Lee Jackson amps?

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dbsens13

dbsens13

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Tell me about these. TheXLA1000 to be more specific. How much do they go for. How do they sound? Any pics of links to them you might have. Or more importantly links to their tone. Also the 412 cab with eminence speakers that goes with it. I had someone offer me one for a bass. I just don't know shit about them. Thanks!
 
I had 2 of the first Metaltronix heads that he released, they must be different (the model # is different) I had issues with them both, one had tranny issues (3), the other had an assortment of problems, I finally gave up on them, M-1000's I think, been a long time
I kinda wish I had one now for recording, but I would never trust one to gig with again (although I dont gig now)
They sounded good and were ungodly loud, but if you rode the attenuator much at all they would go up in flames :lol: :LOL:
They were also pretty noisy. The mid-shift worked well, and they stayed tight under full gain which was cool at the time. The cabs were built like tanks, all Baltic Birch, but I dont recall them being loaded with Eminence speakers, I was actually running them through 4 Marshall cabs at the time. Maybe the cabs you are speaking of are very different also
None of this may apply to the model your looking at ;)
 
Yup.......I had one of the M-1000 Metaltronix as well.
It was ok sounding. Nothing special. Isnt the XLA1000 supposed to be similar to the Metaltronix?
 
ya from what i understand they're similar but i really don't know much about these at all. I picked up a music man bongo 5 string bass thru a trade yesterday and listed it since i dont play bass and i got this as an offer.
 
here it is
leejackson.jpg
 
The cabs are solid, with metal handles, I owned both the V30 cabinet and Eminence L.J. speaker loaded cabinets since the mid 90's used both at the same time on stage for 4 years and 2 of those years I was gigging 5-7 nights a week..
Got tired of the V30 cabinet sold it to some one to use in their recording studio, Year later they still have and still using it..
I kept the Eminence loaded cab due to liking the speakers more because they didnt break up as early as the V30's..
Then I reloaded the cabinet with Wizards and I am even happier with the cabinet now..

Not much experience with the XLA head since it didnt have seperate Eq's for each channel but I owned 2 XLS's with my 2 cabinets..
Sold the 50 watt head last year to some one and kept the 100 watt head it isnt going any where..
I gigged with it heavily along with the cabinets.. No problems ever them..
Even without the heater mod..

The only issue with the heads is you need to do the Heater Mod which you can look up on Lee's web site..

My 100 watt head I suspect needs a cap job due to being stored and not played for 7 years or so..



http://www.leejackson.com/Questions-Answers/
 
I had a Lee Jackson XLA here and I thought it was the best sounding of all his amps or mods I've heard. Not a gain monster, but very cool for a hot rodded Marshall type tone.
Jerry
 
JerryP":2tatzgmd said:
I had a Lee Jackson XLA here and I thought it was the best sounding of all his amps or mods I've heard. Not a gain monster, but very cool for a hot rodded Marshall type tone.
Jerry

I got to get with you about doing the caps on my XLS since you are familiar with the XLA :thumbsup:
It should be the same thing except with Seperate EQ's for each channel and an all tube effects loop..
 
I have owned the xla500, xls1000, xls500, and M-1000. I still own the M-1000 and the xls500 along with a Lee Jackson V-30 cab. The xla series was supposed to be direct copies of Lee's modded Marshalls. I did not like the distortion sound they had. I like the M-1000 although the bass can flub out, the xls sounds good with an eq in the effects loop. I won't sell these 2, they are goood enough to keep but no where near my 2 Friedman Marshall's. :)

LJ.jpg
 
FWIW - The V30 cab was the higher end of the 2 cabs. The eminence cab was the cheap cab.
 
I bought the Ampeg by Lee Jackson model brand new. It lasted about a month before it exploded. They wouldn't even fix it. They just gave me store credit. :lol: :LOL:
 
My keyboard player has an XLA 50. It sounds good but the gain starts getting muddy once you get up into it pretty good. But sounds really good at moderate and a boost. By itself, the amp is very stiff and unforgiving. The boost smooths it out though.

Schaf
 
:lol: :LOL:
I will say of everything he made under the Metaltronix banner, that preamp was killer :rock:
I'm trying to talk a guy near me out of his as we speak, it was mine 20+ years ago, I would like to hear it through my Marshall 100/100 power amp :yes:
 
I think that if u want a lee jackson u would be better off getting one of his old modded marshalls over that of the amps he made with crate or ampeg etc. I owned an old jmp that he modded and it was awesome and held up fine gigging for years with no problems although my tech told me that it looked a bit sloppy inside which was common with him at that time. At least a marshall mod will be built off of good parts unlike some of the crap components used on some of his more recent projects and will hold its value.
 
I had an Ampeg vl502 head and a vl503 combo- killer tones for the cash- blew away my Marshall DSL & TSL amps in warmth but not quite as clear

You can find those heads cheap cheap on the bay
 
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