I have owned my share of Marshalls over the years.
Starting in the mid '90s with a 1987X. I never bonded with it because I wanted something with more gain.
I then got a JCM2000 DSL. Great amp, but I was inexperienced on dialing in a high gain amp right.
Got a Mesa TriAxis with a 290 power amp. Talk about difficulty in dialing in an amp. It also weighed a TON!
Followed that with another eq nightmare in a Mesa Dual Rectifier.
Then a Carvin V3 which was okay, but only okay.
A Blackstar Stage 100 head and ditto.
I'm sure there are one or two others that I have forgotten as well.
Eventually I got a JVM410HJS.
I loved it for the most part, it had an excellent noise gate and an amazingly transparent switchable loop.
The tones were also really good but the high gain and even the crunch just got too compressed when it got loud.
At the time, I was in a mostly classic metal cover band with another guitarist and I always got buried in the live mix.
When I used an EVH 5150 iii 6L6 live, I sat in the mix perfectly.
I sold the JVM off a year or two ago and eventually ended up finding a Hughes & Kettner TriAmp Mk2 for DIRT cheap on Reverb.
To my ears, the high gain tones are lot more open and clear at high volume than the JVM was.
Due to my gear addiction, I also ended up with a Bogner 3534.
These three amps, H&K, EVH and the Bogner are all forever keepers. I love them...
BUT
Recently, I had the opportunity to noodle around on a JCM900 SLX for a few minutes.
I don't know if it was the 50 or 100 watt model, but it was the 5881 version.
I loved the tone and feel of it.
The 900 Series Dual Reverb isn't very good, IMO
I have never tried the Mark 3 (though some people say they are the best of the 900s)
Needless to say, I found a Marshall 2500 SLX, EL34 version on Reverb
The condition was good (not excellent, as the seller implied) but for a nearly 30 year old head, it looks above average.
Haven't cranked it up to rehearsal or show level yet but I LOVE what I'm hearing.
One channel, two masters. Nice and simple, however I wish the loop was a true bypass and switchable type.
Minor quibbles aside, I think I have another forever keeper
Starting in the mid '90s with a 1987X. I never bonded with it because I wanted something with more gain.
I then got a JCM2000 DSL. Great amp, but I was inexperienced on dialing in a high gain amp right.
Got a Mesa TriAxis with a 290 power amp. Talk about difficulty in dialing in an amp. It also weighed a TON!
Followed that with another eq nightmare in a Mesa Dual Rectifier.
Then a Carvin V3 which was okay, but only okay.
A Blackstar Stage 100 head and ditto.
I'm sure there are one or two others that I have forgotten as well.
Eventually I got a JVM410HJS.
I loved it for the most part, it had an excellent noise gate and an amazingly transparent switchable loop.
The tones were also really good but the high gain and even the crunch just got too compressed when it got loud.
At the time, I was in a mostly classic metal cover band with another guitarist and I always got buried in the live mix.
When I used an EVH 5150 iii 6L6 live, I sat in the mix perfectly.
I sold the JVM off a year or two ago and eventually ended up finding a Hughes & Kettner TriAmp Mk2 for DIRT cheap on Reverb.
To my ears, the high gain tones are lot more open and clear at high volume than the JVM was.
Due to my gear addiction, I also ended up with a Bogner 3534.
These three amps, H&K, EVH and the Bogner are all forever keepers. I love them...
BUT
Recently, I had the opportunity to noodle around on a JCM900 SLX for a few minutes.
I don't know if it was the 50 or 100 watt model, but it was the 5881 version.
I loved the tone and feel of it.
The 900 Series Dual Reverb isn't very good, IMO
I have never tried the Mark 3 (though some people say they are the best of the 900s)
Needless to say, I found a Marshall 2500 SLX, EL34 version on Reverb
The condition was good (not excellent, as the seller implied) but for a nearly 30 year old head, it looks above average.
Haven't cranked it up to rehearsal or show level yet but I LOVE what I'm hearing.
One channel, two masters. Nice and simple, however I wish the loop was a true bypass and switchable type.
Minor quibbles aside, I think I have another forever keeper
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to the forum.
