Peavey JSX, anyone?

[tgs]

I'm thinking about getting one of these, but I'd like to hear from some people who have tried it first. What we have in the studio right now is an Engl Fireball, a 5150 (soon at least, we're borrowing one in the meantime) plus some other cheaper amps that we don't use often.

I want to know if the JSX would be a good complement to these or if we should go for something else. I'm open to most suggestions, although a Rectifier is out of the question since the price for it here in europe is just ridiculous!

 

[Nitronium Blood]

Hmm, I'd like to know this too.

 

[Death_Work]

maybe a Mesa Mk IV or a Single rectifier, both usually go for around 10.000 sek

 

[006]

Mark IV = the deliciousness. Keep in mind that a JSX is pretty much a XXX. Both amps sound great, nothing much to complain about (all my own opinion by the way, your ears may say otherwise). What you really need to do is go play one. Over the years I have seen about a thousand posts asking about what others think of a certain amp or what amp someone should get. The best advice anyone can give is to go play one. You are the only one that can find an amp that is right for you. I can tell you that my Engl Powerball blends incredibly well with my 5150 combo at the studio. I can tell you that my 5150 combo blends nicely with the studio owner's Rectifiers. I can also tell you that the Engl and the Rectifiers are very picky when it comes to blending them. But that is just in that studio. I've blended them very easily at another studio before. They are all great amps though.

~006

 

[OverDriven]

If you want amps that compliment your current amps, I would go for either a Mesa MKIV or a Marshall JCM 800. Both of those are pretty different from what you have.

-Joe

 

[tgs]

I can really see what you mean, 006! However, I HAVE indeed tried the JSX and that's why it caught my interest. The thing is just that trying out an amp in a music store is one thing - using it in a studio enviroment with a mic in front of it and trying to make it sound good with the rest of the mix is another. Your tips were really good though! But I guess I will compare it with an XXX because if they sound very similar, I can see no reason why to get the JSX for 50% more money.

The Mesa Mark IV - well, I hate it. I've worked with it once and it took me forever to get a decent sound. But that was a very long time and I wasn't experienced, so maybe I should try it again. A JCM800 however is something that I have been thinking about for quite some time though, maybe I should just go for that instead! I've seen that there are several different versions of it though. Any idea which one to look for?

 

[tgs]

(duplicate post)

 

[evilmanny]

if I'm not mistaken Peavey claim that the JSX is based on a triple XXX but with less gain and more tonal variation.
I've been using the a triple XXX live with a 5150 mk1 and they appear to compliment eachother quite well. The tripleXXX possibly has more mids to play with.

I hope to record them together soon... we shall see.

 

[006]

Yeah, thats the thing, it depends on the environment. Just like some bands have come in and wonder why their drums sound like crap in the studio when in their garage they sound awesome...well it's because this isn't the garage. The room is made to bring out all the details of the drums being used...in this case it's showing you that your drums suck. Lol.

The XXX would actually be a better buy IMO if you are trying to save some cash. It's really the same amp. As manny said, the JSX will have a tad less gain and you *can* get more variations on the sounds, but to me those features aren't worth the extra money. The JCM800 2203 is the one that Zakk Wylde uses, well of course modified to his liking, so I would guess that it would be the one to get. I'm guessing (again) that it's the one for heavier music. Don't take my word for it though.

As far as the XXX having more mids than a 5150...umm....heh. The 5150 is notorious for it's mids and well known for it's distinct distortion. The two compliment each other well though thats for sure. The 5150 has one of the smoothest distortions there is, like a...hiss or something, I never can describe it. The XXX has more of a Recto type of sound to it. So where the 5150 leaves off, the XXX will pick up, and vice versa. In a controlled environment such as a studio room made to kill off unwanted frequencies, or with much less bouncing sound waves than a guitar store, an amp will sound much different...then what a mic picks up and you hear in the monitors will be somewhat different than what you hear if you were actually in the room. It's really inevitable. But thats the fun part!

~006

 

[evilmanny]

Yeah, not entirely sure about the more mids than a 5150, but essentially I've noticed that the 5150 and the triple XXX seem to sit rather well together but the mid presence of the triple XXX was more noticeable.

Maybe it's my ears?

I'm going to be very interested to hear how they sound recorded though.

 

[jamesboyd]

The jsx is not worth the price diff imho. To my ears the jsx (on the gain channels) sounds like the xxx with the gain/treble down fairly low. There's not a hell of a lot in it.

The main difference is that the jsx clean is slightly less compressed and warmer.

The bonus with the xxx aside from the price is that it can be dialed in to get the rocky jsx tones as well as metal tones.

The 5150 has more of a noticeable midrange bump to it with average metal settings compared with the xxx, the xxx however can be very very scooped or very very midrangey depending on how you set it up.

hope that helps.