JCA Circuits GR 1.6

The GR 1.6 I have was made in the fall of 2006. It is a single channel 6v6 circuit amp (about 20 watts), tube rectified and contains a single 12" Tone Tubby Alnico hemp speaker. A very original, yet simple, control panel- Volume pot, Lean/Plush switch, Hi tilt/Lo tilt switch, Trim pot, Treble pot, Bass pot, and Cut pot.


I play professional and touch on alot of different styles of music- jazz, funk, all styles of rock, electonica/trance, blues, etc. This amp is my main gigging amp, I can practice in my room with it and is powerful enough to rehearse without having to mic it up in a band setting. It's my go to amp at home, in the studio, and on the road.

The question should be more like "What kind of sounds can't this amp make?". The amp is extremely responsive to your playing style and the dynamics as well. If you are playing the blues this amp will do the blues, if you are playing funk this amp does funk, if you are playing rock this amp will ROCK.

From how I hear it, the 2 switches set up the trim, treb, bass, and cut to shape your tone, I always start with the switches then go from there. With my PRS (hand-wound PAF humbuckers) I prefer the switches at lo tilt and plush to give a psuedo-archtop type sound at around 9:30/10 o clock on the volume. Turn up the volume to hit warp speed on this amp- 18 watt and mesa mark I killer all day long. There is some element of rich overtones and tonal harmonics in this amp I've never heard anywhere else- It makes me sound like me.


This amp goes well beyond the MANY other amps I have owned in my lifetime (a number of marshalls, mesas, fender blackfaces, even a custom bruno) in meeting the needs to grasp the tones for whatever style I am playing. It's a total sleeper amp.

I've gigged hard with this amp over the last few months, every night. It's a bullet proof amp, never any problems with it nor do I see any in the future besides tube replacement.

I got the amp direct from Jason at JCA. Extremely friendly and took the time to gather information about me and my style with music when introducing me to the GR 1.6. He walks a fine line between being a buisness owner/builder and being your friend- the guy is really out there to help you get the tone you deserve (and you deserve this tone). The warranty is good for 5 years. I've spent a few hours on the phone with Jason about this amp- He will go above and beyond to wrap your head around his product.

When It comes down to it- I want to sound good. As I stated earlier I've owned alot of amps and played a large number of boutique amps out there.. This amp is something different, something special. If a Trainwreck was the sound of the 90s then this amp is the sound if the future. If this amp was stolen I would call JCA and order another one right away. The only thing I don't like about this amp is that I don't have 2 of them to play in stereo (yet).