Marshall amp recommendations please for home

[Ufoscorpion]

Nora, this is difficult, I am a tone chaser and have done buckets of money buying and selling.

I have a tone king amp, about 3k in the UK, I have a studio SV 20 with 1x 12 speaker cab, its loud and authentic - not good for home without an attenuator. I never use this great amp. I also have a small practice amp, it’s a dsl.

So I cover some good ground with good amps. But What I seem to use mostly is my iridium modeller through a good Frfr.

But and it is a big BUT when I turn one of my tubes amp on it is heaven. So I don’t need them but I like owning them and using them now and again. I think the OP wants a tube amp and will enjoy it. But if money is no problem I would get Friedman.

G

Definitely, a Runt 20 with matching 1x12 ported cab . Will sound killer be compact and super versatile but won’t be cheap , but hey you generally get what you pay for .

 

[Shred Monster]

Hi all, long time lurker first time poster. I recently sold my tsl100 head and 412 half stack as I’m a bedroom guitarist whose wife felt I needed an amp that takes up less space. I have a gt1000 to run fx in 4 cable method and of course used an attenuator for the 100w amp so happy to do so again.

I’m a drummer but enjoy learning/playing guitar. Bands I enjoy playing songs from are:

Chili Peppers
Guns n Roses
Foo Fighters
Metallica
Green Day
Nirvana
Pearl Jam
Etc. to give an idea.


Ideally would like some flexibility with tone but obviously still playing in the bedroom and maybe occasionally with a band in garage setting.

My thoughts/options are as follows.
Mini Silver jubilee (head or combo)
Dsl40 combo (not 20 as if I’m sharing controls I’d rather the jubilee)
Studio Jcm800 (head or combo)
Jvm 2 or 4 channel combo

Outside Marshall, given the gt1000 and bedroom playing I thought another option might be Hughes and left we tubemeister or grandmeister deluxe 40’s to give some sound options.

As I live in Tasmania Australia there aren’t options to play these in person so YouTube has been my only option for hearing them. I’d love the thoughts of anyone who has experience with any of the above options whether I could dial in tones close enough to cover most of the bands above or if any would be completely wrong just to help me narrow down my options.

I love Marshall’s but at this point I’m looking for flexibility and no bigger in size than a studio series head on a 212 cab.

Obviously the gt1000 gives lots of flexibility but I don’t want to run that through a speaker I really want an authentic tube sounding amp and in person the gt1000 doesn’t get there on its own but does allow lots of options to tweak the tones of whatever amp I decide on.

Thanks for your advice/wisdom/help

I play a Gibson standard 2005 faded cherry with Alnico 2 Seymour Duncan’s (slash version, only because I liked how they sounded after trying a few different options).

Gday mate , you cant go wrong with a series 3 EVH 5150 combo or 50 w half stack. Great rock tones , and a good clean channel. Combo has antennuator. Or do what I just did , buy a kemper. Try Music Swop Shop site. Theyre in Vic . Cold enough for ya ?

 

[Shred Monster]

JHS yup! Dime the amp volume gets you a low gain edge of breakup tone ACDC Zep all day long! Put an OD pedal out front for anything gainier. The JHS in the loop lets you get that tone at any volume!

Antennuators will eventually degrade your amp. Not bein a smart ass, just passing on advice a tech gave me.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Antennuators will eventually degrade your amp. Not bein a smart ass, just passing on advice a tech gave me.

No youre entitled to your opinion, I disagree though, attenuators and volume boxes serve a purpose in non master volume amps and sound good.

 

[Shred Monster]

No youre entitled to your opinion, I disagree though, attenuators and volume boxes serve a purpose in non master volume amps and sound good.

You,re dead right . I,m old.

 

[giblesp]

IMO, a master control and resonance will get you the best results at low volume.

No need for a load box.

So newer DSL's, JVM. Saying that, I use a DSL401 for bedroom practice.

I believe some of the Studio series offer a Master control, plus drop down to half the wattage or something like that.

Don't know if that makes much of a different, 1 watt can still be loud. Worth checking though.

 

[giblesp]

Gday mate , you cant go wrong with a series 3 EVH 5150 combo or 50 w half stack. Great rock tones , and a good clean channel. Combo has antennuator. Or do what I just did , buy a kemper. Try Music Swop Shop site. Theyre in Vic . Cold enough for ya ?

I own a couple of Marshalls and a Kemper, bear in mind the unpowered Kemper has profiles of miked amps. That's going to sound and feel different to an actual amp, but great for recording. Sits in the mix nicely.

Haven't tried the powered version with (hardware) cab.

 

[TheKman76]

I confess to not reading the whole thread, but I'll say this:

Getting the best from your GT-1000 definitely includes a real power amp and cab.
For a small footprint all valve combo I personally can't fault my DSL40CR and 4CM.
I've only had the DSL a month but I'm already extremely confident this is a rig I can build on.
Regardless of the pre-amp, amp models from the GT directly into the power amp are fantastic, with the right speaker.

Nothing is going to compete directly with a 100W head and 4x12 directly, but you can do a lot worse than a DSL for the money and it has a resale market if it doesn't suit you. Moreover, if you're likely to only ever use the amp in a 4CM configuration then the tone tweaking abilities of the GT are endless.

I don't see how you can go wrong.

 

[cccc]

IMO, a master control and resonance will get you the best results at low volume.

No need for a load box.

So newer DSL's, JVM. Saying that, I use a DSL401 for bedroom practice.

I believe some of the Studio series offer a Master control, plus drop down to half the wattage or something like that.

Don't know if that makes much of a different, 1 watt can still be loud. Worth checking though.

You can't even crank a 1 watt amp in a bedroom without waking the entire house.

 

[LargeBoxSmallBox]

Hi all,

I really appreciate those who offered some serious considerations to me, it really helps to narrow down my options.

To clarify, my wife is a professional violinist and our music room is a small bedroom in a small house. It has a large home gym in it already and a Roland td50 drum kit with full size bass drum and extra pads. I have a Hercules 5 guitar stand and my sons Marshall code 50 and boss me80 pedal. My old stack (100w head and 4x12 cab) was too large (not too loud) in the tiny room, so as much as I blame the wife it’s also my decision to reduce the footprint.

I’m surprised more people haven’t suggested the mini silver jubilee which is what I was originally leaning towards so I’m guessing there are good reasons for that.

It seems there are 3 main suggestions that pop up a lot.

DSL40c
SC20 (combo or head and 212 vertical cab)
Utilising my boss and getting a good frfr powered speaker

I also liked the suggestion of a jvm215c however width wise I’m not sure how much space that gets me back so will need to check dimensions against the 412 cabs.

Regarding the modeller suggestion is there a good forum to help find the right solution to pair with my gt1000? In the long-run it may be a good option as the right system may cover both the guitar and Roland drums.

Thanks again so much for the helpful suggestions and information from your own personal experiences.

I’m still not convinced a modeller alone can match a tube sound, and most of the pros who do it when interviewed seem to imply it’s more a convenience and simplicity decision long-term than a completely musical choice alone I am willing to explore this option as it could solve two issues for me (drums and guitar).

I would suggest a mini Silver Jubilee! It may be exactly what you need!

 

['2204']

You can't even crank a 1 watt amp in a bedroom without waking the entire house.

You are right--I immediately ordered the 1 watt JTM & 1 watt JMP when they were announced back in 2012--cranked up, they both sounded great but were louder than people realize, even in the lower .1 watt mode. They didn`t sound good unless they were fully cranked but were louder than I expected.

 

[Creach]

Yes 1W can be too loud for home. This is why the output power of the amp doesn't matter.
It's important to have a master volume and/or an attenuator, the choice of the speaker sensitivity is also important.

Speaker sensitivity reference is actually from a 1W amp.
So a 1W amp in a V30 will go to 100 dB in clean sound.

I always used my JMP 50W at home, with a master volume and an attenuator, it is more easy to control compare to a non master volume 1W JMP.

 

[Ufoscorpion]

Yes 1W can be too loud for home. This is why the output power of the amp doesn't matter.
It's important to have a master volume and/or an attenuator, the choice of the speaker sensitivity is also important.

Speaker sensitivity reference is actually from a 1W amp.
So a 1W amp in a V30 will go to 100 dB in clean sound.

I always used my JMP 50W at home, with a master volume and an attenuator, it is more easy to control compare to a non master volume 1W JMP.

Precisely , some of us know this stuff others haven’t worked it out yet , but I’m old and been round the block a few times , lol .

 

[Jefkem]

Semi related, I just got my 1991 100w JCM 900 DR 1x12 back from the shop (it was out of commission for many, many years) and I'm amazed that on the 100w setting, it's still easier to get bedroom levels than a DSL 1HR (without a JHS or speaker soaker, with one, it's possible). then again, I'm old and have been away from all this for a long time and this boggles my mind!

 

[Creach]

Hehe i'm also getting older, that's why a few years ago i bought an Eminence Maverick, i can plug my JMP in one speaker, and this speaker can go down to less of 93 dB.

Convenient for play at home, too bad they stopped to make it...

 

[cccc]

You are right--I immediately ordered the 1 watt JTM & 1 watt JMP when they were announced back in 2012--cranked up, they both sounded great but were louder than people realize, even in the lower .1 watt mode. They didn`t sound good unless they were fully cranked but were louder than I expected.

You said they didn't sound good unless cranked ? Really ?



Checkout post # 26 in the below link . Examples of how the JMP 1 watt and JCM 800 1 watt amps sound in the .1 watt mode. Absolutely killer


https://www.marshallforum.com/threads/origin-20-vs-dsl1-for-early-80s-metal.133547/page-2

 

['2204']

@cccc I think you may have mis-read my comments as I said that both the 1 watt JTM & the 1 watt JMP sounded great cranked way up, even in the lower '[point] .1 watt' position esp. the JMP [fully cranked].

In 1974 I bought a brand new 50w JMP--great sounding amp of course--and it sounded it`s very best with the volume at '4' but if the volume was increased beyond that then the tone became 'mushy' etc.

However the more I increased the volume on 1 watt JMP, the better it sounded--it sounded it`s very best fully cranked w/ the volume on '10'.

I had both amps for 6 or so years before i sold them & played thru them many times & again, for me, for them to sound their very best unaided, esp. the JMP, they had to be almost or fully cranked, even in the lower '.1 watt' position & by then they were no longer a 'bedroom amp' in my definition. Any lower than 3/4 to fully cranked with the volume, the JMP sounded anemic.

I did use a SD1 w/ the JTM which helped w/ lower volumes; however the SD1 did nothing to make the JMP sound better at lower volumes. I was hoping they both would be great 'bedroom amps' but neither were for me.

It was nice that there was the added 'Boost' feature on the JMP which then put it into JCM 800 territory & I always had it engaged, but again, the JMP only sounded it`s best when fully cranked & with that volume that loud it no longer qualified a 'bedroom/low volume amp' imho. In hindsight I should have ordered the 1 watt JCM800 w/ it`s Master Volume control...

However, as it presently is now for me, I get fantastic 'classic rock' tones at low volumes running a great distortion pedal thru the Low Input of either my JCM800 '4010' or the SC20H--with that setup there`s 3 volume controls to help with the 'volume issue': 2 volume controls on the amp [Pre & Master thru the Low Input] as well as the volume control on the pedal. I can have the volume set real low & my wife can`t hear me while she`s watching TV 15/20 feet away in the living room & the tones are excellent. And if she`s out of the house for any reaon I can cranked either amp to where i believe everyone here at the MAF would agree that the tones I get with that combination are fantastic 'classic rock' tones!

BTW do you own one of those 1 watt Marshall amps, such as the JMP? I`m guessing those videos you posted are not you playing.

 

[giblesp]

Well, I'm regularly using my DSL 401 in my bedroom for late night practice before sleeping. Below conversation level and completely happy.

JVM 205H during the day, at around 70-80db. Crazy low for some people, but I bombarded my ears in my teens and 20's and have tinnitus.

I actually get more satisfaction with my Marshalls at low levels than my Kemper. For practice anyway.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Not with a smaller head and a stacked 212 (one on top). 412 has no alternative but to take up the same width.

Turn it sideways, that'll fool her

Origin 20 or 50 would be a suggestion. Go for the head version of either and mate with a decent cab. I have the 50 combo, but it sounds way better plugged into a 4x12. Much more open and dynamic. And louder.

 

[Guitardrummerdownunder]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I ended up getting 2 JBL Eon712’s and running both guitars, drums and vocals through them in stereo via a zoom livetrak L12. I wasn’t ever happy with the amps on the gt1000 but tried the tonex with some decent captures and am so happy I bought 2 so both my son and I can run them through our guitars.

With so many good captures available it gives me so much flexibility for sounds, easy to record and works great in the fx loop of my gt1000.

My local ended up getting some amps in stock so managed to try a studio jcm800, studio plexi, studio jubilee, as well as the dsl range and origin.

I must say I would have had a tough time choosing between those amps as they all had something special I liked. Through the tonex I’ve managed to find captures of all these amps similar to how I had them set in the shop as well as captures almost identical to my tsl100 and how I had all 3 channels tuned in on that so I’m very happy in the end.

Never thought I’d settle for an amp modeller or amp capture but I’m feeling good about the choice as I have so many more great Marshall tones at my disposal now.

Thanks to all for the comments. I took them all on-board and simply decided you were all right, and I wanted all the amps suggested. I’ve found captures I like from every single suggestion made in these posts so thank you.