What's the consensus on the mesa JP-2C sig head?

[shredhead7]

I had my Triaxis repaired by Mesa and have fallen in love with the Mark sounds all over again. It has me curious about the JP-2C, mostly, because I think that heads sound better than pre amps + power amps (just something about the low end and the umph), plus it has midi, which is critical to my setup.

So, is it the greatest thing ever, okay, meh?

 

[reilly]

For me it was a giant let down. On paper it was everything I wanted (long time mark iv and mesa user). I made the mistake of ordering one without playing it first. I think it made it maybe 3 months before I sold it. The feel is very different from other mark series amps, cleans are clean, my gain channels were very noisy and overall it didn't seem like a very loud amp. On top of that I was constantly being told my tone had no cut and couldn't be heard live (maybe for a single guitarist band it would work).

I actual sent it back because I thought something was wrong with it and was told it checked out fine. I have seen a lot of them for sale even right after it came out.

You should absolutely play one before buying. Some people say they love them but I definitely did not and would take a Mark IV any day of the week.

 

[technomancer]

Love mine. The only noise issues I've had with mine is with shred mode on, but I have the same noise issues with most boost pedals. Basically if you like Petrucci's tone on the last album, that's what it sounds like when dialed in.

Consensus on the Mesa facebook group I'm on also seems like everybody likes it as well, with the occasional skirmish over which is better the Mark V or JP2C.

 

[Goat]

I heard there was an issue with the effects loop, which I'll assume was eventually rectified. I've owned two Mark IIC+ combos, both of which IMO sounded better than the JP-2C that I played through. I didn't get to play the JP-2C through a 1x12 EVM, so...

 

[Marshall Freak]

I love mine. While I am a marshall guy.. I've owned a couple mark IIC+, multiple mark III and Mark IV. (Like 4-5 each) and other than the original its my favorite. For pure lead tone, the jp-2c isnt quite a IIC+, there is a little something extra. But if you're looking for the most versatile mark, that's the easiest to dial in with all of its channels sounding awesome, it's the best one to get. The mark III and IV get a wee bit more trashy, aggressive, thrash like. The mark IIC+ has the best lead sound in the world and is a bit thicker on the rythymns, but the jp2c is the one I'd take if I wanted an amp to play shows with and have amazing mark tone. It's just so much more versatile than the others. That said I'm not sure it's more versatile than your triaxis.. you do need to play one to see IMHO

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Love it.

I own 2 original 1984 MIIC++ HRG and DRG models... so before anyone starts with the originals sound better shit... eat it. The JP-2C sounds great and hangs with the original MKIIC+ HRG 100/60W head as advertised. Love everything about the amp... 3 channels, dual eq, shred-mode... fx loop, footswitching everything. The JP-2C is on my short list of go to amps. Strong recommend for me.

 

[RedB4Black]

I liked the one I had, but it was a radio receiver so I had to sell it. None of my other amps broadcasted the local Spanish nightly news.

 

[Thunkful]

None of my other amps broadcasted the local Spanish nightly news.

 

[Metlupass2]

Loved the one I had but sold it after I profiled it with my Kemper.

 

[skullfxr]

I would love to try the JP. I have yet to find an opportunity.

Since that may be a null point I prefer my MkIVa to the mkV by a long shot. I tried to love the mkV but I kept the MkIVa over the mkV. But again nullifing I have never plugged into a mkiic++, although it would be a dream. I have played a handful of mkiii of various stripes, but that's all I can say tbh.

I must say that the JP looks amazing on paper.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I'm going to say that it would take me a while to see how I felt about the JP. I've used Mark amps for a long time and I HATED the Mark V when it came out in 2009. Sold it after a few months and used IIC+. III's, and IV's. Fast forward to earlier this year and I started playing with a band again and we've been doing shows. I was using a Mark IVb for a while but I started to get bothered by some of it's shortcomings live. I saw a cheap Mark V locally and it was mint, $1300. I tried it out and thought, sure, I'll work with it. I got it back in January and I'm still using it and sold my IV. It took me a while to really, I mean really get the hang of it but I think I have a good grasp for the V.

My Rule #1 with the Mark is if I'm not playing with the band and I'm not blasting the shit out of it then it goes in 10 watt mode at half power. At lower volumes 90watt mode and full power just does NOT sound good. I think sooooo many people, like myself, took the V home, set it at 90 watts watts, full power, but kept the volumes to about TV levels, or not to piss off the family level. IMHO the V WANTS to be cranked in 90 watt mode. It sounds stiff, uninspiring in 90 down low. The Mark IV on the other hand I found does indeed sound great at everything in full power but just slowly turning the master volume up. The V KILLS when it's pushing some volume and if the JP2C is anything similar then I bet it's the same case.

Live with a band the V is soooo much better than the IV for several reasons, some may not be a big deal but they are to me. Like it's a LOT easier to plug the foot switch cable into the amp, the handy little hooks to wrap the power cord around in the back, The clean and crunch channels which are a lot better than the IV. Lead mode....yeah I might still the IV a slight edge but I feel with tweaking and using the power modes I could get close enough to any IV after owning soo many of them over the years. And also, do the preamp swap where you put a 12AT7 in V4, I think it helps a little.

 

[PBGas]

I had a JP-2C last year. It is a great amp. Loaded with features. The EQ on these amps is so powerful. I usually ran mine in 60 watt mode with the Mesa widebody 1x12 and I really, really liked how it sounded. If was nice and easy to gig with. I already had a BE-50 that I was using regularly so this was sold. I hated the footswitch and I did not need reverb. I was going to get the amp and footswitch modified to turn the shred mode on and off but decided to sell it while I was able to get excellent value for it.

I would not hesitate to get another one however, the JP-2C model on the Axe III is damn fine so it has kind of quashed that desire to go down that road again.

 

[shredhead7]

Thanks everyone, now I'm gassing for a new head!

 

[kalt]

Love, love mine. Never had any problems at all. Very versatile head and a ton of fun to play.

 

[skoora]

I'm going to say that it would take me a while to see how I felt about the JP. I've used Mark amps for a long time and I HATED the Mark V when it came out in 2009. Sold it after a few months and used IIC+. III's, and IV's. Fast forward to earlier this year and I started playing with a band again and we've been doing shows. I was using a Mark IVb for a while but I started to get bothered by some of it's shortcomings live. I saw a cheap Mark V locally and it was mint, $1300. I tried it out and thought, sure, I'll work with it. I got it back in January and I'm still using it and sold my IV. It took me a while to really, I mean really get the hang of it but I think I have a good grasp for the V.

My Rule #1 with the Mark is if I'm not playing with the band and I'm not blasting the shit out of it then it goes in 10 watt mode at half power. At lower volumes 90watt mode and full power just does NOT sound good. I think sooooo many people, like myself, took the V home, set it at 90 watts watts, full power, but kept the volumes to about TV levels, or not to piss off the family level. IMHO the V WANTS to be cranked in 90 watt mode. It sounds stiff, uninspiring in 90 down low. The Mark IV on the other hand I found does indeed sound great at everything in full power but just slowly turning the master volume up. The V KILLS when it's pushing some volume and if the JP2C is anything similar then I bet it's the same case.

Live with a band the V is soooo much better than the IV for several reasons, some may not be a big deal but they are to me. Like it's a LOT easier to plug the foot switch cable into the amp, the handy little hooks to wrap the power cord around in the back, The clean and crunch channels which are a lot better than the IV. Lead mode....yeah I might still the IV a slight edge but I feel with tweaking and using the power modes I could get close enough to any IV after owning soo many of them over the years. And also, do the preamp swap where you put a 12AT7 in V4, I think it helps a little.

Almost everything here mirrors my experience with the V. Tried them on and off in the stores for a year or so and couldn't quite get a sound I liked every time. Came across one on a reduced deal at GC that sounded good to me, so throw in some no interest financing, a little "why the fuck not" and I took it home. 10 years later I still have it. Volume is key, especially on the channel masters for CH 2 and CH 2. I run mine with an attenuator all the time. But the real clincher was putting in 34's. Totally helped the EQ curve on all dirty sounds. Only loss was size and depth to the clean tone but A: it still sounded good clean and B: I never use a straight clean tone. I tried a JP-2C when it first came out and found the overdrive pretty uninspiring. Seemed very one dimensional. Within 5-10 minutes, I was done with it.

 

[Marshall Freak]

I'm going to say that it would take me a while to see how I felt about the JP. I've used Mark amps for a long time and I HATED the Mark V when it came out in 2009. Sold it after a few months and used IIC+. III's, and IV's. Fast forward to earlier this year and I started playing with a band again and we've been doing shows. I was using a Mark IVb for a while but I started to get bothered by some of it's shortcomings live. I saw a cheap Mark V locally and it was mint, $1300. I tried it out and thought, sure, I'll work with it. I got it back in January and I'm still using it and sold my IV. It took me a while to really, I mean really get the hang of it but I think I have a good grasp for the V.

My Rule #1 with the Mark is if I'm not playing with the band and I'm not blasting the shit out of it then it goes in 10 watt mode at half power. At lower volumes 90watt mode and full power just does NOT sound good. I think sooooo many people, like myself, took the V home, set it at 90 watts watts, full power, but kept the volumes to about TV levels, or not to piss off the family level. IMHO the V WANTS to be cranked in 90 watt mode. It sounds stiff, uninspiring in 90 down low. The Mark IV on the other hand I found does indeed sound great at everything in full power but just slowly turning the master volume up. The V KILLS when it's pushing some volume and if the JP2C is anything similar then I bet it's the same case.

Live with a band the V is soooo much better than the IV for several reasons, some may not be a big deal but they are to me. Like it's a LOT easier to plug the foot switch cable into the amp, the handy little hooks to wrap the power cord around in the back, The clean and crunch channels which are a lot better than the IV. Lead mode....yeah I might still the IV a slight edge but I feel with tweaking and using the power modes I could get close enough to any IV after owning soo many of them over the years. And also, do the preamp swap where you put a 12AT7 in V4, I think it helps a little.

Almost everything here mirrors my experience with the V. Tried them on and off in the stores for a year or so and couldn't quite get a sound I liked every time. Came across one on a reduced deal at GC that sounded good to me, so throw in some no interest financing, a little "why the fuck not" and I took it home. 10 years later I still have it. Volume is key, especially on the channel masters for CH 2 and CH 2. I run mine with an attenuator all the time. But the real clincher was putting in 34's. Totally helped the EQ curve on all dirty sounds. Only loss was size and depth to the clean tone but A: it still sounded good clean and B: I never use a straight clean tone. I tried a JP-2C when it first came out and found the overdrive pretty uninspiring. Seemed very one dimensional. Within 5-10 minutes, I was done with it.

Take the JJ tubes out of it first thing and put in some old or even new chinese preamp tubes. . They suck the life out of any amp ever made.

 

[psychodave]

I had a two Mark IIC++ amps at the same time owning a new JP2C. My HRG 2C++ sounded better than it (keep in mind, all 2C+ amps don’t sound good). I got my JP2C for $1,680 brand new in the box from a friend who got a few direct from Mesa. Even at that price, I could justify it with owning the real thing. In the end I dumped all of the amps and settled on a simple Mark IVa (which I never play). I probably should have kept the JP2C in retrospect since it was a cool amp in its own right....just not a real 2C+.

 

[Pearly Gates]

While we're here, how does the V 25 compare to the big V and others like III, IV, JP2C etc?

I had the V 25 for a while but sold it (for a tidy profit) as I got tired of it after a while. It wasn't that loud and just sounded small no matter what. The Mark character was there but the bottom end just seemed so small compared to my other amps. Got a bit over the GEQ and the strange eq controls etc. I like the immediacy of it the most and how it can stop dead straight away, but maybe a bit too suited for thrash metal on high gain than other genres IMO.

 

[Racerxrated]

I had a two Mark IIC++ amps at the same time owning a new JP2C. My HRG 2C++ sounded better than it (keep in mind, all 2C+ amps don’t sound good). I got my JP2C for $1,680 brand new in the box from a friend who got a few direct from Mesa. Even at that price, I could justify it with owning the real thing. In the end I dumped all of the amps and settled on a simple Mark IVa (which I never play). I probably should have kept the JP2C in retrospect since it was a cool amp in its own right....just not a real 2C+.

I tried one way back when they first came out, at a retailer in Mpls. Great sounding amp with tons of features, esp for the gigging player. I've had 4 real deal C+, a 60w SRG, 100w HRG, HRG++, and now the king C+ Coliseum KRG. I thought all the C+ I've owned sounded great to incredible. But I haven't played them all lol. The JP is a killer sounding amp in its own right but it's not a C+ and really, it couldn't be since those original transformers aren't made anymore as well as some of the original circuit parts aren't made anymore. There is something different about the tone of the originals that make them special.
But if I didn't have a vintage C+ I'd definitely grab a JP2C. I love having two amps with very different tones with my Mark and Marshall.

 

[stompboxfreak72]

I love my JP2c. I bought mine blind the month it came out for $2400. I was hesitant because I avoided the Mark Series bc of all the fine tuning that could be done. I’m not a tweaker.

I used the settings in the manual and have never veered from them. Amp sounds great. It’s also the only Mesa that has full blown midi capabilities if I understand correctly. I just bought a Boss ES8, Strymon Mobius and Boss DD200 to have fun with. I’m still working on programming it but it sounds great with a Tc Electronic Sentry Gate and a Boss SD-1 Wazacraft.