mentoneman
Well-known member
i played the 100 and was totally stoked. somewhere within the JEL and SS lies an ultimate Friedman smp.
S
sideshowsmitty
Member
I love mine. I was able to dial in two really good tones on both channels. I've done my last 5 gigs with it and couldn't be happier. All of my guitars have humbuckers though. What amps do you have that you prefer over the JEL20?
M
MusicIsLife
Well-known member
The JEL is one of the few Friedman amps that really interests me. I think I hear more of the raw, unpolished Marshall sound in those. I was bummed that I missed out on the run of 100 watters, and I'm not going to pay the crazy used prices. I was hoping the 50w version would have tone controls per channel like the 100w. For half the price I can get a Ceriatone JCM All Access 51, and it seems like I'd be a couple components away from JEL specs.
hellzington
Well-known member
sounds great boosted. $2999?
I like Kyle and I know he's a member here and I respect him, but I just totally disagree with this assessment. I owned a JEL100. The JEL does not have a lot of low end. It just has a lot more low end than a JCM 800. I wouldn't call it a "low end monster." Quite the opposite actually; it's Dave's brightest production amp. (That's why it sounds so good in the Drop C part of this video.) The JEL also doesn't have a ton of gain by modern standards, so if you're hoping for a gained-out 800 type sound this isn't it.
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hellzington
Well-known member
Same. I cancelled my JEL50 order and replaced it with the Snorkler 50. Good decision right now, I think. However, I'd love to pick up a JEL50 at some point. I really liked the JEL100.
hellzington
Well-known member
The reason is because the JEL has more aggressive bright caps. The amp is not smoothed out and polished like the BE.
What people don't know is that you can get Dave to put bright caps on your BE. I had it done on my Friedman-modded Marshall. Small bright cap but man does it make a difference. Gives you some of Dave's polish but keeps the Marshall raw kerrang thing. I talked about it here in my video (should start right where I talk about this
griff10672
Well-known member
I've already built a JEL 50 watter using Headfirsts " JEL Mod " instructions for the 800 ..... but I went with 6550's
I don't have the " Plexi " channel ........ but didn't want it anyway .... the USA version of the 800 ( with 6550's ) crushes the EL34 version ..... IMO
and your low end is going to depend a lot where you have NFB set ......I didn't watch the above vids .... did anyone mess with it to show the difference ??
I don't have the " Plexi " channel ........ but didn't want it anyway .... the USA version of the 800 ( with 6550's ) crushes the EL34 version ..... IMO
and your low end is going to depend a lot where you have NFB set ......I didn't watch the above vids .... did anyone mess with it to show the difference ??
CarlF
Well-known member
I agree. When I play a guitar with humbuckers, the amp’s brightness is a welcome feature.
With a Strat w/ single coils, it’s hard to dial out that bright edge. I don’t hate the amp, it’s just limiting (to me)
I do notice the 50 has Bright Switches on BOTH channels. That is a welcome feature.
I got a Marshall JVM410H, Mesa Boogie MK VII, Suhr SL67, and 3rd Power Dragon 100.
M
MusicIsLife
Well-known member
Doesn't the JEL also roll off a bit of the low-end up front? Or am I thinking of something else? There's something about the clarity of the distortion as the gain increases. Bright caps alone won't keep the low end from turning to mud, and especially as you turn up the gain.
I just ordered an IR-J, and I'm eager to see what that's like in person. That linked to a VP4 or a HX stomp could be a great all-in-one pedalboard rig. Those, my tripplite, and my wireless receiver will all fit inside a 28" floor case. Just pop the top, plug in, and go.
I just ordered an IR-J, and I'm eager to see what that's like in person. That linked to a VP4 or a HX stomp could be a great all-in-one pedalboard rig. Those, my tripplite, and my wireless receiver will all fit inside a 28" floor case. Just pop the top, plug in, and go.
CarlF
Well-known member
Of course, the new 50 sounds gorgeous w/ a Strat.
Matt300ZXT
Well-known member
I'm getting major Marty Friedman vibes from the beginning of that solo. Whether you like the tone or not, that dude has some serious chops.
skoora
Well-known member
He’s in Marty’s band.
Bad.Seed
Well-known member
Everybody is welcome to their opinion and experience, obviously, but have you considered that the JEL50 and 100 models aren’t the same amp?
When I say the JEL50 is a low end monster, it’s not a comparative statement. This amp has a shit load of low end. Period. Being a bright amp has nothing to do with the amount of lows on tap. Those frequencies can be mutually exclusive on any amp so I guess I’m not really seeing what brightness has to do with low end.
That said, I said the reasons I liked it are mainly because of it being brighter and more raw/less refined than his other amps so I think we agree more than you realize.
hellzington
Well-known member
Definitely agree and I get what you're saying: you could turn up the bass and thump and get a lot of oomph, even though that's not typical of an 800 sound.
It's possible the 100 and the 50 are not the same, too. I know they have a slightly different layout and Dave also has a tendency to tweak things as time goes by.
I really loved the JEL100 and really want to get my hands on a 50 at some point when they start showing up used. Would be curious to get your thoughts on the Snorkler vs. this amp at some point too. It's a killer amp that I think you'd really like.
N
njshred
Active member
I was hoping only us JEL100 owners were going to have access to the goofy red.
Philo Beddoe
Active member
How about the Plex? Supposedly a straight up copy of a Marshall..I like the Marsha and the BE 100. Seems all his other amps are just minor variations on the same theme.
Missing that Marshall glassy chime when in gain channels that mid brittle sound.
And now for something completely different a JEL 50 watt.
mentoneman
Well-known member
this was a nice demo by MN which imo accurately captured the depth of breakup tones i gravitated towards with the 100
as some have mentioned it is one of the rawer marshallesque amps Dave produces. what i haven’t heard in anyone demos is just how nice the clean side of the JEL 100 can sound.
i’ve also played the Plex and thought it was very cool as well, leaning more towards VH plexi clean to solo level dirt ith the gtr vol. the JEL’s got some of that plexi essence on ch 1 but more closely emulates JCM 800 breakup on ch 2.
as some have mentioned it is one of the rawer marshallesque amps Dave produces. what i haven’t heard in anyone demos is just how nice the clean side of the JEL 100 can sound.
i’ve also played the Plex and thought it was very cool as well, leaning more towards VH plexi clean to solo level dirt ith the gtr vol. the JEL’s got some of that plexi essence on ch 1 but more closely emulates JCM 800 breakup on ch 2.
roodboy
Well-known member
The reason is because the JEL has more aggressive bright caps. The amp is not smoothed out and polished like the BE.
What people don't know is that you can get Dave to put bright caps on your BE. I had it done on my Friedman-modded Marshall. Small bright cap but man does it make a difference. Gives you some of Dave's polish but keeps the Marshall raw kerrang thing. I talked about it here in my video (should start right where I talk about this
What was value of bright cap that Dave used?
hellzington
Well-known member
Don't know; he just said it was a smaller one.
skoora
Well-known member
I thought those had bright caps. Doesn’t it have bright switches on it that choose between bright cap values?