Mike Soldano first made waves as the man who hot-rodded Marshalls for the LA guitar elite in the 1980s. After attaining legendary status among tone connoisseurs, Soldano branched out into manufacturing his own line of amps, and by 1988 was backlogged with orders from rock gods like Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler. Soldano’s hand-built offerings are now among the most sought-after and pricey amps around. (The iconic SLO-100 amp head streets at $3,740.)

To make the Soldano tone more affordable to the everyday musician, Mike Soldano teamed up with Jet City Amplification to create an amp line that could be mass produced overseas. His involvement with Jet City extends beyond simply being a designer, licensing his name, or serving as a consultant; he is a financial partner. So it’s not just his reputation that is at stake here.

Head To Head
The Jet City line of Soldano-designed amps consists of two 20W heads (the single-channel JCA20H and the dual-channel JCA22H), a 50W head (the JCA50H), and two 100W heads (the JCA100H and JCA100HDM).

There are also combo versions of these amps. The JCA2212 is a combo of the JCA22H, the JCA2112RC corresponds to the JCA20H with tube-driven reverb included, and the JCA5012 is a combo version of the JCA50H. One combo amp in the line, the JCA5212RC, has no head-only equivalent. It contains a clean channel derived from Soldano’s Lucky 13 amp with a tube-driven spring reverb.

FIG. 1: Jet City Amplification JCA12S 1x12, Eminence-loaded cabinet.

For this review I tested the JCA100H ($649.95 street) with the matching JCA12S cabinet ($129.95 street), which features a 12-inch Custom Eminence speaker (see Fig. 1). The JCA100H is a 2-channel, 100W amp powered by five 12AX7 tubes in the preamp section and four 6L6 tubes in the power amp section. The front panel has a single input jack followed by gain controls for the preamp (Normal and Overdrive), a shared EQ section (Bass, Middle, and Treble), master volumes for the Normal and Overdrive channels, and a Presence knob. The rear panel has a footswitch jack, send and return jacks for the effects loop, and several speaker outputs—two 4-ohm, two 8-ohm, and a single jack for a 16-ohm speaker

Utilizing PCB (printed circuit board) construction, the JCA100H seems durable and built to last. While some amp mavens claim that costlier point-to-point construction is superior to circuit board design, Soldano believes that there is no sonic difference between the construction methods and that PCB amps are easier to service. To that end, even Soldano’s most expensive amplifiers employ PCB construction.

Although the JCA100H does not have reverb, there is a tube-buffered serial effects-loop for patching in external effects. I used a Line 6 M13 for delay and reverb and it sounded fantastic through the loop. Despite having no send-and-return level controls, I had no problem getting a balanced sound.

One issue that plagues many multi-channel amps is a slight, but noticeable, delay when switching between channels. I’ve found this problem even on expensive boutique amps, so it’s a design issue rather than a cost issue. Although it may seem trivial on the surface, it can be a deal breaker if your music depends on precise channel changing. However, this is not a problem with the JCA100H; footswitching between channels is instantaneous. The JCA100H includes a footswitch, though the cable is permanently attached. Consequently, if the cable gets frayed or damaged, you will have to replace the entire unit.

Crankin’ Cabinet
The clean channel on the JCA100H is rich, robust, and has a ton of clean headroom. There are many shades of clean to be had here and having a preamp control available for this channel exponentially increases the amp’s flexibility. I was able to dial in sounds ranging from pristine clean to ZZ Top-style grind to a “You Shook Me All Night Long” crunch. With the Normal preamp knob set low, you get tones that are perfect for Tom Petty-esque Americana and jazz. Starting around 4, you hear some grit, and if you max the Normal preamp gain you get a full-throttle bite that is dirty but articulate.

While the clean channel was a pleasure to play through, I simply was not prepared for the intensity of the gain channel. Within a second of engaging the channel, some of the fastest licks I’ve ever played just came flying out of my fingers; the amp literally just plays itself. They say that tone is in the fingers, but if your fingers need some assistance, the JCA100H can certainly help you cheat; it makes shredding so easy it should be illegal.

Using an Ernie Ball/Musicman Axis Sport, with the amp’s tone controls set at the midway point and the overdrive preamp set at 8, I got a thick and full liquid-lead tone that was not noisy or unwieldy. I don’t have a Soldano SLO-100 to compare the JCA100H’s lead sound to, but I did pull out my Soldano Supercharger G.T.O. preamp pedal, which is based on the SLO-100’s circuitry. I can confirm that the JCA100H has that Soldano sound.

The amp is also capable of more refined lead tones. Using a Fender Strat, I set the overdrive preamp low and achieved a lovely low-gain blues tone. It was bright and defined, without being brittle, and it retained a good amount of sustain, offering more dynamic range than the over-the-top, maxed-out lead sound. For rhythm playing I was able to get a huge range of tones, from pop-rock to scooped-metal. The JCA100H sounded fantastic at all volumes—even at a quiet bedroom level.

Jet City Amplification JCA100H Head.

When you have a channel-switching amp that offers a tremendous range of sounds like the JCA100H, it is helpful to have independent tone shaping possibilities for each channel. Initially I was concerned by the amp’s shared EQ. However, with the controls generally set around 5, I was able to sculpt a tone that was satisfactory in both channels. If you have really specific EQ needs, such as going from a bright Tele-twang in the clean channel to scooped-out metal in the gain channel, then you may need to use an external EQ.

Less Bucks, More Tone
The JCA100H is not loaded with a ton of features. While some guitarists will crave additional bells and whistles, I actually find the simplicity of this amp more conducive to music making. Sometimes amps that offer every possible configuration of tone shaping end up giving me option anxiety and I spend my time focusing on trivial minutiae rather than playing the guitar. The JCA100H’s emphasis is on great, easy-to-dial-in sounds with just the right amount of tone-shaping controls rather than offering every combination of wattage or rectifier type available.

If you’re looking for that fabled Soldano tone, but the sky-high price tag keeps it out of your reach, the Jet City JCA100H is a great alternative that will bring you the essence of one of these classics. Even if you’re not seeking a Soldano on a budget, the JCA100H is still an excellent amp at a very reasonable price that is well worth seeking out.

Pros: Incredible gain channel. A lot of amp for the money. Buffered effects loop.
Cons: EQ controls shared by both channels. No reverb.

NYC-based guitarist Joe Charupakorn writes for Premier Guitar magazine and is a best-selling author and editor for Hal Leonard Corporation. Visit him on the web at joecharupakorn.com