Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just seeing if someone here knows: On some Roland Jazz Chorus amps, the Chorus section of the panel is labeled Chorus/Vibrato, and on some is labeled Fixed/Manual. Is there any difference in the sound between the two variations? It seems to me there was, but I can't recall.

I checked the manualsonline. The JC 90 has the "res/man," while the JC120 has "chorus/vibrato."

JC120 manual: http://lib.roland.co.jp/support/en/manu ... 120_e4.pdf

Alternately, you could email Roland: http://www.rolandus.com/support/

The difference in controls is because the JC 120 allows you to alternate between a "chorus" and a "vibrato" effect. The JC 90 only has chorus.

Thanks Paulie - there's not a lot of rhyme or reason to it, 'cause I've seen dual-speaker versions with Manual instead of Vibrato. Hmm.

I edited my earlier post, so Kenny's reply might not make sense. I hypothe3sized that the difference might be between the single and two speaker amps, but this was incorrect; the difference is that the JC 90 has only "Chorus" effect, while the JC120 has both "Chorus" and "Vibrato." Interestingly, the controls on the 90 apparently allow one to adjust the speed and depth of the chorus in "manual" mode, while the 120's chorus mode is fixed, and the speed and depth controls are only adjustable in the vibrato mode. I did not know this. I've never owned a JC, though I have played through a 120 on a few occasions.

Control descriptions from the manuals:

JC 90
10. DEPTH Knob
This knob adjusts the depth of the chorus effect. Clockwise rotation deepens the chorus effect.
11. CHORUS Switch
This knob selects the Chorus effect mode (FIXED/OFF/MANUAL). When it is set to the “OFF” position neither effect will be obtained. *Neither the speed nor the depth of the FIXED mode can be changed.

JC 120:
9. Vibrato SPEED Knob
This knob adjusts the rate (frequency of the sound vibrarions) of the vibrato effect. Clockwise rotation increases the vibrato speed.
10. Vibrato DEPTH Knob
This knob adjusts the depth of the vibrato effect. Clockwise rotation deepens the vibrato effect.
11. VIB/OFF/CHORUS Switch
This knob selects the Chorus or vibrato effect. When it is se to the “OFF” position neither effect will be obtained.
*Neither the speed nor the depth of the Chorus effect can be changed.

Cool.

So here's my question: Which of the series has Vibrato, besides the JC120?

kennyhowes wrote:Cool.

So here's my question: Which of the series has Vibrato, besides the JC120?

Currently, only the 90 and 120 are in production, so of those models, the 120. Of other JC models, if you Google manuals for each, you come up with the

JC50 and JC 60 have chorus/vibrato:
JC 50: http://www.pdfdocspace.com/docs/9441/ro ... anual.html
JC 60: http://www.pdfdocspace.com/docs/9444/ro ... anual.html

JC 55 and JC 77 have chorus only:
JC 55/JC 77 manual: ftp://ftp.roland.co.uk/productsupport/J ... -77_OM.pdf

To quote our friend Paul W, "Google is your friend."

Why does it sound I'm the one who's worked at a music store?!


. . . Oh, wait; I actually did, part-time, at a friend's shop, but I don't recall any JC amps in the store.

Got a nice vintage JC-120 for ya Paulie

Or anyone else for that matter.

whojamfan wrote:Got a nice vintage JC-120 for ya Paulie

You might need a trailer ...heavy as it is..

When I used to own a 77, 90, and 120 at the same time, I played with this. I could never tell the difference between fixed and manual. I think it's really just like it says, a disabling of the adjustments.

I could never get the manual to sound good.
The fixed is a nice light shimmer.
The manual sounds like a drunken calliope nightmare.

Then I guess what I'm looking for is a JC50 or a JC60, one with actual Vibrato and not the "Fixed/Manual," and not the JC120 (too big for my purposes).

Too bad the Vibrato's not on one of the other stereo amps like the JC77.