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Roland JC 120

loberg3loberg3 Posts: 16
edited December 2003 in Musicians and Gearheads
Hello, I am new but I've been reading some of these post and its seems many of you guys are very knowledged about this stuff. so heres my question.

A few friends and I have been goofing around playing a bit and I had a small marshall practice amp, well once we started rockin out a little, I couldn't here anything over the drums. then I got into some money and found a good deal on a Roland JC 120 and I bought it. well now we have another guitarist and he has the same problem(small Silvertone amp), getting drowned out by me and the drums.

well here's the question, since it has 2 seperate channels(2 60 watt channels), can we both plug into the amp without hurting it? I usually plugg into the 2nd channel with the built in effects(I also have about 5 or 6 pedals in the loop) and leave the other "clean" channel open.

also I guess I'll through out another question. I built a 3 switch pedal for the 3 effects on the amp and I wanted to put and LED on each of the switches. the Distortion and chorus both come out at I think it was 28 volts and the reverb actually comes out at around 0 (don't know why but everytime I tested it thats what happens) I've tried connecting LEDs directly with no avail and I tried using little lamps which stole all the power and the effect didn't work. I am not an electrician and only comprehend a little about electronics so I toss this out to those who know!!!

Well since I just wrote a whole book I thank anyone who reads it attemps at helping me out!!!!
thanks,
john3696
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    you can both plug into the amp it will not hurt it but It's not designed to be used that way and both your tones will be muddied by the other. You need to have seperate amplifiers.

    One input is for hi impedence (passive p/u's) the other is for lo impedence (active P/U's) If you put a passive into the low slot it will not be as hot (read loud) as the Hi impedence (Z) input and will still be muffled.

    I can't really offer a solution for the led's except an external or battery power source. If you can get the LED's to run at a very low current the battery will last a very long time because the LED's are the only thing drawing any current.

    Connect the LED's to the battery but make sure the circuit is closed when the switch is down and open when it's up so the LED's won't be lit all the time.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • loberg3loberg3 Posts: 16
    On each channel there is a High and Low input (2 1/4" jacks for each channel) I have a strat and he has a squire, so I believe they are both passive. So if we both plug into the high inputs it won't hurt the amp, but our sound will be muffled?

    also with the battery for the switches. can you explain a little more. I was told I might need 3 prong switches, but I only have 2, I got them at a local harware store so there wasn't a great selection. but how does the switch get hooked up to the battery and LED? again, I suck at electronics or at least understanding them...

    thanks again for your reply
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    http://www.smallbearelec.com/

    Exhausted would be the one to know about the wiring but you need 3pdt switches to ensure true bypass but I believe 2pdt will work as well I am unsure though.

    Your sound will not be clean even if you use the 2 high z inputs because the amplifier will not split the 2 speakers or the amplifier sides. Amplifier Effects will effect both guitars and the speakers will be off because they are trying to duplicate both sounds at the same time. Can you do it sure, is it a solution to the bass and drums drowning you out no it is a whole different problem unto itself. If you have a PA sit a mic in front of the silvertone or have him buy a new larger amplifier.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    let me think about it for a bit. at first glance, i'd say paco's idea of using a battery to power the LEDs is a good one.

    i've never built a switch to control effects in an amp though.

    if i was able to see how you've wired it so far i might be able to think of a way to wire in the LED.

    switches with an extra pole so that you entirely remove the LEDs from the actual control circuits is probably the most graceful way but i'm only good with the simplest of circuits right now.

    someone with a fender hot rod series amp should have a look in those footswitches. they have LEDs.
  • loberg3loberg3 Posts: 16
    exhausted, all I did to wire the switches was to wire a 1/4" jack to a 2pdt switch. when the jack is in the amp it sends the current to the switch and then back. thats about as much as I can do with this kinda stuff.

    if you can think of a way to wire in a LED with the existing switch that would be way cool, otherwise could you direct me to a schematic that I could run a 3pdt switch to. I looked and the http://www.smallbearelec.com sight and got pretty confused browsing through their schematics.

    again thanks a bunch for your insight...
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    knowing that, i would say replace the 2PDTs with 3PDTs and have the LED circuitry on the extra pole. you wouldn't have to change the scheme you've used so far, just swap switches.

    this has some better schematics perhaps.

    http://geofex.com/FX_images/stompsw.gif

    you could supply power to the LEDs using a DC jack like most pedals have. this would save having to use a battery and stereo jack and unplugging the cord when not using it.

    since i don't use batteries, this is how i wired my pedals that i made.
  • loberg3loberg3 Posts: 16
    that looks easy enough for me to take care of, thanks a ton exhasusted and Pacomc79
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