Driving me crazy

I am going crazy trying to make up my mind here. I have a JP2C with a 2x12 that I use on sundays with my band and it is PERFECT there because I can turn it up and hit that sweet spot but when I am at home in my 10x10 studio I just can't get the tones I'm used to getting at practice. So I really want to get a Mark V25 with a rectifier 1x12 to have in my studio instead of using the giant JP2C but the only way I can afford to get that is by selling my Ernie Ball Music Man JP12 which is a amazing axe. Problem I'm having is making up my **** mind lol and I was hoping you guys could help me out not necessarily telling what to do but just to give me your thoughts.

Well first off I'd say it depends on how much you like that guitar. I have owned the 5:25 and the 5:35 before owning my JP-2C & I would say the 5:25 lacks a bit in my opinion. The 35 has a bit more low end to it but all in all the JP performs as well at low volume as the other two did and way better in the top end. They also have a bit of a different feel than JP does, I feel the little Mark series is stiffer and has more midrange honk. I have not tried my JP on my 1x12 cabinet yet but that may help you out as well. Best of luck.

One thing that amazes me is that I can play the jp-2c at home (not very loud but not super quiet either) and get great sounds across all the channels. True it ultimately shines at high volumes, but buying other amps is not going to get you the sound you say you are missing in the bedroom. 10 x 10 is boxy, so that is your biggest problem. Although I haven't used the cabclone yet, you could just go with the headphones and keep your guitar and not spend a dime. Unfortunately the cabclone is not an attenuator so that would be my second suggestion - get an attenuator. A rockcrusher, two notes or a few other brands cost a fraction of another mesa amp and open up more options. Active / reactive are better than passive / non-reactive here for remaining true to the sound. Of course the better the unit, the more it goes up in price. Look at the rockcrusher which is a popular unit and reasonably priced. I use a two-notes reload which is a little pricier and with my other amps it works great for the studio or at home and especially on-stage. I have not even tried it yet on my jp-2c since I have been able to get great sound at lower levels on all three channels. One of the amazing mesa technical accomplishments IMHO with this amp. I also own a JP15 guitar and like you, I would do anything to keep from trading one of those awesome jp guitars.

gsgard said:

One thing that amazes me is that I can play the jp-2c at home (not very loud but not super quiet either) and get great sounds across all the channels. True it ultimately shines at high volumes, but buying other amps is not going to get you the sound you say you are missing in the bedroom. 10 x 10 is boxy, so that is your biggest problem. Although I haven't used the cabclone yet, you could just go with the headphones and keep your guitar and not spend a dime. Unfortunately the cabclone is not an attenuator so that would be my second suggestion - get an attenuator. A rockcrusher, two notes or a few other brands cost a fraction of another mesa amp and open up more options. Active / reactive are better than passive / non-reactive here for remaining true to the sound. Of course the better the unit, the more it goes up in price. Look at the rockcrusher which is a popular unit and reasonably priced. I use a two-notes reload which is a little pricier and with my other amps it works great for the studio or at home and especially on-stage. I have not even tried it yet on my jp-2c since I have been able to get great sound at lower levels on all three channels. One of the amazing mesa technical accomplishments IMHO with this amp. I also own a JP15 guitar and like you, I would do anything to keep from trading one of those awesome jp guitars.

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Like gsgard, I also get fabulous tone out of mine both loud when playing live or rehearsing and at home. I usually use my Two-Notes STudio and run it into the monitors and I can play even quieter but having 2 Mesa IRs in stereo sounds amazing!

If you can't turn your JP2C up loud enough to get the sound you're after you're probably not going to be able to turn a Mark V:25 up loud enough either.

IMO.

I wouldn't sell a guitar that I love. Those can be hard to come by and you will regret it.

When going from playing in a band to playing at home by yourself don't be afraid to have completely different settings. Try exploring new settings for low volume playing. Don't give up on your JP2C yet. The only complaint I have against the JP at low volumes is all the low end it has. It can be tricky to tame. The amp tightens up wonderfully at loud volumes but, with the same settings, the low end can seem loose and undefined, not as precise when you turn the volume down. Best remedy for this is shred mode and starting from scratch with the EQ's. Keep experimenting, good tones are in there. Have realistic expectations, don't think you can get the same tones quiet as you can loud. screamingdaisy is right on too, getting in the V25's sweet spot is going to be freaking loud. Until Mesa makes a 1 watt amp, don't expect great bedroom tones from them.

I would just buy a 1x12 Recto cab & run it with the JP on 60 W mode, and re-EQ for low volume. That's what I did and it sounds great for in-home practice. I had an (inexpensive) attenuator for a while & didn't feel like it bought me anything that I couldn't get with knob turning.

Of course the tone isn't "as good" at low volumes, but I doubt you'll be able to buy anything better at those volumes.

Do not sell or trade something you would regret later on. Been there done that and have wished I had not.

I was told that the Mesa 1x12 cab sounds great (think it was the 1x12 wide body which is geared towards the Mark series and has the MC90 in it). And if you need more power handling in the speaker, you could always opt for the Celestion Red Back (need to hear one as it may be more vintage voiced like the creamback). Perhaps an EVM12L would work in that too. The head may even fit on top of the Thiele cabinet as it is just slightly smaller than the thiele in width.

What you have described is one reason why I went from the OS Recto 412 to the Vertical 2x12. Actually my studio before I moved it into a larger room was about the same size as yours. All of my amps just about fit but was cramped with the E-drums. Reason for moving to larger room was an acoustic drum set which would take up most of the floor space. I used the 412's in the small room since that is what I had at the moment.

There may be some tricks to getting the tones you hear during practice or jam sessions. Especially with dialed down volume levels the bass becomes more dominant. Try the shred mode at lower volume settings as this will give back the mids and treble that are lost at lower volume. Unless you use shred mode all the time, you may need some extra help to drive the amp harder at lower volumes (grid slammer or flux drive does a great job with the JP-2C as this was a surprise to me since I generally do not care much for OD or distortion pedals). Grid slammer cost considerably less than the 1x12 cabinet. The shred switch will cost you nothing, assuming you are not using that in your sweet spot as part of your tone shaping.

Wow thanks for all the help guys I finally decided to keep the Petrucci guitar because it is pretty much a Ferarri of a guitar and it has the Piezo on it which I love. So I dialed in the JP2C with the shred switch engaged and it sounds way better good suggestion for sure! Another thing I am trying is using the built in cab clone with my PA system. I have a nice little Yamaha 600i powered mixer with EAW (Eastern Acoustic Works) full range speakers for my studio setup and with the cab clone it sounds fairly decent but still tends to sound a little flubby with that so I am still dialing it in. I just bought a Shure GLXD16 wireless system so I can walk around the house playing guitar and I can turn up the amp way louder (while the family is not home of course) and I can hit that sweet spot without blowing my ears out its awesome! Hands down Boogie amps are the best amps and I hope to someday get a playmate for the JP2C preferably the Mark V35

SamualJ86 had suggested that to me a while ago. Definitely a good trick to use for low volume use. I went a different route with a Grid Slammer as I was trying to get some dirt on the clean channel, that worked okay but not exactly what I was hoping to achieve. One thing, the grid slammer or even the flux drive sounds awesome on CH2 and CH3. Adds some compression to the gain structure and may take away some of the note definition but sounds great. I actually like the grid slammer more than the shred mode with moderate volume settings.

Come to think of it, the master taper on all channels is more forgiving that it was with the Mark III and the Mark IV. With those amps, master at 2.9 was basically at a muted volume, set to 3 and it was like full on. That is one thing I do not miss at all. Not to mention having to use the manual all the time to figure out how to dial in your amp settings. That was driving me crazy. Mark IV was easier than the Mark III by a mile, Mark V was better than the Mark IV, the JP-2C so far is the easiest Mark amp I have owned to dial in. Almost as simple as the RA100.

I owned a V:25 for about a year and half--liked it a lot, but didn't love it. For me, the amp was always missing a bit of bottom end, mainly because of the two EL-34's in the power plant. Additionally, when I purchased the JP-2C I didn't have any real use for the V:25 anymore so I sold it. I wasn't playing the amp and I knew I needed to sell it so someone else could use and enjoy.

I get a great sound with the volume around 4ish in a room similar to a 10x10, maybe a 12x12. I keep the door opened, and have the cabinet angled in one of the dormers so it pushes "out" of the room.

Hard choice to make. I still regret selling my MK IV some 10 years back, however, I haven't regretted selling the V:25.