Jet City: update

digitalscream · January 2020

As you know, Jet City amps are pretty close to my heart. Just saw this posted on Facebook:

Image: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/uploads/editor/dy/3p9k82ot07fe.png

Bugger. If anyone wanted a Jet City amp...now might be a good time to go and grab one.

Sassafras · January 2020

Maybe that's what he's counting on.
That they'll achieve the status of Klons.

p90fool · January 2020

Shite, was going to grab a 50H but they're out of stock.

darthed1981 · January 2020

Oh - what a shame - never heard a bad word about these amps.

ICBM · January 2020

Sassafras said:

Maybe that's what he's counting on.
That they'll achieve the status of Klons.

Only less expensive and better sounding...

Snags · January 2020

Ah, that sounds pants, and also explains an unanswered email that I was about to follow up on. Hope thre personal stuff works out for him, and that my new head did just have a duff valve rather than some other issue (will probably find that out later today).

mudslide73 · January 2020

I assumed the long periods between new releases and long lead ins was due to the price point they operate at. I hope he's ok. Maybe a rest and a relaunch (in whatever guise) could be better in the long run...

p90fool · January 2020

I'm sorely tempted to pick up a spare 20H as they're still in stock.
I've had five JC amps and loved them all and still have my first ever 20H, but considering its the same price as a crappy EHX pedal which just died on me it would be good to have a spare.

Ossyrocks · January 2020

I’ve been thinking of getting a 20w head for ages. This made up my mind, 20H ordered and paid for , £195 inc delivery. No brainer.

57Deluxe · August 2023

I suddenly realised how much I missed all the chatter about the hugely affordable Jet City amps from a few years back and did some googling. Seems only available as custom models to order and US only. Does anyone else have any info?

https://jetcitycustom.com/

Seems odd that brands/models/vendors that were so much part of my mid naughties tone journey have completely disappeared. Who do you mourn the most?

Snags · August 2023

@57Deluxe nope, UK site still up https://www.jetcityamplificationstore.co.uk/

Have to say my personal experience of them wasn't great, sadly, but plenty more people have got on just fine.

guitargeek62 · August 2023

Snags said:

@57Deluxe nope, UK site still up https://www.jetcityamplificationstore.co.uk/

Have to say my personal experience of them wasn't great, sadly, but plenty more people have got on just fine.

The site is, but their certs are over a year out of date, and everything is out of stock… I’m calling it, they’re DOA.

Snags · August 2023

I thought the Amelia was still available. However, I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire, so I'm not too sad.

Stevepage · August 2023

I bought the 20 watt combo years ago and loved that amp. Not something I would've gone with usually but glad I did.

digitalscream · August 2023

Snags said:

@57Deluxe nope, UK site still up https://www.jetcityamplificationstore.co.uk/

Have to say my personal experience of them wasn't great, sadly, but plenty more people have got on just fine.

Unfortunately, that site isn't actually anything to do with Jet City themselves - it was always run by their UK distributor, who no longer distribute the brand and have probably forgotten about the website's existence at this point.

Snags · August 2023

Ah. They certainly forgot about customer service some years ago, so that would make sense.

mudslide73 · August 2023

I still use my 50H and was looking for a spare for a while. It's a shame what's happened. I think most people didn't get the brand and thought they'd be awful due to their affordability.

Fortheloveofguitar · August 2023

I was after an Amelia 6-8 months back and emails kicked back and phone just kept ringing out. Shame

digitalscream · August 2023

mudslide73 said:

I still use my 50H and was looking for a spare for a while. It's a shame what's happened. I think most people didn't get the brand and thought they'd be awful due to their affordability.

Yeah, it's true. I've kept my 50H, because I know I'll find it hard to get another one. I've actually got two...the other one's got a blown mains transformer. I'll get round to fixing it one day.

p90fool · August 2023

I've had five JC amps and have kept my first 20H, it's still my go-to amp im the studio. The JCA100HDM was an awesome amp, just a bit overkill for my needs.

digitalscream · August 2023

p90fool said:

I've had five JC amps and have kept my first 20H, it's still my go-to amp im the studio. The JCA100HDM was an awesome amp, just a bit overkill for my needs.

Weirdly, I didn't actually like my 100HDM - there was just something not-quite-as-good compared with the 50H, and I could never put my finger on what the issue was.

I know there were some design differences between them - the 100HDM had optical switching, for example, which led to the (very slight) channel bleed same as some of the Soldano amps, whereas the 50H had relay switching. I don't think that was the issue I was having, though.

newi123 · August 2023

My 20hv is still the most useful amp I have. Often gigged in preference to other, much more expensive, alternatives. Sounds great through a 2061cx and looks good too.

Probably the best £220 i ever spent.

p90fool · August 2023

digitalscream said:

p90fool said:

I've had five JC amps and have kept my first 20H, it's still my go-to amp im the studio. The JCA100HDM was an awesome amp, just a bit overkill for my needs.

Weirdly, I didn't actually like my 100HDM - there was just something not-quite-as-good compared with the 50H, and I could never put my finger on what the issue was.

I know there were some design differences between them - the 100HDM had optical switching, for example, which led to the (very slight) channel bleed same as some of the Soldano amps, whereas the 50H had relay switching. I don't think that was the issue I was having, though.

I should probably add that I modded mine with a two-way-plus-bypass bright switch, which made balancing the channels with shared EQ easier, as well as giving better edge of breakup tones.

If I'd had a 50H instead I would probably kept it tbh, I just didn't fancy the cost of revalving the 100 compared to the initial bargain purchase price, which is a bit of daft logic now I think about it!

digitalscream · August 2023

p90fool said:

digitalscream said:

p90fool said:

I've had five JC amps and have kept my first 20H, it's still my go-to amp im the studio. The JCA100HDM was an awesome amp, just a bit overkill for my needs.

Weirdly, I didn't actually like my 100HDM - there was just something not-quite-as-good compared with the 50H, and I could never put my finger on what the issue was.

I know there were some design differences between them - the 100HDM had optical switching, for example, which led to the (very slight) channel bleed same as some of the Soldano amps, whereas the 50H had relay switching. I don't think that was the issue I was having, though.

I should probably add that I modded mine with a two-way-plus-bypass bright switch, which made balancing the channels with shared EQ easier, as well as giving better edge of breakup tones.

If I'd had a 50H instead I would probably kept it tbh, I just didn't fancy the cost of revalving the 100 compared to the initial bargain purchase price, which is a bit of daft logic now I think about it!

Yeah, I modded all the Jet City amps I had, just removing the bright caps, aka "the bit Mike Soldano put in to make them sound noticeably worse than his Soldano amps".

It's a real shame they've all but disappeared; they were basically the ultimate bargains of the amp market. Nothing could touch them in terms of value for money.

But yeah...the problem is that when you buy an amp for £250, it definitely feels weird spending £150 on a full revalve.

nikolas7333 · August 2023

Fortheloveofguitar said:

I was after an Amelia 6-8 months back and emails kicked back and phone just kept ringing out. Shame

Only semi-on-topic, but there's one for sale on FB ATM, if you haven't already spied it.

Dave_Mc · August 2023

mudslide73 said:

I still use my 50H and was looking for a spare for a while. It's a shame what's happened. I think most people didn't get the brand and thought they'd be awful due to their affordability.

Yeah I still love my 50H. The lower gain channel stopped working a while ago, but happily it started working again. Amazing what a quick hoover and plugging the footswitch cable in and out again can do...

(I thought I tried the cable in-and-out before and that didn't work, but maybe the hoovering and moving it around to hoover it is what did it...)

Fortheloveofguitar · September 2023

nikolas7333 said:

Fortheloveofguitar said:

I was after an Amelia 6-8 months back and emails kicked back and phone just kept ringing out. Shame

Only semi-on-topic, but there's one for sale on FB ATM, if you haven't already spied it.

Yes I saw that the day it went up

Think it was either too expensive or wouldn’t ship.

digitalscream · September 2023

For what it's worth, there's a 50H up for sale in Tamworth at £200:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/824341789096877/

Looks like it's been modded a bit, mind - depth mod and something else with a knob between the mid and treble controls (no idea what that might be, not come across it before). I'd want to have a look at the internals before buying, especially after the horror show of my 100HDM after Sick Amps molested it.

mudslide73 · September 2023

digitalscream said:

For what it's worth, there's a 50H up for sale in Tamworth at £200:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/824341789096877/

Looks like it's been modded a bit, mind - depth mod and something else with a knob between the mid and treble controls (no idea what that might be, not come across it before). I'd want to have a look at the internals before buying, especially after the horror show of my 100HDM after Sick Amps molested it.

Hmm.. I'm about 40 mins from Tammoth* so that's super tempting. I'm not flush with the old cash so will need to ruminate on it for a while.

*West Midlands spelling.

longjaw · September 2023

newi123 said:

My 20hv is still the most useful amp I have. Often gigged in preference to other, much more expensive, alternatives. Sounds great through a 2061cx and looks good too.

Probably the best £220 i ever spent.

Same for me - sounds immense through my Celestion-loaded 2x12 and my Eminence-loaded 2x10.

digitalscream · September 2023

Incidentally, if anybody spots a faulty 50H out there, I could do with one to cannibalise for parts - my 50H has a blown power transformer, and they're a custom-wound unit for these amps, so they simply don't exist anywhere.

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Jet City: update

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