted a bit❤️❤️❤️
Add a good Delay pedal, and a Friedman OD Pedal, and you'll have Church Clean, to Blues, to Jazz, to molten Randy Rhoads and Michael Schenker tones in one lightweight, extremely versatile package !! 🎸
Remarquablement bien expliqué. Merci!
Are there any other stereo amps like this little guy?
Is it Doss DD-7 in modulation mode delay?
Mitch is the go to guy for demos imho.
When you use pedals do they play through one speaker just the built in effects?
If you have the chorus effect knobs down does the right speaker not produce sound?
@ :40 “which took place in Nashville Tennessee. One of the exciting products there.....” I thought he was going to say the Gibson lol
Blows away most tube amps in my opinion
dat 80s tone
well done
Didn’t turn on any distortion?
Are they heavy? i need a relatively loud solid state amp for small gigs as my tube amps always overwhelm the other guitarist.
Not heavy at all approx 16 KG , I have one they pack a real punch.
is the reverb on the JC40 a spring reverb or a hall style reverb? i know it’s digital just curious what it sounds like!
6:40 He plays it with a lot of reverb so you can hear it, and then he says it sounds like a spring.
Are these amps still all analog?
Does Roland have a 3 way foot switch for chorus, distortion, and reverb?
Hi, peterbergen5662. Roland doesn’t make a 3-button footswitch at this time. Closest thing would be to get three of the FS5L footswitches. Those can lock together but you’d still need to run three individual cables to make it work. Those amps aren’t super well known for their distortion sounds so most people use a FS6 2-button footswitch for the reverb and chorus, and then use the overdrive pedal of their choice for a better drive sound.
Thanks for your interest!
Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320, charlie_davis@sweetwater.com
Good info and advise. Appreciate you