1993 JCM 900 SL-X 2500 50 watt

[JP2036]

I hear these are "the one" to have what you think ? {EL-34 version}
Also the impedance switch is either 8 or 4 & 16 , any issues with that ?
Any other things to look out for ?

 

[961le]

awesome amp i have same year. the (4) is if it was a combo i understand. obviously that back panel was used on other models as the slx was head only. i think you will find that it will sound better with different pres in there. i have an old mullard and a chinese in 1 and 2. sounds great. check underneath the board to see how bad br3 torched the board. if you are lucky and it isnt damaged get that changed out before you start playing it. i have yet to see one not damaged. sweet amp nice find looks very clean

 

[tresmarshallz]

Awesome amp, I had that exact model, 50W w/EL34 for 3 years or more, one of my favorite amps ever, but needs to be turned up a bit to come to life, which is not unexpected. I would love to have one again. I think this is the best SLX config, as opposed to 100W and/or 5881 tubes.

 

[anitoli]

The 4 in parentheses means there is a 4 ohm tap on the OT but the amp is factory wired for 8 and 16 ohm. If you need a 4 ohm tap it has to be switched over internally. You should use a 16 ohm cab on the 16 setting and an 8 on the 8 ohm setting or 2 16's ohm cabs on the 8 setting as the output jacks are parallel.

 

[anitoli]

Also many of those were not EL34 heads, they were set up for 5881's/6l6gc's depending on the year of manufacture.

 

[961le]

https://drtube.com/schematics/marshall/jcm900.pdf

 

[anitoli]

http://home.myfairpoint.net/vze1u14s/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/5881el34conversion.pdf

 

[paul-e-mann]

I hear these are "the one" to have what you think ? {EL-34 version}
Also the impedance switch is either 8 or 4 & 16 , any issues with that ?
Any other things to look out for ?

Looks clean, buy it if its priced right!

 

[961le]

http://home.myfairpoint.net/vze1u14s/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/5881el34conversion.pdf

didn’t have these docs. Have any other slx memorabilia?

 

[Gunner64]

Don't the 5881 heads say it on the face in side a little tube logo?

 

[961le]

All that I’ve seen do. That first pic was on reverb and I couldn’t find any others.

 

[snow lizard]

If I remember correctly Marshall used 5881/6L6 tubes for these amps at the time because of supply and reliability issues with EL34's. For whatever reason, most of the amps if not all destined for Euro or US markets used the 5881's while the ones for the Canadian market used EL34's stock. Also, from the JCM 900 handbook:

"6. Impedance Selector Switch
Two-way switch for matching the amplifier to
speaker impedance. Amp heads feature 8 or 16
Ohm operation. Combo versions feature 4 or 8
Ohm options."

They must have used the same panel layout for all the JCM 900 models.

Nice amp. The amount of gain you can get out of this thing is overkill for my taste, but I'm using a 5751 tube in V2 instead of a 12AX7 in mine. It calms it down nicely. Abundant overdrive crunch on tap without having the sensitivity control launching you into high gain metal fizz. I found it very touchy with the 12AX7.

 

[Deftone]

Mine has 5881's. It's a '94.

 

[EADGBE]

I wouldn't mind having one.

 

[961le]

op never said whether it was purchased, jacked, or otherwise. stirred up the nest and logged off.

 

[JP2036]

I was looking at one but it had a meltdown with the bridge rectifier so i passed.
Seems a ton of them had that problem.

 

[961le]

if not all. good luck, they are not as plentiful as they were years ago. got mine 10 years ago for 425. i didnt even care for it at first i just couldnt pass it up at the price . had to learn to dial it in. love it now

 

[Deftone]

I just went and played mine for a while. It's a killer amp, definitely a keeper.

 

[Gunner64]

Every one I have seen had an issue with br3, and c8.

For the right money I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor. It's an easy fix really, cheap if you can do the work yourself. Working proper they are great amps...just keep the gain sens down, and the volume up.

 

[Neptical]

Love my SLX 2500! I've been wanting to team it up with my old 2 Channel Dual Rec.