To smokintonye, this is from my son, guitarmeister2005 (his puter is acting up so he asked me to post this for him)

Hi, smokintonye, I recently bought the jsx half stack- (with matching cab)...but had some problems with it 1 month after buying it...so I replaced it with a peavey jsx 2x12 combo...and I thought I could offer you my observations...since I have owned both in the last 2 months.

The jsx combo of course is more portable then the half stack...and it has reverb (which is in the form of accutronics spring reverb tank) And it has a half power switch. The combo does not come with casters, which is something I recommend installing, as the combo is a beast at I think if I remember correctly, 85.3 lbs.

And unless you have a roadie like Mike Manning, lugging the amp around by the handle can be difficult.

Obviously the jsx 2x12 does not have all the cool chrome that the JSx heads front panel has...However, since the combo is an open back amp, you can see the speakers from the back, and they are decked out with chrome metal. Oh and the magnets on those things are roughly 18" around ...The magnets on these things are huge...even bigger then most car subs have.

I also rccomend the caster because the 85 lbs this amp is, seems like an awful lot for the top mounted carrying handle. The combo can also power an external speaker cabinet, as it has 2 speaker output jacks, 1 for the jsx's internal speakers and one for another cab. It also has a speaker impedence selector for matching the combo to the speaker cabs of your choosing.

Both the head and combo share the following rear panel features: Bias test terminals on the back, line out with level control, cab impedence switch 16, 8,4 ohms, Speaker output jacks (2), effects loop (send/ Return) With fx send/ return level knobs for adjsuting the fx loops level, or if not using any fx, u can use it as a solo boost...Footswitch jack (which is a 7 pin midi type jack), rear mounted fuse...and of course the power plug. and a 3 postion ground polarity switch.

The combo adds the following feature: half power switch (high and low power) for matching the amps output (volume) capabilities to the venue or power amp distortion desired. The jsx front panels both share the 3 ch's..with clean having volume, bass, mids, and treble controls, and the crunch having volume, gain, bass, mids, treble/fat switch controls. And the ultra with the same set of controls/ features as the crunch ch. has.

Both amps also have a fully adjustable noise gate.. and a channel toggle switch, which should be set to the ultra postion for the footswitch to work. The master section on both amps include master volume, master presence for adjusting the dampening factor of the speakers, power amp at high frequencies, and resonance, for varying the dampening factor of the amps, speakers at low freqs. The combo adds a decent sound reverb with front panel level knob. Both amps come with the following items, manual, footswitch, footswitch cable, power cord, and the amp. The combo's speakers are model # Jsx- Sp8, which are specially voiced 12" jsx speakers.

Geez, such a shame about Aerosmith. Aerosmith without Steven Tyler is like Zeppelin without Robert Plant. It just doesn't work. There are few groups who's front man is an identity and this is one of them.

part 2 from guitarmeister2005:

Now for the good stuff, how it all sounds ...comparing the head/matching cab to the jsx combo.

For all the notes on the sound I'll give you I had no effects in the chain...except when I make a note on using an effect. First observation.. The jsx half stack puts out a considerable amount more bass..obviously cause its a 4x12 setup, not 2x12. The jsx combo actually seems a tad bit noiser than the head I had. The combo sounds like it puts out less highs than the head did, which is suprising since its not as deep as the half stack....and especially since the half stack sat on the floor...and the combo is on a 2 foot amp riser/ stand...but don't worry theres still plenty of silky smooth highs in there...Just need to turn the highs 1 more tick up to reach the same amount as the half stack did. Also I noticed the half stack seemed to have a more effective noise gate...Could be though cause the combo I have is on the stand...but even at a distance away from the amp, and off axis, the half stacks gate seemed to work better. The combo in half power mode seems to put out less deeper bass, and less of the bass frequencies.

I also noticed that the low gain input on the combo seemed to put out considerably less highs and more bass. The reverb in the combo seems to be pretty surfy springy, as its a spring reverb of sorts...So I don't use it near as much as say a pedal, in the room or hall reverb modes.

Upon plugging in the Satchurator Js pedal, and boss ds-1 pedals into the amp..the sound is much more tinny on the clean ch than I thought it would be...those two pedals seem to work much better with the stack setup.

But all in all, I was happier with the overall sound and portability of the combo than I was with the half stack...if I had to pick which one I like the best after using both recently...I would definitely pick the combo...Especially since I'm not playing real big gigs very often....Hope all that is of some help to you...and good luck on your quest for the best of the 2 amps for u...They both are really stellar amps....

jayzus dat boy can talk gear! lol!

Slan - that was hilarious!!

Tracie - I read it but didn't understand much of it!

Chrispy - how's the band going?

I'm all for the guys in Aerosmith finding a new singer and doing a tour or two, but I REALLY wish they wouldn't call it Aerosmith. I know Joe and/or Brad were gone from 1979-1984, but the circumstances were different then and it made sense for the others to keep the name Aerosmith.

At this point in the band's career, I think a tour with another singer will do more harm than waiting two years or so for Steven Tyler to take care of whatever he needs to take care of and get back into touring shape. I know the guys are getting old, but come on.

To find success with another singer I think they need to not call the band Aerosmith and not play a typical Aerosmith set (maybe play something from the years 1978-1986).

My top choice for a replacement right now would be Hagen, who is singing in the Joe Perry Project right now. Here's a video of the JPP doing Walkin' The Dog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chKHeEq-R7M

He sounds just like a mid-80s Steven Tyler to me.

Hi y'all. Juuuuust in case any of you email me or post here to me, I'm in the process of shifting house so will be off line for about a week or so while we wait for a new internet connection at the new place,so please don't think I'm being rude or ignorant. I will be back as soon as is humanly possible.

In the meantime,Joe...keep on rockin' like a good thing rocks!!! And everyone else(you know who you are) stay safe and keep your legs together!!!

P.S. The fridge will be fully stocked at all times while I'm away,so feel free to help yourselves(Just make sure to leave at least ONE bottle of Jack Daniels for me!). Bye for now.

from Chris (guitarmeister2005)

Hi Alan back :)

Chellburto concerto, of course I can talk gear...why would this suprise u?!! :)

Skippy, the band thing didn't work out after all but thanks for asking, I'll keep trying!

Completely agree with you DTS. I too am all for them not breaking up if they have more music in them to offer. But it's just not Aerosmith without Stevn tyler. He's just one of those rare singers that everyone identifies with the band. I was very excited a couple years ago when Jimmy Page was trying out singers for Zeppelin, but I felt the same way about that. Call the band something else. Zep will never be Zep without Plant.

These are my two cents regarding Aerosmith. I too would rather that they not call the band Aerosmith. It's not like the vocalist is dead, he's just having personal problems. I would of preferred John Corabi over Vince Neil. I like the early Crue music, but once Vince left, the band went a different direction with Corabi. The music was a bit ahead of its time I think. Too bad the fans didn't give that version of the Crue a chance. Now it seems all they do is play greatest hits. IIMOP I don't know I haven't been to a Crue show in awhile.

Anyway getting back to Aerosmith, I've lost track of time but I remember they had signed a big recording contract, like 10 CD's in ten years or whatever. I think the move by Joe Perry is based on a business move and nothing else. Like others have done in different business settings, if your stuck in a contract and you can't get out of it after the milk has gone sour and your only recourse if you want out is to sell the sour milk. You fulfill your contract and get the suits of your back. Of course, the fans run away. Business is Business its just that at times people are just hiding behind their suits when they know they are doing the wrong thing.

Aerosmith signed a $30 million deal with Sony in 1991. They were still with Geffen at the time; their first album under the Sony deal (Nine Lives) didn't come out until 1997. They still owe Sony one more studio album under that contract.

Honkin' On Bobo, their blues covers album that was released in 2004, was originally supposed to come out in the mid-1990s. If I could rewrite history a bit, I'd have that come out in 1995. Nine Lives could still come out in 1997. Steven Tyler would put out a solo album after that, containing stuff like I Don't Want To Miss A Thing and the few poppy songs that were hastily written/recorded as new material for greatest hits albums.

Just Push Play (2001) could remain the same. The band's Rockin' The Joint live album, recorded at a show in 2002, would have been released as a CD and DVD of the complete show that same year (instead of the partial release that we got in 2005). Joe Perry's two recent solo albums would form the basis for the next Aerosmith album, which we still don't have, in 2004 or 2005.

Wouldn't things be so much better that way? But they missed their chance...it's too late to do that stuff now.

I love this band so much, I really do, and they've done so many groundbreaking things in the past...they "created" rap/rock with Run DMC, they were the first band to appear on the Simpsons, they were the first band to release a full-length song for free on the internet (in 1994, five years before Napster). But they've done a lot of stupid stuff too. Aside from Aerosmith, how many bands do you know of that have been around for 40 years and haven't released a proper live album or video that contains a full set from one show? Ugh...

Good day all,

Haven't seen this posted here yet, and I know there are some Bonamassa fans around so I thought I'd share.

Joe Bonamassa set to release new album 'Black Rock'

This will be his tenth solo album, and has nothing to do with his new supergroup, and I believe the article said B.B. King joined in on one track. Release date is March 23, 2010!

K3nj1: Joe Satriani white album (ep) it's on my site

Heya JR, been a long time...
Roo

OK have a look at this guy Guthrie Govan - fastest fingers in the west he is charming and witty and plays a nice little slow riff then speeds it up 10 times so quick you blink and you miss it.

Would he be quicker than our Joe?