RoccoPezzin
Well-known member
Thanks man, I had to sell the BE in order to get the Jose, if money was no object I would have kept both!
BABMusic
Well-known member
One more question for anyone who owns the Jose: Is the feel more liquid than the BD100? I read somewhere that the notes "stick" to your fingers, and this made me wonder if the Jose has the similar liquid feel as a Mark series. One of my favorite qualities of the Mark IV I own is that leads feel like they play themselves.
RoccoPezzin
Well-known member
To me the Jose feels quicker, more immediate than the BE100, but it is by no means a stiff amp to play. When you're in the clipping diodes modes the sound becomes more compressed and gets closer to the BE feel under the fingers, but with more teeth in the upper frequencies. I don't think it quite reaches the level of gain of your Mesa, but it definitely has plenty.
BABMusic
Well-known member
This came up on my recommended vids. Now available at Sweetwater.
After listening to this video, I don't think Sweetwater made it sound all that great. Perhaps it's just the mics or something.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...8b14d45b97d03afb64&_index=production_products
After listening to this video, I don't think Sweetwater made it sound all that great. Perhaps it's just the mics or something.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...8b14d45b97d03afb64&_index=production_products
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ChurchHill
Well-known member
I LOVE this amp, but I have to say that the Sweetwater video really doesn't do a good job of showcasing what it can do. I have respect for Mr. Bowcott, having listened to him for years, but his playing just seems to be suffering here. And Mr. Carr just doesn't really have a style that is compatible with the Jose, again, no disrespect intended. Sweetwater used to do better. The Jose is a MUCH better amp than this video shows it to be.
BABMusic
Well-known member
It's already on backorder, ha. I was considering buying it and then I could return it if I went through SW. But... it would be cheaper to buy from the source. What I find interesting is that everyone says this amp is punchy and huge sounding, yet it doesn't have a resonance or thump control. Maybe it's just that volume control next to the gain and having 4 power tubes?
Since you own the amp, I'll ask you just one question. Does it have enough gain if you're using a lower output PAF or hot-rodded PAF? I have one guitar that has this and another with a high output humbucker.
ChurchHill
Well-known member
Depends on how much gain is enough. For me, yes. I've got an R0 with Custombuckers that sounds amazing through it. But, it sounds best with higher output pups.
This is @mentoneman 's video... hope he doesn't mind me sharing. It's a Jose with Ron Ellis Signature pickups, which are pretty low output PAFs.
mentoneman
Well-known member
no worries my friend and Rocco’s demo is still the one to watch for really hearing what Jose is like.
Although SW Nick with the EMGs was pretty interesting to hear.
Eazy-ESP
Well-known member
Yeah I watched that. Not an amazing demo. They started the video saying how many sounds were in it and then somehow just dialled in 10 examples of the same sound.
angelspade
Well-known member
Amp sounds great...But WHY do they allow Nick Bowcott to participate in these demos? Just WHY?
C
chobley
Member
Great video! sorry if I missed it, what bridge pickup are you using? Thanks!
ChurchHill
Well-known member
Yeah, Rocco's video is the best I've seen so far. More than just a demo, it's more like a guide on how to use it. Really gave me a great foundation to build on when I got mine.
Honestly, almost all of the vids I've seen sound pretty good. IMHO, it just doesn't need a boost and some of the vids with a boost make it sound thin.
BABMusic
Well-known member
ChurchHill
Well-known member
LOL! Yeah... I think that's at Dan's Guitars in Honolulu. But yeah, quite a collection!
mentoneman
Well-known member
feels a little Dinesh-y; wrong tool for the job.
mentoneman
Well-known member
it really is an amazing shop!
BABMusic
Well-known member
@ChurchHill I'm getting dangerously close to buying the Jose, but I wanted your thoughts on this. People have said the Jose is more nuanced than the BE series, in that it's very sensitive to the attack and pressure in your technique. Now, does the sound feel much more immediate and instant compared to the BE100? I wouldn't say the BE50 I have is slow, but it has a little more sag to it than my Mesa amp for sure. This could the thing that really sells me on the Jose.
ChurchHill
Well-known member
For me, yes, the Jose is a more immediate feel. It feels a lot like playing a really good Plexi. It's got that crack and kerrang that you'd expect from a great Marshall. I've got a BEd Dlx and while it can get close, it still sounds more processed where the Jose is just raw. I've been thinking lately that the Jose is closer to the Bogner Helios 100 than it is to the BE Dlx. They're all Marshall derivatives, the Helios adds the typical Bogner low mid chewiness, the Friedman is processed, homogenized, polished, pick your adjectives, it sounds like a Friedman just as the Helios sounds like a Bogner. The Jose sounds like a great Marshall, period, and with all the really good Jose mods built in. It is pretty sensitive to attack and pressure, although I wouldn't call it stiff, it really makes you work for it, but it's worth it. One of those amps that makes me feel like it's pushing me to play better than I am as opposed to being easy to play. I feel that way about most Mesa Mark Series, Hiwatts, stock Marshalls, too, but those are all really different sounding. It doesn't help that I grew up listening to the sounds coming out of the Jose, that's been the sound in my head most of my life. I could say the same about the Mark III, but again, very different thing.
If you're serious about getting it, Sweetwater and I'm sure others are selling it now with generous return policies. Trying it out wouldn't cost more than shipping unless you decided to keep it.
If you're serious about getting it, Sweetwater and I'm sure others are selling it now with generous return policies. Trying it out wouldn't cost more than shipping unless you decided to keep it.
BABMusic
Well-known member
That sounds pretty awesome. I'm going to figure out a way. Someone on TGP had Dave make the volume 2 a push-pull knob so that the bright cap can be bypassed if desired. Should I buy one, I'll likely ask Dave to add this to mine. Sweetwater has had several demos recently, so that would be an option if I didn't want the extra mod. But I would still be paying close to full price with tax, so it makes more sense to just order from the source.
Anje
Well-known member
I honestly wouldn't see the added value of the bright cap bypass option for such amp, which is a full blown rock amp at core; the big bright cap is a main feature of what makes those old Marshall amps sound & feel the way they do IMHO.
I've always wanted that bright cap in on my old Marshall, unless I'm playing a full Bass spec amp lower on the volume dial for some special clean-ish parts. And even then, I can make a lead amp work just as fine with the bright cap (I just push the amp to 6-8 and use the guitar controls).
I've always wanted that bright cap in on my old Marshall, unless I'm playing a full Bass spec amp lower on the volume dial for some special clean-ish parts. And even then, I can make a lead amp work just as fine with the bright cap (I just push the amp to 6-8 and use the guitar controls).
