Roland JC-60

features- LIGHTWIEGHT,LOUD AND CLEAN!
this is an old made in japan 220 volt model.
unfortunately it has no line in or out jacks,no effects loop,just a headphone jack wich i have no use for.

i am playing reggae in the czech republic- http://www.myspace.com/barakaba
and needed a loud clean amp. this amp,unlike an old jc120 that i use to own in the us,is completely void of hiss and hum. just a killer loud,clean platform for my pedalbard which is from guitar to amp-
crybaby 95q,ibanez af9,boss ph2/ross orange phaser,ts9,boss dd5,ibanez af9,boss rv5.
i installed a weber cali 12 ceramic in this thing and it will blow the doors off a club if i ask it to!
the spring reverb is nice and looking inside its chock full of carbon comp resistors and lots of point to point wire-ing.
the bright switch is nice and here is a plesant surprise- i a/b'd the distortion with an old yellow dod 250. its a little warmer and sounds very close!i just use a little for that barely breaking up stuff,but it will feedback musically when combined with the ts9. when engaged the distortion also boosts the signal of the pedals slightly,which makes my af9 filter come alive! :-)

well,this thing is old but almost everything works and it is very quiet.
i say almost because the three way vibrato/off/chorus switch is dead. i contacted roland and couldnt even get a cross reference part number. its an odd 6pdt thing and im afraid im having no luck.if anyone has any info please send it my way.
also,id like to eliminate the headphone jack and install a line in or line out.
any techs out there that can hold my hand through this? haha
oh,there are zero schematics for these amps........ANYWHERE!!!

WELL,ROLAND US said ''sorry,obsolete and roland cz said-''why not by a new roland cube modeling amp''?

bottom line,i dont use much chorus and my orange ross phaser sounds pristine through this amp!

my rating is based on the one sound no pedal can offer, true pristine loud clean tone.
so for that ...............10's!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this amp back in the early 80's. I had tried many amps, but I decided to get a Roland JC. the JC120 was out of my budget at the time, so I opted for the 60. The distortion isn't very good, but I didn't get it for that--I have 3 distortion pedals I use. The Chorus, vibrato & reverb are features I use--chorus & vibrato can be switched on & off with a foot pedal. When I saw a JC-60 for half price--I scooped it up.

Currently is used at home--so it has more than enough power--I rarely have it turned up very high--but in the past I've played with people using 100 watt stacks--and I was still heard--although an amp stand, or other device to safely raise it off the floor helps in those cases.

One downside though is one speaker--the JC-77 which came a little later has 2 speakers--that would have helped a bit in some scenarios.

I mostly play rock, blues & variations thereof, and I love the sounds I get. It gives me gritty when I want that, and warmer sounds when I want them--it doesn't sound like a tube amp--because it's not--but it does do warm. It's not noisy. Again though, use a distortion or overdrive pedal instead of the distortion control on the amplifier.

The chorus is classic Roland chorus sound & perhaps the amps best feature

As I said--I bought it in the early 80's--it's been packed in a car and played in many basements, as well as other places. It's held up well.
It's been gigged a bit--so I can't say for sure how it would hold up to heavy gigging.

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There's not much to dislike about the amplifier--only the distortion control really.
I do wish they'd put 2 speakers in it like the JC-77 & 120, which gave the chorus a fake stereo sound--but the one speaker is good too.

It's mostly been played with solidbodies & humbuckers, but a Fender Mustang sounds great through it as well.

If it were stolen or lost I could only replace it with a used one, so I don't know that I could replace it exactly--I would have to look for one, but would also consider other models--if I saw a JC-77 I'd probably pick that up instead--depending on condition and price. But still I would not hesitate to recommend this amp to anyone.

This is an update. I've used this amp in many situations now.
Great discovery:
I use the MAIN IN now, using my also perfect lrbaggs para di acoustic preamp. Electric violin sounds perfect now!!!
The only bummer is that I can't use the good onboard reverb anymore.

Using the main in means bypassing all knobs on the jc60.
When the volume from the violin and preamp is 100% you have to put your ear close to the speaker to hear any hiss at all.
The amp has still got it's lovely characteristic sound.
Words fail me to express my happyness.

It's solid state.

There are lot of reviews on this site, mostly written on the day of purchase. This one is written after months of intensive use.
Used it in my band (rehearsals, concerts), but also in some very quiet ensembles.
I take it anywhere, whenever possible.
My search for the perfect amp is over! I'm madly in love with it.
It truly has Personality.

I also see this as the perfect amp for all guitarists who use multi effect units/ pedalboards.

There's only one question left: why aren't there any NEW amps on the market with a great speaker, reliability, great sound, great character and a MAIN INPUT?
Just good sound, no more no less?
I don't want a hissy amp with 99 mediocre effects and bad speakers.

bright switch, volume, treble, mid, bass, distortion (I have heard better on other JC's, I wonder if it's broken or not), chorus/vibrato (chorus not as good as on JC's with two speakers I suppose). reverb.
It has got one big 12" speaker.
On the rear there's ext.speaker out 8 Ohm, control jacks for the three on-board effects and a line in. Main in and line out.
No effects loop, no headphones out.
I play electric violin and I just wanted a loud, clean amp with a JC sound. I think this could be the one! It's not too heavy and it wasn't too expensive.
I got an original cover with it.

It's not noisy. Not as quiet as my Yamaha strings amp (that's the most quiet perfect sounding amp I've ever heard - also a little quiet when I need VOLUME) but the small amount of hiss is very tolerable.
There's one channel. Don't need more. Reverb is good.
It's very loud.
About the distortion-knob: I actually liked playing woth a distorted jc85, but this one doesn't do much. Don't know if it's a malfunction.
The clean sound is great. Use the jc60 for loud clean sounds.

It's been on an attic, in a dust cover for 25 years at least.
When it breaks down I'll take my ZoomG2 effects unit with amp simulations. There's allways a PA-system where I go.

I've bought this amp from a man who found out that he didn't like to play jazz guitar, after playing jazz guitar for a period of 50 hours. So he sold his Gibson, and banned his roland jc60 (with the original
dust cover) to the attic for a few decades.
The amp looks new.

yamaha ev205 violin
dunlop jhs2 classic fuzz (I really like the combination with the jc60)
boss dd-20 delay
roland jc-60 (I use the reverb)

Made in 1975? I bought this amp strictly to play jazz with. Rolands are known as being reliable having good loud clean sound. This is a fairly bare bones model- volume 2 tone controls and useless distortion. It does have a very good reverb, and a nice bright switch. There is one channel and that's all I need. I have never turned tthe volume past 3. This thing has unbelievable clean power! The 12" speaker has the warm 60's sound that I kill for. You can adjust the tone to get a more trebly sound if you want.

If you want to play jazz, you have to try a Roland amp at some point. The cabinet has an enclosed back that is vented. It really throws the sound a good distance. When I play big band, the sound is just unbelievable. This is the fourth amp I've tried for the big band sound and this is the one. It is very, very quiet and I can swing like a big dog with the clean sound. I use it with 3 archtops, a Michael Kelly Velvet prototype, a Guild X170 Manhattan to die for, and the supreme being......a D'Aquisto Avant Garde (I am not worthy, I am not worthy..... I have left it in my car for weeks, and it never lets me down.

I never carry a backup for this, and I've been playing for 35 years. I don't baby it, but I don't leave it out in the rain, either.

I've never used Roland's customer support, but it is not one of their bragging points.

This is a simple, clean, loud jazz ammp. It's the little brother of the JC120. It's half the weight (very portable, more than loud enough, very very reliable, and I even have a local shop that can fix it if it breaks down in my lifetime. If you can find a rocker who didn't know what he was getting, you can get one of these for a song. This is a good rock amp if you use a lot of effects, but not for a plug and play guy. They're the guys who are disappointed with this one. If it got lost or stolen, I'd look for another Roland. This model is old enough that I don't expect to find a used one in decent condition. If I did, I'd buy it w?no questions asked.

Standard JC-60, I have had it since 1980. I have had a pot replaced and that has been it. Plenty of practice and stage.

Very Clean, very clean. Distortion is not used on it the Chorus is just enough and vib is OK. The reverb has never worked hence my participation.

26 years of heavy use, 25 dollars in repairs.

I need help solving the problem of a reverb unit that has never worked on the amp, siggestions?

68 Tele with a Bigsby
89 Strat deluxe.
Zoom
Boss reverb/Echo since the on board unit has never worked.

Mine was made in the '70s, I got it in 1981 as "payment" for renovation work I did for a local musician. I believe it's one of the first series made, as it has no effects loop, headphone jack or bright switch. Back panel consists of Line Out ( too noisy to use) , Ext. Speaker and foot switch jacks only. I don't have the foot switch, but I remember building one once. As I recall, I had to find a momentary-contact switch, normally closed, to make the thing work. I've since lost it, but I never used it much anyway.
This has been my main amp since I got it. I play mostly jazz/rock stuff with a nod to Andy Summers. This thing'll do Police covers all day.

Way loud. However, the volume control is biased towards the low end, so most of the volume comes between 1 and 5. I seldom turn the thing past 4. In the house it never goes past 2 or the studio walls will fall down. As everyone has mentioned , this amp is for clean, the onboard distortion is unuseable.
Mostly I use this with a Lace-equipped Tele Plus. Originally I had a '70s Tele Custom but it was stolen. They left the amp behind, too heavy to run with I guess. My pedalboard contains 2 overdrives, ( Boss OD-3, MXR) a Milk Box compressor, a CH-1 Super Chorus ( used in place of the noisier onboard chorus), and 2 or 3 echo pedals. I don't play metal, this would be a bad amp for that anyways. I can cover all the styles I play with this amp, and on jams, with the OD-3 turned on, I can get thru most classic-rock-type stuff as well. Hard to get a good creamy blues tone, at least with my equipment.

It's a tank. It also weighs like a tank. Never broken, never serviced.
Oh, wait...I replaced the AC plug after I got it 'cause the ground pin had been broken off. That's it.

Not much on the web on this model. Never dealt with Roland.

I'd hate to lose this one, but I probably wouldn't go looking for another if it got stolen or died. It's good for the styles I play but not very versatile. I'd replace it with a 2-channel tube amp, probably a Traynor or Peavey Classic 30.

I have no idea when it was made exactly. From the other comments on hear, 70's (pure guess). Generally it works fine for now. Volume wise, extreemly sensitive volume knob. The amp can get very loud. Especally with my Digi Tech RP200, which at shows I keep the volume where is automatically at when you turn it on (which is about 35, it go's up to 99!) I just put the amp volume at 1. Usually thats more than enough! Single channel. Bright switch. Ok chours and vibe. Great reverb, Never use it though, if I use those effects, it's on my RP200. The distortion, HA! Forget about it. It's very lame! Has several out-puts and in-puts that I have never used. I dont use the headphone jack because it does not play through the head phones only. I don't really use it for band practise. It's mutch to heavy and is a hassle to lug every where. I use a small practise amp for that. I've only played a few show with it my self. I have let a few friends use it befor. They loved it. Over all it's a good solid state amp.

I use my one and only electric guitar, a Fender Squire Strat with a Floyd Rose II made in Koria (never seen one exactly like it, ever)locking nut and bridge, 2 humbuckers and a single coil. I use it for rock/metal. Old school rock like Zeppelin for example. Mainly for metal, like TOOL and other more, modern, heavy bands that still have a high tallent level. (that dont tune down to C and use bar chords only.) I run my Digi Tech RP200 through it, I never just use my guitar stright into it. Can get extreemly loud. Lately I have not been using the bright switch. I keep the trebble, mid, and bass at about the middle setting, I have the eq pre set on my RP 200 on a per channel basis. with eq in generally the same level, (with out my processor, just stright up guitar) the amp does not naturally distort mutch. I'd probobly go deaf befor it did though. As I said before, the distortion is a joke!

I can depend on it. I have had it for about 6 years. Never had a single problem at all. To my knowledge it has only had one owner, and he took great care of it and never had problems. It is highly reliable.

N/A

Had it for about 6 years. In abuot the last year I have run a Digi Tech RP200 through it. Man, that thing gets good tone. I love the fact that with my RP200 it is insainly loud. I don't like the fact that it is very heavy for a combo amp. The thing is built like a tank and looks mid-evil (or so I've been told numerous times). I dont like the fact that the sound only progects stright out. When playin a show with it up a couple chairs and tilted up a little bit, I can hardly hear my self. It's kinda hard to hear well, durring a show, unless you are in the dirrect line of fire. I compare it to anything I can. In the future I will deffentally need something bigger, and all tube! I did not really chose it, it was given to me, for free! I wish the distortion was not so lame. I also wish it was a tube amp. (ok, I wish I had a 100-200W all tube stack). But for the time being, it works. Good quality, no problems, very loud, rugged, free!

I'm guessing this is a mid-70s vintage. It serves well as a practice amp and was serviceable on stage. Peavey Bandit owners were very impressed by its basic tone. I use it for pedal steel, guitar and baritone guitar. It has a single channel with hi and low inputs. It has an effects loop that works well. At 60 watts, it is barely powerful enough for stage work.

The pickups that generally sound the best through this amp seem to be single coils which seem to bring out the brightness. Humbuckers tend toward mellow, even on the bridge pickup. It has a very noisy chorus and vibrato which can be masked by on-stage noise, but is critically poor in the studio. As for distortion, contrary to what people say about distortion, I like what it does at stage volume. It's a very bluesy and natural distortion, not the rampant fuzztone sound that many wish it were.

It has been extremely reliable and has never broken down on me. When I bought it, the reverb did not work, but I easily pulled the tank out and resoldered a small wire that brought it back to serviceability.

I can't seem to get an answer from Roland as to what the recessed pot is ont he back of the amp. It may have some effect on the sound or the problems with the noise in the chorus and vibrato, but You can't find anything on it. None of the local service guys have a clue either.

35 years of playing have given me a good ear and feel for equipment. I use two Roland amps, the 60 and the 77, and play a myriad of instruments through them. Mainly, I play an Ibanez Artstar 80, Sho-Bud Pro 1 pedal steel, and Danelectro baritone guitar. Other instruments that I play through the amp include Autoharp, Magnatone lap steel, Rickenbacher lap steel and Gibson CL-40 acoustic.

Mid to late 70's model. It has one channel with chorus, vibrato, crappy distortion and reverb. No headphone jack but has a number of jacks out the back of it - line out, 8Ohm speaker and maybe an effects loop (never used this so don't really know). I don't use the distortion either - it is a joke. I used to use the chorus, reverb and vibrato but got a BOSS GT-5 instead. You do get white noise with the chorus and vibrato. It is versatile enough for a range of music but forget it if you want a really rich beafy valve sound. It is pretty trebly actually and you can definitely tell it is a solid state amp. The 60W is loud enough for my personal use. Despite all the negatives, it has been pretty faithful for the last 15 years.

I thought the amp was awesome back in 86 when I got if from a friend. Since playing for an additional 15 years, my ear has improved greatly and I now hear that it is an average sounding amp and I can't get it to make the sounds I really want anymore - still it is better than most bottom-end gear. Mainly use an 83 Ibanez Artist with twin humbuckers but it has coil taps so can get single coil and out of phase sounds also. Have used a US Fender standard Strat with the amp in the past. The amp is OK with both these but doesn't give the bluesy sound I really want. The amp does seem to distort on the clean channel at high volumes - maybe the speaker is dead or the electronics are just not great? Forget using the distortion on it - get a peddle or a better amp. It is noisy when the chorus and vibrato are on but otherwise quiet.

Very reliable - can use in gigs except it should be miked as the line out isn't working properly and never has. It's never broken down but when I got it, the distortion knob crackled badly. Even though the distortion is crappy I still got my friend to dip the pot in Freon-12 at his work which cleaned it out and stopped the crackle. My friend is using it now and he really likes it. Maybe I'll sell it to him.

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Been playing 19 years. Currently own two Ibanez Artists, one cheap Ibanez Roadstar II (soon to go), a cheap Yamaha Pacifica (soon to go also) a not-so-cheap BOSS GT-5 effects processor. My friend offered it to me and I accepted so I didn't bother comparing it to other amps at the time. I wouldn't get another one if it was stolen or got wrecked. I'd get a smallish valve combo amp I think but have no idea what brand etc. I love the chorus (actually adjustable with a small screw-driver in a hole in the back of the amp) but don't really need to use it anymore. I love the reverb also. I hate the trebly, almost overly clear, sound of the amp and the distortion (useless).