Jethro Rocker
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It doesn't have to be a bad monkey. Just an example of what I use. An SD1 should be fine.
Dear God, My Marshall Tone Sucks [help - Audio Enclosed]
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Guit
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Once I identify the brand I like, how many should I buy? One? Or do I need a full set (how many come for the whole amp?
Sorry for the ignorance.
Jethro Rocker
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There are 3 but likely only 1 is crapped. Never hurts to have spares.
Guit
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I definitely need a new pedal. The SD1 sounds like fuzz and lacks tightness. I honestly hate this rig and have major regrets. Hard to believe I'm saying this about a JCM800...
Jethro Rocker
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If you hve a weak pre ampmtube - IF - that will help. Perhaps you need a good Overdrive pedal instead of the distortion. It should really smoke.
ampmadscientist
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Since you hate it so much,
Send it over here, and it won't hurt your feelings anymore. I'll take care of it, and keep you safe from harm.
Guit
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That's what I'm hoping. Just not sure which one to get. I've been overwhelmed with suggestions tbh.
Guit
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LOL! Sorry, just in a patch about the whole ordeal. I'm sure you could fix it, too! I hope to be able to remedy the situation with your guys' help.
If you were to choose, would you go the pedal or preamp tube route?
Jethro Rocker
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Try a tube. They're cheap. If you have a dealer nearby, perhaps they rent pedalsor allow you to buy and return to find the right one.
paul-e-mann
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His amp sauce is weak!
el_bastardo
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You know what? You're right on track. Most people get an "800" and are immediately underwhelmed because they have utopian dreams of molten hot liquid gain leads and Metallica chugs flying all over the place. 800s are not like that. They need a ton of help to do that stuff. In their natural state 800s are little more then AC/DC-tone-type amps at best. You're on the right path boosting it with an overdrive if those high-gain tones are your style, and an SD-1 is tried and true, but there are some things you need to go through first. What you need to do first is you need to make sure it's working properly. These amps are old now. There's no telling what kind of monkeying around has gone on in there or what components have tired themselves out. Bright caps get snipped, bias caps leak, filter caps hum, etc. As mentioned already, make sure the tubes are good and the bias is right. Spend the $75 and get it checked by a tech of you can't do it yourself. Secondly, get the damn thing loud. That's where they thrive. Does a stock 800 sound good on 2? It can, but it's not at it's best. Thirdly, get more familiar with it. One you know it's healthy, then you can really start to explore the badassedness that is a JCM 800. Fourthly, and this is optional, run it into a 4x12 cab. All those magical JCM 800 tones rocking around in your head were done with 4x12 cabs.
paul-e-mann
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What guitar and pickups are you using? What kind of music are you trying to play? These things matter. Since this amp is new to you I'd have a local tech check it regardless of who the seller said already looked at it. For a guy to look everything over and tweak the bias doesnt cost much. You want the bias to be at or around 38mA. A new set of tubes isnt a bad idea, I like Chinese tubes in this amp, Sino, Shuguang, Ruby, like those. Keep the old tubes as spares.
I have all my knobs at 5 and volume on 1 and get a pretty good dirty clean edge of breakup kind of tone. With an SD-1 set with volume max'd, tone noon, and gain 9 oclock I get a pretty good crunch. If tone is too thin raise the pre-amp on the amp higher to thicken it. You should be getting some decent crunch at reasonable room volume, and with greenbacks it might even sound a little dirtier. Greenbacks wont be totally tight but the SD-1 set as a clean boost should tighten it up pretty well. Dont forget you have a combo it will never sound as full as through a closed back cabinet.
I listened to your clip again, sounds like you wanna do some Metallica, you should get a close approximation with the settings I mentioned above, just max out the pre-amp and adjust tone on the pedal if its too muddy. Early Metallica used 800's with a Rat pedal, I have a Rat which gets me pretty close but the SD-1 is good too.
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baconjerky
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Sounds like a 800 on volume 2 to me. The 800 sounds your thinking of on records are turned up and multi tracked. If your looking for more gain you’ll prob need to get a harder clipping pedal than an overdrive. No shame in that if it helps get you the sound your looking for.
I don’t think the tone you have now sucks but I can see wanting more
I don’t think the tone you have now sucks but I can see wanting more
4Horseman
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If you're going to have a tube amp then you should have tubes for back up. I would definitely check the bias, and roll tubes before worrying about a pedal. I also wouldn't take the sellers word for it, they don't know the age of the tubes and they are name dropping. Who cares who's tech collection it was in. It's a 35 year old amp that got shipped. I doubt they want to help you out, they probably just want to wash their hands of it. You need a systematic approach and eliminate one thing at a time. Another thing to consider is the guitar and the pickups you are using. Good luck, man. I've had my chain yanked before with online purchases and it's no fun. It's possible the amp is fine, and you just need something else to get what your after.
JeffMcLeod
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I couldn't agree more. Why spend [$3,000] on an amp, and then distort it with a bunch of pedals?
Make a decision; The amp defines your tone, or the pedal(s) defines your tone. Neither one is wrong, but just don't have [$500] worth of pedals in front of you, and complain that you "just can't get the tone I want".
I have one pedal; a Pitch Fork octave pedal, and it's for one song only...Shot Down In Flames, to get that dual guitar rhythm sound. And it works, it actually sounds great.
Make a decision: Do you want [this] sound, or [that] sound?
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Jethro Rocker
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For 80s hard rock, an 800 needs that push. It doesn't sound like a pedal, it sounds like an 800 pushed.
el_bastardo
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That's weird. The quote you responded to is attributed to me, but I didn't say that.
Id give it a whole preamp and power tube change to begin with. Then we'll know if it's tubes or not.
That response you got from the seller is not acceptable to me. And if it was me if I'd send my DSL clip to show how anemic this amp is to it. Your Marshalll is embarrassing and it's not your fault. That amp kicks ass. Something is lacking but...I'm sure it can rip like an 800 should.
That response you got from the seller is not acceptable to me. And if it was me if I'd send my DSL clip to show how anemic this amp is to it. Your Marshalll is embarrassing and it's not your fault. That amp kicks ass. Something is lacking but...I'm sure it can rip like an 800 should.
LOL!
I think that's the point. Get the amp sounding healthy 1st, then add some push, if necessary. It should be subtle & usually, a clean gain boost is better than some sort of distortion device. If running a distortion, turn the distortion off, but turn the boost up...
But, if the amp is not healthy, unplug everything else, but the guitar & get it healthy 1st.
