Roland JC-120

2 x 65 Watts (total 130 watts) 2 x 12" speakers, open back. Reverb, Chorus, Tremolo. Effects loop, line out.

The JC120's effects loop is limited because it doesn't include a variable output level - only two switch settings, which don't work well for me. Also, the chorus rate is fixed - unlike the smaller (newer?) JC-90. It's a nice chorus, but not flexible.

I used both a Parker Fly and a Adamas Acoustic/Electric with the JC-120. They sounded very nice. I also use a Boss GT-3 (another Roland product) for preamp modeling, so the clean nature of this amp is a real advantage. I like the sound a lot.

Well, here's where the amp fails for me - I have quite a horror story to tell. I purchased a JC-120 at a local store - got it home and found that the reverb was broken (no BIG deal, I use the GT-3 anyway) but it was new, so they ordered me another one.

When the new unit arrived, I brought the old one back, brought the (unboxed) new unit home and opened it up. The packing material was VERY flimsy and the internal bracing non-existent (unlike older JC-120's, which have some internal bracing). The unit was BORKEN - physically damaged, although the carton was fine.

The guys at Guitar Center (they were great through all of this) ordered me another unit. This one arrived a week later - ALSO SMASHED inside the unopened, undamaged carton. I called Roland, my salesman called Roland. They blamed UPS. Believe me when I tell you, the shipping materials ARE NOT ADEQUATE for a 70 lb. amp!

So....we ordered ANOTHER unit. When it arrived SMASHED AGAIN!!! (that's four bad units!!!) I gave up and started trying out other amps. Boy, am I glad I did - I bought an SWR California Blonde and couldn't be happier.

Roland has clearly "value engineered" this product over the years (as fact which I pointed out to the product people at Roland who didn't want any blame for this debacle.) They have removed the corner bracing from the speaker mounting baffle in the front, which has significantly weakened the amp.

These amps sound good, but better buy an older, used one on ebay than risk it with the newer, cheaper version.

As far as I'm concerned, Roland's (U.S.) customer support is the worst in the industry. I have owned (and still own) many Roland and Boss products - and have loved all of them BUT the JC-120. But I can never get reasonable help from Roland.

Their web site stinks. When asked why they don't have manuals onlie, they state "It's our policy". When asked why they don't support electronic products more fully online the tech told me "guitarists don't know how to use that technical stuff" (tell that to the 900 members of the GT-3 users' group).

In general, Roland U.S. suffers from big-company arrogance. They are a giant who doesn't feel (yet) the pressure for smaller, responsive companies who are invading their market space. It's only a matter of time...

I have been playing 30 years, and, although I liked the sound of this amp, I wouldn't trust it beyond my own family room. (for all the reasons I mentioned above). Like so many companies, Roland U.S. will probably have to suffer quite a bit before they wake up and realize that even the big guys have to respond to customers, and you can't value engineer reliability out of a product for long.

Bought in 1987. Still plays like its brand new. A very versitile amp that can play heavy rock, blues, and jazz. Stereo output, i split my speakers like they are two seperate amps! Plenty of power for small to large gigs. (I've had the guitar players from Steely Dan and Earth, Wind and Fire borrow my amp for their gigs!I thought it was going to blow at the Steely show at the volume it was at! But not a probl;em with it!

I play jazz to top-40 music. I'm running it through a tube-works preamp and a Roland GP-16 effects processor. I mostly play a strat with a DiMarzio humbucker in it, an Ibanez S1520-NT (strat style) and even a Yamaha nylon string acoustic/electric. I can get great smooth sounds, to bright comtemporary sounds. The distortion on the amp is terrible, but who uses this anyway???

Not one problem in 14 years, but the darn amp covers keep ripping on me. This amp gets use!!!

Never had a problem with the amp, or any of the other Roland products I own.

I have been playing for almost 20 years now. I would definately replace it if something ever happens to it! I just wish it wasn't so heavy, it wasn't bad when i was younger, but I'm getting older now!! Maybe it's time to invest in 2 Roland JC-90's, or 77's. I wish I could compare it to other amps, but I have had this one for a long time, I have played through others, but just can't get the sound I'm looking for without tweaking like crazy!

Stereo line in, stereo ext. cab, great reverb, chorus, 2 knob vibrato, as well as 1/4" out for a pedal to on/off the chorus or vibrato. 2 channels, but only only gets reverb and chorus so of course only ones gettin' used. Distortion sounds like scolfied and trust me thats a bad thing.

Strats, teles, PRS custom 22. I've owned this amp forever and can give the real scoop on this amp after using it for practice/gigs-everything. I bought this amp at the recommendation the hottest guitar player in tucson, Javier M. The secret to this amps is knowing when to use it. This is a clean amp!! It has amazing sounds with a nice guitar. This amp lets the sound of your guitar come through and basically lets you equalize the sound via the tone controls. Almost all professional players I've seen use these (heres a list: Dave Navarro, Robert Smith, Countless reggae players, a couple few jazz players) use it for its clean sounds and use another amp for everything else. That should tell you just how good the chorus sounds through this amp, better than anything i've ever heard period. I've found that you need the right pickups for jazz playing on this amp, the more natural (ie piezo) the better. Buy a polytone or a fender twin and a t.c electronics chorus pedal to get a more warm jazz tone, because this amp is somewhat bright and tends to get way to buried when treble isn't in play. To make this long story short this amps rules for clean playing but not necessary the best thing for jazz or rock where warmth becomes a major factor.

I've beat this amp like a red-headed step child and it hasn't complained in eight years. Perhaps thats why my mentor javier recommended it to me--its bulletproof allows your playing to be heard clearly.

N/a never had to call them.

This amp is good at clean sounds and has killer reverb and chorus/vibrato. It is perfect for crystal clear pop sounds or anything else that needs to be picture perfect. One this this amps is not is vesatile.

Same as below. I believe this one was made in the late '80's - early '90's.

I'm using a Fender Strat Ultra with Lace Sensors (Blue - neck: Siler - mid: Red - bridge), a Floyd Rose bridge (Wilkinson style) and Sperzel locking tuners. I run through a Sans Amp GT2 and a Boss DD-3. I also use a Big Muff occasionally, but it muddys up the signal too much.

This is probably the only moody solid-state amp I've ever played. Sometimes I'll plug in, play some open chord and ughhhh....less than inspiring. Other times I'll plug in (same settings) and WOW! - It sounds great. I believe the dry channel has an overall better tone than the chorus/reverb channel. It just seems ballsier and more together. I rarely use the chorus, it's just to much and the rate is't steady - it seems to pop in and out. It also effects the volume (lower). I've never had the amp checked out and I probably should. The reverb is really nice - one of the better units I've heard in a combo. The distortion sounds like someone kicked in your speakers - completely unusable.

The only time I've had trouble with noise is when I was in college. The wiring in the house was crap so there was some ground hum. Besides that, it's pretty much silent.

The effecs I use sound OK. I can get some decent sounds out of the SansAmp, but it sounds much better through a tube amp (tried it through a single channel JCM800 and it sounded 10x better). The Big Muff sounds like ass, but it's no fault of the amp. I have one of the black/yellow reissues which are the worst of the series. It sounds thin, trashy, and kills your signal (not true bypass). This is also meant to bet put in front of a tube amp.

The high input on the effect channel is starting to go. Otherwise, it's never failed.

Never dealt with Roland

I've been playing for about 12 years. I've owned Fender and Peavy amps. If it were stolen, I probably wouldn't buy another one. Not that it's a bad amp - it just doesn't suit my style (i need something more versitile). It does what it's intended to do well. If you try to use it for something else, you'll be disappointed. My next amp will probably be either a Marshall DSL or and Mesa Dual Rectifier.

This amp was made in 2000, and I bought it this year 2001. The feature set has been well documented in earlier reviews. What I did like about it was that it was solid state with two line outs (mono) or stereo, and two input channels (one clean and one with a useless distortion channel). I was using this for studio and small jam sessions.

I'm using a Fender Strat w/ Tex-Mex pickups. The chorus, vibrato, and distortion channels seem useless for my needs. I pump in my own external effects. Depending on what the jam session would be I may use a DG Stomp (multi-effects box) by itself, or a combination chain of pedals Tube Screamer, Sonny Boy, Danelectro Fab Tone, Boss Phase Shifter PH-3, Metal Master, and a compressor pedal. I can crank the amp up to just about five and reck shop. This reproduces the effects I pump into it quite accurate - clean & crisp at high volumes. But when I have it down at low volume below 5, this amp has a nasty noise. I like to sometimes mic amps in the studio, so I'm critical about noise an amp puts out when operating at lower valumes. I couldn't believe my ears because I didn't notice the noise at first when I got it. I was jamming at high volumes, but then I got it in a quite room, then I started hearing the noise. I know guitar amps make some noise - I have other guitar and bass amps, but this one would make a noise like a water sprinkler you might hear at night watering the grass, or tire with a loud leak, or what most amps might sound like when cranked at 8. This JC-120's noise was something I did not expect to find in a solid state amp that has had a good reputation and been around for some 25 years. I returned this one for another one thinking that I got a bad one. But nope - the second one (brand new one - with new improved speakers it stated on the back) - had the same exact noise problem as the first one. I tried going through the direct line outs to the mixing board, and the noise was on the line outs, too! I tried connecting the speakers to another amp I have and there was no noise coming out of the speakers, so it was not the speakers that had the noise problem. I tried getting an AC line noise suppressor, but that did nothing. I took it to a repair shop and they said that there is nothing that can be done without modifying the internal circuitry of the amp. This is supposed be a "clean tone jazz amp" but many have found it useful for many other styles of music. If all these JC-120 sound like these two I've used, then it gets some serious minus points for sound applications below setting 5 on the valume knobs and applies to both input channels. What's bad about this noise is - that you cannot mute it out unless you throw a noise gate on the direct outputs before it gets into the mix. Through the speakers the noise reaches a maximum level after the volume knob goes past 5 and never gets any louder, so it's akay if you are just cranking near full blast - which hella loud in a small venue. But if you want to breakdown the sound while jamming at a lower volume, then you might hear this loud ass hiss "SSSsSSSSSSCCSS" noise. You can still hear this noise even if nothing is plugged into the amp. If your ears are not blown, then you can even hear it starting down below 1 and it gets much louder up to 5 on the volume knob. And if you crank it to ten, then the noise goes down a little bit.

This amp must be one the heaviest 2x12 around. It seems to be built to last, that'a if you can live with the noise problems it seems to have.

I called Roland and told them the new JC-120 I bought seems to make excessive noise. And they said all amps makes noise. But I told them - this JC-120 is making a loud hissing noise at low volume. So they said to have it checked out or try another one. It appears they know it makes this noixe.

I've been playing for about 10 years. If it got stolen or lost or ran over, I would not replace it. I jammed with this amp for about three weeks. I had to pay $60 to return this amp to get the rest of my money back. But I am very glad that I was able to get most of my money back - instead of being stuck with this amp. If Roland would update the circuitry on these JC-120s to eliminate this loud hissing noise, then it might be worth checking out throughly at some store before I bring it home. Until then - I'm not going to look at another JC-120 again.

Great Chorus an clean, but not for distortion. Not for Metal.

Les Paul custom w/Gibson '57 pickups and a Dime Culprit w/Washburn 600 series pickups. I used it with Boss Hyper Metal.
I play mostly Heavy Metal and this amp dosen't work for that, it's just to sissy. The clean is great, but if you plug the distortion, you get a noisy-not powerful sound.

I've used it several times on little gigs, but I just didn't get the sound I wanted. Instead of my amp, I've relied on Marshall JC-600, Peavey, and Laney for little gigs.

Haven't asked for help.

I've been playing for 9 years. I have a Peavey Audition plus.
I bought this Amp because someone recommended it. I didn't know anything about amps and stuff, so I bought it, but soon I realized that it wasn't what I expected. I' ve used Marshall, Peavey and Laney and they are way better than the one I have. I'm planning to buy a Mesa DC-5 because they give me the power I want. So if you like the clean, jazzy stuff go for this one, but if you like Hard Rock or Metal don't even think about it. I'm still regreting the day I bought this one.

late 80's model - unlike other reviewer models, this one has adjustable speed and depth for vibrato/chorus, the rest of the amp head is the same as others reviewed - 2 channels, each with hi/low inputs and bright switch. I have owned 3 or 4 of these Roland amps over the years, not all had the adjustable chorus/vibrato, and some did not have the stereo line in which this one does. I have a Roland D10 keyboard and I can plug it into the front of the amp like a guitar or bypass the amp and go direct to the line in inputs. Terrific feature - saves buying a keyboard amp! I kinda think of this amp as a giant effect box, cause with the chorus off it can sound kind of sterile. But the chorus is a big winner! Much better than many (all?) floor pedals. I have owned many of them, including the very transparent Ibanez analog chorus. However the built-in Roland chorus is still my favourite. The distortion is not really distortion. This is not an amp for any kind of music which requires distortion or overdrive. But the engaged distortion gives a mild volume boost and thickens(warms) up single coil pickups, still a cool feature. The always present hiss does not bother me as at only moderate amp volumes I cannot hear it. It does not increase in volume as the amp gets turned up.

There is a kinda joke about that the jc120 makes all guitars sound the same. When I was playing inexpensive guitars - squires and the like - this seemed to be true. The Roland acted like the Equalizer, evening up the sonic play ground. ha ha! However I am now playing a Tom Anderson vintage strat which sounds really cool through the roland with the chorus off - this is the only guitar that I can do this with! All other guitars that I have tried need to have the chorus to defeat the sterility. My gibson nighthawk sounds glorious with the middle pickup position - shining, sparkling, incredible with the chorus engaged!. The Roland speakers have real projection, unlike other amps such as the valvestate marshalls which 20 feet away drop off radically. The Roland yields a rich dispersion sound field, allowing you to play at reasonable volumes and yet cut through the drums and bass. Yes this is one trebly amp, but I always play through the low input with the bright switch off. With treble at 3-5 the sound is bright without being harsh. The combination of the anderson through the roland is guitar bliss. The squires I used to own always sounded a bit shrill no matter what, but hey what did I expect? I like the reverb - not as much as a tube amp reverb, but still cool, rich and deep. Using a distoriton/overdrive pedal solves the one area where the Roland does not do a good job. But nobody buys a jc120 for metal or punk - it is a refined sound, great for blues/jazz/spatial textures. Yum yum!

always works - very but very reliable

never needed it

I am a composer musician www.mp3.com/bacal, and have been playing for many moons now.

I would buy another jc120 if I lost this one. I was playing a 4x10 fender hod rod deville and a vox ac15 previously - The roland gives a much bigger sound than the vox, and a smoother sound than the 4x10 hod rod, though I am purchasing a 1x12 fender hod rod - called the deluxe now - cause for certain bluesy stuff the solid state roland lacks transparent spunk

my jc is an 86 ive had it now 3 years shit distortion but great chourus.very clean .

ive just picked up a jcm 50 marshall head and had el34 s put in and wired up the roland to take the marshall head it sounds great . when at home im often playing the jc without hooking the head up >I think they are a fucking great amp..

no worries there yet it kicks ass in this department also. I have a lot of guitar buddys that want this legendary amp.

donwlaod all maps and shit straight from roland website .

I wouldnt sell this bitch for a thousand dollars .im in desparate need of a quad box for my marshall head but cant part with the jc ..III keep saving my money and keep this amp for my son.

The Roland JC-120 has a chorus that sweeps real clean. As previous posts have mentioned: the distortion is a dog that barks wrong. The 60 watt each dual amp in one feature is great for stereo. Power is no problem---unless your looking for a wide speaker arraingment like Marshall Stacks. The solid state makes one want to blow out the amp to prove the engineers are not infallable. So far no luck HEAR...

1971 Black Les Paul Custon (fretless wonder). As crystal clear Wes Montgomery sounds go---you cannot beat it. Saw both Jimmy Smith's and Jimmy McGriff's Guitarists use it in live gigs. Kenny Burrell was Jimmy Smith's guitarist at abovemetioned show. You can fill up a Warehouse Space with it & also play the smallest cubicles. I really miss my old Fender tube amps though---U know---watching that blue gas in those glass bulbs warm up. Yet, this amp will not break. If you crank the JC-120 to 10/10 it will not distort...and that can ruin the feeling of warmth and feedback without pedals.

Please---someday this thing has got to break. I kinda miss shopping for tubes.

no need for Maytag/Roland repairman

Been at the instruments since 1963. Roland E-56 Synth (which sounds celestial through the JC-120) Tons of different acoustic box guitars
and cheap music station keyboards. If it were stolen I would not miss it at all. Time for a change anyhow. I think that presto synth bass through a guitar amp is killer.

This one's an '85 or '86 model that I traded for. Has been pampered in a Star ATA case all it's life. This is the second JC-120 I've owned.

Works well in just about any situation. Well suited to running my GR-30 and GT-3 through it. How brutal is the distortion? Eeeek. As most people notice, the 'distortion' that's built into this model seems to be some sort of twisted joke from Roland. Pity it doesn't have the lushness of the old "hexa-fuzz" that the older GR-300 featured. Other than that, damned near perfection. The only question is: how loud do YOU want to go? Ah, yes...the chorus. The only word to describe it is "Ahhhhhhhhhhh".

These things are built like a Sherman tank. My first one looked like Keith Richards had slept with it---it was SO beat up, it was funny. But, it still worked. I used it not only as a guitar amp (keep in mind this was 19 yrs ago...I was young, ok?), but as a bass amp (eeek!), and once as an emergency P.A. (double eeeek!!!). Can I rate it higher than a "10"??? This is one product that deserves it.

I've owned tons of Roland and BOSS gear throughout the years. I've never had a bit of trouble from any of it, so I've never had to deal with the company.

My first one WAS stolen years ago. I went through a slew of small combo amps, including most recently a Line6 Flextone Plus, which I dearly loved, but it wasn't the right amp for the guitar synth. If you want a BIG simple guitar amp with TONS of headroom, this is your baby.