video of the jp2c

[kramerxxx]

I think this amp will be a hit, especially if it is closer to a vintage Mark than justl a rebranded Mark V. The feature set is perfect for live playing, cover band stuff.

Forget JP's rack setup, I can see my rig being a single rack mounted JPC2 with a delay pedal in the loop, a wah, tuner and a chorus pedal out front, and good to go......

I am patiently awaiting a few more videos of the amp, and based on what I hear, then I'll order one.

Notice I didn't say I'm going to sell off my other a Mesa amps, that's not going to happen.

My Mark III+ blue stripe is close enough to a C+ that I have that sound covered, so what I want is the New Mark amp that this looks like it will be. I think Mesa Should have called this the Mark 6,(no silly Roman numerals), and onlyhinted it was a new C+. That way the diehards could keep their $4k original IIC+ amps. I've had 2 simul-Class originals and for me the were a great single channel amp, nothing more.

 

[CJ Grimmark]

Maybe Mesa is going to end up like Gibson guitars. Amps have kinda hit a wall in terms of groundbreaking innovation. Amps have just leveled out here the past 20 years and now vintage amps seem just as relevant as the modern ones. Gibson pumps out these historic reissues trying to capture the magic of the old guitars. Like mesa did with the V. Gibson also copies specific guitars, like Jimmy Page, Slash, Bonamassa and so on. Now mesa is copying specific amps, JP. And everybody has thought to themselves "Is Hetfields amp next?" And it doesn't have to be a specific artist, Gibson just finds beautiful Les Paul's and reissues them. They dig up some cute story and tell about the guitars journey and then try to make a few hundred clones. Wouldn't it be something if that's the road mesa takes. Finding specific Mark amplifiers and recreating them. Marketing them with that specific amps "journey" and tone. I'm just daydreaming out loud here but since amps and guitars are so similar, in that they have individuality, each one can be so different from the next. Id like to live in the universe where that happens.

I really think Mesa/Boogie is still very much an innovating company, constantly looking forward. They've tied a bunch of new tech-heads to their team of developers lately and if You look at the entire Mesa/Boogie-line (including bass amps etc), far from everything is that closely related to their older history.

Also there have been a bunch of amps put out that have been amazing amps, but still didn't make it to the big crowds.
An example would be the Electra Dyne. It's, in a way, not a new and groundbreaking amps, but having six knobs covering such a wide range of tone (american clean + british gain, both equally amazing) must be considered quite groundbreaking.

This leads me to think that it is us, the players, that are the conservative ones, constantly looking back (rather than Mesa).
Any truth to this, You think? :roll:

 

[JOEY B.]

I really think Mesa/Boogie is still very much an innovating company, constantly looking forward. They've tied a bunch of new tech-heads to their team of developers lately and if You look at the entire Mesa/Boogie-line (including bass amps etc), far from everything is that closely related to their older history.

This leads me to think that it is us, the players, that are the conservative ones, constantly looking back (rather than Mesa).
Any truth to this, You think? :roll:

You may be on to something, as I feel like that I have hit a wall, as far as tone chasing goes. The thing is, that I'm really happy to be against that wall. The Mark IIC+ with all of its tweaking options has me satisfied. Yes, there are compromises within that design, but life is not always easy. Sometimes challenges can be your friend. :lol:

 

[kippiejr]

Wonder what the 20/20's in JP's rack is for?

 

[paulg2uk]

Wonder what the 20/20's in JP's rack is for?

Probably to power his cabs he has at the front of the stage so the guitar can interact with itself.

 

[Agustín Collia]

Wonder what the 20/20's in JP's rack is for?

Probably to power his cabs he has at the front of the stage so the guitar can interact with itself.

Exactly that! He uses the Recto 1x12 for his FOH sound (which have Black Shadow/C90 I believe), but uses the Mini Recto 1x12 on the stage (which have V30s), so they use the 20/20 for those.

 

[kreatorkills]

I was wondering how big of a deal you all think it is that there is no global volume control or a lower watt setting.
Also, el34's brought my mark v to life for me, could that have been a viable option on this amp?

 

[SamuelJ86]

From what I've read and heard, it seems that JP wants this amp to be just like his own 2c+. They're trying to basically copy the original circuit. So that means no new circuitry for those extra options, like el34s, more wattages, and the output control that was used on the mark v. Now maybe someone can weigh in how much these things can alter the tone, but that's my guess on why these and other options won't be on this amp. Or maybe it's as simple as keeping costs down. Or maybe JP just doesn't want those things. Its his signature amp after all. I don't know how much thought JP put into what the people buying this amp want as far as features go. I wonder if mesa had to twist his arm to get the cab clone put in there.

 

[JOEY B.]

From what I've read and heard, it seems that JP wants this amp to be just like his own 2c+. They're trying to basically copy the original circuit. So that means no new circuitry for those extra options, like el34s, more wattages, and the output control that was used on the mark v. Now maybe someone can weigh in how much these things can alter the tone, but that's my guess on why these and other options won't be on this amp. Or maybe it's as simple as keeping costs down. Or maybe JP just doesn't want those things. Its his signature amp after all. I don't know how much thought JP put into what the people buying this amp want as far as features go. I wonder if mesa had to twist his arm to get the cab clone put in there.

By the layout of the amp, I don't think that a global output and/or solo knob would be very useful. I do think that they could offer a Simulclass option for a small upcharge without adding a huge cost to building the amp (output transformer, power tube wiring, pentode/triode switch a-la Mark IV). But I'm no marketing expert, though.

 

[kreatorkills]

i would find it strange that Mesa the business people would let a musician dictate the final product. Their releasing this as an unlimited product so it should have been built for the masses. If it sounds killer at any volume then there's no problem. If the master sounds killer at any level than there's really no need for a global volume. But if there are sweet spots on the master volume, lets say at 9 or 10 o'clock then your stuck. If it only sounds killer cranked then they will not sell many and it will be a failure, at least as far as a business decision.

 

[Agustín Collia]

i would find it strange that Mesa the business people would let a musician dictate the final product. Their releasing this as an unlimited product so it should have been built for the masses. If it sounds killer at any volume then there's no problem. If the master sounds killer at any level than there's really no need for a global volume. But if there are sweet spots on the master volume, lets say at 9 or 10 o'clock then your stuck. If it only sounds killer cranked then they will not sell many and it will be a failure, at least as far as a business decision.

If you're talking about a Signature product, would you expect anybody else to dictate the final product, other than the artist it's made for? Think it from this perspective, if you were to make a signature amp, would you like the brand to tell you what people want your amp to be like? I suspect you'd like to be able to choose and be respected as a signature artist, after all, that's the point of the product: let any normal guy buy what would otherwise be an artist exclusive product IF he likes it. That's why it's a SIGNATURE amp, it's the artist who has to be comfortable with it, if the general public also likes it, much better.

 

[domct203]

i would find it strange that Mesa the business people would let a musician dictate the final product. Their releasing this as an unlimited product so it should have been built for the masses. If it sounds killer at any volume then there's no problem. If the master sounds killer at any level than there's really no need for a global volume. But if there are sweet spots on the master volume, lets say at 9 or 10 o'clock then your stuck. If it only sounds killer cranked then they will not sell many and it will be a failure, at least as far as a business decision.

I don't understand your logic here. That is like saying I should let someone else dial in my own amp and decide for me what I want to hear.

The JP-2C is just a hot-rodded IIC+, and IMO who better to guide Mesa along than someone who has been playing a IIC+ pretty much their entire professional career?

...... If it only sounds killer cranked then they will not sell many and it will be a failure......

I'm guessing you have never played a Dual Rectifier, far from a bedroom amp, even farther from a failure.

Dom

 

[kreatorkills]

i would find it strange that Mesa the business people would let a musician dictate the final product. Their releasing this as an unlimited product so it should have been built for the masses. If it sounds killer at any volume then there's no problem. If the master sounds killer at any level than there's really no need for a global volume. But if there are sweet spots on the master volume, lets say at 9 or 10 o'clock then your stuck. If it only sounds killer cranked then they will not sell many and it will be a failure, at least as far as a business decision.

I don't understand your logic here. That is like saying I should let someone else dial in my own amp and decide for me what I want to hear.

The JP-2C is just a hot-rodded IIC+, and IMO who better to guide Mesa along than someone who has been playing a IIC+ pretty much their entire professional career?

...... If it only sounds killer cranked then they will not sell many and it will be a failure......

I'm guessing you have never played a Dual Rectifier, far from a bedroom amp, even farther from a failure.

Dom

Your right, i haven't. And true no failure.
But i think that this is a different animal at a different time. It's a given that this was a collaboration, but mesa definitely had the final say, and for me personally i would be much more interested in it if i could play it at a lower volume and it still sound killer. But maybe it does.

 

[Bullen]

I'm sure it will sound great at lower volumes. I find that all Mark series amps do. Probably because of the focused, midrangey nature of the tone. Doesn't turn into a fizzy, bassy mess like a recto does.

I never use the lower wattage settings on my Marks. I think the amps sound better at full power. I use my Mark V at bedroom levels in 90w setting all the time at home, sounds great. My Mark III and IV sounds great at low volumes too. My Roadster sounds pretty crappy at low volumes though. It needs to breathe.

 

[kreatorkills]

I'm sure it will sound great at lower volumes. I find that all Mark series amps do. Probably because of the focused, midrangey nature of the tone. Doesn't turn into a fizzy, bassy mess like a recto does.

I never use the lower wattage settings on my Marks. I think the amps sound better at full power. I use my Mark V at bedroom levels in 90w setting all the time at home, sounds great. My Mark III and IV sounds great at low volumes too. My Roadster sounds pretty crappy at low volumes though. It needs to breathe.

I just made some adjustments to my amp, guitars, and cab that have made a huge difference. I was not happy with the tone of anything so i rethought everything.
First, i went to 10 watts on channel 2 and 3 and set the master on mark IV at about 8:30 and edge at about 8:45 and the output at about 2:00. This really let me open the amp up at a volume everyone can live with.
Second, i closed the back of my 2x12 royal atlantic. This made a major difference on all channels, much tighter and focused and the clean channel sounds way better too. The open back ended up being a mistake.
Third, i lowered the pickups, especially the bridge pickups on my 3 guitars, almost were i had the neck pickups set. This has really made a big difference on my les paul and my sg with emg het set. the het set was way too loud and bright and brittle sounding and kind of the same on the les paul.
Fourth i put gibson vintage reissue strings on all my guitars. these really let the character of the guitar shine as they are very neutral or organic sounding.
lots of fun!

 

[Elpelotero]

I live near Petaluma...wonder if they'd let me play one!

 

[MerlynMetal]

So, there is no "Volume" control on the Mark V, the Mark V:25, Mark V:35, or the JP-2C. Instead, a preset value is used. The gain knob is basically the Lead Drive knob from the Marks II and III.

So, for the first gain stage, since there's no "volume" knob setting the pre-gain stage volume, it's hard coded:

On the Mark V, it's set to about 7.75.
On the Mark V:25, to my ears, it's a little higher, high is why the amp is such a fire breather compared to it's big brother (says me, anyway).
(I don't know what it is set to on the V:35)

Apparently, on the JP-2C, it ranges from 7.75ish to the high 9 range depending on the channel and whether or not the gain control is pulled. THIS IS AWESOME.

After that, the regular gain ("lead drive") knob on channels 2 and 3 sets the final gain amount for the amp.

It's not only that. If you observe the schematic you'll notice that it also has the bright switch (to some degree) and Pull shift (Fat on MKIV) engaged and those will greatly affect the tone.
This can be undone by substituting those pots with push-pull ones and have those options switchable. Some work on the PCB will also have to be done.

Yes you are right! I had a quick look in audio taper pots technical data sheets and searched for ratio 0.6 and found statements raging from 7.5 to 9. So I guess we will never know exactly, BUT I think Mesa did a very good job in designing the V exactly to Doug Wests liking.
For example, JP stated he likes to move in the volume area from 7.75 to 9 (which would be a ratio from 0.6 to 0.9). So I guess it would be interesting to put a pot in that place and find out for yourself which value you prefer.

You should also consider the fact that sometimes Mesa is using a 5% taper 1M log pots in Gain position which will move the setting more towards 0.9. It's easy to determine if that is the case from the pot part number or you can measure the resistance at center position.

 

[kingdarko]

Mesa did another video on the JP 2C

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuIYsNWhW5E

 

[barryswanson]

I'm not sure why Mesa would want someone with so many pedals demoing their amp.

 

[Buster Leggs]

The original C+ is a very versatile amp. Many different genres of music by different types of guitarist has been one of the C+'s attributes. This video sounded to me like the JP video when he was on the extreme setting on channel three . I was really counting on the 2nd video to demonstrate a different sound , to show other examples of this amps capabilities. Something more of a smooth singing sustain type sound. I was more impressed with the 1st JP video. I'm sure for some people that 2nd video is the sound their attracted to and maybe that's who Mesa is targeting . I just expected the other end of the spectrum or a different example of what this amp can do provided there is one. Hopefully once mine comes I'm able to dial in close to the tone that made me a C+ fanatic. That 2nd video may have excited some or maybe many for that matter, but for me it kinda ruined my day. I don't know maybe I pulled the trigger to soon , I wouldn't have bought one if I heard those videos first. At least not until I got more information and some feedback.