My second JVM HJS! (Bogner Ecstasy content)

[Mats A]

I think it´s much better to get a Reissue Plexi and an outboard attenuator like the Marshall Power Brake than the YJM. It´s not as big and heavy. The inbuilt EPA on the YJM doesn´t work that well i think.

[GuitarGuy10]

Cool Donny! I agree about having an amp that has great punch, feel and responsiveness. My PWE is the closest to a really good Marshall with all of those characteristics. I find VHT/Fryette amps can also have that feel and punch. Sometimes Fryette amps feel likethey play themselves. :)

[GuitarGuy10]

I hear some guys saying the JVMJS sound thin? LOL.....what?
What setting is this around 7:00? It is as thick as the Orange or my Bogner Shiva!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vVRRNE-Txg

On a side note, what do you think of the Orange OR100 compared to the Satriani head?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq14DbB8-a4

[donnyboiler]

That sounds like OD red with the gain around half or just over maybe. It sounds thick partly because of Pete's great sounding guitar there, seems like it's very resonant for a Floyd guitar. That's half the battle y'know?

But yeah, basically, that's how the amp sounds. Pete is a great player too.

Have you checked out my VH vid yet? Might help.

[GuitarGuy10]

Thanks Don! I am n longer much of a VH fan so I may have skipped it, but it sounds great!
Have you checked out any of the Boogies like the Electra Dyne or Royal Atlantic? How about the Fryette SigX? Comparisons?

A friend of mine said I would be best gestting a single channel hand made 50 watter and some OD pedals.....

[donnyboiler]

Thanks Don! I am n longer much of a VH fan so I may have skipped it, but it sounds great!
Have you checked out any of the Boogies like the Electra Dyne or Royal Atlantic? How about the Fryette SigX? Comparisons?

A friend of mine said I would be best gestting a single channel hand made 50 watter and some OD pedals.....

Sorry, I haven't tried any of those amps. The only Mesa I've ever been really interested in was the Mark V.

One of the best guitarists I know in London uses a Transatlantic and pedals. He only uses the clean channel. He's been going on at me to get one, he's over the moon with the build quality, the look, and the tones.

Thing is, it's personal preference. I never enjoyed the feel of OD pedals into an amp, even really really good ones. I just like the tone and the feel of a Marshall style preamp doing it's thing. Some of the best guitarists I know prefer a simple amp and three or four pedals. To suggest that one route is "better" than the other is self-defeating. The best players will admit there is more than one way to crack an egg, it's about what works under your fingers.

As I say, this guy uses all pedals and just his clean channel, and he wouldn't consider changing, but when he hears my tones, he's blown away, and vice versa. I saw another really great player the other night using a Bogner blue pedal into an old Fender. It sounded absolutely phenomenal but when I played the same venue last month I used my HJS half stack and our bass player said it was one of the best sounds he'd ever heard.

The nice thing about the amp and pedals route is that when you get tired of one element of your sound you just change that component. When I get bored I have to flip a £1000 channel switcher, which is a lot more difficult. Having said that, I've always done OK flipping amps, and I've settled on two or three I really really like.

I think you've gotta settle on something that works for you and refine it into something great. That's the key in my opinion. Trying loads of amps is fantastic and you can learn loads but the best thing you can do is force yourself to work with just one or two for a couple of years and see what happens. You'll end up surprising yourself. Just my opinion of course.

[GuitarGuy10]

Great stuff man! My favorite amps to date have been my PWE Evet Horizon and 20th Bogner Shiva with EL34s. I use those now. Shiva is my all time favorite amp. However, I do love the Fryette SigX a lot and the Orange Rockerverb, and now the HJS.

By the way, does the HJS have an HJS cabinet? I have not heard of one......which speakers do you use? I only use V30s, Greenbacks and Creambacks.

[donnyboiler]

I love Bogners too. The 101b is my desert island amp.

No, there's no HJS cab. It was designed around the ordinary 1960a with 75s. You can get it in blue tolex to go with the blue head though.

My favourite speaker combination with this amp is 75s mixed with Greenbacks, so I imagine any of those speakers you mentioned would sound great. It's just seasoning really.

[GuitarGuy10]

I love Bogners too. The 101b is my desert island amp.

No, there's no HJS cab. It was designed around the ordinary 1960a with 75s. You can get it in blue tolex to go with the blue head though.

My favourite speaker combination with this amp is 75s mixed with Greenbacks, so I imagine any of those speakers you mentioned would sound great. It's just seasoning really.

Oh, I thought you found the Marshall better than the 101b? I have played both but for the money, the Marshall wins hands down. I also think a BFG amplification modded Dual Rec is one of the top 5 amps on the planet!

I think the Fryette SigX is a step up from the 101b, more responsive, feels a lot better than the 101b.

Sometimes I just want the fattest amp possible...with the fewest knobs! For gigs, I prefer two channels and a lead boost, and as few knobs as possible. LOL. Mesa Electra Dyne is king there.

[donnyboiler]

I prefer the HJS for Marshall tones. The 101b is my desert island amp, i.e if I emigrated or something and needed an amp that I could use in any situation, it's the one I'd choose. It might not be number one in every discipline but it produces professional results in every genre, as well as having two or three things that no other amp does better.

I prefer the EVH 5150 III as a day-to-day channel switcher but you never know when you're gonna get that gig that the 5153 can't cover. With the 101b you're safe. The HJS, same deal - for any type of rock, straight pop or blues gig it's gonna give you a whole range of high class authentic tones, but start throwing in some jazz, or funk, or country, and suddenly you're using an amp that sounds adequate at best. I'm not slating the HJS clean channel, it's just not designed that way. It doesn't compress or break up in the right way for many of those musical styles that exist on the edge of breakup. The 101b clean channel (and the 5153 clean channel for that matter) might not be the absolute best Fender clone in the business but it'll always get you home, you know?

[GuitarGuy10]

I prefer the HJS for Marshall tones. The 101b is my desert island amp, i.e if I emigrated or something and needed an amp that I could use in any situation, it's the one I'd choose. It might not be number one in every discipline but it produces professional results in every genre, as well as having two or three things that no other amp does better.

I prefer the EVH 5150 III as a day-to-day channel switcher but you never know when you're gonna get that gig that the 5153 can't cover. With the 101b you're safe. The HJS, same deal - for any type of rock, straight pop or blues gig it's gonna give you a whole range of high class authentic tones, but start throwing in some jazz, or funk, or country, and suddenly you're using an amp that sounds adequate at best. I'm not slating the HJS clean channel, it's just not designed that way. It doesn't compress or break up in the right way for many of those musical styles that exist on the edge of breakup. The 101b clean channel (and the 5153 clean channel for that matter) might not be the absolute best Fender clone in the business but it'll always get you home, you know?

Luckily, you will never hear me play jazz, or funk, or country. LOL! I tend to like simple however. With a good and responsive single channel amp, you should be able to cover the same ground as any channel switcher! I grew up on 2 and 3 channel amps but lately I have been enjoying what you can do with a single channel amp and pedals! For example, I could cover any gig with a Marshall VM, Mesa Electra Dyne or Port City Brit 50 but with less hassle and tweaking!
It would be cool having another channel switcher so the JVM, 101b, Triamp, Roadster, etc.

[donnyboiler]

I hear you on that one but I'd say a good single channel amp, cranked, gives you a "similar spread of sounds" to a good channel switcher but it will never cover the extremes the same way. For that you need maybe two or three of those great single channel amps, each set to do what it does best, and the guitar volume pot for everything in between.

In many ways this is what I love about the VM. It very nearly gives you two of those elusive amps in one box. If they could release a Vintage Modern 2 with just a bit more range in LDR, dual masters for a solo boost, and a bit more bottom end at the very top of HDR, I'd be all over it. Still one of my favourite amps and tonally the only Marshall that beats it is a 1959 or 1987 imo.

[GuitarGuy10]

Not sure, but I think I could play any gig with the VM or Electra Dyne with the right OD pedals.

Bottom line is tone for me - it has to be inspiring. Dude, check out the Fryette SigX. It is like having 3 single channel amps and the Fryette CL series is as good if not better.

If you like Bogner, like I do....check out the Goldfinger and Twin Jet, or better yet, the 20th Anniversary Shiva with EL34s. I like all three of these amps over the 101b. The 101b lacks cut in a band and also find it is not as tuneful as those others I listed. :)

Nice talking with you on amps, Donny! You are a good man, my friend.

[GuitarGuy10]

I am surprised the T75s were the speakers for this amp by many people. I always found them thin and scooped. My Go-to speakers are V30s, CL80s, K100s, Greenbacks, Creambacks and Lynchbacks. I will admit that clips I hear of the HJS with T75 cabs sound great.
I would maybe go T75 or K100/V30.....or V30/T75.
I would suggest a Port City cab too!!!
I am amazed at how boutique the HJS sounds, like a fully modified Marshall JVM.

[GuitarGuy10]

I am in love wirh the JS head. I can't stop thinking of the tone.

Some people may say it has too much gain or is too confusing and not simple enough but I love it.

I like it more than the XTC and the SiGX even for heavy stuff.

How is the JCM 900 SLX? As good?????