Jet City JCA100 HDM Tube Guitar Amplifier Head Design by Soldano (100 Watts)
Four 6L6 power tubes, five 12AX7 preamp tubes, selectable 50/100-watt output, included footswitch -- this 2-channel guitar amp head has everything you need!
Overall User Ratings (based on 9 ratings)
Submitted March 15, 2011 by a customer from yahoo.com
"Glorious tube driven happiness!"
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I'm extremely pleased with my decision to buy a Jet City amp. It's different, not many people have one. It really sounds amazing, and looks cool. This amp has truly exceeded my expectations, and I did a lot of research on it beforehand.
Sound
You really can dial in any sound you can think of. All of the knobs make a noticeable impact on the tone. It has a pretty clean, and you can conjure up some nasty distortion. You can get some nice fuzz and classic overdrive out of it too. This amp is great for a wide variety of sound.
Features
It came with a one button footswitch to change between the two channels. It would be nice if it had reverb.
Ease of Use
Pretty straightforward, but if you're not sure about how to go about shaping your tone, the book gives you an idea of how to go about it. The outputs on the back make it easy, as there are different ones for different ohms. You can also change the power tubes without biasing, as long as you stick with the same type (6L6).
Quality
I don't think Mike Soldano would lend his name to a piece of crap. This amp looks to be built very well. Mine arrived in pristine condition.
Value
This amp costs a little less than other amps in it's class, and is just as good, or most likely better, than others.
Manufacturer Support
I have not needed to contact the company for anything.
The Wow Factor
This amp looks as good as it sounds, and vice versa. The tolex is nice and smooth. The metal grill looks great. Even the back of the amp is pleasing to look at. The blue led inside looks nice, and casts a soft blue glow. When the overdrive is activated another blue light comes on. There is one on the pedal too.
Musical Background:
Active musician with over 20 years experience.
Musical Style:
Metal! Classic rock, blues, and funk.
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Submitted September 27, 2012 by Brian F in Silvis, IL
"GREAT AMP!!!!!!"
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Have owned this amp for 3 weeks now, Also own a JCA2112rc 20 watt combo with reverb.
Sound
Sound is AWESOME!! Cleans sound good(Not fender good) But thats because your paying for the Overdrive channel on these(Think SLO). And that alone is worth its weight in gold!! Absolute Killer Hair Metal TONE!!!!!! Think Dokken, Judas Priest, Ratt, Etc.
Features
2- channels, Crunch/Clean, Overdrive/Lead-Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble, Master Crunch and Overdrive for volume control. 100/50 watt power switch,Presence and Depth controls. Quality materials put into it other then cheap no name china tubes. Depth is more lower mids control then all Low, But works very well to shape your tone. Cranking the Overdrive preamp between 7-9 darkens the tone up too.
Ease of Use
Very easy straight forward amp. You have to use the pedal included to switch from Overdrive/Lead channel to Clean/Crunch. Put the Overdrive channel on 4-5 ,Bass 6-7,Mid 3-4,Treble-5-6, Presence-6,Depth -7,Master Overdrive -3-4 and prepare for takeoff!!!
Quality
Very well made and its weight shows it(Heavy), Only had it about a month but have been playing it everyday and not had a problem,Heavy very solid well built amp.
Value
A+++++ Value here, Worth every penny spent on it and plan to enjoy it for many years. Just would be nice to have better quality tubes in them. Otherwise PERFECT!! SLO for $3000 or this for $900. Read the last review of the guy who owns a SLO and see what he says.Im a married guy with 3 sons on a budget whos a hobbyist player, not Donald Trump.
Manufacturer Support
I have dealt with the company for questions on my 2112rc combo that I had a problem with(Bad tube). Contacted the sevice center and got a response in an hour from Robert P. Extremely helpful with ALL my questions. Customer service is OUTSTANDING from Jet City. After they have your money they WANT YOU to be happy with their product. Unlike other companys that figure,Its your problem now.Can't think of enough GREAT things to say about them. My problems I had were all solved through E-mailing them.
The Wow Factor
It looks METAL and MEAN!!! Mine came in Pristine condition, Nice tolex, Awesome metal baffle, and the Blue LED glow off the tubes is just the icing on the cake!!!
Musical Background:
Been playing 3+ years,Guitar and just jam with friends who gig and at home for fun.
Musical Style:
Old school Metal,Rock,Christian,Blues
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Submitted July 14, 2016 by Phillip V in Calgary, AB
"SLO meets Plexi"
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
After the tubes were upgraded, this little beasty totally opened up as a world-class rock machine. Its been rock-solid for a year now, and as reliable as I could have hoped.
Sound
For starters, I upgraded the PA tubes to Ruby, and the preamp tubes to a mix of Mullard, Tung Sol and Ruby, as I didn't really like the stock tubes that it came with.OD Channel: I was blown away before I even started dialing it in with the entire tone stack set to 5!! Right off the bat I was getting a tone somewhere between Lynch Mob's "Wicked Sensation" and Dokken's "Under Lock and Key"!!!Crunch Channel: Added a little preamp to it, and the sound was immediately very very Hendrix-Plexi sounding!!My 2 favourite amp sounds in one head = happy guitarist
Features
I really like how the tone stack really affects the overall soundscape... the presence is a pretty standard feature, but the Depth mod was a very nice touch to balance off and enhance the presence
Ease of Use
It was easy as heck to get a great tone from it (once the tubes were replaced), I can't say enough about it
Quality
This is one seriously rugged piece of gear. I could find no flaws, and I'll also tell you that my amp tech was highly impressed with it as well. I have had it for a year now, and it is rock-solid
Value
I actually bench marked this with an SLO, and I have to say that the slight difference in tone is just not worth the extra $3000+ that I would have to fork out for an SLO!
Manufacturer Support
I found them quite quick on the response, and always helpful with information.
The Wow Factor
I absolutely love the design of it... I removed the 333 logo to expose more of the interior blue LED illumination... It looks as badass as it sounds
Musical Background:
I am a rock guitarist, and I've been playing for 20+ years, semi-professionally
Musical Style:
80's 90's rock... Dokken, Lynch Mob, Ratt etc
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Submitted October 14, 2013 by Tony N in Almont, MI
"Great sounds! Beautiful!"
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Purchased the JCA 100 from zZounds. Someone reviewed it on another site and said they couldn't get good clean sounds from it. Man, are they ever wrong. You just gotta know how to do it. The cleans are absolutely beautiful and when going to dirt is mean and nasty, in your face! Played out of Marshall (which is really great too) and many other amps. So far I think this is equal to Marshall but you don't have to spend as much.
I purchased the Jet City JCA24SV Vintage Guitar Speaker Cabinet (120 Watts, 2x12") and all I can say is WOWZER! It is smaller width-wise than the amp head, but I'll just have to save up for an extra cab if needed. Wonderful sounds. Really. Wonderful.
"Ease of Use" takes just a little experimenting as there is nothing I could find in the very short instruction manual to explain certain things.
Musical Background:
Been playing guitar since dinosaurs roamed the earth. Play electric guitars, acoustic, classical, and a host of other instrument
Musical Style:
rock, blues, Christian,
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Submitted May 27, 2012 by dustin g in tomah, WI
"Awesome!!!"
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This amp is great, you can dial in any tone you want, those who say you can't get clean out of it have no clue what they are doing, the tubes that come with it kind of suck but that's pretty much any amp these days, I got the amp blemished for 40% off so I will certainly not complain about buying new tubes for it, in my honest opinion even at retail this amp is a steal. jet city is a great company to deal with too, they'll usually email you back within a day if you have any concerns/questions and they are completely honest which is rare these days in a company. If you're considering this head just buy it now.
Musical Background:
Been Playing guitar for close to 20 yrs, was in bands when younger now just plsy for fun/hobby
Musical Style:
Hardcore/old school Punk, Ska, Classic Rock, Blues, Jazz, Industrial.
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Submitted April 10, 2012 by Brian B in Holbrook, NY
"well worth the money!!!"
I currently have a Soldano SLO 100 and love it. When I read that the JCA100HDM had the Overdrive circuit of the SLO, I had to order one. When I got it I couldn't believe how good it sounded. Don't get me wrong, you can see how the SLO uses higher end parts but in terms of tone, they are so damn close you can't tell which one your playing if you a/b them. I am contemplating selling my SLO because it hard to justify keeping an amp that costs 5 times the amount just because it's a Soldano, it's hand built and has a lifetime warranty. Now I can take my money and buy a Mesa mark v for metal.
Musical Background:
playing guitar for over 20 years
Musical Style:
Classic rock, hard rock and metal
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Submitted February 26, 2013 by Jeff L in North Smithfield, RI
"Nothing special"
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I just got this amp used from zZounds. The amps over all appearance looked great, but I didn't buy it for it's looks I bought it for the sound and the guy whom is behind designing the Jet City amp circut...I played it for an hour out of the box and walked away baffled...Everything worked but it sounds either muddy or tinny. I tried all types of setting and it seems to sound like a cheap amp, nothing special at all. I am running this amp through a single 8ohm vintge Marshall 4x12 cabinet loaded with 25 watt Greenbacks. I plugged the cab into the mono 8ohm option on the back NOT the 16 ohm single option.I tried many different EQ settings along with adding and cutting the presence and depth settings. Nothing seems to work well enough for me to say this is a great sounding amp out of the box. I am not being too picky but the tone in this amp out of the box dosen't give me the wow factor.I once owned an actual hand made Soldano HotRod 50 plus and remebering how that amp sounded vs this one, this amp's tone can't come close to matching the sustain and tone I got from an actuall Soldano head. I used premium JJ tubes in the Soldano vs the hystery China tubes that are in this amp. That makes a huge differance in tone.I am hoping a fresh set of quality tubes bring this amp to life if this is what is wrong with the amp.
Musical Background:
Studio
Musical Style:
Rock
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Submitted February 7, 2011
"Professional grade amp at an affordable price"
I own a Matchless Clubman that will not be getting as much use now. I don't plan to do any amp hunting for a long time.
Sound
This is the most versatile amp I've ever played. It goes from Classic Rock cleans to modern high gain. It doesn't do country music clean or black metal high gain.. which works out for me because I play americana, indie rock, hard rock, etc. The amp has a very tight modern drive to it but it sounds great for blues, etc.
Features
The amp controls are very simple, which is the way I prefer it. The added Depth Mod is great though I don't use it as much as I thought I would.
Ease of Use
Very intuitive
Quality
It is made in china, which is fine by me. The design/layout of the schematics is great and the parts are great.
Value
The design and flexibility of the amp is second to none when you consider the price tag. If price wasn't an issue we'd all own more $4000 amps
Manufacturer Support
I left a voicemail for Jet City and they returned my call and answered my question within about 2 days.
The Wow Factor
From a looks standpoint it is a very stock amp, nothing special. The black grill is an improvement over the blue/white one but I'll be honest and say that I'm no too thrilled about the Jet City 333 logo
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