Yesterday, I was noodling around with my R9 & JMP-1C. I have had it for a while and had gotten used to the sound for the most part. I made the mistake of attempting to compare the sound to my 1979 50W MV head with 4x12 greeback cabinet.
I knew there would be an obvious difference. But I was not prepared for as much difference as I heard. First thing I noticed, I could never get the JMP-1C to clean up until I turned the volume way down. At that point, I could not hardly hear the amp clearly. The edge was gone (clean, but with no edge/bite). At that volume, it was fairly uninspiring. Plus it still sounded very different from my '79.
Then it dawned on me. The characteristics that was not so convincing was the 10" speaker. Oddly, I have ran the output of the JMP-1C into the 1960AC and got a very similar sound.
I have been a big fan of these 1W amps. But I cannot see using these 1W amps as replacements for a 50W amp either live or recordings, hoping to get "that" sound. Now, if I wanted "that 1W" sound, then the 1W are the only way to get it. But the fullness of the 4x12 with 50W head is "MY SOUND".
Now my Strat sounds a bit more dynamic and I like that sound. But I am more of a humbucker player than a single coil.
Just an observation. It has not made me unhappy with these amps. But I think I will be giving my 50W MV more stage time in the future.