Friedman JJ Jr or Mesa Boogie JP2C

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Econ

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Which one do you recommend? I want something with a sound a little more aggressive than a hot rod Marshall type amp to play progressive metal type music. Is the Mesa JP2C way too much of an amp compared to the Friedman?
 
I really don't think that they are competitive. They are totally different amps. Could not be much more different on paper. The Mesa has all of the bells and whistles and insane flexiblity and has a huge power difference. The JJ Jr. Is a low watt high gain amp and is more of a balls to the walls Friedman type of thing. Admittedly I have not tried a JJ Jr. but they are all the buzz.

Different is different. It's like a Mustang convertable to a lifted F-350.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I also tought that they were way different, but wanted some feedback to explore the feasibility of being able to get similiar tones with both amps.
 
I havent played either of them but..... It's kinda like saying getting the same tone from a strat and a les paul? If that makes sense? Although I think you could play Alice in Chains on the Mesa and I think you could play Dream Theater on the JJ Jr. and the audience wouldnt care.
 
The flexibility is the biggest factor to me. The JP2C has dual EQ's that are assignable, and the channels are different. Mesa likely has better cleans, especially if you want loud cleans.
 
Going for the Mesa. The options on this amp are fantastic.
 
ClintN667":3hbyxlgr said:
I havent played either of them but..... It's kinda like saying getting the same tone from a strat and a les paul?
Click to expand...

That is actually a pretty good analogy and a good way to think about decisions like that. Some people will get a Strat and put a hot rodded pickup in the bridge to do a more heavier type of thing that what they "typically" are used for but can be done.

Same thing with the "Marshall and Mesa" amps. They are never going to sound the same but like you said, the audience in a lot of cases won't even give it a second thought.

With me having the JJ Jr. now, I have to say that although it does a great Alice in Chains obviously, it is more of a hard rock amp in my opinion. If I was playing Sevendust, Korn, or any other band that tunes way down, or some of the more modern bands, it wouldn't be my first choice. For me though, it is perfect and can definitely do heavy. It has the growl and that great crunch, but definitely isn't a Diezel, Mesa, etc. type amp.
 
It is a very tough choice! The Mesa is simply a fantastic amp! I had a JP-2C that I sold last year. I probably should have kept it as I do miss it. So many great options on it and fairly easy to carry around and gig with.

The EQ on that amp is so powerful. 3 great sounding channels as well as well as the shred mode. I have used the amp live many times and it sounds great. The 60W mode on the back that you can switch it to has a great tone to it as well. The midi is also a great feature to have.

What I don’t like about the JP-2C:
-the stupid reverb tank. Really Mesa, cut a hole in the bottom of the headshell just to accommodate this? What a waste of wood. Yes, you can simply take it out but then you would be left with a nice big hole to cover up.
-the midi and footswitch inputs on the back are less than robust. These will fail over time faster than a higher quality socket.
-the footswitch is massive. (Then again, I could just use Midi to switch it)
-The shred mode is not footswitchable with the stock Mesa Footswitch. I wish John have made a decision on that one and had them replace the reverb on and off with the shred mode on and off. The only way you can footswitch it is via midi commands. I have tried with 2 midi platforms and it would work only sporadically. I could not turn off the mode with a command other than switching to another preset and even at that, sometimes it would remain on and other times it would switch back. This was using the included midi commands that Mesa gave for that mode to be on and off. If I got another one, I would probably ship it back to Mesa to have them modify it to use the reverb switch to turn the shred mode on and off instead.

That being said, I have the JJ Jr. This amp is just amazing as well. All three channels have great tone to it. I literally just sold my BE-50 head and 212. I needed something lighter to carry around as my back is not great with a couple of degenerating discs. I went from over 100lbs to carry to less than 50. Not as much volume obviously, but I haven’t noticed enough to worry about it.

What I love about it:
-BE tone, great clean tone, and that JJ sound. Fabulous!
-very good direct to FOH out the back without even needing a cabinet attached.
-Loud for an EL-84 and only 20 watts!
-does not get wooly or mushy

What most will not like about it:
-volume discrepancy between 2 gain channels
-can’t footswitch between 3 channels
-EL-84s. Some folks really do not like this tube. I am not sure what magic Dave did here but it works!

If you need more power, then the Mesa would be a logical choice but you have to realize, it is that classic 2C+ sound with that cascading gain. It is a much different tone than the modified and objectively smoothed out modified Marshall tone that Friedman is known for. I am a fan of both tones.

To me, it sounds like you may be looking for the Mesa tone. Either way, you can’t lose!

:rock:
 
Thank you so much for providing that detailed review. It has given me a lot of food for thought.

PBGas":1qbx0jpi said:
It is a very tough choice! The Mesa is simply a fantastic amp! I had a JP-2C that I sold last year. I probably should have kept it as I do miss it. So many great options on it and fairly easy to carry around and gig with.

The EQ on that amp is so powerful. 3 great sounding channels as well as well as the shred mode. I have used the amp live many times and it sounds great. The 60W mode on the back that you can switch it to has a great tone to it as well. The midi is also a great feature to have.

What I don’t like about the JP-2C:
-the stupid reverb tank. Really Mesa, cut a hole in the bottom of the headshell just to accommodate this? What a waste of wood. Yes, you can simply take it out but then you would be left with a nice big hole to cover up.
-the midi and footswitch inputs on the back are less than robust. These will fail over time faster than a higher quality socket.
-the footswitch is massive. (Then again, I could just use Midi to switch it)
-The shred mode is not footswitchable with the stock Mesa Footswitch. I wish John have made a decision on that one and had them replace the reverb on and off with the shred mode on and off. The only way you can footswitch it is via midi commands. I have tried with 2 midi platforms and it would work only sporadically. I could not turn off the mode with a command other than switching to another preset and even at that, sometimes it would remain on and other times it would switch back. This was using the included midi commands that Mesa gave for that mode to be on and off. If I got another one, I would probably ship it back to Mesa to have them modify it to use the reverb switch to turn the shred mode on and off instead.

That being said, I have the JJ Jr. This amp is just amazing as well. All three channels have great tone to it. I literally just sold my BE-50 head and 212. I needed something lighter to carry around as my back is not great with a couple of degenerating discs. I went from over 100lbs to carry to less than 50. Not as much volume obviously, but I haven’t noticed enough to worry about it.

What I love about it:
-BE tone, great clean tone, and that JJ sound. Fabulous!
-very good direct to FOH out the back without even needing a cabinet attached.
-Loud for an EL-84 and only 20 watts!
-does not get wooly or mushy

What most will not like about it:
-volume discrepancy between 2 gain channels
-can’t footswitch between 3 channels
-EL-84s. Some folks really do not like this tube. I am not sure what magic Dave did here but it works!

If you need more power, then the Mesa would be a logical choice but you have to realize, it is that classic 2C+ sound with that cascading gain. It is a much different tone than the modified and objectively smoothed out modified Marshall tone that Friedman is known for. I am a fan of both tones.

To me, it sounds like you may be looking for the Mesa tone. Either way, you can’t lose!

:rock:
Click to expand...
 
PBGas":198pdf10 said:
That being said, I have the JJ Jr. This amp is just amazing as well. All three channels have great tone to it. I literally just sold my BE-50 head and 212. I needed something lighter to carry around as my back is not great with a couple of degenerating discs. I went from over 100lbs to carry to less than 50. Not as much volume obviously, but I haven’t noticed enough to worry about it.

What I love about it:
-BE tone, great clean tone, and that JJ sound. Fabulous!
-very good direct to FOH out the back without even needing a cabinet attached.
-Loud for an EL-84 and only 20 watts!
-does not get wooly or mushy

What most will not like about it:
-volume discrepancy between 2 gain channels
-can’t footswitch between 3 channels
-EL-84s. Some folks really do not like this tube. I am not sure what magic Dave did here but it works!
Click to expand...

That is pretty spot-on man! I gotta say that in my initial review of the JJ Jr. I talked about the clean channel not being that great but to be honest, I've had more time with it and it is a great channel. The middle position is perfect for pedals!!
 
The things you need to consider:

The mesa can be set up for separate lead and rhythm, the JJ Jr. is 2 channels, if you already have a pedalboard and some kind of a switching system, you can use a boost in the fx loop for lead volume boost.
The JP2C is really compressed in feel, you can't really dial it out, unless you run it stupid loud. The clean is super clinical clean, if that's your cup of tea, great, if not, it's a curse.

The clean channel headroom of the JJ jr. is quite limited. Depending on the guitar, 9 o'clock is cleanish, 12 is AC/DC.
The BE volume pot is kinda useless above 12 o'clock, just adding compression.
The JJ Jr. is bloody loud, I run it on rehearsals below 9 o'clock.

Hated the XLR out on the Mesa, the Friedman XLR out is great. Dunno how the mesa is done, but AFAIK it runs only the preamp section in silent mode, the JJ Jr. has a load.

For progressive metal, I would advise the Mesa. The JJ Jr. is more oriented to hard rock type of sounds, not chugga chugga djent djent. IMHO it shines when the gain is more laid back and boosted with overdrives to the level the song needs it. I rarely use it in the JBE mode, it is fun, but it feels it makes the amp a 1 trick pony.

Ps.
I've put some NOS GE EL84s in the JJ Jr. and it made it absolutely amazing. 2 galaxies away from the factory JJ EL84s.
It is loud enough for anything. If you are on a huge stage you can hook up 2 4x12s to it and it will keep up with most of the big guys on the BE side.
 
aftec":3pujrfhd said:
The things you need to consider:

The mesa can be set up for separate lead and rhythm, the JJ Jr. is 2 channels, if you already have a pedalboard and some kind of a switching system, you can use a boost in the fx loop for lead volume boost.
The JP2C is really compressed in feel, you can't really dial it out, unless you run it stupid loud. The clean is super clinical clean, if that's your cup of tea, great, if not, it's a curse.

The clean channel headroom of the JJ jr. is quite limited. Depending on the guitar, 9 o'clock is cleanish, 12 is AC/DC.
The BE volume pot is kinda useless above 12 o'clock, just adding compression.
The JJ Jr. is bloody loud, I run it on rehearsals below 9 o'clock.

Hated the XLR out on the Mesa, the Friedman XLR out is great. Dunno how the mesa is done, but AFAIK it runs only the preamp section in silent mode, the JJ Jr. has a load.

For progressive metal, I would advise the Mesa. The JJ Jr. is more oriented to hard rock type of sounds, not chugga chugga djent djent. IMHO it shines when the gain is more laid back and boosted with overdrives to the level the song needs it. I rarely use it in the JBE mode, it is fun, but it feels it makes the amp a 1 trick pony.

Ps.
I've put some NOS GE EL84s in the JJ Jr. and it made it absolutely amazing. 2 galaxies away from the factory JJ EL84s.
It is loud enough for anything. If you are on a huge stage you can hook up 2 4x12s to it and it will keep up with most of the big guys on the BE side.
Click to expand...

Spot on!!!!

:rock:

Funny you mention the power tubes. I measured both of mine and one JJ is at 4 and the other at 7. Going to put some others in. Will look around for the GE units! I’ve heard of those before as well.

Thx for the recommendation!
 
Tough call. I am also looking at the JJ Jr. I have previously owned a JP2C and IMO. It really just depends.

For me I would get the JJ because I am not in a band and I just want a cool amp for the house.

If I was in a band I would seriously consider the JP2C and try to play them both because while that Mesa was not "my tone" while playing alone. It is an amazing amp and by far was the best amp I have ever played regarding sitting in a band mix. It was really like that amp was deigned to sit perfectly in a mix and also was one of the best "in the mix" tones I have ever had.
 
They are very different amps for sure like most have said. I don't have a JJ Jr., but I do have a full JJ and if the Jr. is anything like its big brother I don't think you will have problems with any type of metal. But it really depends on what sound you are after. The full JJ is a rock/hard rock/metal beast.
 
maddnotez":3a2ohuhy said:
Tough call. I am also looking at the JJ Jr. I have previously owned a JP2C and IMO. It really just depends.

For me I would get the JJ because I am not in a band and I just want a cool amp for the house.

If I was in a band I would seriously consider the JP2C and try to play them both because while that Mesa was not "my tone" while playing alone. It is an amazing amp and by far was the best amp I have ever played regarding sitting in a band mix. It was really like that amp was deigned to sit perfectly in a mix and also was one of the best "in the mix" tones I have ever had.
Click to expand...


This is spot on. It sounds glorious in the mix. So so by itself :dunno:. I have the rack version and the head and I use the rack version solely with the band.
 
For the price, you could buy a cheaper modded Marshall amp and a mesa mkiv.

At least both would be big.
 
The JJ jr. is QUITE impressive. Great aggressive & tight tones when slightly smacked with an OD. Hard to believe that little bugger punches as hard as it does; at least it did for me through a 412.
 
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