Roland JC-40 Jazz Chorus Guitar Combo Amplifier
Get that classic Jazz Chorus clean tone in a 40-watt amp! Enjoy the same stereo capabilities of its bigger brother with the two inputs and dual 10" speakers.
$699.99
- 12 x$58.33
- 8 x$87.50
- No Credit Check6 x$116.66
- No Credit Check4 x$175.00
Overall User Ratings (based on 6 ratings)
Submitted August 8, 2020 by a customer from gmail.com
"I year in with my JC40"
I will never part with this amp. There seem to be no bad issues at all .... just consistent, good quality sound. Roland have a real winner here, as dialing is super easy, and the size and weight are perfect. I happened to hear the Shadows play 'Telstar' the other day and dusted off my old Cimar strat copy and had a go. After hearing what this amp can do with that genre, I really urge Roland to do a demo that includes Hank Marvin material as well. Impressive !
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Submitted May 25, 2024 by Brent B in Plano, TX
"Everything you have heard is true"
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This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
People have been saying it since the Roland Jazz Chorus came out in the 70s: this is the clean tone that other clean tones wish they were. Hands down one of the absolute best if not THE best clean tone in the game.Sure the amp is solid state, but this is not new age digital modeling. It's 100% old school analog and in my opinion represents the very best of the solid state technology available today. It's important to understand that Roland designed the JC with one objective in mind, have the best clean tone possible. Its not trying to "behave like a tube amp", so its dynamic and responsive, but in a different way than your probably used to.Aside from the pristine clean tone and stereo configuration, the JC is loaded with a really nice reverb and the ever famous Dimensional Chorus/Vibrato. It's one of the nicest and fullest sounding true stereo chorus effects I have ever heard. Right out the box you have pretty much everything you need to jam. The last feature is the distortion control and it is somewhat controversial, mostly because people misunderstand how it's supposed to be used. It is not really meant to be cranked or give you a metal/hard rock type tone. Its use is in the context of jazz and is designed to add slight crunch and grit to the guitar to help it "cut" through the other instruments in the ensemble and be heard better. Alternatively, a small amount of distortion may be applied when using overdrive and distortion pedals. This gives the the pedal something more "to bite" on and generally makes these kinds of pedals sound better than without.For me the use of this amp is likely different than others. My main motivation for buying this amp was for its perfect clean tone to help me when I practice. This amp is SO clean that when you make mistakes or technical playing errors you will hear every single mistake you make. It helps me focus and improve my technical playing. For this purpose I have found it to be very good.At the end of the day if you like a really solid clean tone and don't care about having a "dirty" or "drive" channel the value of this amp cannot be beat. It's also straight forward and easy to use. Its pretty hard to get a bad tone out of the JC.
Sound
The sound quality is awesome. It's stereo, which is cool, and the clean tone is one of the best out there. The feel is responsive and dynamic, albeit in a different way than a tube amp. Only thing it lacks is any kind of useful distortion or overdrive, but that's not what this amp is about so that's OK
Features
Everything on the amp is well thought out and pretty useful. Even the controversial distortion effect has its place if you know how to use it. The bright switch is great to use with humbuckers, which can sound kind of dark without it. I especially like the true stereo inputs, and the stereo return in the effects loop. Also has foot switch jacks for all of the on board effects. Great stuff if you use the amp to gig.
Ease of Use
It's real easy to get nice tones out of the JC. The controls are simple and familiar, volume, 3 band eq, the usual. Bright switch makes the sound brighter, but is really hand when playing with hum buckers as they tend to sound dark with out it on. Turning on the Dimensional-C makes everything better usually.Takes pedals pretty well, especially modulation and time based effects (reverb/delay). A lot people like to use drive and dirt pedals with the JC and it sounds ok to me, but I generally prefect to keep the JC clean. If I'm going for a dirty tone, I'm not grabbing the JC in the first place.
Quality
Roland has had and does have a reputation of having some of the best made an highest quality stuff on the market. Boss which is a division of Roland makes pedals built like a tank, and the construction of this amp is on par with that. Totally looks like it was meant to be gigged. Very rugged and solid. It's quite heavy for its size, but I think that is a sign of quality.
Value
The amp is a great value. Tons of features for the price. Honestly I cant really think of anything to compare this to that is equivalent to the JC at any price.
Manufacturer Support
Roland's customer service is aight. They take their time to respond (but do), fortunately their stuff is rock solid, so the likelihood of having to deal with them is slim.
The Wow Factor
If you need a clean tone, a real good clean tone, than this is THE amp. It's been a legend for decades and musicians in the know will tell you that this is the clean tone amp. Apparently the JC was Kurt Kobain's secret weapon for his clean tone, so that tells ya something right there. Its truly a great amp.
Musical Background:
Rockin' for 20+ years
Musical Style:
jazzy licks to melodic death metal
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Submitted March 27, 2016 by Steve K
"Nothing else like it !!"
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The JC-40 combo is one of those amps that's hard to beat!! It does everything well! My acoustics sound great and of course, my electrics too. Responds well to pedals and who can argue about the best chorus sound on the planet !! It's built like a tank, looks beautiful too. I've never had a Roland product in the shop... They just don't break!!
Musical Background:
Pro
Musical Style:
Rock, blues, jazz, country, gospel, fusion and all derivatives there of...
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Submitted August 9, 2020 by Jon A in Lake Tahoe, CA
"Nice SS Amp"
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Just got this in and it was larger then I expected, maybe should of got the 30 watter, but got this at a good discount as a blemish. I do like clean sounding amps and this one is right there, it shines while sounding very musical as I like it, nice having 2 10's very full body sounding, so maybe I would had been disappointed having the 2 8' model.Roland likes plastic, the amp corners really should be metal, if ur gigging with it be sure to spring for a padded cover. The hiss ur reading about, yeah its there, I just wish I had these reviewers hearing that are complaining about it. Yes the distortion is useless, they should of put a one knob delay in its place, also its true the chorus takes out ur low end and I love bass so this is a negative for me, but the chorus is nice sounding and spacial. The digital reverb that I read negative reviews about, for me it's just fine, I hear more of a stereo effect in the verb then the chorus. Anyways you will have no problem keeping up with a loud drummer, the amp cranks as I took to 1 pm and was quite surprised at the output. In my living room I keep it at around 9:30ish and that's perfect for me. This is the beauty of SS amps they sound good at any level and since I'm a clean player this a good amp for that. Bottom line I got this for the JC cleans, if I should ever go out again and gig/jam with others I'm covered, it's a nice handsome bigger amp for house/studio levels. I had 4 Roland Cubes before this and have to say they had been nothing but 100% realiable and that speaks volumes tho yes they are pricey, but hey a whole lot cheaper then those boutique amps which this amp would rival them for guitar amp cleans, JC have been out for years and years and there's a reason for that!
Musical Background:
Playing For 50 Years
Musical Style:
Jazz, R&B, Blues, Americana, Classical, Soft Rock, Instrumentals
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Submitted August 20, 2017 by Bobby Payton in Grove City, OH
"Great Amp!"
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There was a negative review written about the quality of the Volume&Tone Control Knobs etc.They are the same or very similar to its Big Brother the JC-120.I don't get it!
Musical Background:
Lead Guitarist&Vocalist
Musical Style:
Smooth Jazz/Pop
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Submitted January 14, 2016 by Vanessa P in Medford, OR
"Awesome sound; questionable build"
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In summary, this amp meets every expectation I had for sound quality, but falls a little short on build quality.
Sound
Well, you buy this amp because you want the ultimate in clean, transparent tone, and that's exactly what it delivers - YOUR guitar, uncolored, just the way you like it. We all like the guitars we play because of their inherent tone, and the JC-40 lets of all that come through.
Features
Stereo signal path! Stereo inputs, stereo returns on the effects loop. And of course, that lush, spatial chorus. All 5-stars (PLUS!!). The distortion is very user friendly, but not something to write home about. It's been upgraded from what they put in the 120's, so it's comparable to their basic distortion pedals (Boss-brand). The Vibrato is standard fare and can give you anything from a soft, tremolo-like wave to a fully contorted warble. The reverb sounds like it has a hint of spring in it, but it's not remarkable. Not great/not bad.There's also a headphone input for privacy or just being quiet for the kids or neighbors.On the downside, no pedal for switching on/off the Chorus, Reverb or distortion. This is a smaller amp with Distortion, Reverb, Chorus and Vibrato. With an initial release price of 6 Benjamin's (Jan 2016), for a smaller amp, I'm a bit disappointed that no pedal is included. The instruction manual gives you options for Boss pedals you can BUY additional. My suggestion is get one at the outset. Boss latch pedals in the FS series is what you want.
Ease of Use
As easy as any other combo amp.
Quality
The build quality leaves a bit to be desired, unfortunately. The knobs are bigger than what I expected, and they feel solid turning them back and forth. However, they are plastic - another disappointment for a smaller combo amp in this price range. If you're traveling a lot (and you know how equipment gets scuffed and banged up), these knobs strike me as very breakable if you aren't very careful. I would suggest getting something to cover/protect the knobs when traveling.The corner-piece protecters are also a thin, plastic material.Otherwise, the amp is solid, LOUD, and a little heaver than I was expecting. But unless you're playing to a large venue, this beats the JC-120 in terms of size and weight.
Value
The value of this amp is very obviously in its top-notch clean, transparent sound and lush chorus. But I do feel that the plastic parts and the lack of a pedal make the JC-40 a bit overpriced.
Manufacturer Support
Haven't needed manufacturer support. Just got the amp today (Jan 2016)
The Wow Factor
Not much wow, here. Don't get me wrong - the amp sounds AWESOME! But, I was expecting an amp with great clean and transparent sound, with a lush, spatial chorus, and that is what I got. I had high expectations for the sound quality, and those were easily met.
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