Clean mesa stuff

[ollievk]

So I managed to play on a Roland JC120 yesterday and to be fair I thought the sound was absolutely awesome. Is there any Mesa amps that have these kind of cleans, or that can get close to it? I don't really like the cleans on my Triple Rec, it's just not bright enough

 

[nathan28]

Recs are heavy metal amps, created soley pretty much to play only high gain metal sounds. It's kind of like trying to get a killer high gain sound out of a jc-120, not goin to happen. But mesa does offer some good cleans with the roadkingII, roadster, lonestar, i also here that the express and mark series offer great cleans as well. On a regular single,dual or triple rec you can get a good clean tone just not great.

 

[Steve P]

Although the Lonestar has Mesa's best clean tones (that I have heard, I haven't played 'em all), the Express series is a close second. The 5:50 is a little more Fender-y and the 5:25 is a little more Vox-y. I prefer the 5:25 because I like the chimey treble and mid-rangey crunch tones of the el-84 tubes.

 

[pjrake]

i run my clean channel through a G major and have managed to get some pretty good clean sounds.

it takes some tweaking but you can get a good sound out of rectifiers.

-PJ

 

[vatoben]

JC120's are solid state and in my experience, have a very different nature when compared to tube amps with great cleans. Typically, tube cleans have a different 'spongyness' and more harmonic distortion. They're both cooking with very different ingredients (Roland/MOSFET, Mesa/Tubes). I know the difference is very profound with bass amps. At volume, a 400+ has a much more rich harmonic makeup then a Walkabout head. When dealing with lower frequencies this can be a plus or a negative, depending on how much clarity the situation requires. I've found the same effect with certain guitar amps. Something like a JC120 or a Polytone Brute is going to give you crystal clear tone without a lot of added harmonic coloring. A lot of jazz cats use those amps in conjunction with big *** hollowbodies and the results can be great. It's as if the clear amps open up the murky tone of a big open guitar. On the other hand, tube amps often fatten up the tone with all sorts of added 'artifacts'. And that works wonders with thin sounding guitars like a Strat or Tele. So I don't think it's likely that any mesa amp will have the exact cleans of a JC120. If I were to recommend a mesa for cleans it would be a Blue Angel. Lonestar cleans are killer but the Blue Angel is over the top in that department. In the end, it's all about your taste and you may have different results.

 

[jdurso]

So I managed to play on a Roland JC120 yesterday and to be fair I thought the sound was absolutely awesome. Is there any Mesa amps that have these kind of cleans, or that can get close to it? I don't really like the cleans on my Triple Rec, it's just not bright enough

first off love the JC120.... probably my favorite clean amp ever. i used one for about 4 years with several mesa setups (the mesa always handling the dirt/high gain stuff). and aside from how great the cleans are, the chorus is to die for. nothing is better than naturally created chorus, something a pedal will never come close to emulating.

now as far as finding a mesa with a similar clean i would say no because if there was i would own it. that type of transparent tone is almost impossible with a tube amp IMO and there is just soemthing about the bass on the jc120... ive never been able to capture its snap with a tube amp. so to answer your question, nothing in the tube world can really do the jc120 BUT if your into cleans as clean as that check out the express 5:50. its different in terms of dynamics and transparency, but very very clean if dialed in right. honestly if you can afford it you can grab a used one around $300.

 

[myqqy]

For what little it's worth, i love the cleans i get out of my mesa gear. I think there's something magical about the tube warmth when the gain is set low- i think the clean channel is awesome with my .50 cal+ combo, and i love the clean sounds i get from the rectifier recording preamp. My favorite is the fat mode on the clean channel on the rec recording preamp mixed with eventide chorus and delay!! Heaven!!! 8)

 

[edward]

So I managed to play on a Roland JC120 yesterday and to be fair I thought the sound was absolutely awesome. Is there any Mesa amps that have these kind of cleans, or that can get close to it? I don't really like the cleans on my Triple Rec, it's just not bright enough

I remember the JC120 well ...a friend of mine used to play through one years ago. His strat sounded wonderfully crisp and full ...easily one of the nicest SS tones out there, IMHO. That said, while I do not have extensive experience across the Boogie model range, I know my MKIII can span a huge range of clean, from spanky country twang, to crispy clean and smooth, to warmer jazzy, and everything in between.

There is huge girth and headroom on my Simul Greenie. The key in covering a wide range of tone is the GEQ. In tandem with the regular tone stack, the GEQ is lends the versatility that later Boogs lack (which sound great, mind you, but just don't cover the wide tonal ground as well as the ones with the Graphic do, IMHO).

Edward

 

[ollievk]

Cheers for the replies guys, I agree with a lot of you on this! I played a couple of Fender twins and Vox's but they just broke up to quickly and were a little too harsh for me, the JC120 just sounded immaculate!
I found one on the UK ebay for £200, bargain considering they're atleast £600 new!

 

[EXPRESSLOVER]

I hear the lonestar has THE BEST CLEAN out of all the mesa's...

However I own an express 5.50, which is meant to be just as good. The headroom off the clean channel is so good and loud which doesnt break up if you control the ammount of gain. I leave the gain at half and the louder the amp is, the more bell like the clean becomes.

Also the Blues Mode on it can be used as a clean sound also...Its one of the warmest settings I've heard from a valve amp..

aside from a fender twin I used to borrow off my uncle..

I think fender def own clean sounds....with mesa a close second, but are way better amps as mesa bring everything we love about valve amps together into one box!! I can get that chimey vox tone in blues mode with a 50's strat with vintage pickups.

 

[jdurso]

i think its safe to say you'll never find a tube amp that has the sound of the JC120 and the JC120 will never be able to do the sweet tube cleans. they're way different from one another and i think thats a good think because trying to make an amp do what its not built to do will just drive you and your wallet mad. they both definitely have their places in the world of guitars, its just about what you prefer.

 

[Newysurfer]

So I managed to play on a Roland JC120 yesterday and to be fair I thought the sound was absolutely awesome. Is there any Mesa amps that have these kind of cleans, or that can get close to it? I don't really like the cleans on my Triple Rec, it's just not bright enough

first off love the JC120.... probably my favorite clean amp ever. i used one for about 4 years with several mesa setups (the mesa always handling the dirt/high gain stuff). and aside from how great the cleans are, the chorus is to die for. nothing is better than naturally created chorus, something a pedal will never come close to emulating.

now as far as finding a mesa with a similar clean i would say no because if there was i would own it. that type of transparent tone is almost impossible with a tube amp IMO and there is just soemthing about the bass on the jc120... ive never been able to capture its snap with a tube amp. so to answer your question, nothing in the tube world can really do the jc120 BUT if your into cleans as clean as that check out the express 5:50. its different in terms of dynamics and transparency, but very very clean if dialed in right. honestly if you can afford it you can grab a used one around $300.

+1 with Jdurso
I've also owned a JC-120 - very transparent and clean, almost FRFR and has excellent Chorus too but that's all it does. I prefer tube amp clean tones anyway and in Mesa's the best you'll do is the Lonestar and the Express IMHO. Both much better and more versatile amps than a JC-120 IMHO.

Between the Lonestar and the Express cleans I find them both very similar and really can't say which one I prefer - both great and they both have the best spring Reverb I've ever heard.

 

[Laskyman]

There is a reason that the JC120 is one of the most recorded amps in history...and again, true JC chorus isn't accomplished with a mono rig (thats why the mono version of the JC isnt very popular...).
Having said that, I much prefer the cleans of the mesa lonestar/RKII/Roadster. For me, it is exactly the clean sound that I hear in my head, and the way they bounce with single coils never fails to put a smile on my face.
Another fantastic clean Mesa can be found in the F series.

My $.02

Laskyman

 

[jdurso]

you do have a point newy... the jc120 is a one trick pony. but it does its trick very very well.... anyone know of any other amps with naturally produced chorus (essentially two power amps that have their signals offset by the amount of intensity and depth set on the chorus)??

 

[camsna]

Not to be a buzz-wreck, but I've never dug the JC-120. As far as solid-state clean amps with chorus built in go, it's at the top of the pack. Which, to me, is like being the tallest dwarf. . .

And that's not to say I'm a 'tube guy' or snob or anything. But I've always just dug tube amps, especially for cleans. I occasionally break out the JC-120 for kicks. But it doesn't take overdrive pedals well. It's kind of sterile compared to the cleans on my other amps (Mk. III, Tweed Deluxe, Twin, JCM-900, Johnson JM-250). I dunno. Am I crazy?

 

[jdurso]

Not to be a buzz-wreck, but I've never dug the JC-120. As far as solid-state clean amps with chorus built in go, it's at the top of the pack. Which, to me, is like being the tallest dwarf. . .

And that's not to say I'm a 'tube guy' or snob or anything. But I've always just dug tube amps, especially for cleans. I occasionally break out the JC-120 for kicks. But it doesn't take overdrive pedals well. It's kind of sterile compared to the cleans on my other amps (Mk. III, Tweed Deluxe, Twin, JCM-900, Johnson JM-250). I dunno. Am I crazy?

no your just a tube snob :twisted:

im kidding... its just something you like or you dont. the reason i love the SS cleans is probably due to 1 song and thats One by Metallica. Dont no why but i love have clear it sounds, the fact that it doesnt have that tube warmth is why i love that tone. now dont get me wrong i love warm tube cleans as well, but if you asked me my ideal clean its the JC120 with soemthing like the express or fender twin being a close second.

 

[jdurso]

BTW i wasnt trying to be a jerk when i asked about other amps that produce chrous naturally like the jc120... i'm actually very curious to see what else is out there.

 

[mikevirok]

The Express has a great clean channel. +1.

 

[daveythomas]

Up until two weeks ago I had a JC 90, the little sibling to the JC 120 with 2x10" speakers at 40 (or 45 watts) per channel instead of the JC 120's twin 12" speakers and 60 watts per channel.

A guy on craigslist was selling his JC 120 because it was too big to lug around so I offered him a trade, my JC 90 + $100 for his JC 120.

We did the deal and now I have a RKII and the JC 120.

I'm still working on my signal path, but the one I like right now is

Guitar into Roadking. In the loops I have an Ensoniq DP2 for super verbs, chorus, and delays. Out of the DP2 I also go over to the JC120 so it gets all the preamp of the RK.

Running these two clean at the same time is amazing. Sounds HUGE. I might look into an ABY box to split and go into each amp.

Although the cleans on the RoadKing are awesome, there is nothing like the sound of a Rickenbacker through a JC120 dripping with chorus and huge reverb. I can relive the 90s shoegaze sound.

 

[lyman]

I'm still working on my signal path, but the one I like right now is

Guitar into Roadking. In the loops I have an Ensoniq DP2 for super verbs, chorus, and delays. Out of the DP2 I also go over to the JC120 so it gets all the preamp of the RK.

Running these two clean at the same time is amazing. Sounds HUGE. I might look into an ABY box to split and go into each amp.

Although the cleans on the RoadKing are awesome, there is nothing like the sound of a Rickenbacker through a JC120 dripping with chorus and huge reverb. I can relive the 90s shoegaze sound.

nice! it's slowdive all over again. i bet that sounds huge with those 2 amps going at once with the rack fx.

the maverick has really nice cleans. in 'bright' mode with the preamp gain 9-12:00 there's lots of headroom and sparkle. flipping it to 'fat' and bumping the volume and mids changes the character considerably. it can go from pretty to grumpy, if that makes sense. that rhythm channel sure is great.