Marshall Amplifiers FAQ

Post by **dots** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:21 pm

Mike wrote:I reckon a secondhand beat VS100RH or 8100 would make a great backup head for gigs.

i've always thought so, and they're soooooo cheap nowadays. those 8100's have 2 or 3 channels?

Post by **Mike** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:24 pm

it's an 8080 in 100W head form.

Normal and Overdrive channels, OD1 and OD2 modes on the Overdrive or Boost channel.

Post by **dots** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:27 pm

that was actually my biggest complaint about it at the time. i wanted three footswitchable channels, and the tsl fit that bill nicely (for a cool $1400 out the door from fucktard center). but, if i added a simple crunch pedal, it'd still be a decent backup with the minimum 3 tones i require. . .

EDIT: and i ditched the 8280 because it didn't have an extension speaker output which i think was a big mistake.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:41 pm

Yeah, that's a weird thing to omit.

Obviously I'm a big fan of multiple channels so I hear where you're coming from with regard to the amp.

Post by **Mike** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:35 am

This gives you an idea of the difference in complexity between the amps:

JCM800:

6100:

DSL401:

JVM:

euan · Post by **euan** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:25 pm

Mike wrote: JCM800:

Hand drawn PCBs

gary · Post by **gary** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:19 pm

Everyone forgot the Silver Jubilee series amps, made for the 25th anniversary. Much beloved by Slash and was reissued as the Slash Signature in a limited run of a few thousand. The gain channel uses asymmetrical diode clipping for a great hotrodded JCM800 sound. It has a 'clean' sound but if you want a lot of gain you have to have more gain on the 'clean' too, it's main weakness.

Marshalls are often very good amps, I've owned a few and played dozens. Quality varies wildly... I've played TSLs that smoked and TSLs that sucked. I've played Plexis that sounded ass and ones that sounded like all the great classic rock records. You have to shop around. Valves make a difference but only so much.

Personally I won't be using Marshall again. The uppermids on the more modern ones can sound too fizzy, and even with a 300w 1960A cab there never seems to be enough bass. Other than a Plexi on the edge of breakup I've never gotten a truly great, dynamic and warm clean, it just sounded like a poor cross of Fender Twin and Roland JC-120. Also never had enough clean headroom on them.

Having said that though, I'd have my 50w 1978 JMP head back in a second. If you wanted instant 1970s classic rock, that was the amp. All the dials on ten and let her roll...

Post by **Doog** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:31 pm

gary wrote:Personally I won't be using Marshall again. The uppermids on the more modern ones can sound too fizzy, and even with a 300w 1960A cab there never seems to be enough bass.

D:

Jesus Christ, you must like it bassy. With the bass pot AND the "Deep" switch, I can get more low end from my DSL50 than a guitarist could possibly need with my 2x12. The way I see it, the bass player is there for the low end- too much on the guitar and it starts sounding like a mess in a live situation.

euan · Post by **euan** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:06 pm

I personally can't see how the quality of the components can vary so much in modern amps. The valves make a whole of a difference in amps and I certainly experienced that with my Laney. With a dodgy valve in the PI is was okay, better than a solidstate but nothing compared to having 3 good quality Rubies in the preamp. And that was just the PI, which means the least tonal wise in the preamp.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:35 pm

Laneys are awful. I played my Flextone III against one of the mid-priced all-tube Laneys, and it beat it to death with a stick. I couldn't compete for volume, but that didn't matter much when the Laney totally stank.

StevePirates · Post by **StevePirates** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:44 pm

Earlier, Mike had posted that the JCM 900s would be due for a resurgence in popularity due to the cyclical nature of musical preference. I'm one of those guy's trying to bring sexy back with the 900s. I have the JCM 900 50Watt Dual Reverb, and I gotta tell you, it's pretty sweet.

It's loud as all get out, and the Channel B OD is pure heaven to me.
I've heard the JCM 800s from other bands at shows, and while they sound nice, I think the 900s have a unique voice at the moment. Everyone's off trying to sound like they're from the 80's or plugging away with the DSLs and TSLs.

And, at the moment, JCM 900s don't have either the vintage mark-up or the "just like new" markup so you can get a great sounding amp that can really cut through for a song.

The only caveat is that compared to the JVM or the DSL/TSLs, the JCM900 only has one "voice" and if you don't like it, then you'll probably never find a way to dig the amp. I really like how it sounds, so there you have it. But I wouldn't recommend a 900 thinking you'd get it to sound like anything other than what it is.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:47 pm

StevePirates wrote:I have the JCM 900 50Watt Dual Reverb.

me too! model 4500? i only use it for reverb and clean sounds now though, my other marshalls spoiled channel B for me.

i also have the bassiest plexi ever. this thread makes me bored/sad except the pics of mike's amp.

StevePirates · Post by **StevePirates** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:58 pm

paul_ wrote: me too! model 4500?

i also have the bassiest plexi ever. this thread makes me bored/sad except the pics of mike's amp.

Model 4500 it is. I love my amp. One of the things I personally like about it is the 50% switch in the back. I live in an apartment, so being able to get the tone without the volume is great for me.

And personally, I like the clean tone on it. It's a little gritty, and I like that.

Post by **Mike** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 7:02 pm

The internet hate for the JCM900 is all misinformed hyperbole. People freaked out when they heard that some models had diodes in the clipping phases and starting bawling "it's solid state AGRGRHGH" and just scurried off to the JCM800s and Plexis. Personally I think a Plexi is a completely impractical amplifier if you want to cop more than one distinct tone in an evening, which I do. I love what they do but they're not for me.

You can get great sounds out of 800s, 900s, DSLs and TSLs. The internet is full of people who think they know what they're on about badmouthing amplifiers they've never played. A little knowledge is a bad thing.

The same thing is happening over the JVM because it has multiple boards in the chassis. Oh NOEZ. Still sounds fucking good though, I dunno about you, but I play my amp, I don't intend to be able to reverse engineer it.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:31 pm

This gives you an idea of the difference in complexity between myself and Mike:

O'Hearn 1959HW Laney-RaperÂ®

euan · Post by **euan** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:34 pm

Did you build that Paul?

Post by **Doog** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:39 pm

How is that build going, Paul?

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:48 pm

my dad and i built it out of part kit and part... parts. we just finished a couple hours ago and there's a big ol' thread comin. since this is a marshall FAQ i'll contribute my transitional '73 Super Bass board too though it's pretty much exactly the same, this was one of the very last original handwired tagboard marshalls ever, and yet another item i snagged for way too little money because GC don't know shit about shit.

Post by **Doog** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:50 pm

Awesome.

euan · Post by **euan** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:55 pm

Were Super Basses the 200watt monsters?