Roland JC-120

Yet another review!? OK-If you want a clean powerful amp with a kick ass chorus, springy reverb (I have an older 80's model) and tank like reliabilty, you stop here and do not pass on to other amps. Period! I used a preamp and distortion effects (I actually played heavy metal/rock with v. good results). Yeah the distortion is crappy on it's best day(I really don't understand why Roland which actually makes some great distortion pedals never got this part right). Stereo chorus is to die for...the best and cleanest transistor amp made. CAN YOU SAY LOUD?

Chorus A+, Reverb B-, EQ B+, Distortion (oh well you can't be good in everything) D. Versatile with proper gear (preamp, separate distortion, other effects e.g.), Otherwise a great amp with crystal clean tones. A little bit warm to the ear, but that's ok.

Been through many gigs (tossed around, knocked over, beer spilt, girls rubbing against it..or was that me?) so it's reliable, tank like (the older models on/off is a chrome plated toggle-not a push button and also made of plywood construction-not as heavy as a twin reverb tube combo but still not for the weak of armed.

Roland is great for support (I used them to get other things repaired)

20 years+. This combo amp is the one for jazz, rock, country. Good for blues (I prefer tube), but can be v. good for heavier sounds w/ proper gear with it. If it was stolen I'd be pissed since it is an older and a very well kept model (even with the gigging). I'd look on Ebay to get another ASAP.

beautiful clean sound and a nice built in chorus. U all know the features...

Ok, this amp is known for its clean sound, but whenever I go to a rehearsal studio, I'll ALWAYS use this amp, and heres why: The place we go to doesn't supply the footswitches for their amps(people steal them), so I always bring along a sansamp GT2 and play through the clean channel of this amp. I used to always play through the clean channel of a marshall or a mesa when I would go there. One day, I played through the JC 120 and WOW. The GT2 in front of the clean channel of this amp sounds AMAZING! It sounded heavy and crunchy and full! Sansamp products are best when used through an amp which will NOT color the signal too much, and thats what this amp does perfectly. It sounded amazing and I love it.

I love this amp clean and LOVE it even more with a GT2 pedal for my dirt!

This is an updated JC120 which I purchased this year 2004: EFX's Loop, Reverb unit in the preamp I supposed since the old tank is longer there in the floor of the amp, and maybe someone can confirm it has a new "Distortion" sound that is unlike the notoriously raucous crackling distortion of yester-years... it sounds better... more like an overdrive. The appearance is authentic... which is nice!
The rest of the features I am happy with ... read SOUND.

Disappointments: Roland is a big enough company to do better with customer appreciation by including the basics necessities, such as, an amp cover and footswitches for channel switching, EFX's, Distortion, ...which Fender include with their amps products.

Guitar: Rick Kelly/Carmine St. Telecaster... check his "10" reviews out!
Music Style: Blues/Soul/Rock. My respects to Paul Weller, Led Zep, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan... who share influences in jazz, too.

The features are just as I remember them since I had an older version way back when. But, I sold it to upgrade to a tube amp... But, I'm back to the ubiquitious solid state JC120. Its a great sounding amp.
In the rehearsal studio that I go to they have the usual Marshall stacks, Fender Twins, and others. So I did some comparion at high volume an found that the JC120 crunches nicely just as good as the Marshall... but even better since I put a Fulltone Fat Boost in the EFX Loop!

The JC120 is a "clean" amp but it is also very warm sounding, not shimmering at all. In Ch. 1, I go for the low impedence input, and Ch. 2 for the high impedence input which to me both sound comparably warm. The amp per channel per speaker is a great feature for the great sounding chorus and for stereo inputing for stereo FXs, such as the Maxon Rotary Phaser I use.

This is a great amp for its price. And, in the 80's it was THE solid state stage amp known for RELIABILITY.
So, say that my confidence is knowing that Roland is a reputable music corporate which a strong market presence.

hummmm... I hope my amp survives with me into eternity. So, I give it a "10" in faith.

Hoping not to contact them.

This is a great amp and much better for its price. It is no longer a popular item for major chain stores to carry so if you want to check it out it may be hard to find one on the floor. I was lucky after about 6-months of inquiring at a store they finally got ONE in. BTW... don't buy the older version since the features of this newer verions is updated and the price is still very competitive. Good Luck!

The features are the same as most of the other reviews except this is an older one that was made before Roland started putting effects-loops in them.

I purchased this amp new back in 1984 and I am the original owner. Mine is the Made in USA version with JBL K-120?s installed by the dealer at the time of purchase. The distortion on this one actually sounds good and always did. Recently I opened it up to take a peek inside and found mine has these JRC4558DD op-amps that I keep reading about in there. Since 8-pin op-amps are almost universally compatible with each other, I wonder if that?s the reason the distortion sounds good on mine but on others it doesn?t. Or maybe it's just me.

What can I say here, this is the queen of clean. The benchmark for pure guitar tone all others are compared to and for good reason. For the best chorus, you just can?t get it better than the older JC-120?s. I had to specify that because the newer ones DO NOT sound the same. There is some hiss, but it is no different than any other amps I?ve heard and used.

My signal chain is simple and basic and I make my own cables because most of the cables on the market save the very high dollar ones are just plain junk. It may sound or read complicated but when you see it, there?s not much there.

Starting with my guitar (An old Ibanez Artist AM series with Super 58 humbuckers) through a 15? ?semi-balanced? cable to a Morley Wah, through a short 6? cable to a Boss TR-2 (Tremolo) through a male-to-male ?? coupler to a Boss DS-1 or a Boss BD-2 (depending on the gig) through a short 12? ?semi-balanced? cable to a Boss AB-2 selector switch in which ?A? goes to my clean channel through a 10? ?semi-balanced? cable and ?B? goes to my effects channel through another 10? ?semi-balanced? cable. I also use the OEM three button footswitch to turn the on-board effects on and off using the on-board distortion primarily as a boost.

I power everything through a Tripp-Lite LS-604, 600 watt conditioner and use separate power supplies for each pedal which are all stored under the pedals in a metal box. Can you tell I don?t like signal or power chain noise? To me signal chain noise sounds like running your fingernails down a chalk board. It is very difficult for me to go listen to other bands because face it, most guitar players are not bothered by it and don?t try to do anything about common noises. It?s a real shame because I?ve heard some bands that could really sound good.

When playing live, I take advantage of the external speaker jacks and use a pair of home made trap-cabinets loaded with a JBL K-120 in each and put one on each side of the stage. The quality of the sound I?m achieving is very ?top-shelf? and the tone of the amp all by itself is dreamy and creamy.

I?ve had this through 20 years of playing gigs now and it has never failed me. I have acquired another one from e-bay to use as a backup but I?ve never needed to put it into action. I purchased the second one pretty cheep because it was advertised as ?dead? but all it needed was a pair of fuses and new speakers.

I?ve never needed customer support other than when I contacted Roland for assistance in figuring out what was wrong with the dead one I got on e-bay. They were very helpful and pointed me in the direction I needed to go so I got that second one up and running in almost no time at all.

I?m a life-long guitar player and been do it for over 30 years now. Although I play all styles of music, ?MY? style is along the lines of the Doobie Brothers, Eagles, Huey Lewis and the News, southern rock and other stuff like that. This JC-120 has served me well over the years and suits me perfectly. I think it?s the cats pajamas.

My amp is like 80s. I bought it used off ebay. This amp has two channels, one that is completely useless and the other that is amazing. Chorus and vibrato, with a distortion that can suck my fat toe. Everyone knows this. Not that versatile. If peavey or mesa combined forces with roland to make them go together, they would put all amp companies out of business.

I usually use it with my schecter c-1 + with PRS tremonti signature pickups. Very good in this guitar. Actually i think sounds pretty close to the real PRS models. Like BIZKIT meets Creed. But back to the amp. Since i bought it used it has some flaws but i have played the new ones and i think the new ones don't sound as great for some reason. Not as full. If i were to die and go to heaven, this is the amp i would want to hear in my ears. Provided someone plays guitar up there. Chorus is AMAZING!!! It is such a full and powerful sound. Even when not on, I would still buy this amp instead of the fender twin. Fender has nothing on this. No tubes? Who cares! I think as long as you have a distortion head (Peavey XXX, Mesa Triple) that has the tubes you will be fine. Hands down, the best clean amp ever made. No arguements, this one takes the cake

Has a little scratchy sound when i turn in up but that is because it was bought used and i have no i idea what its been through. It seems to be built like a tank so that is good enough for me!

never dealt with them. Knock on wood!

This amp has to be the holy grail of clean amps. Some people complain that the chorus stays at a slow, fixed rate. I hate chorus that is fast so this amp is amazing!

This review is an homage to my deceased JC-120 that I got for my 17th birthday and which provided me with beautiful sounds for over ten years, until it finally passed away a few years ago.

Mine was pretty well used by the time I got it in 1986, and it had extra heavy JBL speakers in it. It was very loud, and the features were pretty basic - distortion, reverb, chorus, vibrato (the distortion was not even worth turning on!) but they sounded great! There were about 10 or so jacks on the back, but there was no labeling on my well-used amp, so I had no idea what any of them were for and never ever used them.

The best clean amp I've ever played thru! It sounded so rich, so smooooth, so lush!! The distortion circuit was pure crap, but it sounded great with pedals! If your turned it up very loud to the point where it distorted, it sounded very exciting, like a clean rich growl! But the thing was so fu*king loud that I rarely got to do that. It was clean to pretty high volumes.

It broke down a few times (mostly the input jacks wore out), because it was played an awful lot, and it was old, and it was too heavy so I rolled it on its wheels all the time, over rough cement (I was young and stupid and thought it would last forever). It did last for quite awhile and was reliable 'til near the end. It finally died, but I still have the JBL speakers in a new cabinet.

???????

I was 17, and i chose it because it was the best sounding amp for the clean rich sound I wanted to get, and it was really really loud! It sounded better than new amps at twice the price.

I keep hearing that the new JC-120's just aren't the same, which is a damn shame because this amp had built a name for itself as one of the best sounding clean amps around, which it was, but apparently not anymore . . .

The 10 rating is for the old ones, from back when the music mattered, and we had something to believe in, back when men were men, and women were women, and some women were also men, and some men were goats, and women would herd these goats thru the village, herding them with the power of this great pure clean tone!

2001 model (I think). I prefer the older models due to the cheesy plastic switches and particle board construction on the newer ones. With a good pre-amp, this is one the nicest sounding amps I've ever owned. Has stereo effects loop, two channels and seperate three band EQ's. The channel setup is not what you would expect to see on a typical amp. Channel 1 is clean with no chorus or tremelo. Channel two has a cheesy distortion circuit (bypassable) and chorus and tremelo. Weird setup....and pretty useless, but since I only use channel 2, it's not a big deal to me. Very nice reverb. The Roland "silver cone" speakers are some of the best I've heard. Even under extreme distortion settings (and volume) these speakers simply put out. Nice definition and no voice coil stalling (speaker farting). Plenty of bottom end, buttery mids, and smooth highs. Plenty of volume. Powered by two solid state 65 watt amps. No tubes......no worrys. Don't let the tube snobs sway you......this amp puts out. Points off for particle board construction, plastic switches, crappy internal OD circuitry, and useless channel setup.

My current guitars are an Ernie Ball Musicman Axis SS, and a Washburn USA Custom Shop WMS. I play in one of the area's Top 40 bands. Styles range from 70's rock through 80's metal, and 90's grunge. The amp is noisier than I would prefer. The earlier US models were substantially quieter.....kind of disappointing. Still the amp has pristine clean sounds. More natural compression than I was expecting when I first plugged into it. The stero chorus is fantastic.....and the trem isn't too bad either. I very rarely use the pre-amp on this amp. Generally I run my guitar into a Tech 21 TRI-OD then into the effects return, which effectively turns this baby into a three channel fire breathing monster. No kidding!! I was SO impressed with the sound that I eventually sold my Boogie and a few other amps as well. I guess I'm too old (and too practical) to play the tube game anymore. Anyway, for the wide variety of music we play this setup is perfect. Sometimes I run effects after the TRI-OD and before the amp, sometimes not.....mostly depending on my mood and the gig. This amp is perfect for running effects, as it doesn't color your sound very much. A word on the built in distortion. Don't bother. It's beyond lame. Get yourself a good pedal. I HIGHLY recommend the Tech-21 stuff.

So far no problems. I've owned a couple of earlier model JC's and never had an issue with exception to a bad reverb tank on a JC-77. I'm a little curious to see how the particle board cab will hold up to my gigging schedule. Time will tell.

I called Roland to get a replacement part for an earlier model and had a very pleasant experience with them. The whole process took under 5 minutes, and the tech on the phone was both courteous and knowledgeable. It's still hard to find a company that can beat Mesa Boogie for support......but I really was pleasantly surpised with this support.

Been playing about 20 years. In that period of time I've owned just about everything out there. I thought of selling this amp ....just for a quick fix to my GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), but I never could quite bring myself to it. This amp is a keeper. If you are a gigging musician that needs to sound good at both low volumes (dinner parties, small clubs, restaurants) and high volumes (medium/large clubs, large parties, outdoor gigs) I highly recommend this amp with a good pre-amp. Also.....use the effects return which effectively bypasses the pre-amp when using an external OD/distortion pedal. Tube amps are great....don't get me wrong. Historically, I have rarely played a gig where I could crank any of my tube amps loud enough to sound good....not to mention the reliability issues you have with them. Overall, the JC-120 is a really nice amp, and well worth the $400 or so bucks you'll spend on a used one. One more note..........get casters. It's not light.

New model

Solid state

FX loop

Main Output

Pedal inputs located in back (for turning vibrato/dist/chorus on or off)

2x60w amp

Silver cone speakers

Main in ch 1 with eq

Main in ch 2 with eq/vibrato/distortion/chorus

Nice casters included

My band mainly plays an alt rock/jazz/punk kinda thing. This amp nails the tone I need perfectly.

This amp is extremely loud. The volume on mine is usually set at around 1. Gets loud very quickly. Really don't need to play through our PA with this amp. Should be fine for many small clubs.

I do wish the amp came with a nice pedal to turn the chorus/vibrato on and off as well as switching between channel one and two. I had to purchase a separate on/off switch for my chorus. Having two channels on the amp without channel switching is rather bizarre. With channel switching and a pedal you have some more versatility. Listen up here Roland. Many other people would like this as well.

This amp gets a 7 here due to the lack of channel switching and a nice pedal.

The amp fits PERFECT into our sound. In the past few years my musical interest as far as a band goes has changed from metal/hard core with heavy distortion to more of an alternative rock sound with some jazz/folk/punk mixed in.

We are playing our first show new year's and my focus has been on writing and completing songs. Right now my setup is pretty simple:

Epiphone Sheraton II semi-hollow body (all stock) > Roland JC120

Can't get any more simple than that! I plug the guitar into ch 2. Set the volume at around 1, set my chorus speed to around 4 and my depth to around 7 and go.

I have setup all my gear for testing purposes. I have two main guitars I will end up using. Here is what my complete setup will look like:

Epiphone Sheraton II > Boss AB2 switch > Roland JC120 ch2

ESP LTD Viper 100 (all stock) > Boss AB2 switch > Boss DS1 > Boss BD2 > Roland JC120 ch2

Roland on/off switch for chorus

I will also be including my Nady CL5000 compressor but have not taken the time to hook this up. Heck, the way this thing sounds with just the guitar plugged in, I may just sell most everything else!

The clean sound on this is superb. The best undistorted tone I have ever heard. Can be described as accurate and does not apply any coloration to your tone. Turn on the chorus and you have one excellent and lush sound that can only be described as...what you always wanted. It is beautiful, really. I played this along side Fender and Mesa combos and the clean/undistorted tones do not compare. The Roland beats them hand down.

There is some noise to the amp. You'll get varying degrees depending on your volume and what guitar/pickups you are using. When playing live with the band, it is not noticeable even when I am playing an intro or something by myself. No biggie here.

The EQ is nice and accurate. At times the bass seems to take control but nothing the EQ and a little time can't handle. This will depend on what song you are playing or what tone you want to achieve. There is a sweet spot for me around 4 on the bass dial. Anymore any it seems to add too much mud to the sound. This of course depends on what song I am playing and whether I am using my solid body with distortion and which pickup selection. Basically I set the EQ to 4 for highs, 2.5 for mids, and 4 for lows and then work from there. This amp will allow you to mess around and come up with several sweet spots depending on what tone you want.

The amp is VERY loud. Almost unbelievable. The downfall here is that the tone will crackup rather quickly and start to distort unless you reset your EQ. Find out what volume you need during sound checks and then set the EQ. I kid you not, at 2 I start to overpower the rest of the band and at 3 it is just plain too loud. How hard you dig into your strings will also be a factor hear. Again, set the volume at 1 go from there.

The vibrato is cool for some things. I haven't as of yet found a use for it but I am sure I will use it on some songs. It sounds fine nonetheless. Consider it an effect at the least.

The distortion is at very best, comical. Another poster used the phrase "shame on you Roland". This is true. I have tried to use the distortion just to color up or fuzz up the sound for say some bluesy or psychodelic stuff but I was unable to really get a tone I could use. For power chords and such, the disortion makes me laugh. Could be used as an effect maybe. Pros and cons, people. Pros and cons. I will say that the Boss DS1 and BD2 pedals sound EXCELLENT with this amp. Adding a nice distortion pedal solves the problem here.

The clean tone for me is a 10, hands down. For jazzy/alt rock stuff it is perfect. Based on the bass sometimes being too much, and the fact that the on-board distortion tone is really not that good, I would say this gets an 8. However, since the clean tone and chorus was EXACTLY what I was always looking for (and never knew it), it gets a 9.

So far I haven't had any problems. I have been playing two or three times per week with it over the past six weeks or so. Sometimes carting it back and forth to practice in the back seat or trunk (with towels under and over it). The amp is fairly heavy. The casters are nice and seem sturdy. I tend to baby my stuff. I don't see that the amp will just plain fall apart on you if you take care of it. Try not to bang it around it should work for years.

I don't have my paperwork with me but it is a three year warranty I believe. Not sure how long parts and labor are really covered. Don't quote me hear.

Never had to deal with Roland so far. Hope I never have to.

I have been playing for over 17 years now. I have seen my fair share of gear. Too much to list really. Guitars, basses, drums, recording equipment, mics, and so on.

If the amp were lost, I would have to wonder why and how I could possibly achieve this task. I would replace it nevertheless.

If it were stolen, I would replace it.

I love the overall clean sound this thing has. Almost unbelievable. A real asset to the overall sound of my band. I can play some bluesy stuff, jazz stuff, clean rock, heavier power chord stuff with distortion pedals and get a superb sound. I am truely happy with the amp.

Needs to come with channel switching and a nice pedal to control them along with the chorus/vibrato. Nix the on-board distortion on future models unless you change the sound of it.

Compared to my previous Peavey Rockmaster tube preamp through my Crate GFX212 through a Crate 4x12 as well as compared to Fender and Mesa combos, the Roland beats them easily as far as clean/undistorted tones go.

This is one of the eighties 120's. I'm not sure of the year. I called Roland with the serial number and they told me it was probably an early 80's model. Anyone know of a serial number chart on these? Features as per the reviews below.

I buy and sell musical equipment and I originally bought this amp to resell it. I'd heard good things about the 120, but never had a chance to play one before. As soon as I had about 2 minutes with it, I knew I had to keep it. You can immediately call up a slew of 80's pop guitar sounds, most notably the Police's Andy Summers' trademark sound (this was his main amp for many years). Seems to work better with single coils and so far, I've gotten the best sounds with my '90 MIJ '54 Strat. The Reverb is sweet and the chorus is amazing. I've got an original Boss CE-1 and the built in chorus on this amp is supposed to be the same, but sounds much more sparkly and clear then my foot pedal version. After playing with the amp for a few weeks, I've happily found out that it has a very nice clean sound for twangy tele tones and best of all, it takes my TS-9 Pedal extremely well and does a very exciting overdrive sound with the ts-9, a touch of the reverb and the chorus. Immediately usable and musical.

Haven't had it long enough to tell.

Nope, too old.

Playing since 1979, and I've got to admit that when I first heard the amp, I was transported back to my first studio gigs in the early 80's when I took a police album into the recording studio (a small 8 track studio) to show the engineer. "I hope you don't think this is going to sound like that!", he said "they have VERY expensive recording equipment!" Well, if I would've had a JC-120 it would've sounded JUST like that! I'm not into emulating other groups, so I wouldn't keep this amp just for the Police sounds. The Regular cleans and especially the TS-9 hit makes this guy a keeper. What don't I like about it? I don't smell tubes burning and it's kinda big and heavy. My other amps include Marshalls (plexi, JCM 800,Jubilee and a JMP-1). Fender Deluxe and Champ and a few odd Supros and Magnatones. Have a '76 Gibson SG (which was ok with this amp but not great) and a few more odds and ends. This amp really has it's own signature sound. You either like the sound or you don't.

120 watts(60 per side) Reverb,Vibrato,Chours and distorion. It has two input jacks (Hi output and Low Output) for each channel.

This amp is the standerd for clean amps in the pro world. Yes its a one trick pony but what a trick it is! It would be VERY hard to find a better sounding clean amp.

I use Fenders,Gibsons and PRSs with the JC-120 and they all sound great for R&B,Funk and Jazz.

The distortion is the worst I ever heard out of any amp but if your buying this amp its not for the distortion anyway.

I'm giving a 9 on sound just because of the distortion.

This is where this amp shines. Its built like a tank. Its also a Soild State amp so you don't have to worry about tubes.

I've been playing 10 years and have owned lots of other amps from Mesa,Marshall,Peavey,Crate and Line 6 and I can say that this amp has a Great clean tone that would be ideal for the studio. Its also a great amp to build a great tone of off with Stomp boxes or prossers. This amp dosen't effect the true voice of the Stompboxes at all.