NAMM 2025: It’s been 50 years since the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus guitar amp was released and won an army of fans thanks to its legendary clean tone. So what better time for Roland to unleash a software version? Get ready for the “king of clean”, coming soon to a DAW near you…
1975 saw the release of what would become one of the most-loved amps and chorus effects of the era, the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus. As the need for punk and distorted guitar tones fell away, in favour of the clean sound and quality chorus effects that were ushered in with the 1980s, the JC-120 was adopted by guitarists the world over, who fell in love with its polished tone and powerful sound.
Artists including Andy Summers (The Police), Robert Smith (The Cure), Roger Hodgson (Supertramp), and Johnny Marr (The Smiths) are among many notable users in the guitar community. Uber producer Steve Levine is also a huge fan of the original, saying, “this amplifier absolutely suited the high quality and beautiful recording that was taking place in the ’80s. It was the perfect amplifier for the time.”
For the amp’s 50th anniversary, Roland has announced a software recreation, so producers and guitarists everywhere can now access the “king of clean”.
While the original amp/chorus remains in production, the new plugin recreates its sound and character “through deep analysis of the original circuitry”. You get both the powerful and ultra-clean tone – as originally created using an integrated stereo amplification system and custom 12-inch speakers – along with the evocative Dimensional Space Chorus, an effect that was actually first introduced to the world via the original hardware.
The plugin has new features to go alongside that classic character, with a choice of stereo modes, tempo sync, speaker simulation with multiple mic types and positions, plus an ambience control.
The new JC-120 Jazz Chorus VST3, AU and AAX plugin will initially be introduced via the Roland Cloud Ultimate Early Access program, although a release date has yet to be specified, and nor has a price for the individual plugin (if indeed it will be made available outside of the Roland Cloud ecosphere as many Roland plugins are).
However, the plugin will likely be included as part of the full Roland Cloud subscription which costs $20 a month and gets you all of the existing and future Roland plugins. (There are lower cost subscription levels, but they only offer a limited number of software titles.)
You can get more information on the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus plugin from the Roland and Roland Cloud websites.
