NAD: JMD-1 2x12 100w Combo

[Dozer]

Well it's "on the truck for delivery" as I type this. Biggest concern for me right now is I have read the chassis on these is not very stout and I am hoping it gets to me in one piece. Tack on the fact I bought it through Guitar Center online and BOTH amps I bought from them in the past arrived to me busted up pretty badly and were unusable. There is a 100w head locally at a Music Go Round for about the same price I paid for this combo. Plan is if it is indeed busted up, I will return it and go buy that head. This combo came with the footswitch though and that head does not. Thankfully I have a 6 button MIDI controller I could use instead of the switch.
here's to hoping it comes to me in one piece.

Pretty excited to get this thing and see what it can do. I have owned quite a few Marshalls in the past so I will know pretty quick if this thing really does hang with some of those or it's a pretender.

 

[Dozer]

So it's in and I fired it up. After about 5 minutes it started making a weird crackling sound almost as if a cell phone was on it and interference was happening. Seemed to be random and not cyclical so I started turning knobs. Nope no change. Hit all the jacks with Caigs and air, no change. Started knocking on the top of the amp to see if it got worse and it did.

Took the back panel off and checked the tubes for tightness. All secured well (GC did a great job shipping it btw). Checked speaker connections and they are tight and not corroded.
Noticed it seems to have all original tubes in it so I swapped out the PI with a known good Tung Sol ax7 and VOILA! The noise is gone. Has been a good 30 minutes now with no noise. Going to leave it on for another couple hours and play through it here and there but it seems I found the gremlin and removed it.

It's definitely getting a new matched quad of tubes in the near future. I can tell that they are tired. 100w should be ear shattering and it's not really all that loud. I mean it's loud but not 100w Marshall loud.

 

[Dozer]

Well the problem came back. The amp is going back.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

it's probably the tubes...

take it in, to the local GC, & tell them what's up, that, you'd rather keep the amp, but, if the crackling is something beyond tubes, no bueno...

maybe they'll be able to help you out & try & troubleshoot it.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

one thing too...

make sure it's not the noise gate making noise. The effects return could possibly need a cleaning.

Get a guitar cable, spray the plug w/ de-oxit, & insert it into the jack. Twist/spin it around & then pull it out & spray it again. Then insert it & make like the plug is having sex, in/out-in/out, etc. You can do that for all the jacks, including the speaker jack, if it has one for the internal speakers.

but, look at the noise gate & possible compression, I forget what all it has in there, but, that can make for some funky noises sometimes, if it's set all out of whack...

 

[Dogs of Doom]

 

[shooto]

You can reset it too…back to factory specs…that might work if someone’s preset is messing it up

 

[Dozer]

You can reset it too…back to factory specs…that might work if someone’s preset is messing it up

I did all that plus cleaned all the jacks with Caigs and air then swapped out the PI tube with no improvements. When I brought it to GC they didnt want to bother fixing and offered me a PRS Sonzera head even swap so I took it. Sucks because I really enjoyed how it sounded and felt.

 

[scozz]

How’s the amps cabinet? I remember hearing complaints about the 2-12 combo a number of years back.

The cabinets seemed unusually flimsy, and over time the weight of the amp/speakers takes a toll on the integrity of the cabinet.

Some complained the corners were separating under the weight of the amp.

 

[shooto]

How is the PRS?

 

[marshallmellowed]

I did all that plus cleaned all the jacks with Caigs and air then swapped out the PI tube with no improvements. When I brought it to GC they didnt want to bother fixing and offered me a PRS Sonzera head even swap so I took it. Sucks because I really enjoyed how it sounded and felt.

Didn't you say your local GC had a JMD head? I'd have worked a deal to get the head and the footswitch from the messed up combo. I've had my JMD's for years, never had an issue. PRS, meh.

 

[Dozer]

How’s the amps cabinet? I remember hearing complaints about the 2-12 combo a number of years back.

The cabinets seemed unusually flimsy, and over time the weight of the amp/speakers takes a toll on the integrity of the cabinet.

Some complained the corners were separating under the weight of the amp.

The cabinet is definitely MDF but it was rock solid if you ask me wasnt flimsy at all. Nit a single structural problem.

 

[Dozer]

Didn't you say your local GC had a JMD head? I'd have worked a deal to get the head and the footswitch from the messed up combo. I've had my JMD's for years, never had an issue. PRS, meh.

Local Music Go Round and yes I plan on getting it. The reason I went with the PRS swap is cos it was a great deal (priced 150 bucks more than the JMD) and a friend of mine was working and talked me into it. I do plan to go get that JMD head.

 

[Dozer]

How is the PRS?

The clean channel is fantastic and reminds me of the Vibrolux I used to have . The gain channel is reminiscent of a 4 hole normal channel but with tons more gain on tap. That channel definitely needs a tubescreamer but once I did that yeah it's pretty nice.

 

[shooto]

The clean channel is fantastic and reminds me of the Vibrolux I used to have . The gain channel is reminiscent of a 4 hole normal channel but with tons more gain on tap. That channel definitely needs a tubescreamer but once I did that yeah it's pretty nice.

Nice!…50w?…combo?

 

[Dozer]

Nice!…50w?…combo?

it's the 50w head.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

Congratulations on the amp you now have
HNAD

 

[Dozer]

Congratulations on the amp you now have
HNAD

Thanks. My new Origin 50 head should be in Friday!

 

[Dogs of Doom]

offered me a PRS Sonzera head even swap so I took it.

I do plan to go get that JMD head.

Thanks. My new Origin 50 head should be in Friday!

that's how you do it! ...

congrat's!

 

[Mrmadd]

First up!
I never played through any JMD Marshall amps.
Any they any good?

Seems to me, they probably have a ton of unnecessary pcb circuitry and not enough tubes.

Plus...
On my bass Marshall amps, the compression features usually suck.