JP2c not enough gain/thin sound?

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l1nk3

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Hey!

I've had a JP2C for a while now and while it's been an amp that I really enjoy, the only times that I really enjoy it is when I have the gain cranked to MAX. I've tried without fail different settings with lower gain in ch2/ch3 and the tone is pretty lacking. I tried doing a full tube swap and it make any significant differences to the tone.. So I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong? Initially I figured it may be an issue with me playing at low volumes, but I mitigate that by plugging in the cabclone and using the -10db attenuator so that I can crank it and I still get the same result :cry: I think part of it may be due to the tubes not being sufficiently warmed up, and the tone definitely improves after playing for a while.. But I still feel like I'm missing something to get that aggressive saturated tone I hear from others.

Just to give you guys an idea to what I'm hearing, I did a test between my JP2c and my Mark V:25 and even with my mark on a LOWER gain setting than my JP2c, it has more aggression, saturation and gain. I also did a test with 2 different guitars (an ibanez and a JP6) just to see if there were any differences related to the output of the guitar, but I think generally the results were the same.

Here are my amp settings:

MARK V:25
v25-settings.jpg


JP2C
JP2c-settings.jpg


Audio clips:

MARK V:25
Ibanez - https://soundcloud.com/jacob-j-153339694/ibanez-v25
JP6 - https://soundcloud.com/jacob-j-153339694/jp6-v25

JP2C
Ibanez - https://soundcloud.com/jacob-j-153339694/ibanez-jp2c
JP6 - https://soundcloud.com/jacob-j-153339694/jp6-jp2c

Hoping someone could give me some insight on why I'm unable to get those nice searing JP2C rhythm tones. Thanks for reading!
 
Probably a tube gone. Try a new one, in every position V1, V2 etc... (not swap the existing ones)
 
I’d say try higher Treble and lower bass. Consider treble to be a second gain knob. On the original 2c+, or any Mark with the exception of maybe a c++ which has much higher gain levels, with numbered knobs you wouldn’t have high gain running treble at 5 (or noon on the newer clock face dials). Standard settings on the originals for high gain would have treble at 7 or 8 which is about 3:30-4 on the newer dials, assuming a similar taper.

I run my JP gain at or just over 3oclock and treble at 230. I’d run the treble higher but too high makes shred mode squeal so to be able to use shred when I need I back it off a little.

I don’t subscribe to the idea that marks should be run in the range of noon to 2 o’clock and anything over is unusable which is a comment I see often. The entire range is useable depending on what tone you’re after. The manuals of old suggest running volume 1, gain and treble at 8 for high gain. Which on the JP is pull gain pulled, gain and treble at or past 3 o’clock.

Volume also plays a part too. I run mine at low volume higher volume doesn’t need as much gain.
 
I just listened to the clips. The gain levels on my JP are the same as yours at those settings. For other JP owners, if yours is much higher at this setting and this is indicate of a faulty tube please share.
 
For me to get that sound I have to have the gain turned down below 12 o'clock. I can't tell you what the problem is, but on mine it's definitely got a lot more grind than that and I use medium output humbuckers (gibson classic57/57+ and burstbucker1 and 2).
 
I’ve got mine running through an Axe FX IN 4CM so I might try it on its own in case I haven’t set it up with unity gain.
 
tjt73 said:
For me to get that sound I have to have the gain turned down below 12 o'clock. I can't tell you what the problem is, but on mine it's definitely got a lot more grind than that and I use medium output humbuckers (gibson classic57/57+ and burstbucker1 and 2).

Would you be able to share a clip? :D

I feel like I have to basically max out gain and treble to be able to get a decent searing rhythm tone, and even then it feels like it's a little too choked.

The JP6 pickups I think are medium output too so that would be the most comparable to your setup.

Unfortunately I've already replaced all my tubes, including using the more reliable SPAX7 pre-amp tubes and that didn't change things too much :cry:
 
I did a take with higher gain and the results are a little better, and you can tell it has that 2c+ characteristic tightness. But it honestly feels like it's too tight or choked? I'm grinding on the strings REALLY hard to get this tone, if I were to play any lighter it wouldn't even sound right... Feeling kinda down because I prefer my Mark V:25 over the JP2C :\

Ibanez: https://soundcloud.com/jacob-j-153339694/ibanez-jp2c-higher-gain
JP6: https://soundcloud.com/jacob-j-153339694/jp6-jp2c-higher-gain

New settings:
High-gain-JP2-C.jpg
 
Yeah that is very low gain for those settings. This is what mine sounds like with G and T at 3o’clock. Note this is double tracked but it still has a tonne of gain at those settings.

https://youtu.be/uogjYHozXKw
 
Here's something I was working on this morning.
https://soundcloud.com/tjt73/song8/s-fsrBS0IK4sK
Settings are as in the picture. Used a Les Paul with 57 classics into Mesa JP2C and Mesa vertical 2x12 with Mesa V30's. Using a Sennheisser E609 into a MOTU M4 going into Studio One.
 
Thaymz said:
Yeah that is very low gain for those settings. This is what mine sounds like with G and T at 3o’clock. Note this is double tracked but it still has a tonne of gain at those settings.

https://youtu.be/uogjYHozXKw

I'm even running a higher volume too :roll: Yours sounds great and great playing as well! I'm not sure what I should do, I feel like it could be a tube problem but I did a complete overhaul of the tubes with brand new ones and used the more reliable SPAX7's, so I feel like if it were a tube problem this would've caught it..

tjt73 said:
Here's something I was working on this morning.
https://soundcloud.com/tjt73/song8/s-fsrBS0IK4sK
Settings are as in the picture. Used a Les Paul with 57 classics into Mesa JP2C and Mesa vertical 2x12 with Mesa V30's. Using a Sennheisser E609 into a MOTU M4 going into Studio One.

I can't even imagine getting a tone like that at a low volume like that.. Going to try your settings and see what mine sounds like
 
I can't even imagine getting a tone like that at a low volume like that.. Going to try your settings and see what mine sounds like
I actually don't find this amp to be that volume dependent as some amps for good tones. The biggest difference the volume makes is what it gets the speakers doing and I can adjust for that with a very slight EQ adjustment.
 
I went ahead and tried both your settings and here are the results:

Thaymz - https://soundcloud.com/jacob-j-153339694/ibanez-thaymz
Tjt73 - https://soundcloud.com/jacob-j-153339694/ibanez-tjt73

Both played on the ibanez, didn't think it was worth trying a different guitar anymore. To me it seems like mine is more choked and missing some saturation that makes single notes blend together a little bit. I'm thinking this has to be a tube issue, although given that I've replaced all the tubes with new ones, I'm not really sure how to approach this.. :roll:
 
The only thing I can recommend is doing a total tear down, then hook up just the guitar>cable>head>cab and go from there. Hopefully you can figure it out. I think it's a great piece of gear and you should be enjoying it without all the Issues.
 
tjt73 said:
The only thing I can recommend is doing a total tear down, then hook up just the guitar>cable>head>cab and go from there. Hopefully you can figure it out. I think it's a great piece of gear and you should be enjoying it without all the Issues.

What do you mean by total tear down?
 
Unplug everything ,check all your cables then just hook up straight in with nothing but the guitar, head and cabinet. Nothing in the effects loop. Nothing in between the guitar and the amp. If it's not tubes or a bad cable or connection ,then I'm out of easy ideas for what it could be. That would only leave some other internal issue and might need to be looked at by an amp tech.
 
This is embarrassing but I had a similar issue for a couple days. Low gain, just lost the tone. I wondered what was going on with amp. Ended up my volume pedal was slightly cocked and lowering the input signal.

Seems your issue is different, though, since you have a V:25 to compare it to (assuming identical signal paths). Maybe the amp itself has an issue. It may be time to contact Mesa.
 
When I first got the JP2C I was thinking the same thing. Ultimately it came down to EQ and volume. At low volume I need shred mode to get a good tone. Also at low volume I find myself turning the EQ knobs more, particularly treble, presence, and the low/high EQ sliders.
 
I just had an interesting revelation... It appears that the gain knob on channel 1 affects the gain on channel 2 and 3. Do any of you know if this is intended?
 
No, the gain on channel 1 should not affect the other two channels.
 
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