Um...
I bought a JJ100 with the added MV, bear in mind I come from the Bogner and Diezel camps (respect!). Always loved Cantrell's tones - and have a host of "Cantrell like" heads and effects and pre's and so forth. But the JJ came out when I was living abroad... I came back and just a couple weeks ago got my hands on one from Stevie K. It felt like "home" immediately. I think it was under 2 minutes of knob twisting to get it to where I stepped back 15ft to my sofa and just played for HOURS using the footswitch now and then to change it up, and the controls on my guitar. What has blown me AWAY with this amp is its nuances - the devil in the details - the *feel*. By no means is this a better than/worse than Bogner, Diezel, Mako, Fryette, TwoRocks, Cornford, Soldano yada yada yada argument - it's just a factual statement. The immediacy of its touch response and sensitivity, the overtones, the bloom, the articulation, I was gobsmacked (
oddly enough I've never written that word before - least to the best of my recollection, and am not even 100% sure it means what I'm intending it to mean, but basically the amp fucking laid me OUT with HOLYSHITNESS!!! in a good way)
So my buds say "oh you like that JJ eh?? You oughta try the Butterslax - it's even "more" than the JJ....". Kinda hard to worry about lookin' at other women when you're dating two Swedish model sisters, but you know, it can happen.
So I ordered the Butterslax as well and it oughta be here by the weekend. I watched the Kelliher demo and it left me empty - just 'meh'. Then Reza threw down some blistering demos, and this piqued my curiosity. Then JerEvil (Dunkys'n'Demos) did a few run-throughs and this was the absolute clincher for me. I will forever be happy with the JJ - absolutely hands down 100% fucking AMPED about this head and cab - period. But according to "friends in the know", "Hey Mo, you want a little more low end and some heft and some heavier "heavy", go with the Slax..." so I did.
But the JJ100 was my intro to Friedman - and it is by far the first amp I've ever plugged into and felt immediately "at home" with. Just like picking up a magic Lester, it feels like home. Now this is not to say it takes away from my immense happiness with all the Bogners and Diezels and hosts of other amps I've played, kept, had, sold, moved, re-purchased, re-sold, etc. I'm just saying, there's magic in that headshell, and it comes out in ways I wasn't expecting - namely - "feel" and dynamics. The tone is all win, and requires no mention here. It's "my" tone - period.
So - ya, the JJ is my money shot. Suppose we'll see what the Slax offers.
Dirty Shirley is appealing too - who knows?? As it's been called before - the Friedman "rabbit-hole".
I like holes. And tend to act like a rabbit around certain types of holes. So there's something to this I am sure