Roland JC-90

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See below

See my previous posting from January, 2005. Ok... it took one repairman 5 weeks and he never even looked at the amp. I finally found an authorized Roland repair center and it took them approx 3 months to indicate that my problem is unique to my amp. Apparently, Roland alleges that they have never heard of this problem and they want me to ship it to them at my expense to take a look-see. C'mom guys...if this is under warranty then you pay for the shipping!!!! On the other hand, the repair shop feels that this problem will not get worse and should not effect(blow-up)the amp. Apparently, what is happening is that when I power up, the amp sends a small voltage surge to the speakers causing a static-like noise that lasts around 10 seconds. Forget the fact that the amp worked fine for over 2 years before this started. I really feel like Roland won't stand behind this problem. If this is due to manufacturer defect, then I should be entitled to a free repair or a replacement. It's not my fault I live 3,000 miles from where they are!! They had no problem taking my money when I bought it in the first place. Anyway, after getting the amp back it sat in my garage for 3 months and recently I needed it for a small gig. When I powered up, it still made the noise but otherwise worked fine. I can't help it but I still like the sound of this amp. I did bring a back-up amp which is something I have never done in 25 years of gigging(thanks to Peavey amps). I still think this is the beginning of the end of this amp but I guess time and further gigging will tell. I was going to sell it but I'd rather not stick someone else with my problem.

Boo...hiss...lousy as always. You stink Roland. The customer service rep couldn't have been nastier when I tried to find a valid service center that was within 50 miles of my home. By the way, you need to "police" your alleged repair centers as one of them would not return my phone calls for 3 weeks before you finally advised me about calling another one. What good is a warranty when you're gonna clip me for shipping and your factory repair shop will hold onto the amp for months and then tell me that you could'nt find anything wrong with it. Time is money!! I already paid over $650.00 for this amp w/a after-market cover and one FS 1 switch. No problem making the sale; every problem backing it up. BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!

8 for sound.
7 for features.
4 for reliability. (The noise problem plus I replaced the reverb tank that died. That was $100.00!!)
1 for Roland treating its' customers' badly.

My JC-90 was made sometime between 2000 and 2003. Read other reviews below if you want to know what features it has. In my opinion it has two main sounds: Clean and Chorus. Reverb effect is decent. I will not speak of the distortion until later. I play in church, and this amp has well more than enough volume. I usually don't go past a quarter turn on the volume knob, unless I want a bunch of gramma's to refuse serving me sandwiches at lunchtime. I enjoy the headphone jack. It gives a pretty good simulation of what the amp normally sounds like through the cab. The line out, however, is fairly noisy. Better off micing the amp or using a noise supressor perhaps. The equalizer knobs are useful, however don't think that you'll get a completely different sound out of this amp by playing with those knobs. Like I said earlier, it basically has two sounds.

First and foremost, you must realize that this is a "Jazz Chorus" amp. It is a "clean" amp. It is not made for distortion. You either like the sound of this amp or you don't. I happen to love the clean and chorus sounds from this amp. That's why I bought it.

I play in church, so the chorus is perfect. I play with an Epiphone Les Paul standard through a Boss SD-1 Superoverdrive and an MT-2 Metalzone. I think the clean tone from this amp is very warm and full and I love the true stereo chorus effect on this amp I knew that the distortion was pretty crappy on this amp before I bought it, however after a while I thought it would be nice once and a while to jam some rock tunes with my friends. So, I have found that the Boss Metalzone pedal will actually give a pretty decent distortion if you tweak it right. It will give you a much beefier crunch than the crappy and thin onboard distortion. The onboard distortion can be used on it's lowest setting to make the tone a little dirtier if you want, but if you want slightly more electric and dirty tone, you're better off getting a Boss Super Overdrive as it will give you a better sound and more versatility if you're willing to pay the extra money.

I bought this amp because I loved the clean and chorus sounds. It is a clean amp and if you buy it you should be aware of this. If you're looking to play a lot of distortion and rock, punk, or metal. Then you're better off getting an amp that's made for that type of music.

However, if you're in my situation, and you already own this amp and you want to get some good distortion tones out of it for jamming some rock without going out and buying a new amp, then the Metalzone is the way to go. It's the closest thing to making this amp sound like a Marshall.

Only had it for a few months, hasn't given any grief so far. However from reading some of the reviews below about the inside components, I'll be sure to baby this amp as much as I can.

Never had to call them. Yet.

Like I said earlier, you either like the clean and chorus sounds or you won't. I love them. That's why I bought it. If you want heavy distortion sounds then don't buy this amp. However if you already own it and are wondering if a good distortion tone is possible from this amp, then try a Metalzone. It does a good job.

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See my 3-18-04 review... As you may have guessed from all the other reviews, you will either like the sound of this amp or hate it. I still personally like it but in addition to the bad reverb tank, it has now developed a new problem. When I power up I get a loud noise similar to when you whack the reverb tank. It fades after about 5 seconds. This is with the reverb volume and the master volume off! It used to do this every so often but it now does it every time I power up. Apparently, something is frying out and my electronics repair guy has not been able to figure out the why and how after having the amp for 3 weeks. I am not sure I can trust this amp not to burn out on a gig or during transportation to one. This amp is only 2 years old and already has been in the shop twice. I am back to using my trusty 20 year old Peavey Stereo Chorus 400. Unfortunately, the weight is killing me but the Peavey continues to work flawlessly. I know I will take a beating on it but if this problem can not be assuredly repaired, I will be forced to get rid of the Roland immediately. As a pro musician, I'm not going be messed up by a piece of gear on a job. I also am not carrying 2 amps to the gig. I know as much as I love the sound of the JC, I will not, no way, no how, purchase another. Roland has most likely lost my business. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice some tone for product quality.

In response to the posting immediately below: I am the "previous poster" to whom you allude. I think you've countered with a fine point regarding cheap parts. Perhaps my amp, at two years old, isn't old enough to serve as much of a reference point for this model--by which I mean, it hasn't yet had enough wear and tear.

About the quality of older Rolands, I had a JC 77 years ago which gave me some problems (chip, reverb, on light, some speaker buzz). While I have certainly played through a 120, I've not owned one. I agree they sound better. They should, of course.

Anyway, perhaps the best support for your opinion is the fact that I seem to have a good 90, while you don't: if the quality varies that widely, that certainly seems to indicate inconsistancy or poor production or parts or quality control on some level.

I still rate mine highly (so far) but I do baby it a bit.

Follow-up to my review below: well, I've had the input jacks fixed. Just as I expected, the whole circuit board had to be replaced, not just the jacks themselves. I'll stand by my original comment: these amps are made of CHEAP & FLIMSY COMPONENTS. Roland has really cut a bunch of corners here. Just the other day, I had a chance to play an old JC-120 again at a studio, and I am more convinced than ever that the JC-90 is much, much inferior in both construction quality and sound. Don't buy it. Spend a little more and get the JC-120. By the way, to address another poster's comment, as a guitar repairman, I am the last person on earth to blame the manufacturer for the condition that most of my junk comes to me in. Precisely because I have spent 20 years taking broken guitars and restoring them, I have learned to appreciate strong, durable components and construction quality. Both are lacking on the JC-90. Sure, this amp is great when it's brand new. Just hope you never have to fix anything on it a few years down the road. The JC-120 is a nearly bulletproof workhorse. The JC-90 isn't. End of story.

I have had this amp for a year and one half.
It has had no problems whatsoever. Has Line out, headphone jack, Stereo effects loop, 2 ten inch speakers, best chorus out there. It is loud and clean.

This is a good amp if you want a clean sound.
Another poster here said the reverb was digital and fakey. It is not digital. It consists of an Accutronics 91/2" (short) side mounded 3 spring tank ( # 8DB2C1E). The Reverb is a bit lackluster but is easily corrected by ordering and replacing the small tank with a 17" bottom mount tank (# 9DB2C1B). This costs $29 plus S/H direct from Accutronics ( http://www.accutronicsreverb.com/ )and lends a very lush sounding reverb. Best $29 investment I have made. You will have to lengthen the RCA Reverb tank cables or do what I did... use a pair of 2 or 3 foot stereo cables with RCA Jacks and get a $6.49 adaptor from Radio Shack that mates the two sets of cables easily together. No other Chorus has come close to the sound of this amps but you can over do it. I typically never go above 1/3 on the rate and 2/3 on the depth controls. The distortion section is lousy and I never use it. For those who want a set of speakers that make this amp really shine...try WeberVST Michigan's (www.webervst.com)....EV sounding, big, bold, clean and smooth without sounding the least bit sterile.

Never given me any trouble for the last 1 1/2 years.

Have only used them to order schematics for the amp. Very fast and courteous.

I absolutely love this amp. I have compared it to Fender Twins, Deluxe, Super Reverbs and Pro Reverbs. For clean it does well, however you will never get that good ole Tube overdrive sound here.

Follow-up to earlier review. This is the cat's arse for jazz. I use it for solo playing. All the options I could want. It also works well for ensemble playing, accoustics if needed, and it takes effects very well if you're into that sort of thing. Complete sound shaping with 4--count 'em, 4--tone knobs. Much more versatile than bog standard tube amps. Not that I'm panning those, I just think there is much more sound pliability than with, say, a typical sounds-like-blues-no-matter-what-you-do Fender. This responds well to those metal and punk and psychedelic effect moments, too.

And who doesn't dig coasters on the bottom of thier amplifier? Sillies, that's who.

But solo jazz is this thing's forte. I mean wow. A truly professional, world class amplifier. The only hi fidelity amp I've ever heard that is commonly available. Polytones are great, too, but harder to come by, and they have much less variety in their tone. Roland's chorus is a constant revelation to me. I've finally opened my mind to chorus after years of shunning it. The reverb is deep enough to cop the feel of...I don't know...say...the Cowboy Junkies' Trinity Sessions. Probably best to go back to yer bluesy old Fender for surf, though, as they are still the king of that stuff. Also, that Fender tube shimmer is just damned sparkly. But the JC 90? It's a very rich sound that spans the huge distance between New Wave and Bebop era jazz. Eminently useful. The quality of the sound is instantly evident to everyone in earshot. If you are good, everyone will know it. If you are bad, though, everyone will know it. The ultra clean, clear, balanced tone demands that you feed it a commensurate level of quality. Or it will shame you. Read further below to hear of some people's frustrations.

Much less fragile than its inbred tube-saddled cousins. A couple of years old and no worries to date.

No experience yet. If they ever screw me over, you'll hear about it--ha.

All ratings indicate a top value for money. Also, a karmic balancing for this amplifier's review column ratings is long overdue. This amp is as good as you are--no matter who you are. That's a boon to some and a curse to others, I guess. No, I'm not saying I'm somkind of Ed Bickert or Jim Hall. I'm saying this would be good enough for anyone.

Wow, a lot of the "guitarist" below have bashed this amp for sounding "flat" and not "tube" like. This amp is for jazz or a pure tone that lets your guitar and most importantly, your finger work shine through. I truly believe an amp of this calibur is only for seasoned musicians, not a guitar player who cranks their tube amp and plays "Power Chords". My intention is not to flame on anybody, but just to make people realiize that this is not a rock amp or a beginner's amp. Don't bash on a great product just because you can't provide some level of musicianship to the table or are clearly kidding your self of the type of product it is. Its not a tube marshall, not a tube fender, vox, mesa, dumble, whatever. Its a Roland JAZZ Chorus.

As below.

Personally, I find the lack of tremolo and inclusion of distortion is annoying. Why, with all the laughing and complaints doesn't Roland just STOP it already with the distortion? Why oh why? Have a MEETING, people. Someone out there translate this into Japanese so we can get some action. Happily I don't need or use the distortion. It just bugs me. Wastes space. There, I said it. Nice options on the backside, as it were. I mean, it's all there THAT way.

Jazz. It's a...um...Jazz Chorus. Please discontinue filling this section up with irrelevant assessments which skew reality: if you play blues, rock, whatever you want to call it, this is not your amp. Judging by some of the spelling, I'd hazard a guess some individuals can't read where it clearly states "Jazz Chorus". Again, someone please translate. Yes, it is flat. It's supposed to be flat. Flat is desirable if you have, for example, a nice-sounding archtop. It doesn't colour the sound as much as even a clean Fender, and that's what lets you hear more of the true tone qualities of your instrument.

So, rating it for jazz, then, and only jazz (because remember: that's all it's for, guitar-wise), this is great. I use it for solo guitar playing. No, not wanking in a rock band: playing unaccompanied. It is a tad boxish, but again, this is normally more desirable in a jazz context where midrange is often boosted rather than cut.

I generally loathe chorus, but this one doesn't make me wish I was dead. Not that I use it too much. I actually try the manual setting and dial in next to no rate (while keeping some depth) and then I still get that ping-pongy stereo effect to the sound.

Overall, this is unnecessarily powerful for my coffee house needs, but headroom is a good thing, and this is as small as I could go and still get the clean bass response I want out of my Heritage H-575.

Quite comparable--somewhat obviously--to the JC-77 I used to own 5 years ago. I confess I like this better than I liked that largely because my own ability to make noise with it has improved and matured. Please consider that yourselves when writing and assessing reviews. That and try on some realistic expectations.

This is from the dark years of Roland's JC-90 model (early 2003), but so far it's alright with gentle use.

It would be nice never to have to know.

I've played off and on since age ten (I am in my 30s).

Other amps I've owned include: Fender Princeton Reverb (silver face--overall a dandy amp); JC-77 (virtually identical to this amp); Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (surprisingly good clean tone, but not much clean headroom). For jazz it's as good as or better than any of these. But, again, only for jazz.

Highly sensitive to interference, unfortunately. These old-style circuit boards scare me, but not as much as tubes scare me. I like the idea of amp modelling, but I really don't need much variety in tone, and the speakers/sound quality usually seems to lack by comparison with something like the JC-90. Whatever. It's all subjective and I just feel like typing right now, okay?

As long as it doesn't break down, it does what it needs to. If you're too amp/tone fussy (if you are not a professional, I mean, and if you are, you are not bothering to read these ratings, of course) you should perhaps practice more. Or quit. You should be able to make most amps sound fine.

The JC-90 gives you good basic tools to work with. At least new. Oh yeah, that's another thing: watch for people who pan USED equipment and blame it on the manufacturer. It might be misplaced blame. At least in part. Just a thought.

The JC-90 is a one-trick pony. It has a good clean chorus, and that's the only reason for getting it. The "distortion" is a total joke, it can only muddy up the sound a little, that's all. Granted, no one buys the Jazz Chorus for distortion, but still. The reverb is terrible. The tremolo, as found on the JC-120, is missing here. It does have some ins & outs in the back, but those are useless to me. Would've been better if they had the tremolo instead.

I have always wanted a JC-120, but put off buying one for years because of the high price. I got a great deal on this amp ($200 used), but I am still disappointed. It's NOTHING like the JC-120. A vague approximation, not at all the same thing in a smaller package. Not the same sound, not the same quality.

My amp had a loose, intermittent input jack on the high channel. No problem, I thought, I've been repairing guitars for 20 years, I can replace an input jack. WRONG. When I opened this amp up, I discovered that the input jack - and all the other jacks - was a FLIMSY PLASTIC CONNECTOR PERMANENTLY SOLDERED TO THE MAIN CIRCUIT BOARD!!! The slightest sideways pressure from a hastily inserted guitar cord would tear it off the board, which is exactly what must have happened on my amp. And the only way to repair it would be to replace the whole board. The nuts are all plastic, too. I tried tightening a loose one and it simply crumbled. I put a new metal nut on, but was afraid to tighten it properly, as the whole assembly was too flimsy. So what is a simple, three-minute repair on any guitar or a quality amp is impossible here. It will have to be taken to an electronics repairman (used, no warranty) and will probably cost way too much. Overall, the insides of this amp looked EXACTLY like those of $40 chinese no-name solid state amps, CHEAP AND FLIMSY. I can't really complain because of the low price I paid, but anyone who paid full retail on this thing has been RIPPED OFF. I've had old Peavey amps that I've abused for decades and never once had a problem like this. I'll bet the old JC-120's that I originally fell in love with were also better made. Shame on you, Roland, for using such cheap and crappy components.

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This thing will do for now, but I've got several other amps and won't be depending on the Roland. If anything happened to it, I would not replace it. I still have a soft spot for the old JC-120's, but I will never buy a new one now, knowing what shoddy components are inside.