Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus

The Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus is a 2x12" solid-state combo amplifier, released by Roland Corporation in the mid-1970s. It featured built-in effects, which included: chorus, reverb, vibrato and distortion.

Peter Gabriel has used a Roland JC-120 amp occasionally for sound treatments during his career. For the distinctive piano sounds on the Peter Gabriel 3 album (a.k.a. Melt), Peter plugged his Yamaha CP-70 into the JC-120 (dialled on the chorus setting), with each speaker close-miked by Hugh Padgham. One speaker would have a clean signal while the other had the effects, producing a stereo spread. He also had the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble effects pedals, which produced a similar chorused sound.

The CP-70 & JC-120 combination was also used for Peter's solo piano performance of "Here Comes The Flood" for a Kate Bush Christmas TV Special in 1979.

Eventually, the Roland JC-120 would become part of the instrument collection available at Real World Studios. As listed on the tracking sheet of "Digging In The Dirt", the Akai MPC-60 drum machine part was also treated with a JC-120.