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So at the risk of introducing myself as a potential Waza amp buyer (!), my JP2C arrived about a fortnight ago.
Anything in particular you want to know about it?
Whether it is worth the extra money probably depends on whether you want the variety of multiple pre-amp voicings on the V, or the dedicated voicings on the JP2C.
I spent some time running the Mark V 25 preamp into the JP2C effects return to compare the preamp channels.
The JP2C channel 1 sounds very similar to the Mark V clean - BUT while the Mark V breaks up on higher signal / gain, the JP2C stays crystal clean. It can probably get close the Mark V fat mode by boosting the bass a little.
The JP2C channel 2 is closest to the Mark V crunch and Mark V 2C+ modes. To my ears it has a little less top end than the Mark V 2C+ mode, and it feels like it 'reacts' better. They are in the same ballpark, but I much prefer the JP2C.
The JP2C channel 3 is like channel 2 but with more gain. It lives somewhere between the Mark V 2C+ and IV modes. Again for this channel, I prefer the JP2C (just).
As far as I can tell, the other Mark V modes don't really have an equivalent on the JP2C. The JP2C does super clean, and crunch / high gain - the Mark V has more options in the middle ground.
I can't directly compare the power amp in the JP2C to the V, but the JP2C has a lot of girth and power in the bottom end. It has a lot more authority than the V 25 - which you would expect I guess!
The midi switching is flexible and has been easy to set up . Also having 2 graphic EQs has been more useful than I had initially expected. One difference between the V and JP2C is that in the V the GEQ is before the effects send, and in the JP2C it is after the effects return.
On the downside the import prices are crazy.
I actually pre-orded the JP2C when it was announced and a few weeks later, all the Mesa UK prices went up by 15% or so. The initial price was already at the limit of what I was willing to look at (and to be honest a little beyond). Given the current price, I would probably be looking at a second-hand V rather than a new JP2C. Having said that I would pick a new JP2C over a new Mark V.
£2950 in the UK - ridiculous!!
HOWEVER... am I right now in saying CH1 = clean. CH2 = crunch (not super saturated distortion). CH3 = lead.
Big improvement over the V:25 IMO, if so.... where you could only do clean + solo or crunch + solo.
Now you can actually do clean or crunch or solo - if I saw one used, I'd probably try it out.
60W min power, though?
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I think the Mark V is an amazing amp it’s genuinely the first amp that I played that I loved so much I swore I would not sell it! The first channel has lots of lovely cleans from shimmery to chunky blues up to a bit of grit – I don’t really like my clean breaking up so I’ve not fully explored that area! Channel Three is amazing it’s got it all from classic rock to full on metal, tighter that a recto even with the Extreme setting on but still cutting and brutal.
So now we come to, for me anyway, the issue – channel two – it’s great for heavy blues / rock and there are some proper classic rock sounds in there but like all three channel boogies channel two does not really do metal. So I get that many of the people that use this amp want Clean / Rock (or blues) / Lead setup but I want Clean / metal rhythm / metal lead rather than /Clean / don’t use / metal rhythm + some form of boost for lead.
I think they missed a trick by not adding the IIC+ mode to the second channel, but that’s just me!It does explain why I keep ending up back with a Diezel amps as the rhythm channel on all the Diezel amp I’ve used are almost as mad as the lead ones.
Hope some of that helps – the Mark V is a great amp I would not right it off but if you want metal on channel two it aint really there (same as a Mark IV too).
You can certainly setup channel 2 as crunch and channel 3 as lead, but actually the difference between the two channels is minimal. They are exactly the same circuit but channel 3 has a slightly higher internal Volume setting. On the original Mark II, Volume was a standard user-adjustable control - on newer models including the Mark V and the JP-2C it has an internally preset value.
The end result is that channel 3 has a hair more intensity to it, but either channel can do crunch or lead.
The same is largely true of the Mark V 25 modes too - Crunch, IIC+ or IV can function as either crunch or lead. While it doesn't have the convenience of two dedicated channels for crunch and lead (assuming channel 1 is clean), I think you could easily work around it.
A slight boost on the way in (or just rolling back the volume on the guitar for crunch) does much the same as changing the gain on the channel and adds / removes saturation. An EQ in the loop could substitute for the 2nd GEQ found on the JP2C - it could even add a little overall boost to simulate upping the channel master.
The V 25 is a great amp - a 3rd channel would be a nice to have but not a deal breaker in my opinion. Have you tried one?