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Johnson J-Station |
In an age where digital technology has come to the forefront for guitarists all over the world, it’s great to see the huge developments being made to ensure that the digital domain is here to stay. In the past, I’ve been fortunate to play around with various products utilising this new "amp modeling" process, some great, some not so good. Johnson Amplification based in the USA, is one company that has dedicated many years in R&D in this field and as a result, unleashed several products with great success upon the guitar-playing world. Their latest release, the Johnson J-Station is a professional guitar amp modeling, bass amp modeling and effects processing system that’s packed with features and packaged in a nice desk-top design with a well laid out user interface.The J- Station will please the studio musician who needs flexibility and the ability to call up a variety of sounds ready for recording. The unit features all the necessary connections to get you going and the S/PDIF output is a nice touch eliminating multiple A/D and D/A conversions when recording digitally. Once you’re hooked up, you’ll notice that the 30 factory/30user presets are duplicates. Johnson do this to allow the user to experiment without losing the original preset sound. You can customise any preset by using the main controls on the front panel which consists of gain, treble, mid, bass, level and master control. The select knob will change the amp models and the variations are enough to keep you busy for ages. Amp models include a ’65 Twin reverb, ’57 Tweed deluxe, Mesa Dual rectifier, Fender™ twin tone, Matchless DC30, Soldano SLO, Vox AC30 as well as Hiwatt S50LC Marshall™ master volume and JCM900 and the Johnson Models which include clean tube, crunch, high gain and metal. The sounds are full and very realistic and depending on what system you’re going through will require very little tweaking. The acoustic presets were particularly good. The three bass amp models, (SWR, Trace Elliot, Ampeg SVT), is an interesting addition as most companies tend to have dedicated units but I must say that having these additional sounds adds to the dynamic flexibility of this unit.
The replications of the sounds on hand are great to say the least and are true representations of the real deal. Again, depending on your setup will determine how much tweaking you’ll need but this is a small price to pay for what is available.
Being able to arrive somewhere, with a variety of amps and effects in a box the size of a notebook is certainly new to guitarists. The Johnson J-Station also offers a dozen high quality effects that are both practical and necessary and the module in the unit is a multi-function module capable of selecting effects such as Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, Speaker, Auto Wah, Pitch shift, and detune effects. Only one of these effects can be used at a time. The "Effect type", button on the front panel, is used to select the currently active effect and will be indicated by the effect name lighting in the effect matrix. By successively pressing the Effect type button will advance through all the available effect types. Once you’ve selected an effect, you can then adjust the individual parameters. Johnson make the process of editing relatively simple and fast with a couple of options available. Basically there are two levels of edit mode: Top level and deep level. Top level editing provides quick access to commonly adjusted parameters whereas deep level editing provides access to all parameters. By pressing any button (except tuner or store) you will access the top-level edit mode. Pressing and holding the shift button will access the deep level edit mode.
The other option is available to computer users by means of software for windows called Editor/librarian. As if it’s not flexible enough, Johnson allow a simple MIDI connection from your PC to the J-Station and run the CD-ROM that comes with your J-Station. This is a wonderful setup, which expands on what the unit already possesses and gives a few added features and functions making custom settings a breeze. The software allows for upgrades, which are available on the website. With other features such as a high quality chromatic tuner and the ability to hook up an optional foot controller puts the J-Station in a league of it’s own. Like with all new toys, you need to spend time with it to achieve maximum results.
Overall, I’d have to say that at $999.00 rrp, the J-Station certainly competes in features and functions. The fact that you have some bass and acoustic modeling as well as the variety of great sounding effects suggests that this unit is certainly going to turn a few heads. Producers and engineers are going to love the quick and efficient way the J-Station goes about its business. Guitar players, take note- If you can work faster in the studio, give the producer, client or whoever a variety of sounds at the fingertips that are real, imaginative and accessed through some clever technology, then your sure to keep the gig. Whatever the application, the J-Station should be considered as your next purchase for either the studio or just writing or jamming.
All Johnson Products are distributed through CMI and can be contacted on (03) 9315-2244 or visit the website www.cmi.com.au for further information on the Johnson amplification range. If you want something that sounds good and is easy to use and will keep you entertained for yonks, then try a J-Station.