Roland Jazz Chorus is the name given to a series of solid-state instrument

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost t ...

s produced by the Roland Corporation in Japan since 1975. Its name comes from its built-in analog chorus

effect Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, a ...

. The Jazz Chorus series became increasingly popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s new wave and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

scenes because of its clean yet powerful sound, durability and relatively low cost when compared to the more commonly used

tube amplifier A valve amplifier or tube amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that uses vacuum tubes to increase the amplitude or power of a signal. Low to medium power valve amplifiers for frequencies below the microwaves were largely replaced by sol ...

s of the time such as

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

or Fender. It also found favour amongst funk players in America. It also became popular to use for clean tones in heavy metal, with the most famous users being James Hetfield and

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

from Metallica, and

Wes Borland Wesley Louden Borland (born February 7, 1975) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the current guitarist and backing vocalist of the rap metal band Limp Bizkit, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative and industrial rock ...

from Limp Bizkit. Most models have controls based on the JC-120's standard setup. There are two channels, one clean, the other with effects. The built-in effects include stereo chorus,

vibrato Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

, and

distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signa ...

. The amplifier features high and low inputs, a bright switch as well as a three band equalizer and volume for each channel.

Timeline

Since its inception in 1975, the Roland Jazz Chorus amplifier has undergone several design iterations. 1975 JC-120, 120 watts, 2x12" speakers; JC-60, 60 watts, 1x12" speaker 1976 JC-160, 120 watts, 4x10" speakers; JC-80 60 watts, 1x15" speaker 1978 JC-200, 200W (head); JC-200S, 2x12" speakers (cabinet); JC-50, 50 watts, 1x12" speaker 1984 JC-120H, 120W head (“Bright” switch changed to “HI-TREBLE”); JC-77, 80 watts, 2x10" speakers; JC-55, 50 watts, 2x8" speakers 1992 JC-20, 20 watts, 2x5" speakers 1996 JC-85, 80 watts, 2x10" speakers 1997 JC-90, 80 watts, 2x10" speakers (Eminence speakers) 2015 JC-40, 40 watts, 2x10’’, (introduced stereo input); JC-22, 30 watts, 2x6.5" speakers 2016 JC-22, 30 watts, 2x6.5" speakers

Notable users

The Jazz Chorus is one of the most famous and successful combo amplifiers from its period and its earliest users included

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated wi ...

(

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

), Larry Coryell, Robert Smith (of

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

, although he used the rarer 160 Watt JC-160 with 4 x 10" speakers),

Billy Duffy William Henry Duffy (born 12 May 1961) is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist of the band The Cult. Early life Duffy was born and grew up in Manchester. He has Irish and Jewish heritage and ancestry. He began playing the g ...

(The Cult, Theatre of Hate),

Roger Hodgson Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’ ...

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

, Art Saiz, Chuck Willis, Prince, John McGeoch (Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, PIL, the Armoury Show),

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

Steve Rothery Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician. He is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the British rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo the Wishing ...

, Mdou Moctar,

Neil Halstead Neil Halstead (born 7 October 1970) is an English musician, widely known as singer, primary lyricist, and guitarist of shoegaze band Slowdive. He has been hailed by AllMusic as "one of Britain's most respected songwriters", and '' Time Out'' as ...

(Slowdive) and

Wayne Hussey 250px, Hussey performing at the M'era Luna Festival in 2004. Jerry Wayne Hussey (born 26 May 1958) is an English musician who was born in Bristol, England. He is best known as the lead singer of The Mission, and the guitarist with The Sisters ...

(the Sisters of Mercy, The Mission) among others. Summers' use of the amp in turn inspired, for instance,

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

, whose first amplifier was a Jazz Chorus. Another notable user of the JC-120 was Johnny Marr of

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

who used the Roland JC-120 along with his Rickenbacker 330 and Telecaster to create amazing arrays of sound on The Smiths debut album. Other users include Steve Levine, producer of bands such as Culture Club,

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

and

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

. He often combined it with

effects pedal An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...

s from Boss Corporation, a Roland subsidiary.

References

{{Roland Instrument amplifiers Amplified instruments Effects units Musical instruments invented in the 1970s

Timeline

Notable users

See also

References