Mesa JP-2C Review

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Silverwulf

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After getting to spend some time with the JP-2C over the last few days, I'm comfortable enough to voice some thoughts and opinions on it. I'm always cautious about doing it too quickly or prematurely, so here's some initial thoughts and a brief review, current as of today (3/26/16). I'll update this post in the future with additional thoughts and addendums if I happen to have any. With that said, here we go.

For those that don't want to read my ramblings, I thought I'd start up front with some FAQ's that I've heard folks asking about over the last few weeks. After that, I'll go into some general thoughts...

Is the JP-2C the same as the Mark V on IIC+ mode?

No, it is certainly not. I had a first run Mark V when they were initially released (pre-ordered and had it shipped directly). I sold it after a while, and I picked up 2 more over the years to use. I have 2 (different) bandmates that have had Mark V's, one of which still has it today and uses it as his primary amp. I've extensively played the V's IIC+ mode, and the JP-2C is indeed different.

Does it sound exactly the same as an original IIC+?

This question is so subjective, it's impossible to answer. What exactly does an original IIC+ sound like to you? No two amps are going to sound exactly the same. I have 4 IIC+'s at the moment, and none of them sound exactly alike. Tubes, components, and countless other factors come into play so that a direct one-to-one comparison doesn't make much sense. Does it sound exactly like an original IIC+? No, but my original IIC+'s don't sound like one another either. What I can say is that they all certainly have the same inherent tonal basis at their core, JP-2C included.

Does it "feel" like a IIC+ when you play it? That's what makes the original IIC+ special!

Although it doesn't feel exactly like the original, I can say that it's the closest amp that I've played in terms of it, and that includes all the other Marks from the series, though I do have to give credit to my '85 Mark III (no stripe), which I honestly think some folks would plug into and mistake for a IIC+ if they didn't know better. The JP-2C has the type of give and (tight) sag that you get with the IIC+, but it's not exact in feel. HOWEVER, please keep in mind that the "Pull" knobs of the original are internally set and Volume 1 is a fixed value that isn't exactly how I dial in my IIC+'s. I think if I was able to edit those parameters on the JP-2C to the values I use on my IIC+'s, I'd get the rest of the way there. Petrucci's name is on the amp, not mine, so they're fixed to his preference. I attribute the fixed values to most of the difference. This is NOT a bad thing, just stating that it's impossible for me to try and dial them in identical to how I normally set my originals.

With some FAQs out of the way, it's on to the comments...

The Mesa JP-2C is a terrific amp. For folks wanting a more versatile and modernized IIC+, this certainly fits the bill, especially at the price point. For me, this amp has everything I wanted the Mark V to have - 2 lead channels, 2 graphic EQs, midi capability, etc. It's intended to be a multi-channel IIC+ for the 2016 guitarist (not a one-to-one reissue), and it achieves that goal.

One of the first things that I noticed was a lack of an overall master volume for the amp. I thought I'd miss it, but I don't. It's easy to dial in a balance among the channels, and I never wished I had one on it. In terms of volume, considering this is a 100W amp with a reverse engineered 105 PT, I assumed it be ridiculously loud. While it certainly can be when turned up, the volume taper is gradual enough to dial in lower volumes (unlike some amps that go from quiet to deafening with a touch of the dial), even when running at 100W. While this may surprise some, the amp shined at lower volume. It doesn't have to be earth shattering to get great tone, though turning up and opening up the power amp certainly adds to it. I would feel confident running at lower volumes in a smaller club and not worry about my tone suffering because of it.

Channel 1 is nice. It's clean with nice headroom and little to no breakup. You've got a wide range on the volume dial before it starts to get loud, so dialing in quieter cleans are no problem as well. The character of the clean reminds me of the old Mark cleans, but it's also got some modern vibe to it as well that hints at Mesa's recent clean tones. For those who need a really clean tone with no breakup, this is for you. Even with hotter pickups (EMG 81, Gibson 500T, etc), there's little risk of clipping it. If you need a clean tone on the edge of breakup, you're likely not going to get it without a pedal up front. It can be warm, or bright and urgent depending on how you have it set.

Channels 2 and 3 are classic IIC+ grind. It's the bright, forward, "clear" sounding drive you're used to hearing. It's tight, punchy, and articulate, surprisingly close to an original IIC+ drive sound. One concern that I had going in was whether the JP-2C would saturate enough for my liking due to the preset Volume 1 value. I typically run my originals Volume 1 control up around "9", and the manual notes that Channel 2 is preset around "6" (or "7.25" with the gain knob pulled) and Channel 3 around "7.5" (or "9" with the gain knob pulled). I find those values to be fairly accurate, though Channel 2 seems to have a hair more than anticipated.

The graphic EQs work as intended, though they seem a little more extreme than the originals. I'm not sure if the values have been tweaked from the originals, but I do feel as though I have to set the dials slightly differently to achieve the same results. Not an issue, as you should dial in tone with your ears anyway and not your eyes, but I wanted to make note of it. The pull knobs on the gain and presence work well and offer up a variety of sounds. When pulled, the presence knob acts like the presence knob on the original. Pushed in, it operates at a lower frequency. You can turn it up higher this way without it getting shrill, but I'm so used to the original that I leave it pulled on both channels. The gain knob when pulled helps if you need a little extra kick, and you can get the gain to around 3:00 without excess noise being added. With the gain knob pulled on Channel 2, Shred mode engaged, and the gain around 2:00-3:00, I think you'll not need more for heavy rhythm playing, though you can always defer to Channel 3. If you want a more classic heavy rhythm, you may not even want the knob pulled.

The "Shred" mode is a very welcome (and for me, necessary) addition to the amp. When engaged, it does exactly as it's intended - it juices the upper mids, saturates the signal a little more, and strips a little bit of the sub-lows to tighten things up. When engaged, this helps me with two things that could have been issue for me otherwise - the Volume 1 preset, and the "Pull Deep" function being permanently engaged. In the JP-2C, all of the original IIC+ pull knobs are internally set to be engaged (with the exception of "Pull Shift" on the Bass knob). This was a little problematic for me personally, as I never used the "Pull Deep". It was always too much low end for me. If you have the same issue, I would encourage you to engage the Shred mode. By removing some of the sub-lows, it gets the tone noticeably closer to when the "Pull Deep" is NOT engaged on the original. The Shred mode also kicks the gain up a hair (not a lot), but it's enough to help offset the Volume 1 control being internally set lower than I'm used to. For those reasons, I leave Shred on all the time for both channels, as it gets me closer to the IIC+ tone I'm used to. YMMV.

I've never been fond of the current production Mesa STR 440 6L6's, and though I like JJ's in some amps in general, I don't care for the ones that shipped with the JP-2C. After spending a brief time with the stock tubes, I pulled them, replaced them, and haven't looked back. I would encourage you to at least try the stock tubes before swapping, but if you have a favorite set or type you like in Marks, don't be afraid to try.

In all, this is a great amp that I'm happy I purchased. It's well worth the money and has more tonal options than a IIC+ would ever hope to have. Is it on par with an original? I'll still use my originals at home and to record, but the JP-2C is unparalleled in terms of versatility for live use, where I think it will shine for me. If you just play at home or record and want IIC+ tone, then buy an original. There's no substitute. You won't regret it. If you play with a band, need a versatile amp, and want classic Mark tones, get the JP-2C.

All opinions expressed here are exactly that - OPINIONS. They're neither right or wrong, just my perceptions, and YMMV. Use it as just one of many informational tools to help inform your buying decisions, but don't base it on my word alone. What I like, you may hate...and vice versa. Try one for yourself and make a decision that's right for you.

EDIT (3/28):

Quick iPhone clip of the JP-2C doing some basic chords and palm muting with a metal-ish tone. It's just my iPhone in the room, so it's not the greatest, but gives an idea at least. Listen on decent speakers if you expect to hear anything other than high end, haha:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJm6AX5Mnw
 
Great job silverwolf, I had about 3 hours with mine then left for a wedding, I wanted to bring it with me but the wife wouldn't have it. It was great to read your initial assessment, so much of what you mentioned I felt the same way, some of what you mentioned I didn't get to experience due to lack of time. Glad to read about shred and it's affect on counteracting the pull deep. I didn't use pull deep on an original and it didn't occur shred would have that affect. Don't have much more to say haven't spent enough time with it. I'll pick up where I left off when I get home Monday but I appreciate your Input.
 
That was a fantastic read silverwolf, thankyou!! I know you're still in the honeymoon phase, but, what would you say your favorite thing about this amp is so far? And what would you say is your least favorite thing about this amp so far?
 
Thanks for taking the time to write a very detailed and informed review. It may help someone who is "on the fence" about buying one make up their mind someday.

The one thing that I don't understand about the design is having little to no breakup available in channel 1. One of my favorite(on many of the old amps) sounds is channel 1 with the Volume 1 knob maxed out. But that is on a Simulclass amp in 15 watt mode. So maybe it was not meant to be on the new amp.
 
Buster Leggs said:
Great job silverwolf, I had about 3 hours with mine then left for a wedding, I wanted to bring it with me but the wife wouldn't have it. It was great to read your initial assessment, so much of what you mentioned I felt the same way, some of what you mentioned I didn't get to experience due to lack of time. Glad to read about shred and it's affect on counteracting the pull deep. I didn't use pull deep on an original and it didn't occur shred would have that affect. Don't have much more to say haven't spent enough time with it. I'll pick up where I left off when I get home Monday but I appreciate your Input.

Yeah, it's not exactly the same by any means with "Shred" on, but it gets the "feel" closer to my hands and ears. I look forward to getting your input!
 
SamuelJ86 said:
That was a fantastic read silverwolf, thankyou!! I know you're still in the honeymoon phase, but, what would you say your favorite thing about this amp is so far? And what would you say is your least favorite thing about this amp so far?

My favorite would be having three completely separate channels without having to compromise or share controls. When you couple that with the dual EQs, it makes for a very versatile live amp.

My least favorite would easily be the lack of a Volume 1 control. I ride that dial a lot based on my mood from day to day, so having it be a fixed value is an annoyance for me.
 
JOEY B. said:
Thanks for taking the time to write a very detailed and informed review. It may help someone who is "on the fence" about buying one make up their mind someday.

The one thing that I don't understand about the design is having little to no breakup available in channel 1. One of my favorite(on many of the old amps) sounds is channel 1 with the Volume 1 knob maxed out. But that is on a Simulclass amp in 15 watt mode. So maybe it was not meant to be on the new amp.

Yeah, you won't get anywhere close to that tone with his amp. I guess you could drop it to 60W, push the mids dial up on the clean for more boost, etc. But, that's certainly a IIC+ tone you will not find in this amp.
 
Silverwulf: from your review and additional comments, it *sounds* like one distillation might be:

"Yes, it's a IIC+. However, it's not only a more versatile C+, it is a C+ configured to John Petrucci's likings and some of the differences may not be to your tastes"

Does that sound fair? Not trying to put words in your mouth, just trying to see if I'm getting this right or not.
 
dlpasco said:
Silverwulf: from your review and additional comments, it *sounds* like one distillation might be:

"Yes, it's a IIC+. However, it's not only a more versatile C+, it is a C+ configured to John Petrucci's likings and some of the differences may not be to your tastes"

Does that sound fair? Not trying to put words in your mouth, just trying to see if I'm getting this right or not.

Yeah, I'd say that's fair. If I was building the amp my way for MY ideal IIC+ tone, it would have been Simul-Class, Volume 1 would have been set internally a little higher, "Pull Deep" would have been hardwired OFF, and on and on. Just because JP's preferences are different than mine doesn't make it "bad", same for everyone else. It just means you may have to adjust to get it closer to your vision.

For me, the differences are a small price to pay for the versatility. They've obviously went to great lengths to get it as close as possible to the originals. For others, it may be a deal breaker. If your favorite IIC+ is like JOEY above (Volume 1 on "10", running Class A, etc)...and that's what you NEED, this amp isn't for you. It's all subjective.
 
Silverwulf said:
dlpasco said:
Silverwulf: from your review and additional comments, it *sounds* like one distillation might be:

"Yes, it's a IIC+. However, it's not only a more versatile C+, it is a C+ configured to John Petrucci's likings and some of the differences may not be to your tastes"

Does that sound fair? Not trying to put words in your mouth, just trying to see if I'm getting this right or not.

Yeah, I'd say that's fair. If I was building the amp my way for MY ideal IIC+ tone, it would have been Simul-Class, Volume 1 would have been set internally a little higher, "Pull Deep" would have been hardwired OFF, and on and on. Just because JP's preferences are different than mine doesn't make it "bad", same for everyone else. It just means you may have to adjust to get it closer to your vision.

For me, the differences are a small price to pay for the versatility. They've obviously went to great lengths to get it as close as possible to the originals. For others, it may be a deal breaker. If your favorite IIC+ is like JOEY above (Volume 1 on "10", running Class A, etc)...and that's what you NEED, this amp isn't for you. It's all subjective.

Awesome! What is cool about that to me is that it implies that this is, at its core, a stable IIC+ platform that could conceivably branch out into some other models and options.

I'm totally down with JP's preferences, so I'm not really looking for anything else, personally. 6L6s operating as a clean amplification system for preamp gain works just great for me and I have enough range between channels 2 and 3 to meet my Volume 1 preferences (my favorite setting on the Mark III was Blistering Lead, which had the Volume at 7, Treble at 9, and Lead Gain at 5. I goosed the Volume at about 9 when I didn't care how the cleans came out but it still sounded great at 7, too).

They really need to figure out what made the differences here and keep them.
 
I kind of wish it had Volume 1 for heading the other direction. I sometimes like to run it low in the 2-4 range to get point of breakup sounds. Really like the Shred switch. I would probably run it with Channel 2. In general I prefer it off for lead playing. I cranked the Master on the clean channel and got power amp distortion. Running Gain, Treble and Midrange high. Bottom line is this is my favorite amp Mesa has introduced since the Mark IV twenty five years ago. I like all the amps Mesa has made.... Just have my preferences. For my taste the JP2C is the best Mark for live use. Great review.... Enjoyed it and can confirm it was similar to my experience with the JC2C.
 
played the jp2c next to my v yesterday. my v has doug's preamp cocktail kit and ruby el34bstr tubes in it. I preferred the fat mode 45 watt tube setting on my v over the clean channel on the jp2c, just a sweeter juicier clean sound with my alnico pros set to single coil. and the mark iv mode 90 watt pentode setting over channel 3 on the jp2c. i just prefer the bouncy 3d type effect of the mark iv setting myself, but the jp2c is definitely different and ballsier than the 2c+ on the v. channel 2 is a wash for me in a way because i like edge mode at 45 watt tube setting with slight breakup for hendrix type stuff. it's a nice amp but i prefer my v as i like to play lots of different styles of music.
 
kreatorkills said:
played the jp2c next to my v yesterday. my v has doug's preamp cocktail kit and ruby el34bstr tubes in it. I preferred the fat mode 45 watt tube setting on my v over the clean channel on the jp2c, just a sweeter juicier clean sound with my alnico pros set to single coil. and the mark iv mode 90 watt pentode setting over channel 3 on the jp2c. i just prefer the bouncy 3d type effect of the mark iv setting myself, but the jp2c is definitely different and ballsier than the 2c+ on the v. channel 2 is a wash for me in a way because i like edge mode at 45 watt tube setting with slight breakup for hendrix type stuff. it's a nice amp but i prefer my v as i like to play lots of different styles of music.

Absolutely. This amp and the Mark V certainly cater to 2 different crowds. I'm going to spend some time with mine this week and put it through it's paces to determine if I keep it. It's a great amp and well worth the money. My question I have to figure out is will I use it while I have all the other Marks (6 other Marks from IIC+ to IV) plus a Triaxis rig.
 
Markedman said:
My C++ will be here Wednesday and I'm picking my JP2C up this week and I'm borrowing a Mark V25, I'm boogieing. My hands hurt, seriously.

Awesome... 8)

Just added a craptastic "iPhone in the room" metal clip above (posted here as well). Nothing special about it, just my phone on the floor as I did some basic palm muted stuff. You'll have to listen on decent speakers to hear any of the low end, as you'll just hear high end on laptops and phones haha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeJm6AX5Mnw
 
Dreamtheaterrules said:
kreatorkills said:
played the jp2c next to my v yesterday. my v has doug's preamp cocktail kit and ruby el34bstr tubes in it.

I just got a V. What is Doug's preamp cocktail kit?

http://www.dougstubes.com/guitar-amp-tube-kits/preamp-tone-kits.html
7 preamp tubes. if you want el34's get the Ruby EL34BSTR, they sound killer even with cleans.
 
Hey Silverwulf, you mention that the Mark V and JP2C is catered to two different crowds. I've owned a V and found it incredibly versatile in a cover band situation (80's Hair band tribute). I'm curious and wonder if you could elaborate on that, as I would expect it to be just as versatile. I understand the basic differences you mention in your overall review, but would like to hear a little more in particular (sonically) between these two great amps. Thanks for your time.
 
Got my amp today, #308...i can comment more after playing it for more than a few minutes, but I'm certainly impressed. I never had a c+ so I can't compare, but I have had the iv and v and prefer the JP for straight up metal tones. The v is technically more versatile in that there are 3 diff modes within each channel, allowing for greater variety in core tones (edge, crunch, fat, clean etc vs. the main c+ esque tone found in the jp-2c), but tweaking the various settings and g-eqs on the jp-2c def. makes it flexible in its own right.

Comparing V to JP distortion, I'd say that the JP sounds sort of like if you were to make a hybrid of the c+ and extreme modes on the V (hard to describe but try to think of that in the best way possible). The distortion is rich, full, tight yet feels fluid and easy to play, percussive...etc. Best to just go try one.

Another important note is that the volume taper is excellent on the jp and is actually easier to control than something like the v:25 despite the wattage difference.

I made a quick (shitty) iphone clip playing some metallica with a different eq curve than the standard V for some variety...

http://youtu.be/NziDMdLN1_g

Edit: here's another iPhone clip of some more aggressive tones on channel 3 with the regular and deep V curve

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yly7qWpU3b0
 

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