52 Amplifier Heads, week 12—Jet City 20HV

This week’s amplifier head is the largest amplifier I’ve looked at so far in this weekly series. I’m still comfortable including the Jet City 20HV though because of the awesome Aerosmith video they include on the amplifier home page. Well, there are other reasons too, but I’d need an entire article to cover them all. Luckily, I have this article!

According to the official website, a legendary guitar hero asked if his Jet City 20H could be customised so that it was a little cleaner and a little darker (remember they have embedded an Aerosmith video on this amp’s page). Gee, I wonder who that was? I wonder if he knows anything about tone and what could help deliver some of the coolest guitar tunes of the last 40 years? I think yes. I also think I like lists. This amplifier article needs one … now.

• 3 x 12AX7 preamp tubes
• 2 x EL84 poweramp tubes
• Solid state rectifier
• 20 watts output
• 16 ohm speaker output or 2 x 8 ohm speaker output
• Effect loop
• Controls for Preamp gain, bass, middle, treble, master and presence.
• Depth switch

That’s a lot of tubes. I imagine this amp is damn loud. Too loud for my home practice desires? Perhaps. But I needed to include an amplifier in this series which was prepared to push that boundary. Sure others could have done that before this week. But for this amplifier manufacturer, this is about as small as it gets. That scares and excites me.

As far as proof of tone goes, Studio1087 has a couple of good videos showcasing this amplifier head played through a Telecaster and through an SG. I really like the tone and feel I could play all kinds of classic rock or early metal songs on this amplifier. Of course I could also get the pedalboard in front of this amplifier’s clean tone and go to town with it.

It’s probably also worth mentioning that the depth switch in this amplifier is using Soldano’s circuitry. I’m sure they know something about amplification. Maybe I’ll include something from them one day. One day long after I finish wishing for this amplifier that is.

Disclaimer: I’ve not played through this head. I have not experienced the sound or tone of this head other than through video. That doesn’t matter. It looks awesome, it’s obviously played by winners and I want one.