Roland Jazz Chorus 120 - Vintage or new?

[Zajcik]

Hi,

I need your help. I'm totally in love with Roland Jazz Chorus 120. I think this particular amp has the best cleans I have heard in a while.
The problem is that there are many opinions that the older JC120 from the 70s and 80s sound a lot better. There is no difference in price but I just don't know whether to pick up the vintage one or the new one. The new version has the effects loop, while the older sounds better (according to some opinions).

I use a lot of effects such as delay and reverb and I just don't know what to do. I really want that classic clean sound, but without the effects loop my effects will sound bad.

What do you think?

 

[DavidM1]

Not a jazz chorus aficionado but I've owned one. I'd be inclined to go new. Less hassle, easy to find and the loop is built in. Used JCs look expensive to me.

 

[Zajcik]

What about the sound quality? According to some opinions the new JC120s sound nothing like the old ones. The effects loop looks nice but the sound is the most important.
However, if my effects will sound like crap without the effects loops then there's no sense in getting the old one :neutral:.

 

[brookdalebill]

Great, bulletproof amps!
The older one's distortion sound is uh, not so great.
The clean, and chorus sounds are wonderful.
I've seen older models for as little as $350, around here.
I'd probably opt for a new(er) one.
Roland products are hard to beat for dependability, IMO.
I love my Cube 80XL!

 

[Zajcik]

I don't really care about the distortion . What I want is a great sounding clean for delays and reverbs.

Two votes for the newer one so far .

 

[DavidM1]

By the way, if you found an older one you like it would probably be easy for a tech to add pre amp out and power amp in for your effects. I had this done to a powered mixer once and it was cheap to do.

 

[Johnny Cache]

I think most the time your gonna find the FX loop isn't that great for pedals. From my limited experience using them they work better for outboard effects. I had the JC 50 for a long time and liked it for Jazz but it developed problems, some of the controls got scrachy and needed replacement and the chours wasn't that great. I found an old '80's Roland Spirit 50 almost the same amp without chorus or the "Road Case Look", it's well built and sounds great no issues. Paid $100 for it in like new condition 15 years ago. I'd say its a better amp than the JC50.

 

[Octave Doctor]

A lot of the JC sound is the stereo power amps, just that little spread opens up the chorus.

I've seen people on CL trying to get "vintage" prices for JC-120s, saying they aren't made any more. Guess they're too lazy to check Roland's site.

 

[jimbo735]

I have and still use my jc120 love it,as for the distortion its not very good.,I use it more for a slight gain.Outboard pedals work great as mine is an older amp without the loop.
Try before you buy.
I think the Roland jc120 video is still online.

 

[Zajcik]

I asked my tech and he said that it can be hard to add an effects loop in this amp due to lack of space. He's never done it before in this amp. Maybe I should ask someone else to do it.
I still don't know what to do. I really want that classic Jazz Chorus sound and I'm sure that I would love the sound of a vintage Roland. I'm not sure about the newer ones.

Is there anybody who compared the old(er) and the new(er) version of this amp?

 

[tlagosh]

I used a JC120 for a while and just put all the effects in front. No problem, unless your using studio type line level effects.

 

[AngelStrummer]

If you keep it clean, all your effects can go in the front. That said, go new and it'll last you a very long time before it needs any professional attention. Old ones are like used cars, there's a good chance minor repairs will be frequently needed.

 

[muchxs]

I sometimes share a bench with a Factory Certified Roland Technician. There are a few things to be aware of with JC120s:

They've had a long production run with a few internal changes over the years. The amps don't always match the schematic.

Like any old amp the electrolytic capacitors dry out in the older ones.

While I generally like to see old amps the opposite is true here. A new JC120 will likely be more reliable than an old one.

 

[Zajcik]

Okay then. It seems that the newer version is a better choice. I'll go for the newer.

If you keep it clean, all your effects can go in the front. That said, go new and it'll last you a very long time before it needs any professional attention. Old ones are like used cars, there's a good chance minor repairs will be frequently needed.

I keep it clean most of the time, but sometimes I use distortion or a treble booster to add some grit and I think I just use too many pedals to put them all in front. I need the version with the effects loop.

 

[soulman969]

FWIW I've played with guys who've used older JC120s and ran their effects in front and the amp sounds fine but since the JC120s are still in production I'd probably go that route. Roland charges and arm and leg for replacements parts and there aren't all that many tech service centers who work on them. So the new amp is less of a gamble. I also don't get why any seller promotes the amp as vintage when you can but a new one that's virtually identical.

I play a 20 year old Blues Cube 60 and while it's not an identical amp it does have an effects loop. I still run my pedals in front of the amp, all of them, because I jumper the effects loop to add volume and also because I can't find enough difference in terms of running them through the effects loop to justify running two pedal chains.

Blues Cubes from the '90s go for around $250-$350 so I can't see anyone getting $1000 or more for a JC120. With the exception of the stereo chorus their clean channels sound very similar. JMHO

 

[cyclopean]

I sometimes share a bench with a Factory Certified Roland Technician. There are a few things to be aware of with JC120s:

They've had a long production run with a few internal changes over the years. The amps don't always match the schematic.

Like any old amp the electrolytic capacitors dry out in the older ones.

While I generally like to see old amps the opposite is true here. A new JC120 will likely be more reliable than an old one.

Is that true of solid states in general?