Jackson JX3 Preamp

(Features are covered in reviews below): 2 channels with a "Shred" boost that can be added on top of Channel B, both channels can be switched with a foot switch and the "Shred" boost can be accessed via a foot switch as well. The only thing I wish it had is a bypass.

The EQ on both channels work, and Channel B has a greater range of adjustment than channel A. Both can be accentuated by adding an EQ like a DBX-215. This unit has a great 80's tone and aesthetics to match!

It's has a few bumps and scratches over the years. Still, everything is original and in working condition. Not too shabby for a 20 year old unit! The original "Jackson" labeled tubes are still inside, cooking away. I'm hoping it lasts another couple of decades.

Non-existent, but not surprising for a product discontinued so long ago.

It's amazing how something like this can still work so well after so many years. The performance matches the reputation - just like the old Jackson JG series amplifiers. Too bad the schematics are all but impossible to find, but the unit is built well and should be serviceable for years to come. It took me a while to find one in decent condition at a decent price, and I'm a happy camper.

2 ch.(stereo) tube preamp from early 90's. Ch.A clean (Fender type) and ch.-B overdriven (Marshall type). The high gain channel (B) has an additional Shred (=crunch) circuit that kicks in additional gain (adjustable).

Other features are global bright switch on/off; footswitchable options for clean/distortion and shred on/off; simul-cab on/off; fx loop (mono send, stereo return) with 20db cut option on/off; stereo master outs with independent level controls for both channels when running stereo. . The clean ch. with level and three band EQ (treble, mid, bass) and distortion channel with gain, shred gain and four band EQ (treble, mid, bass, presence).

I'm a pro violinist. I used this amp in front of anything in years between 96 - 2002 till I started using Roland GT-6 lefting JX3 as a backup system. Doing av. 85 gigs per year playing mainly dancemusic it was a relief to get all needed sounds with effects just in one gear (GT-6).

I did refound this JX3 when I went into a recording/tour project 2007 where I needed both clean and distortion tones. Problem was the static sine wawe the violin produces. With guitar one picks the note and the wawe starts to fade till you play the next note. With violin it's different. The violin bow produce more or less static signal as long as it moves. Playing long soaring sustained distortion the GT-6 gave cracks and gaps. Amazingly JX3 doesn't and don't ask me why or how. I had Fender twin reverb but my violin coocked the EL tubes in overdrive mode. I have also Vox 30 and Ebs Drome wich neither can do the trick.

I use both el.ac and solid body Zeta violins with Strados pickups and they works well with clean sound in most gears I have tested. But JX3 gives those two basic tones I need (clean/overdr.). I only recommend Sovtek 12AX7WB tubes instead the originals. Just have JX3 and some del/rev/compr. effect gear as a slave.

I do like this amp because it's easy to handle. It does its job well, and it is nice to have just few (enough) knobs rather than having "millions" of touch sensitive buttons and saving procedures.
For my basic sounds as a violinist I don't need anything more (except perhaps a monitor system).

So far it have never failed. The trimpots needs to be cleaned or replaced in some point. But the maintenance is worth doing because the gear it self is paid years ago and I haven't seen better solutions for my needs.

It would be neat to find the orig. manual/specs. but that's mission impossible.

I've heard that Jackson Electronics were designed and fabricated by Laney for Jackson in Taiwan and then marketed by Jackson Guitars so there's actually no one to answer the FAQs.

I'm professional violin/viola player since 1980. I started using amp systems 1986 meaning violin with condence mics. 1988 Barcus-Perry el.violin and 1995 Zeta Strados. Beside those I've been experimenting almost ev'ry possible violin pickups, possible mics and amps during these last two decades.

I system: Mackie 16 Mix/Dynacord Madras(active)2 x M15 + M18 sub;
II system: Dynacord Power Mate 1000/Fbt MaxX4a
III system: Kustom Profile System One
Fender Acoustasonic, Ebs Drome, Vox cambridge 15, L.R.Baggs Para ac., Roland GT-6 and lots of effect gears.

Two channel tube preamp made in the early 90's, apparently designed to give you a clean "fender" channel and a distorted "marshall" channel (according to the manual). It has stereo output and mono-stereo effect loop. The high gain channel has an additional Crunch circuit that kicks in additional gain (adjustable). I use this amp in front of anything that suits the situation, including direct recording. For your basic sounds you don't need anything more, except perhaps a headphone jack.

I play very different guitars, a Gretsch 7681, a H??fner jazz acoustic with a floating pickup and another garbage semiacoustic with an extremely low output single coil in the neck position. I find the clean channel very versatile with good tone controls that really digs in. I especially like the full bottom end that suits my acoustics very well. I play jazz, pop, folk, rock and a bit of fusion, and this amp is not stopping me. To other users; if you remove C3, a small electrolytic capacitor near one of the tubes, the early breaking down that many users report dissapears like morning dew! I can't tell the difference in gain, but now you can use the whole gain range without the sound breaking up - only snag is perhaps a tiny bit more noise; not a problem for me.
The high gain channel is just that, perhaps too high for me, but again lots of possibilities of shaping the sound. Some of the fantastic dynamic response of the clean channel is missing, but still very good.

Built like in the old days, only steel an alu, so very rugged. The pots tend to get noisy, but there is a cure for that. Like others say, experimenting with tubes makes a big difference, I am on Sovtek at the moment. The jack sockets are not the most reliable in the world, if you rock the cables you get occational noises.
Switching between channels can produce small noises, but that may be due to old caps; I may recap it soon.

I sent away for a Schematic to the address in the manual, alas the company had then folded long ago. But a tech, Arnold Stout, at Akai Musical Instruments, who apparently got my letter (!!), dug it out from somewhere in his secret drawer and sent it to me for free! I don't know how he did it but I am extremely grateful, and my local dealer couldn't believe it! Since I've now started modifying I am not expecting any more support.
But Arnold deserves a 10 for that!

I'v been playing for 30+ years, and played marshall and Music Man combos before the Jackson. I like the fact that I can mess around with the inside and hopefully get a very personal sound. Also that I can bring a power amp to suit the gig, and let the jx-3 do the tone; the whole setup can then be very light which I like, since I am carrying myself. I got it quite cheap - and today it looks outdated - but I can live with that. Only miss the spring reverb I could have in a combo.
I am not religiously connected to the amp, if it were stolen, I'd probably try something completely different.
To others: With common sense and your own ears, you can buy used, save money, and get your own personal sound regardless of fashion....

standard features two chnls.duel eq's plus a shredd control for the third chnl.acts more like a contour with added gain,gain,gain!

this thing rocks hard only pre i've ever had were you don't have to crank the gain full up.clean sound is ok but breaks up too easy.but this thing is a shredd monster.chl.two sounds like a modded marshall,shredd is a beast all its own,roars like a monster unleashed.an od in front of this chnl.screams!!!!

built well,had it though the war and still kickin'ass

discontinued,good luck.but layout is pretty basic easy enough for any good tech to figure out

been playing heavy for over 25 years,played through every piece of crap out there and this is one great f#@$%ng unit if you can find one grab it,it realy does rock.paid alittle too much but turn'd out to be well worth it

yeah..just a basic combination of knobs and stuff...VERRY easy to use.and i bet,that after all everybody likes simple things

i go with fender japan strato with sa/sa/85 emg and jcm800 50watt masterlead with 4x12 laney basscab...and this peace of **** pre-amp suits for this combination sooo perfectly that it hurts me!!i really can dig the sound i want with these...those nice harmonics and balls..it really is true that jcm800 needs some kick to rock hard and with jx3 it does it well...ok i gotta say that clean channel brakes at higher settings,but i think its more of that what kind of 12ax7 u use with it.orginal tubes suck badly.i use mesa tubes and they dont brake so early and sound warmer than original tubes.and what comes with distorion channel...u can have more distorion than u probaply never need..i dont need so much since this is just for juicing my amps own sound...and hell yeaaah i play ROCK

hmm..its built very well and can hold a barrels of beer=)=)what else u want for it?.....i think nothing

heh.u cant find much information of this pre-amp.

i tryed many pedals and pre-amps ,but this is best for now..and its cheap.allmost too cheap for its value...but again i know for sure,that it suits for me and my marshall.cant say how crap it is with different amps,but if u go with marshalls think this ugly duck=)and if it sounds bad...its coz of those factory tubes...replace them with quality and u will smile.

These Jackson preamps were manufactured in the late 80's and discontinued within a few short years. Contrary to popular belief they were not associated with Lee Jackson in any way but rather designed and fabricated by Laney for Jackson in Taiwan.

This is a non-MIDI three-channel tube (two 12AX7A's) preamp that is primarily made for the hard rock and metal crowd. The clean channel is very clean (think Rockman meets Fender) especially with the bright switch engaged.

The dirty channel has extensive gain as well as fantastic tone sculpting with the various knobs. The shred channel is pure modded Marshall. Throw in the stereo effects loop, switchable channels, cabinet simulation, as well as master volumes and you have a fantastic tube preamp that totally does the job.

Primarily used in hard rock and metal situations but the clean channel is very versatile for other tones and styles of music. The shred channel is extremely high gain to the point were you will likely find yourself turning down the gain for the first time in your life.

A note worth remembering is that changing the tubes makes a world of difference. The stock Jackson (Chinese-solid state sounding) tubes are okay at best but swapping for some Groove Tubes transforms the preamp completely. Excellent note articulation and frankly a much more tube like tone.

I opened my unit up the day that I purchased it for a solid cleaning (pots and switches) and found it to be very well constructed. Laney has a solid reputation for great and sturdy manufacturing and this unit is no exception.

At the time that these units were being manufactured Charvel Jackson was owned by IMC and as such they tend to offer no customer support in regards to this product. However given the simplicity and ruggedness of the unit I doubt that much support would be needed.

Price aside this little baby is a sleeper in the tube world. Watch these things skyrocket in price as more and more folks discover them.

Were else can you purchase a tube driven, three channel, stereo preamp, with effects loop and cabinet simulation for well under one hundred dollars?

I rate this as a total sleeper. Hunt one down, as you will not be disappointed!

No se cuando fue fabricado. Es un pre versatil, tiene dos canales (boost en el canal saturado), loop de efectos con retorno stereo, simulcab(simulador de parlante), master volume stereo, switch de brillo en el canal limpio. Lo bueno de este pre es que tiene el panel de control de un tipico amplificador tradicional, aunque seria interesante que tuviera la posibilidad de cambiar de canal via MIDI.

El sonido limpio no tiene nada del otro mundo, es muy seco, no tiene el sustain ni la pegada de un fender, pero cumple con lo necesario.
Los sonidos saturados son muy buenos, podes cubrir una amplia gama, llegando a sonidos metaleros, pero bien reales, bien de valvula. Tal vez suena muy agudo y sin cuerpo cuando se usa la ganancia baja. Pero por el precio que tiene, no se puede pedir mas, la distorsion es mucho mejor que la de cualquier JCM900 o JCM2000.

Suelen ensuciarse los potenciometros, no son de buena calidad. Y los jacks tambien son malos, la ficha hembra siempre queda floja, lo demas todo bien.

Aunque dice "Jackson electronics" fue fabricado por ROSS, como dice en la garantia. Pero parece ser q los mismos fabricantes se olvidaron de haberlo fabricado.

Un buen sonido a un bajo precio. Lo uso con una potencia y una caja marshall 1960 y suena genial. Tambien sirve para enchufarlo a un combo y asi tener un sonido mas real de valvula.

Made sometime during the late '80's or early 90's--not quite certain. I toy around with a lot of different styles, but I am, first and foremost, a metalhead. There are enough knobs and channel options to find a good sound here. Three channels, really, if you think of the Shred feature as a channel--it reminds of a Marshall TSL, where the lead channel has the same frequency base and range as the crunch, just slightly more definition and tube saturation. Other channels are clean with three band EQ, and distortion channel with gain and four band EQ (treble, mid, bass, presence). Also, independent level controls for each channel, AS WELL AS master volumes for both left and right (when running stereo). I love this feature--very underrated--because one can control the levels so that there is consistency in volume between channels. Other features are global bright switch on/off; footswitchable options for clean/distortion and shred on/off; simul-cab on/off; fx loop (mono send, stereo return) with 20db cut option on/off; stereo master outs. I find myself wishing it had maybe some internal reverb, but I have also been spoiled with my ADA MP-1 which is probably the most versatile preamp ever. I do like this amp because it is NOT programmable--for getting basic tones to stick with, it does its job well, and it is refreshing to have knobs rather than touch sensitive buttons, saving procedures, midi, etc., etc. Don't get me wrong, I love my MP-1, but sometimes programmable gear can become a headache. It's nice to know that I have this preamp if I want something a little simpler to toy with on any given day.

Guitars include Charvel Model 6, Yamaha RGX420S, O' Hagan Shark, Fender Standard Telecaster. Every pickup on every guitar gets use and they all sound fine. It does have some very noticeable background noise on the distortion channel but that's why they make noise gates. Frequency range on the EQ is surprisingly mediocre. I was expecting that this is where it would excel, but was mistaken. A good EQ device would be beneficial here. The actual tone is definitely where the goods are at. The type of tubes being used are enormously important. I love the saturation of Sovtek and Chinese tubes, but they sound sterile. I now swear by Electro-Harmonix 12ax7s. The sound is very rounded and full and very heavy on gain, but with lots of headroom. The clean channel does overdrive eventually but generally stays pretty clean-much like a Fender clean sound. Distortion is very mid heavy and reminds me of a Soldano Hot Rod 50 or maybe an old Mesa. Not as much gain as my MP-1, but classic tube metal tone. Again, the Shred channel is simply a boost of the gain channel--nothing to write home about. All in all, very good tube sounds.

Opened it up and everything is solid. Reminds me of old Peavey amps where the circuits run a mile long and are very clean and well-built. When I received it, the tubes were in good shape, but changed them to EH's. About a week after I received it, there was this horrible "waterfall" static and hum. And the volume went from off to full with a slight tweak. There was also a sort of buzzing sound when I played a note/chord with any intensity, almost like it was clipping a solid state device. I changed the fuse and cleaned the pots extensively and the problem went away, but am still very cautious because that clipping sound was unlike any dirty pot problem I've ever heard before. Otherwise, it seems to be in very good working order. This is my backup preamp, so its dependable enough that if something goes awry with my MP-1, I'm very confident I still have this.

HaHaHaHaHaHa! Errrr......yeah. From everything I have researched Jackson Electronics were designed by Lee Jackson, built by Laney, and then marketed by Jackson Guitars. As already stated by other reviewers, Jackson plays dumb when anyone has any questions about these amps. They really do deny they ever existed. I've emailed them constantly about guitars and this preamp. Finally, I received a reply (six months later) after emailing them several times with the same question about this product that basically stated that no one at Jackson knows or cares about their amps anymore, all warranties that might have applied have since expired, and to not email again. Wow. What a bunch of winners.

Glad I have it. Actually like all of the Jackson amplifier stuff--I think their cabs are the best I've ever heard. Good luck finding one!

Not sure what year, bought it for 68.00 used. Worked/s find, has 2 channels, clean and overdrive. There's a bright switch, but it's pretty shrill. Simul-cab swithc. Presence countrol on the dirty channel, which is nice.

I play a Fernandes Dragonfly thru it mostly. Also an Ibanez RG560. I also have a Gretsch 1957 Anniversary I've tried thru the clean channel, but there's not a lot of tone there, although on the bass switch it sounds decent thru it. With the pickups cranked up full, it gets a very thick distortion on the dirty channel that's great.

It's ideal for heavy, overdriven sounds, the clean channel tends to break up above a certain level, as has been noted here by others.

I loop an ART Elite FX rack unit in to it, and loop the JX-3 thru a 400 watt Sunn Concert Lead amp top with a bassman bottom, so I seldom crank the clean channel up to where it distorts. Nothing too notable about the clean channel.

The b channel has the Shred setting, which gives instant heavy crunch. Setting the gain low, at 1 or 2, gives a nice distorted tone. It's strong point is definitely the "heavy" crunch sound. Although I don't use it for heavy metal, it sounds great for jazz/rock/fusion things. I'm giving it an 8 here primarily for the crunch channel.

Seems to be reliable, hasn't broken down yet. I have it in a 2 space rack case with the Elite, and it's been in service for about a year now, no problems.

N/A...I had a heck of a time researching it before I bought it, not much information around that I could find outside of this site.

I've been playing 41 years. I also own a GK 50 watt amp, and a Sunn Concert Lead amp head, a bassman bottom and a custom 2x12 cab. I mostly play rock, blues, some jazz. I like this for the crunch channel, as I said, which is why I bought it. If the clean channel had more depth, it would be more versatile. The dirty/shred channel is about one of the best instant, over the top distortion sounds I've heard. Overall, it's been good, and for the 68 bucks I paid for it, you can't beat it!

This is a preamp with two 12Ax7-A tubes, 4 solid-state transistors and about 6 ICs. Jackson selected their own tubes and labeled them - mine came with the original tubes. I worked out some of the circuity and this is what I came up with. The tube nearer to the input jack is used as the initial two amplifying stages in row. It is very similar to the input stage of all classic tube amps. Important for the usage: the gain of the first tube is not affected by the volume settings on the divece itself. So to get the tone changed here you have to adjust the output volume on the guitar (or with a booster in between), as in the old days.

The two triodes of the other tube are set parallel, similar to power amp tubes circuits. I guess this type of preamp circuit is also the basis of MESA amplifiers producing a fat tone.

The solid state transistors are possibly the drivers of the active EQ. I can only speculate that the ICs are used for input/output transformers, since I did not look up their numbers.
I would say it is an attempt to make a preamp simliar to a MESA with fewer tubes. Indeed the EQs have quite good tonal range.
The external features have already been covered. I have not quite worked out the goods of the shred channel, the sound with shred on is not really different from shred off with a slightly larger gain.

For the price it has lots of features (and circuit complexity!) in it. Today we have smarter preamp devices but they are costly too!
This rating would be 8 if not for the second-hand price nowadays.

Channel A attempts to catch a classic Fender clean tone. It is really good up to a certain degree. Then it breaks up (as another reviewer ha remarked already) and the sound is different then. It soon gets harsh and is not really usable. (This is with the channel volume pushed up not with the guitar volume. I haven't tested a booster so far.) However the headroom up to the break up is good enough.

Channel B attempts the fat MESA overdriven tone. With lower gain settings with the right EQs settings I get a bluesy crunchy tone which I use most of the time. With higher gain settings it gets a really hard distortion which is not unpleasant and has quite a bit of tonaly quality. However it is nowhere near what a MESA does (I tried Nomad 55), it somtimes gets a metallic undertone, and can be really aggressive. (Of course it is not fair to compare it with a complete amp.)

A friend said "Good amps sound good and interesting whatever the settings you choose. Cheap amps may also sound good with certain settings but most of the settings get crap." And this pre-amp goes in between, quite often I get something interesting and also often I hear garbage.

This rating would be 6 if not for the second-hand price nowadays.

Seems very solid. Full metal shielding with a cage to let the tube heat off. Even the knobs seem very solid. If it falls on a hard surface I suspect only the tubes come off their sockets because there is no protection against that.

For my taste there are a bit too many places where I see plain metal which conduct full power supply voltage. I tried a few tubes and left the cover off while in operation - so this worried me a bit. It is no general concern in normal operation since the metal case is earthed.

Has been written about.

Although this is not top-class from todays standards it is very decent and catches a variety of tube sounds.

I heard when it came out it had been quite expensive. That it is now one of the cheapest tube preamps around means something. I suspect it hasn't been a good value then but it is now.

I mainly used it with a Yamaha custom guitar and Marshall AS80R.
This pre-amp has been my entry point into tube sounds. I'm currently in the process of getting a full-tube amp so I would not buy it again but it has been worthwhile anyway. I had a lot of fun with it!