NAD: 1988 JCM 800 2204 - Pristine condition inside and out!

[cliffenstein]

I put in a lowball offer for 1988 JCM 800 2204 listed on the Sweetwater Gear Exchange thinking it would absolutely not be accepted. I don't need another amp, but just for kicks I put in the bid. Oops...it was accepted. $1800 and it was mine. Seller even included an Anvil Flight Case for free (a killer surprise that I definitely was not expecting).

I realize $1800 for an amp is still on the pricier side of things, but dang...for what I (and many others) consider the greatest amp ever built and considering what they list for these days, I feel like I got an absolutely incredible deal.

The amp arrived today. Wow...super clean inside and out...the only mar is a missing corner on one of the plastic handle covers.

I loaded it with my usual compliment of JJ EL34, JJ ECC83 tubes and without even having it biased yet, it sounds absolutely incredible.

PICS:

continued...

 

[cliffenstein]

GUT SHOT CLOSEUPS:

 

[Adrian R]

Nice score dude. $1800 is what I sold my 1986 2204 for. $1800 I agree as well is imo yet, kind of on the high side, but certainly far more reasonable...far more in line with current inflationary standards.. Reverb pricing is ridicules, but with your post perhaps things will normalize from that fkin' Covid insanity crap. Try a Hotmod V2...it'll sound nearly identical to a DSL 100s red channel...lol

Congrats!

Btw that IS a clean one!

 

[anitoli]

Very nice and clean amp. I am curious though, in the second pic the amp under it says "British 100" What the hell is that?

 

[DreamerDeceiver]

:/

 

[Deftone]

Very nice and clean amp. I am curious though, in the second pic the amp under it says "British 100" What the hell is that?

I was wondering the same thing. Actually I think it says "British 800" and judging from the OP's sig, my guess is it's a 2022 Mojotone British 800 2204.

Congratulations, OP! Love those 2204's.

 

[solarburn]

Awesomes!!!

Enjoy that unbridled Marshall beast. Love these amps.

 

[cliffenstein]

After writing the seller back and giving him very high marks and feedback on Sweetwater Gear Exchange, he reached out to me and told me that he only used the amp for 2 years at band practice before moving on to another amp. He never gigged with it.

Amazing!

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Nice and clean.

Congratulations.

 

[jmp45]

Congrats, fantastic amp. I have a n 88 2204 also I scored in the 90s with a 60a cab. Mint also, the guy let it go for some quick cash to buy a bike. Careful with that DI out. I retubed and biased a while back and by mistake reached around and jacked the cab into the DI. HT fuse popped and lost the phase inverter. OT was fine.

Still in good shape, hasn't been gigged with much.

 

[cliffenstein]

I was wondering the same thing. Actually I think it says "British 800" and judging from the OP's sig, my guess is it's a 2022 Mojotone British 800 2204.

Congratulations, OP! Love those 2204's.

That is exactly right...it's an amp bult from a 2204 Mojotone Kit by an amp enthusiast from Texas who wanted to start his own line of amps. He built this one and several others before realizing the futility of making any real money as an amp builder in a very small and crowded market and decided to close shop. His hand-wiring skills are excellent as it's really well put together. He also installed a mid boost, a gain boost, and even a PPIMV. I didn't like any of those options...the PPIMV on a 2204 just really doesn't work well at all. So I had my tech (he's awesome!) remove those elements altogether. After doing that, he did several other things to it (including a non adjustable resonance mod) to bring it to true full 2204 glory.

I had Mojotone make me custom front and back faceplates for it and it's housed in a JCM 900 DR headshell.

It's an AMAZING amp that truly rivals this new to me 2204. In fact, I have the same compliment of tubes in them both and, with the knobs in almost identical positions, the amps are indistinguishable from each other in both feel, tone, and volume.

 

[cliffenstein]

Careful with that DI out. I retubed and biased a while back and by mistake reached around and jacked the cab into the DI. HT fuse popped and lost the phase inverter. OT was fine.

I already did that exact thing today while comparing this Marshall 2204 with my Mojotone kit 2204. I realized it immediately and plugged into the proper spot quick enough to not do any damage.

 

[Adrian R]

I put in a lowball offer for 1988 JCM 800 2204 listed on the Sweetwater Gear Exchange thinking it would absolutely not be accepted. I don't need another amp, but just for kicks I put in the bid. Oops...it was accepted. $1800 and it was mine. Seller even included an Anvil Flight Case for free (a killer surprise that I definitely was not expecting).

I realize $1800 for an amp is still on the pricier side of things, but dang...for what I (and many others) consider the greatest amp ever built and considering what they list for these days, I feel like I got an absolutely incredible deal.

The amp arrived today. Wow...super clean inside and out...the only mar is a missing corner on one of the plastic handle covers.

I loaded it with my usual compliment of JJ EL34, JJ ECC83 tubes and without even having it biased yet, it sounds absolutely incredible.

PICS:

continued...

My 91' MK3 was in similar shape, usage wise, but no where near as well maintained! I had to do a great deal of cleaning and service to get it like new.

 

[racerxrated]

Congrats! 1800 is a decent price today. Only thing I'd consider is swapping the F&T caps out for ARS....for some reason I hear a strange 'grainy' thing whenever I've bought a vintage JCM or JMP with F&Ts...as soon as I swap them out for ARS, back to what I expect a Marshall to sound like. Not many others agree with my take though, lol. And that's ok.

 

[StrummerJoe]

Congrats on a really clean example of a fantastic amp!

 

[tallcoolone]

NIIIIICE!

 

[vivanchenko]

Congratulations and thanks for the gut shots.

 

[scozz]

Congrats man, it looks great!

 

[Adrian R]

Congrats! 1800 is a decent price today. Only thing I'd consider is swapping the F&T caps out for ARS....for some reason I hear a strange 'grainy' thing whenever I've bought a vintage JCM or JMP with F&Ts...as soon as I swap them out for ARS, back to what I expect a Marshall to sound like. Not many others agree with my take though, lol. And that's ok.

I agree 1000%. My last two 900 purchases saw me replacing the stock LCRs with ARS. They're LCR clones imo. They sound and look identical.

 

[Musicmaniac]

Sweet congrats!