Best amp for reggae & ska *please help the newbie*

[IneedHelp]

I'm in a band that plays a "funky & jazzy" style of reggae & ska. I would like to get the best amp to play those styles live. I am currently playing through a Behringer GMX212 because it was the loudest thing I could afford at the time. I have a Strat and LP. We play house parties (we don't have a P.A., so I need decent volume) and bars occasionally. Now I have a little more money though - around $350 plus the value of my Behringer - and I would like to get something better (and cleaner!) A friend says I should find a used Roland JC-120, but since I have some experience with electronics, I'm toying with the idea of building an amp. Any suggestions? Tube or trans?
Thanks for your help

[J M Fahey]

Start by googling Rodd Elliott 100W guitar amplifier.
No distortion to speak of, loud and clean when coupled to a pair of, say, JensenMOD1270 or Eminence Legends.
The "poor man's" JC120.
No effects, though, but you can add your own.
For an insanely loud amp, you can build *two* 100W amps inside (with a suitably larger power transformer) and drive a second external 2x12" cabinet.
In small gigs you carry only the main combo; in larger venues you add the extension cabinet.
Your friends will hate you.
Good luck.

[IneedHelp]

Thanks J M - I really like the two 100W amps w/ second cabinet idea. My Behringer has two 70W 12" Jensens - do you think those would work for the second cab?

[bry melvin]

I'd take a serious look at Carvin SX series.

Your 350 will buy one + They have blems on ebay for less too

I use Carvin SX 200s for jazz/blues etc. They have chorus. Albeit not stereo Alternatively you could look at used JC120s BUT there are several different JC120s all are not the same. Some really s---.

You can alos look for used AMPEG vh140C or crate Gx130cs used. However the crates  tend to need to be overhauled as they were made quite cheeply. The cement resistors burn up and fall apart. The large bus connecters cause a lot of problems and need to be hardwired at the power amp end.(near 2 resistors that heat everything up) These both are similiar and date from when LOUD ended up with both brands.