Jet City JCA5212RC Guitar Combo Amplifier Design by Soldano (50 Watts, 2x12")

With 50 watts of all-tube power, this two-channel combo amp creates a vintage tone inspired by classic tube amps, but with that sparkling Soldano sound.

Overall User Ratings (based on 3 ratings)
  • Overall:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Sound:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Features:
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Ease of Use:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Quality:
    3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Value:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Manufacturer Support:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • The Wow Factor:
    4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(3) (see rating details)
Submitted January 25, 2012 by Michael C in Prophetstown, IL

"I am completely blown away by this amp"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
I am a hard rock/metal player and lead vocalist who is starting a project that will gig alot and I wanted a combo amp that would stand up in tone and durability and be completely versatile. My research led me to this amp, which led me to ZZounds, which made me an owner. And it has been hands down, the best purchase I have made in a very long time.
Sound
You can say what you want about "Soldano sound" and you can tout the Soldano name as freely as you want, but until you plug your guitar in and experience this amp you are just name dropping. Flip the switch and it will be jaw dropping. Simply put, this is the best sounding all tube amp under a $1000 you can ever get. Period.Here is my experience from right out of the box. First of all, the packing of this amp for shipment is pretty cheap. I mean stupid cheap. But the amp came out of the box completely undamaged so I guess its adequate despit the looks of it. I let the amp warm to room temp and plugged it in. I let the tubes warm for about 5 minutes. I plugged in a PRS Singlecut. The clean channel is clean. I mean very clean. No gain control, just clean. Switched to the Crunch channel and slowly dialed up the gain looking for the breakup and kept dialing it up till I reached 10. I was expecting a massive saturation and was instead served up a crunchy classic rock sound that was really sparkly and warm. I play harder rock/metal so this tone just will not do. So I unpacked the Metal Muff which I also bought from ZZounds and started a chain. I was straight in before this. I stepped on the Muff and the best sounding tone I have ever experienced from a tube amp came billowing into the room. I was stunned. Absolutely stunned. I immediately dialed in some settings on the amp of Bass 10, Mids 4, Treble 3.5 and turned the gain down to about 5.5 or 6. Brought the distortion up on the Metal Muff to center and and bass at 4 mids at 2.5 and treble at 3.5 and it just all came together in one of those rare moments when you know your research paid off and you bought stuff that lived up to the hype.The definition of the sound, the attack and clarity, are something you have got to hear to believe. The amp has such a sweet tone when you hit these massive open chords it shimmers and pounds you at the same time. Make no mistake...you hear EVERYTHING with this amp and its design is not by accident. Soldane knows how to give you something you can experiment and mold to your own. This amp is packed with the opportunity for you to find your "grail". I did. It is the perfect sounding amp.
Features
The most useful feature for me is the crunch channel. With the use 12AX7b tubes they reach saturation at lower levels than A tubes and this is the perfect scenario for me to get my tone. The master volume on 2.5 is loud enough for a room and to not kill living things at all. The amp sings when the master reaches 4.5 to 5 and that is about band paractice volume. It really allows you to dial in saturation to those B tubes and get the cabinet involved to resinate to your liking. Like I said...perfectly customizable.
Ease of Use
It is a simple straight forward design and it does not get any easier than this. Two channel footswitch with an effects loop(i really will probably wish this was switchable later)
Quality
Packing was really sub par but adequate. The amp itself is built well. Looks fantastic and feels durable and quality made.
Value
You will never ever ever find another amp in this price range that can do what this amp does or sound like this amp sounds. Period. I have been playing guitar for 30 years and have more than been around the block with amps. I am convinced this is the best value, without sacrifice, of any all tube amp. Hands down.
Manufacturer Support
Have not dealt with them.
The Wow Factor
It sounds stunning. I compared it with my guitarists Dr Z boutique amp last night at rehearsal by swapping out pedal boards and this 5212 blew it away. This Dr Z Senior is almost two grand with nohwere near the features and it was absolutely defeated by this Jet City amp at half the price.

Musical Background:

Professional Musician

Musical Style:

Hard rock/Metal
21 of 21 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted April 7, 2011 by a customer from ameritech.net

"The 5212rc is THE combo amp for you!"

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I do not plan on replacing it, but getting an extension cab for it at some point. If it was lost or stolen I would get a replacement. What I like least about it is the minor cosmetic flaws due to shipping. What I like most about it is the tone!!!
Sound
The Soldano sound without the price! It's the only Jet City amp with the Soldano Lucky 13 "clean" channel. It is great for blues and rock.
Features
The amp comes with a two button switch for reverb and switching between the two channels. The amp has all the features you need except that you have to use the footswitch to switch channels. It needs a switch on the amp to also switch channels. The metal grill on the back of the amp is a nice touch. It prevents damage that can occur to speakers with an open back design.
Ease of Use
No problem getting great sounds by just changing the knob settings. A twist of the gain, presence, reverb knobs gives a new sound. The manual, however, could be more detailed, especially the section regarding connecting external cabs. The impedance indicated in the manual does not match the impedance indicated on the back of the amp.
Quality
The product is made well, but there are some quality control issues from the factory and/or shipping. The speaker cloth coloring is not consistent on some of their amps and my amp had a couple of minor shipping dings. The shipping carton could be improved. However, the amp electronics will hold up to the road - gig to gig.
Value
There are no line of amps in Jet City's price range that offer as much value for the money as Jet City
Manufacturer Support
I have emailed Jet City and they respond to all customer concerns. Jet City really wants all customers to be happy.
The Wow Factor
The sound and the looks make this a valuable addition to my setup. It fits in nicely with my new Fender amp.

Musical Background:

Hobbyist now, formerly Active Musician

Musical Style:

Rock, Blues
13 of 13 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted December 2, 2012 by sean t

"jet city 50 w combp"

Overall: 2 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
hi bought this and returned it after 3 days-the volume is all from 8 to 10-and its not very loud sounded like a 15w to me very disappointed with it.i emailed jet city and they said thats sthe way it was designed all the voulume is fromm 7 to 10 and if they were designing it again they would do it the normal way ,hope this helps-sounded ok but not 50w.thanks

Musical Background:

10, years have vox ac 30 crate v3112

Musical Style:

blues
3 of 10 people (30%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Please wait.