Johnson Amplification J-Station

Fairly easy to edit using the onboard controls, you don't have to hold down a bunch of buttons to change patches unless you want to do deep editing. I dock it two points, one because I can't seem to get the J Edit software to work, and another because depending on your presets, the knobs might not actually reflect their true position. Behringer's lighted control dials on its V-Amp, although cheap, make it easy to see exactly what settings are on.

I've played Line 6, Behringer, and others, and they all get decent distorted sounds, but this one can get amazing clean sounds. It's relatively pedal-friendly, though it really overreacts to gain on my OD pedals, so I have to roll them back. I use it with a bass amp and direct into PA and it sounds good both ways. I don't use much for effects from the unit since my pedalboard gives me those.

The casing is pretty durable. I would use it without a backup.

Johnson Amplification went belly up and was bought out by digitech, so I thought that customer support would be nonexistent. When I bought the unit, the mid tone pot was broken. I emailed Digitech's tech support and they gave me a number to call. After being on hold and transferred a few times, I finally got the right department and they sent me a new pot for FREE! It would have only cost me a few bucks, but it's a nice surprise. I'll definitely look at Digitech next time I need a multi fx unit.

I use this unit for a few church services that a normal guitar amp would be too loud. It works great. If it were stolen I'd buy it again. On ebay, these things go for around $100 and are well worth it.

Very easy for on the fly changes.Harder for deep edit but not that bad. Super easy when conected to your computer.

OK , I`ve had this unit for 5 years now.I`ve compared it to POD`s Yamaha DG stomp(I really wanted to like this unit but the sound just was`nt there)All kinds of Digitec stuff ,Sans amp stuff,Korg , Vamp, you name it .Nothing sounds as good. I really wanted to love the DG stomp because it was so well built but I just could`nt get into it at all.There are so many great sounds in this box if you have the patience to tweak it.No it doesnt sound as good as a old tube amp but neither does the old tube amp turned down to one at one oclock in the morning

Droped at least five times still works great.It`s made of metal not plastic.

The company no longer exists but there web site is still there.

I play jazz, blues,old school rock,Hip hop with my DJ son.I`ve played for 37 years have owned Gibson,Fender, Hamer, Martin,Ibanez,Supro,Ampeg old twins and bandmasters old 60`s ampegs,Traynors,Semour Duncans.I have a large collection of tubes and am constantly tweaking my amps for better sound.All that aside i`ve gotten more use and had more fun with this hunk o junk than any equipment I`ve ever owned.

Without connecting it through midi cabels deep editing this unit is a pain. However with the windows sofware its GREAT!

It takes quite awhile to realy figure out the potential this unit has, But once you have tried it all you can get some great tones!

I'll be honest, i got one of these off ebay because they where endorsed by Yngwie. He usualy only endorses the best of the best. Well he was right! The J-Station unlike alot of other pedals out there has a more analog sound to it than a raspy digital sound.

I can almost nail yngwie's tone with this! But i do recomend getting a pre amp with a tube in it if you realy want to bring it to life!

Well, Ive had it turned on for over 2 years now without turning it off and its still working!

Never dealt with Johnson, Id just buy a new one on ebay if it breaks

I defenatly recomend this for people who dont like the Pod, or if you want to record stuff on your computer!

Wonderfully easy to use. The only beef I have with ease of use is the stock patches aren't balanced as to level all that well, and if you have a user patch with lots of gain and a very low level (to balance with clean patches) a bump can send it very loud very fast.

Excellent. The models don't sound exactly like what they claim (especially the rectifier) but other than that, it's awesome. The rectifier has more bite, and it doesn't get muddy like a lot of real Dual recs out there. So, I guess it's better. The chorus is a real nice effect, especially on clean patches, but it can't get almost a vibrato like some chorus pedals can.

I don't know what happened, but the master volume pot broke, and when I opened it to fix it, it ended up being a weird digital pot soldered into the board. When I put it back together, it worked fine.

Also, the casing is metal, and it's been dropped, kicked, stepped on, dragged around by cables, water spilt on it, and been in car trunks with cabs on top of it, and it's never failed me at a gig yet.

Never needed it.

I play metal, and this thing has some absolutely stellar sounds. Some problems:

Pitch shift (for playing in intervals with yourself) has some latency.
No key lock mode to avoid bumping switches live.
Headphone out sucks - just use a speaker output, and you get enough signal.
Tuner is slightly inaccurate.

This thing sounds a thousand times better when used through a good PA or an amp. I try not to record direct with this thing, it sounds a little fake. Awesome for live use.

I used when it first came out.IF FOR ANT REASON YOUR JSTATION DOES NOT SOUND GOOD YOU SUCK READ THE MANUAL. I have giged with it for years all types of music Rock To Blues. Head banger. and to read the other review of some whiner say. sounds fack becuse he did not take the time to learn how to use it.should go to Line 6 and use one of there tinny ass crap boxs.the J station can make a crappy amp sound good and a good amp sound seewt and most the time I can and have just pluged in to the PA.you can get the soft ware on line free and up grade it too.

the sound is Just right.learn to use it,very good effects. tweeked right most people over do it a little is a lot.I am so sorry the are not made any more.

Never failed me.dont need no back up.I have three never need but one,I guess some day it ware out I use it every day 5 years now 6 days a week 2 hours a day or more.

I guess I played 25 or so years,I use Yamaha guitar US strats gibson lp.and other amps John jm 50 .Johnson Marquis jm68 bolth with J 8 foot job. Johnson Millenium 150.with the j12. Measa Boogie.S.O.B..pig nose 40 tube. peavey delta blues always with J station and a Daddy o. PA Yamaha 800 watt,or Carvin 4000watt. Yamaha 18s and carvin 12s and 15s
YES I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN.
What I like is never fails. sounds good . what I hate is that thay dont make them any more, that SUCKS. I cant make Line 6 crap sound big and warm and real with out hum.. Ya LINE 6 You suck Dont beleave the bull shit adds of all those great bands using that crap go see for your self.You pay me a lot of cash I would endorse there shit too. I am not getting payed hear.I wasted months trying to get a line6 xtlive to sound any where close. wast of time and money. any questions I left my email.I been ther done that.Hate mail welcome too.you cant defend line 6.there other guitar amp modelers thare good too I just hate line 6. My ears dont lie.

Make sure you have the J-Edit software and the 2.0 firmware (freely available here: http://www.johnson-amp.com/jstation.htm). If you don't have a manual, you can download that, too, from the same location. There's also a bunch of patches and a forum there.

Assuming you have either the manual or the J-Edit software, this thing is a breeze. ALL parameters are available through the unit only but the software running on a computer sure makes it easy.

I use it with a small PA amp and two 4x12 guitar cabinets. It's punchy and easy to control.

I've had one for many years. I just recently added a second and I'm experimenting with running them in parallel. I love the sounds I've coaxed from it. I use it both for recording and live (despite what's been posted here, the casing is metal...it's got really thick paint which gives it a plastic appearance but it's solid metal with plastic knobs). The more I've dug into it, the more I've found it can do (I've got them programmed to "pan" between the two via an old ART X-15...one turns up as the other turns down).

It could be my setup but it's always seemed that it was a bit bass-heavy. But that's easy to compensate for, should you also find it bass-heavy, by just rolling it off.

I also was surprised and thrilled to find that I could replicate my favorite bass guitar sound. I used to play through a seventies Ampeg V4B with an SVT cabinet and it was an inspiring sound. It's in the J if you tweak it.

Also, the bass amp and cabinet models are worth trying for clean guitar sounds.

I've had my first for about five years now. Never a problem. Never a glitch. I didn't buy the second J for a backup. I bought it because I have faith, based on years of experience with it, in the quality.

It took some patience to deal with them five years ago. I'd be surprised if you got any response at all, now.

But there were very helpful updates. And the final firmware added several new amp and cabinet models plus a bypass.

I use it for a huge variety of sounds and music. When I got the first one, I compared it to a Pod over a weekend. I preferred the ultra-distortion and ultra-clean sounds of the J. The bass models cinched it for me. I've since tried a V-Amp and Genesis and still prefer the J.

The tuner is not terribly accurate but I only use the tuner button to mute it.

Not only would I replace them if lost or stolen but I'm planning to buy a third and, maybe fourth, to dedicate to bass guitar.

I've already reviewed this a couple of years back. Just reading to see what folks are saying now since newer modeller stuff's out.

Also I want to say to
P-Dawg

You can turn the amp selection off. And the cab selection. Not easy with out the manual or the software. Try and get the software. I'd email it to you but I'm not sure where the installation disk is off hand. There's still a website for this thing though. You might be able to download it or find someone who's got the disk still.

By the way. I don't think Johnson have gon out of business. They were taken over. Only a small company I thinks. To be honest never heard of them til reading about this little box of tricks. I think Not 100% sure, that they were bought out by Digitech.

easy to get a great sound, I have been playing for 30 yrs and recording wise it nails almost the perfect lead tone.

Is a bit noisy but if you play with the noise gate it works good.

The sound out of this thing is one of the best amp sims around, I've tried them all, some of my best tones came from this thing, it gives as good almost as a matchless hot box thru a cab simulator, not quite the dynamics though. I still cant get totaly controlable feedback like I can with a real amp but damn, the sustain and "big balls at low volume" kick ass, for DI recording you cant do much better, mix it with some real class a tube amps and "wow"

never failed yet

I play mainly rock, some jazz and rockabilly etc..

The effects are decent but not easy to use on the fly, I've tried the pod,zoom,roland,line6 and this thing has some unique sounds the others dont.

When recording I use it direct then split the signal into a real amp with a mike and pan them about 3/4 L to R and the slight delay on the miked amp adds a Billy Gibbons fatness, I have 22 guitars and they all sound good thru this thing, sometimes its a little thin but overall Its one of the best amp sims I have ever heared, I've even done live things thru a PA and it sounded like a real amp.

very simple to use. you don't need the computer just your ears and fingers. deep edit lets you tweak to any sound you desire.

i use a Dana scoop with "hot" pickups and a Fender strat with Evans Eliminators,into the J then to a BBE 482 stereo into a Rivera TBR3.The tone is great. People who dog it just have no sense of equipment setups.No way a 50 or 100 watt head sounds better. You just can't get the volume up enuff to move the speakers less you play a stadium.Preamps are roughly all the same.Tone comes from your power amp PERIOD. the effects are all fine and for gigging it sounds like a much more expensive rig. I control everything with an fcb1010. I like it. The rectified sound is brutal. i have the Marshall "brown " down.etc.for $100 you can't beat it

never had a problem. Get a higher rated power supply(1.5) and it won't get so hot

outta business but who isn't(ADA,Badcat,Tophat) all thats left is crap or break the bank equipment shame

love it.

You need the manual for deep editing. Difficult to remember the codes when editing on-the-fly. I didn't get the software with it, so I guess I am doing it the hard way. Does not have a bypass switch.

I use strats and aa LP through variuos SS and tube amps. I suppose it could make a crappy amp sound better, but it colors the tone too much. It has a very plasticky sound, no matter which model is selected. Too many presets have distortion and delay. Chorus is very bad, rotary speaker is best modulation I found. Very noisy. Noise gate works well, and so does compressor. Very editable comperssor, perhaps this boxes' best feature. Pitch shifter is very scalable also, you can edit every semi-tone up to one octive up or down, I found this very useful. Preset #72 is the best of the factory presets. Almost all of the presets are way too loud with too much gain.

A plastic Box? You are nuts if you gig with a plastic box. I would never in a hundred million years gig with anything plastic.

They went out of business along time ago, and for a good reason.

I play all styles, rock, blues, yada, yada, yada. This thing is way too hard to use without a computer. It sounds rubbery and plasticky and digital, which it is. It can only do one thing: modify the tone stack of the input signal, which may have sounded good 5 years ago, but technology has far surpassed this box. I suppose in it's day it was a wonder. Now, it is a garage-sale item. It does sound good with headphones, and is meant for recording, so right now it is a toy for me. I only use the two presets, pitch shifter and rotary speaker effects. You can't turn off the amp model, and all my amps sound beter than this box.