Nihon Hammond, known for organs, also made guitar amps. We recorded one of them — the Micro Jugg MJ-3. First, let's look inside this deceptively small amp.
What kind of amp is the Micro Jugg MJ-3?
Nihon Hammond made domestic amps under the "Jugg Box" brand. The Micro Jugg MJ-3 is a 1979 unit; that its successor (1983) was billed as "the upper version of the famed Micro Jugg" suggests it earned a certain reputation on professional stages at the time. It's a small amp built not for practice but for actual stage use.
Circuit and specs
Despite its small look, the insides are sturdy.
- Configuration: hybrid (solid-state preamp + tube power stage)
- Power tubes: two 6L6GC (push-pull)
- Output: 40W RMS
- Weight: about 12kg (PW-66 power-amp board, auto bias adjustment)
- Format: a small combo equivalent to a 1x12 (original Japanese 10" speaker)
"A small box, a big presence." That's what makes the Micro Jugg an outlier. Not a feeble practice amp — 40W of push from a compact chassis.
Controls
- Volume 1 — the overdrive side (activated only via the rear footswitch jack)
- Volume 2 — standard volume
- Master — overall output
- 3-band EQ (Treble / Middle / Bass)
There's no modern channel switch on the front. And this "overdrive" isn't a modern high-gain drive channel but a boost that adds density and forward push — closer to a 1970s idea of gain. A function for pushing the sound forward, not for painting it over with distortion.
Sonic character
Small to look at, yet it keeps grain and separation from clean to crunch. It doesn't crush easily when turned up, and the pickups' expression comes out as is. A clear voice where the solid-state preamp's clarity coexists with the 6L6GC power stage's push.
How it was recorded
We recorded it through the amp's own 10" original speaker (period Japanese), speaker and all — not swapped to a reference cab. This is the very air that small box actually moved. Standard profiles (no Liquid Profiling), no effects.
The gain (volume) is fixed, and the expression is shaped by the Treble / Middle / Bass EQ. So this pack is for choosing "which EQ balance fits my track."
Four EQ settings
The pack is built around four EQ settings.
T5_M5_B5— all centered, the flat referenceT6_5_M3_5_B6— mids cut to make it cut throughT4_M6_5_B7— low-mids up, a thick settingT7_M5_B3_5— lows tightened, highs up
The values are in the name itself. Names are signposts; the actual knob positions are shown in full in a table. That's CSL's policy.
Mic and position are yours to choose
Each setting is recorded with 3 mic setups (SM57 / GT-67 / 60:40 blend) × Center / Edge.
The SM57 is tight and forward; the GT-67 thick and round; the blend in between. Center brings out the core, Edge is soft and dark. Even the same EQ, choose by how you want to seat it in the mix.
What we're selling
Not the best sound, not the one correct answer. We hand over, in playable form, the record of Nihon Hammond's Micro Jugg MJ-3 rung through its Japanese speaker.
How it responds when you play changes with your guitar, pickups, and volume too. Start with the free sample and check with your own Kemper and ears.