1) Background info! When, Where, and how you started!
We launched JCA at the end of 2009, in Seattle Washington (sometimes called Jet City). I had been developing guitar amplifiers and managing business units for some of the larger companies in our industry for the past several years. Mike Soldano and I met when we contracted him to do some consulting on a project, and we remained friends ever since. So when the company I was working for decided to change their guitar amplifier strategy, I called Mike and asked him if he would like to start a new company with me, starting with building a few of his designs in a more-affordable, mass production way. It took me about a year to develop the brand, find manufacturing, set up the marketing, while Mike was revising the prototypes. I think it was pretty fast though - 12 months from concept to launch.
2) What makes Jet City better then their competitors?
Well, I hope to be more humble than saying 'better', but I can point out a few tenants of our products which set us apart. First, our products are very simple - we don't have many extra functions, we strive to build amps which have low part-counts, and over-built construction. The side benefit of this is, they are less expensive, easier to build, and less likely to fail. But the motivation has always been purity of tone. We deliver products which allow for very direct, pure, tube tone. And of course we do a few other things too.
3) If you had to give a recommendation to one of your amps, which amp would it be and why?
My current favorite is the 20HV. When we launched, our 20H was the first product - simple, 20 watt, single channel rock amp - and it has been very popular (I don't think any of our other products have surpassed it's sales even 3 years later). One of those made it's way to Joe Perry of Aerosmith, who suggested back to us that he wanted a little less gain, and a little more 'openness' to the power stage. Of course Mike and I are both big fans, so Mike immediately revised the 20H to the 20HV (V, for Vintage). We also added an effects loop (ironically Joe doesn't care about that but many others had requested it) and a depth circuit. And we also changed up the look of it a bit - I think it's our most handsome product. By the way, Joe loves it and used it a lot on their new record.
4) What has inspired you mainly in the music industry today?
This is the tough question of the 5! Okay, I am inspired by 2 things these days: first, this is my first time to be totally responsible for a brand - not working for anyone else. So I am SUPER inspired when I get positive feedback from the owner of any of our products (we call them JetCitizens). This could be as significant as point 3, or as simple as a FaceBook post from someone just saying they love their amp. That inspires me to want to do more. Second, I'm inspired by a lot of the new alternative rock happening these days. I'm really excited that so much of it is guitar-driven, with real players with good tone. I like listening to it, and I dream about those guitarists discovering JCA.
5) What sort of advertisement/deals do you guys do to get customers?
Actually, we don't advertise much at all. I do engage in the social media outlets regularly, but don't spend much on 'traditional' advertising media. Currently though, our USA distribution partner, Starin marketing, is running a great end-user promotion: a free The Flood analog delay to those who purchase either our 2212C or 5012C combos.
Well thanks for answering the few questions guys! If anyone has any questions at all, please comment away and they should be able to reply as soon as possible.
Tue Nov 06, 2012 3:46 am