NAD: JCM900 SL-X 100w + review

[shooto]

Great sounding amp!...congrats!

 

[abkeller1]

Got an SLX myself today via UPS from Guitar center. Seems you got the good one. The one I got (also EL34s) lets out this horrible wail when the gain is above 3 with the volume cranked (and no guitar plugged in). It wasnt feedback.. I know feedback. This was a dying wilder beast sound. Just returned it a few minutes ago Happy you love yours! I'll find a decent one one of these days.

 

[Sapient]

 

[Deftone]

Crap...didn't realize this was a necro...fuck it.

I just wanted to add I have the 5881 SL-X 50w, it's a great amp, I am super impressed. It has great tone, tons of gain and takes pedals really well.

I think the OP makes some excellent points about speakers. Different speakers work better than others. Not fair to dismiss an amp until you have tried it with different speakers. Not fair to dismiss certain speakers either, they are just designed to work with different amps.

Other great points made by several... amps need maintenance. I've bought four Marshalls and one Mesa over the last year or two and they all needed some work. Every amp went to a tech and they all came back sounding and performing much better. So IMHO, don't dismiss any amp until you know it's performing as it should be.

 

[fitz]

I just got one from Guitar Center. I had it shipped to the closest store. After taking it out of the box to test at the store I noticed it had NO TOLEX. Just wood? I was like WTF. But I was curious about the tone. Turned it on. No noise. Turned all the nobs, quite, Cranked it and was flawed. Amazing tone. I got Guitar Center to take money off the cost to get it re tolexed and it's a keeper. I got lucky the guts were in great shape.

?

 

[abkeller1]

I've been casually looking for an SL-X of some kind of a while now and happened to spot one online at guitar center for a considerably good price. I could write a book about my negative experiences there but I also have a lot of faith in their 45 day return policy so I figured hey, I can't lose.

Anyway I'm pleased to say that I didn't lose this time.
Here she is, at the top of her new throne:

Besides the stack of Splawns, I'm also lucky enough to have a 6100LM and a JCM2000 TSL, as well as a few others - I've started selling my guitars and adding amps instead, since they all have such unique sonic qualities.

The amp arrived in a box that barely fit, tubes installed, complete with a very large dirty wad of plastic (not bubble wrap - literally trash), and I'd consider it very lucky that the amp wasn't damaged during shipping. I'm just glad they included the power cable, the last amp I got from GC had no fuses and no power cable.

About the Amp
I was pleasantly surprised to see a few things - firstly, brand new tubes all around, and the metal covers on preamp tubes, and spring retainers on the power tubes. Second, it's an early 1993 serial and is equipped for EL34's. That's awesome, I prefer the EL34 tone, though I would've been fine with 6L6's, I have a lot more EL34 types laying around for spares so that's a plus. All of the controls rotate smoothly, no missing parts, and the footswitchable volumes work too. Great.

For those not familiar, this amp is a single channel amp, with two master volumes that can be switched. It's not a separate channel, just a way to get a volume boost when performing. The layout is very similar to the JCM800 2203/2204 amps, so you get the usual presence/treble/middle/bass EQ section, and a preamp volume control. The SL-X's big addition is a "gain sensitivity" knob, that controls the two gain stages of the V2 tube. This means the SL-X in theory should have more gain, since it has more gain stages, than the older single channel Marshalls (this amp has 4 preamp tubes, instead of 3, so there's 5 gain stages instead of 3). The only complaint I have is it would've been cool if taking the sensitivity knob down to zero would just take V2 out of the circuit, and have the amp run V1 -> V3 -> V4 -> output, like a 3-tube JCM800. Instead, if you turn sensitivity to zero, it kills the preamp signal at V2 so the amp goes quiet. It would've been cool to have both the 800 type circuit in the amp and the ability to add on an extra tube gain stage when you wanted, instead those two gain stages are always on to some degree so this amp will never exactly nail a 3-gain stage 800 type sound, though you can get it pretty close it's not quite the same.

The Tone
The setup: I play at home exclusively, in a room above the garage so I do get the volume up a decent amount but not stadium volumes or anything. Since I don't play out, I've reconfigured my 4x12 to have four separate speaker jacks, so I can run each speaker individually or in a pair - effectively like an oversized 2x12. At the moment, the cab has installed: 2010 Chinese G12T-75, 1995 UK G12 Vintage 30, 80s UK G12-H100, and a 2018 G12M-65.
I'm playing 70s-80s music from new wave all the way up to hair metal roughly 80% of the time.
I sometimes use a Tubescreamer as a boost in front for solos or heavier styles.

The tone is thick, and has excellent brightness so I can get those great marshall "squeaks" when driven. The bass is round as well, so there isn't a lot of EQing going on to keep it tight - and that's a big plus when it comes to dynamics. After a few days of playing, I've narrowed down my favorite setting to be - preamp maxed, and sensitivity between the 17 and 18 mark. That's a lot of gain, but like I mentioned, the dynamics are superb - I can roll the volume down in varying degrees and cover an incredibly amount of ground here. This is one of the few amps I have that really excels through the G12T75 - that speaker is more scooped than the others and sometimes can make things get too thin. This amp on the other hand sounds fantastic through it, the classic Marshall roar. I also love it through the G12H100, the V30 is average but requires a little coaxing with the treble control, the G12M65 feels a little too bright to me but that speaker seems to have an upper mid spike that makes it very temperamental, with any amp, not just this one.

I can say how the tone is thick, bright, dynamic whatever all day, but it doesn't mean much without clips or comparison. I do have plans to make a video with some comparison clips but that's not ready yet, so I'll just mention a few things I'm noticing right off the bat.

Maybe it's because my 6100LM is a 6L6 model, but the CH2 900 Mode and CH3 on that amp sound nothing like this SL-X at all. I've never had any of the other JCM900 variations so maybe those are closer, but the 6100 is definitely more scooped in the midrange, and bassier. CH3 also has a LOT more gain on tap than the SL-X which surprised me, I was expecting the SL-X to be near the top in terms of amount of gain but it really isn't, feels pretty close to a JCM800 2205 I used to have, maybe a smidge more.

It's also less bright than a 2204 I've had a good amount of seat time with. The 2204 of course had less gain but had to be way louder to thicken up to the same level.

Compared to the TSL it's like a totally different animal. The TSL has more gain on the lead channel and has the same relatively scooped midrange compared to the SL-X, but not as scooped as the 6100 I feel. The TSL also seems to have more "edge," as in it feels like it has more gain in the upper midrange area and less in the lower frequencies. That's the kind of thing that makes the TSL really great for just slamming power chords, like for punk rock, but does make it a little less able to pull off those thicker 80s style tones than the SL-X can.

When I have the time to do the comparison video, I'll find a way to post it here. But at the moment, I really expect this to be one of the best sounding ones in my collection. It may be the honeymoon stage but I picked up a 2006 Splawn QR only a few days before I got the SL-X, and I've barely played it even though I initially thought it was amazing.

Thanks for reading.

I just got one at G.C too. It's an EL34 one. However when i opened the box at G.C it didn't look right. I couldn't figure it out then i realized it had NO TOLEX, just black wood. I was pissed. Was never told anything about that from the store that shipped it. Anyway I've never played one and hooked it up. Wow. It didn't make any noises, all the knobs worked I cranked it up sounded amazing. Now i told the local store manager about no Tolex he gave me $150 off the price. However, i had to find out the cost to have it retolexed. My guitar tech knew someone I called him he said between $200-$250. I went back to the store manager and told him he said to call the store got shipped from and see if they will pay for the price of the Tolex. And they did they took off $250 instead of the $150. So i took it home put new 12AX7's in it and it rocks. It's in perfect working order. I'm just going to leave it without the tolex for now it look good without it. But if i ever wanted to do it I have the money for it. However I don't see ever selling it, i love it so much. I have a JCM 2000 DSL50 and never quit jived with it after I told my JCM 800 2204. The SL-X is very close to the 800 the 2000 is much more modern. Anyway. it's a keeper.

 

[Zensee]

Hope you enjoy yours like I have mine. The slx was one that I tracked down and plan on never getting rid of.

 

[Kinkless Tetrode]

Crap...didn't realize this was a necro....

It's only a year old so not really that necro.

Anyway, I had not seen it before and that is a great review by the OP.

 

[Alowerdeep]

Cool Amp but man people have gotten crazy with the prices on them...decided to get the 900 mkiii instead ...I've had them alll,along with the dsl/tsl and vintage modern...aside from differences in gain available they all sounded pretty similar so didnt see the sense in having more than one,though I do want another DSL for the clean channel.

 

[961le]

a suggestion ... med output pickups and tungsram in v1-v2. we appear to like the same type music. my overdrive is not in my chain.

 

[Silverdome]

Congrats, I have the EL 34 50 Watt version. Solid review and I 100% agree with your critique of the gain sensitivity knob. I'm on a kick where I like to get that as close to zero as possible as I feel like it just sounds better down there. I never use the presence knob either.

Really nice bargain amp and it sure does rock.

 

[Harlequin tusk]

Ace said his settings were "everything on 5". I tried them on my 2100 and it sounds great. Mine gets kinda noisy when the Gain is set above 15. I have a 93 EL34 model

 

[abkeller1]

Hope you enjoy yours like I have mine. The slx was one that I tracked down and plan on never getting rid of.

I feel the same way. Never getting rid of !