The most badass Marshall tone - JCM 800

[Ned74]

The last guitar I bought was this year. It was a fluke year, having bought 3… which doesn’t really happen for me. Prior to that, it was ‘20.


The last pedal purchase was this fall. Buying 1-2 annually is not uncommon at all.


The last major accessory was a PS-100 this year. Prior to that was a Captor X in 2019.


You picking up what I am putting down? Small guitar purchases every year, maybe a guitar one year, maybe an accessory on another.



MY LAST AMP PURCHASE WAS 10 FUCKING YEARS AGO. ’78 2203 JMP.



I no longer buy amps… I simply find things to play with my 2203 (or 1959RR).

How brutal are the 78 JMP, mines been modded with an extra preamp tube, amongst another mod that has 2 extra dials next to the inputs, and damn it's mountainous!

 

[67mike]

Does the 2555x cleanup the same as a 2203/2204?

Certainly can. If you have an idea how the 3 master volumes interact....I am tired of trying to convince people who don't have a clue, about this.

 

[67mike]

1987-1990 25/50s are all flagship amps. 2555Xs are cheaper grade, whether the cuts are significant enough for ppl to care is a different matter.




This has been said before and is (at least) as false as “I can do dial a plexi with my 2203/I can get a 2203 with my DSL.”

If this was actually the case, nobody on the planet past 2010 would ever buy a 2203, certainly not a 2203x/SC when a much cheaper 2555X or 2525 would do it all and then some.

You are entilted to your opinion, even if it is wrong.

 

[AlvisX]

MY LAST AMP PURCHASE WAS 10 FUCKING YEARS AGO. ’78 2203 JMP.



I no longer buy amps… I simply find things to play with my 2203 (or 1959RR).

Was that the one I clued you in on ? Was that 10yrs ago ? I waste a lotta time here ...

So fucking Rebel, bro.

Rebellion , it's in my DNA

 

[V-man]

Was that the one I clued you in on ? Was that 10yrs ago ? I waste a lotta time here ...

The same…

and that is why St. Al, patron of cheap guitars and great tone will forever be in my good books.

 

[V-man]

How brutal are the 78 JMP, mines been modded with an extra preamp tube, amongst another mod that has 2 extra dials next to the inputs, and damn it's mountainous!

Mine has the Hotmods V2 Evo in it. Mountainous…. Monstrous, whatever big-M adjective you can imagine.

 

[SonVolt]

What speakers are you using?

The most “pleasing” (not nec “best”) are GBs or BBs. 65s and 75s are glorious but they have something congested that can amplify shrillness.


Finding a Captor X is a great companion for low volume… you have headphones level and can instantly switch out 6 cab options on the rotary dial. You also can hear the fullness of the sound come in as you turn that “thin shrillness” out pushing the master past 2 into the 3-4 range (9-10 o’ clock). The power amp blending in fills in all those gaps.

I just turned mine off, marveling at how that amp and an SD-1 through the right GTs just nails early Megadeth.

I've always played through V30s. 1 Marshall V30 4x12 and 2 Mesa Recto cabs with whatever V30 they have in them. I've had it in my head that GB's have farty bass, so I've never given them a shot. I wonder if I've been missing something...

 

[What?]

I've always played through V30s. 1 Marshall V30 4x12 and 2 Mesa Recto cabs with whatever V30 they have in them. I've had it in my head that GB's have farty bass, so I've never given them a shot. I wonder if I've been missing something...

Funny. Way back when I had a dual rec with v30's in the matching cab, I didn't like the farty bass when the amp was cranked up. I wonder if I would think the same these days.

 

[SonVolt]

Farty bass is just status quo for Dual Recs. That's why throwing a TS style circuit out front with a significant bass cut is mandatory.

As for the Mesa Recto V30 4x12 cabs, they're industry standard for modern metal b/c of their ability to remain tight and not fart out.

 

[AlvisX]

I haven't bought a 2203 in many years . Last one I bought was the '76 at Guitar Center for $750, maybe 2010
I passed on another transition 2203 about 5 yrs ago for $950 (that I probably should've bought)
Since then I just watched 'em skyrocket (for some reason unbeknownst to me)

Meanwhile in England , I started buying 82-83 Laney Pro Tubes , which are nothing more than 2203/4's that say Laney on 'em . I got a 50w for $300 and a 100w for $450. Build quality is just the same ...for what ,about 7 times less than what Marshalls are goin for now ?


There was a guy in CA sellin an early Pro Tube halfstack for $1500 last month . 2000 miles kept me from that impulse buy though . Food for thought anyway ....if ya don't have a mint to spend

 

[V-man]

You are entilted to your opinion, even if it is wrong.

A more prudent and “churched” up edit, but to the point.


Having 3 amps does not imbue you with the final authority of what is.

Know who else had multiple 2203s and a Jubilee mere feet from each-other? Me.

Know who else does? Deftone (who I am not hearing agrees w you either, and he is welcome to speak for himself)



What you fail to grasp is dialing A to B and B to A does not conclude A = B

Further, dialing A to A’s sweet spot and dialing B to something close ALSO does not conclude A = B. You might as well say a Kemper is a 2203 with that logic.



Sure, you would love to record two blind tracks with the 2 amps and make me/us scratch the head like a fool to “prove your point.” Pretty convincing, until I jump in and get a 3rd party to switch up the concealed heads into different cabs and different pedals I use, where I/others now concede, “yeah the other one is starting to sound off/like shit/etc”.

The amp ”being the other” via an intersection don’t cut it. A 928 may also hit 150 m.p.h. At/under a certain RPM also… That doesn’t make a 911 Turbo or establish it drives like one.

 

[V-man]

I've always played through V30s. 1 Marshall V30 4x12 and 2 Mesa Recto cabs with whatever V30 they have in them. I've had it in my head that GB's have farty bass, so I've never given them a shot. I wonder if I've been missing something...

V30s do the job for certain applications, but my least favorite major celestion through the 2203. Even for the chugs, G12K100s are way better for my tastes

Meanwhile in England , I started buying 82-83 Laney Pro Tubes , which are nothing more than 2203/4's that say Laney on 'em . I got a 50w for $300 and a 100w for $450. Build quality is just the same ...for what ,about 7 times less than what Marshalls are goin for now ?

I hear Peavey Butchers and a Traynor (forget which) are also other ways to skin the 2203 cat…or very close to it.

 

[Vinsanitizer]

Good Lord that thing sounds Possessed!! talk about Hard Core, that amp was seen sneaking around after 2am, looking for Trouble!
11 Thmbs Up, ........because well its one more thumb.............almost scared the Crap out of me......."Props" from an OG Marshall Rocker

Right? I never played any Metallica, but back in the day my 2205 & 2210 were getting that tone. You can hear that top-end bite - it's unique and unmistakable. My SC20H has it, though it's not quite as pronounced, it's still there. With that tone, you'd be surprised how you can get this really smooth, beautiful, articulate soaring lead tone with a long delay in the loop (my 2200's had loops). It's the Mid and Presence that brings that voice out. It sounds like a singer singing a high note that's starting to break up - like it's right up to the edge and about to fall off. So hard to describe.

 

[AlvisX]

The same…

and that is why St. Al, patron of cheap guitars and great tone will forever be in my good books.

That was a full stack IIRC ?
Man , there were some killer amps comin outa that neighborhood at that time . I regret not getting A JCM 1959 that the guitar player from Zebra was selling , but I had just bought a '73 SL , and just couldn't swing it .
I did manage to grab a '77 2104 before gettin the hell outa there though

 

[V-man]

That was a full stack IIRC ?
Man , there were some killer amps comin outa that neighborhood at that time . I regret not getting A JCM 1959 that the guitar player from Zebra was selling , but I had just bought a '73 SL , and just couldn't swing it .
I did manage to grab a '77 2104 before gettin the hell outa there though

Half-stack w BBs.

I ended up getting a better deal since he shelved it a while and set it back up with an impedance mismatch, blowing an EL-34 while demoing it there.

Win-win for me since I was going to have the caps serviced and restore the amp back to its native 6550s.

 

[67mike]

A more prudent and “churched” up edit, but to the point.


Having 3 amps does not imbue you with the final authority of what is.

Know who else had multiple 2203s and a Jubilee mere feet from each-other? Me.

Know who else does? Deftone (who I am not hearing agrees w you either, and he is welcome to speak for himself)



What you fail to grasp is dialing A to B and B to A does not conclude A = B

Further, dialing A to A’s sweet spot and dialing B to something close ALSO does not conclude A = B. You might as well say a Kemper is a 2203 with that logic.



Sure, you would love to record two blind tracks with the 2 amps and make me/us scratch the head like a fool to “prove your point.” Pretty convincing, until I jump in and get a 3rd party to switch up the concealed heads into different cabs and different pedals I use, where I/others now concede, “yeah the other one is starting to sound off/like shit/etc”.

The amp ”being the other” via an intersection don’t cut it. A 928 may also hit 150 m.p.h. At/under a certain RPM also… That doesn’t make a 911 Turbo or establish it drives like one.

Fuck off.

Putting you on ignore, because I don't want to interact with you...unless it is in person.

 

[V-man]

Fuck off.

Putting you on ignore, because I don't want to interact with you...unless it is in person.

Feel free. If you can’t take disagreement without a meltdown, you probably should. I’ll be right here pointing out the silliness of your baseless claims so others don’t fall prey to that tin eared recommendation

 

[LPMarshall hack]

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Resident 217]

Merry Christmas everyone!

Yeah-What he ^^^^ said!

 

[Vinsanitizer]

Farty bass is just status quo for Dual Recs. That's why throwing a TS style circuit out front with a significant bass cut is mandatory.

As for the Mesa Recto V30 4x12 cabs, they're industry standard for modern metal b/c of their ability to remain tight and not fart out.

Let me be clear:

That's technically the wrong approach. The bass gets farty, ("flubby" is a more accurate term), because the tone controls are pre-gain. You need to lower the bass control to where you think it's tight, and then boost it back up clean via an EQ in the FX loop. That is why the Mark series has a graphic EQ. Don't disagree with me unless you've tried it. Shoving a mid-boost pedal such as a TS before the input helps by juicing the mids at perhaps a better frequency than the Mid control, but it doesn't resolve the flub problem. An EQ in the loop does.

The biggest difference between Marshall and MESA, is that Marshalls are post-gain EQ, and MESAs are pre-gain EQ. With a pre-gain EQ amp, you're going to need a post gain EQ. That's what makes MESA's Mark series magic, and interestingly complex.