JJ-100 in the wild....

2

2ninety

Member
One of my Tribute bands, this one is STP, got to play a decent sized venue (800 capacity) last week and we got some live audio. Camera man was back by the board and had a stereo condenser recording to a Tascam portable recorder. So this is a "LIVE in the room" recording, not a board mix. Audio was post-processed a little bit to bring the levels up, EQ to compensate for the steep drop off below 100 hz the recorder had (mainly for the kick and bass guitar) and a little stereo widening to make it not sound so squished in the "middle" as these portable recorders tend to do that.

Pretty happy with the sound overall. Haven't had many chances to get any LIVE recordings since i've been playing the JJ so i thought i'd share. Not a shameless band plug, as we only play locally every few months for something to do....

We didn't get a sound check, just a quick line check so i wasn't exactly happy with the mic placement. Not horrible, but definitely could have been much better with a proper sound check. Monitors were shooting ice picks at me, which WAS horrible.

Guitar is mic'd with a Heil mic (not sure if it was a PR30 or PR40) and I also used a Two-notes Torpedo LIVE for a direct signal.

For rhythm parts it's Guitar > Xotic EP booster for a little extra fatness (gain on 0, bass dip switch up, treble dipswitch down) > JJ-100 on the BE channel, gain around 6.

For the leads, in the loop is added an MXR MC-401 clean boost (gain set around 8 o'clock, not much, just enough to kick it out front) > Eventide TimeFactor delay

Since these are LIVE clips, they sound best in a decent set of headphones. Might be a little boomy in cheaper ones.

"Piece of Pie" clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63MgWMQQHfA

"Meatplow" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqnTX3xr4Uw (this one clips a little, haven't had a chance to look at that).

.....be nice...... ;)
 
Sounds really good! Does the JJ have more gain on the BE channel than the BE100 does? I usually run the gain on my BE100 on the BE channel around 8, and bring the volume down on my Les Paul for less gain. I thought your gain levels were perfect.
 
The wah is my old beat up 535Q. One of the original 18v ones from about 15 years ago. The current 9v ones don't sound as good to me.

As far as the gain differences between the JJ and the BE-100, I really couldn't say as i haven't played a BE-100. I will say that i saw Steve Vai about 2 weeks ago and his guitarist, Dave Weiner, was playing a 2012 BE-100 with 2 Friedman 4x12 cabs (all v30's, no greenbacks per him on his FB page). I was maybe 20-25 feet tops away from his cabs (pointed straight at where i was standing) and that thing sounded thick as hell, aggressive and still very clean and articulate. Made me wonder if i need to try a BE-100. Who knows if his BE-100 is stock though.....well Dave Friedman might know :)

My JJ-100 IS slightly modded. The resonance is bumped up just a little bit. Swapped the stock 220k resistor that capped resonance at roughly 25% for a 330k to give it a tad bit more girth. Definitely thickened it up to my personal taste. it's not a huge drastic difference, but it is noticeable.
 
Yea I was going to ask about the Wah as well. Many don't realize how killer their own wah pedal or ANY wah sounds until its ran through a high-gain plexi amp like Friedman cranked for stage volume. I have a RMC Wah I setup to sound similar too Cantrell's that sounds amazing through the BE100. The Cantrell Wah and the stock Crybaby I've had sound almost as great, but I like a tunable wah. I can tell your live sound was killing it!

I always thought the stock JJ100 was supposed to be a little darker or thicker than the BE100. I've heard some chat of people playing with the resonance circuits both JJ and BE, but I still don't really understand what it does for the tone of the amp. Can you take a minute to elaborate on the tone of raising and lowering the resonance resistors and what this does to the amp?
 
Adambomb":arp3bzbq said:
...playing with the resonance circuits both JJ and BE, but I still don't really understand what it does for the tone of the amp. Can you take a minute to elaborate on the tone of raising and lowering the resonance resistors and what this does to the amp?
Click to expand...

+1 I'm interested too!
 
Adambomb":u5z1rclg said:
I always thought the stock JJ100 was supposed to be a little darker or thicker than the BE100. I've heard some chat of people playing with the resonance circuits both JJ and BE, but I still don't really understand what it does for the tone of the amp. Can you take a minute to elaborate on the tone of raising and lowering the resonance resistors and what this does to the amp?
Click to expand...


First, keep in mind i'm not an amp tech/designer etc... I have a "players" understanding of resonance/negative feedback circuits, so i'm probably using some terms fairly loosely, possibly barely close to their actual meanings :)

Basically the resonance is the "depth" control you find on other amps. On the JJ it's a fixed resistor setting, not an adjustable pot. It's part of the negative feedback circuit that controls how much low (or high if we're talking about presence) is let thru the power amp section. It works kind of the same way as presence does as in when you turn the presence up, it doesn't just impact the notes in the high frequency range, it impacts everything, giving that bit of "edge" to even low notes. The resonance (depth) does the same. It obviously makes the amp feel like it has more bass (just as the presence makes an amp brighter), but even on higher register notes, they feel thicker or more girthy. As with presence, adding too much of that makes the amp harsh....so adding too much resonance can make the amp a flubby mess. The key is to find that sweet spot so it's still tight, not flubby yet nice and thick.

For me, I came from playing Mesa's for the last 25 years, so i was used to that huge (most usually too much) bottom that made the bass players work harder to be heard. The JJ felt a little anemic to "me". Keep in mind, the stock value was probably exactly where it SHOULD be (i'm quite sure Dave knows much more about where an amp should sit in the mix than I), but based on MY ear being used to more bottom, "I" felt "MY" JJ needed a little more kick on the bottom and more girth. I didn't want that huge flubby bottom the Mesa's can have, but somewhere in between where the stock JJ was and where the Mesa's exist.

After the mod i find myself playing the BE channel more than the JBE channel on the JJ. As i mentioned, the settings i was at on the vid were on the BE (not JBE) channel and gain was only around 6. Presence was about 4-ish, Bass 8, Mids/Treble were both close to straight up at 5. Now i REALLY want the "3 channel" mod, adding a separate gain/vol control for the JBE channel and making it switchable. Dave seems a bit busy so i'm not sure if or when i'll be able to get that done as i really can't go without the JJ for more than a month or so :(
 
Sounds killer! But I'm more concerned with the fact that, that JJ is teetering on top of your rack waiting for someone to bump in to it! :scared:
 
2ninety":1vo3uyyp said:
Adambomb":1vo3uyyp said:
I always thought the stock JJ100 was supposed to be a little darker or thicker than the BE100. I've heard some chat of people playing with the resonance circuits both JJ and BE, but I still don't really understand what it does for the tone of the amp. Can you take a minute to elaborate on the tone of raising and lowering the resonance resistors and what this does to the amp?
Click to expand...


First, keep in mind i'm not an amp tech/designer etc... I have a "players" understanding of resonance/negative feedback circuits, so i'm probably using some terms fairly loosely, possibly barely close to their actual meanings :)

Basically the resonance is the "depth" control you find on other amps. On the JJ it's a fixed resistor setting, not an adjustable pot. It's part of the negative feedback circuit that controls how much low (or high if we're talking about presence) is let thru the power amp section. It works kind of the same way as presence does as in when you turn the presence up, it doesn't just impact the notes in the high frequency range, it impacts everything, giving that bit of "edge" to even low notes. The resonance (depth) does the same. It obviously makes the amp feel like it has more bass (just as the presence makes an amp brighter), but even on higher register notes, they feel thicker or more girthy. As with presence, adding too much of that makes the amp harsh....so adding too much resonance can make the amp a flubby mess. The key is to find that sweet spot so it's still tight, not flubby yet nice and thick.

For me, I came from playing Mesa's for the last 25 years, so i was used to that huge (most usually too much) bottom that made the bass players work harder to be heard. The JJ felt a little anemic to "me". Keep in mind, the stock value was probably exactly where it SHOULD be (i'm quite sure Dave knows much more about where an amp should sit in the mix than I), but based on MY ear being used to more bottom, "I" felt "MY" JJ needed a little more kick on the bottom and more girth. I didn't want that huge flubby bottom the Mesa's can have, but somewhere in between where the stock JJ was and where the Mesa's exist.

After the mod i find myself playing the BE channel more than the JBE channel on the JJ. As i mentioned, the settings i was at on the vid were on the BE (not JBE) channel and gain was only around 6. Presence was about 4-ish, Bass 8, Mids/Treble were both close to straight up at 5. Now i REALLY want the "3 channel" mod, adding a separate gain/vol control for the JBE channel and making it switchable. Dave seems a bit busy so i'm not sure if or when i'll be able to get that done as i really can't go without the JJ for more than a month or so :(
Click to expand...

Oh wow thats some great info on the resonance/negative feedback circuit! I've heard a few people talk about it but never really anyone explain as well as you have the effect on the tone of the amp. I played a Dual Rec live for almost 10 years and I understand the low-end thump that your after. I haven't been gigging as much as I was so I have kind of gone the opposite direction where I like less bass when I'm jamming at home or with another guitarist. My bass player use to jam two 2 15's with his rig in order to stand out with my old Dual Rec. Anyway thanks a bunch for shedding some light on that mod.

Went back and listened to the show again and your tone really does sound great man!
 
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