Anyone compare this crunch to JCM800?..

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Jouni

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Everyone and their mother are using the JCM800 as a benchmark for tube-dimed-crunch sound.

I realised that I've never heard one live at full tilt, that I can recall. Youtube-clips are varying, some might have boosters off view...

So, what is the amount of crunch a JCM800 is capable??

Here's a clip of my crunch, I wouldn't like to go much under that, playing what I play.


Now, for example Frenzel says their "rocker 800" does "JCM800-crunch"..
Would it suffice, be plenty, or just for blues??:D
 
I really wonder what the purpose of this thread is. Do you want a bunch of guys to tell you that the JCM800 would suit you - judged by an mp3 of what you (want to) do - and then you go and buy an amp that's said to do JCM800 crunch??

DON'T. :D

The ONLY way to hear what an amp sounds like LIVE is to actually hear it live. And by live I don't mean picked up and sent thru a PA.

I had always thought that the JCM800 was the amp I'd need (at least its tone) and that my amp's tone just lacks a bit of [I still don't know what] compared to the marshall... until I tested the marshall. The only thing that impressed me was - it's freaking loud. :D:D
Maybe the great thing about the JCM800 is: you can't really make it sound awful.

Go to a shop where they have one and test it. And test your rocker 800 too... side by side.
 
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I'm repeating myself here.

"So, what is the amount of crunch a JCM800 is capable??"

God knows I'm not going to get a JCM800, and NOT ordering a preamp from U.S to Europe just to try them side by side.

I would like to know:

"..what is the amount of crunch a JCM800 is capable??"

That, if you would please comprehend, is the point.
My bodytemperature is 101,3 Fahrenheit, not too peppy, sorry.
About the crunch, not tone.
 
Jouni said:
I'm repeating myself here.

"So, what is the amount of crunch a JCM800 is capable??"
Click to expand...

About this ||<----------------------->|| much.

God knows I'm not going to get a JCM800, and NOT ordering a preamp from U.S to Europe just to try them side by side.
Click to expand...

Ah, I didn't see right away that you're miles away from civilization and the next decent guitar-shop (which the very most of have a JCM800 on display as it's a fairly common amp).

I would like to know:

"..what is the amount of crunch a JCM800 is capable??"

That, if you would please comprehend, is the point.
My bodytemperature is 101,3 Fahrenheit, not too peppy, sorry.
About the crunch, not tone.
Click to expand...

aaah, now I comprehend, and "I'm repeating myself here":

About this ||<----------------------->|| much.
 
Seriously, how can one quantify the amount of crunch a particular amp offers? That's very subjective. Judgements can only be made by comparison, and then with the ears of the person making the comparison.
 
Facepalm.

WhiteStrat said:
Seriously, how can one quantify the amount of crunch a particular amp offers? That's very subjective. Judgements can only be made by comparison, and then with the ears of the person making the comparison.
Click to expand...

Next time someone asks about his recorded tone, everyone here saying to cut down on the distortion, I'll remember this with warmth.

> AC/DC
< GNR
Click to expand...

Thanks.
:D
 
Oh oh! Here you go:



this is a Gibson SG Supreme (57 classic pickups) straight into a 2204 half stack with the bright cap pulled, preamp on 10, master just under 1 (sorry, I got neighbors), presence on 3.5, bass on 5, mids on 7, high on 6.

I just recorded it with a single ribbon (group buy ACM-2 with Edcor transformer) - just 4 u :D

Crunch enuf?

but I have to say, they all sound a little different from one another.
 
Jouni said:
Everyone and their mother are using the JCM800 as a benchmark for tube-dimed-crunch sound.

I realised that I've never heard one live at full tilt, that I can recall. Youtube-clips are varying, some might have boosters off view...

So, what is the amount of crunch a JCM800 is capable??

Here's a clip of my crunch, I wouldn't like to go much under that, playing what I play.


Now, for example Frenzel says their "rocker 800" does "JCM800-crunch"..
Would it suffice, be plenty, or just for blues??:D
Click to expand...

The guitar sound in your clip is not crunch.It is saturated with distortion to
the point that it is undefined in the mix.Not saying that it sounds bad, just
doesnt fit my definition of crunch.
Marshall amps tend to sound like A.M. radios until you crank them past a certain volume.The design comes from a time before P.A. fortification.100
watts minimum,slaving 2 to 4 heads for concert volume.
Crunch is about low gain(to a level where your attack causes it)and high
volume
 
antichef said:
Oh oh! Here you go:



this is a Gibson SG Supreme (57 classic pickups) straight into a 2204 half stack with the bright cap pulled, preamp on 10, master just under 1 (sorry, I got neighbors), presence on 3.5, bass on 5, mids on 7, high on 6.

I just recorded it with a single ribbon (group buy ACM-2 with Edcor transformer) - just 4 u :D

Crunch enuf?

but I have to say, they all sound a little different from one another.
Click to expand...

THANK YOU!

If that is a comparable sample of a JCM 800, it's actually pretty much!:confused:
Comparing to my crunchsample at 0:41, where I'm not grating the hell out of the strings, The amount of "fizz" comes close. I might cope with that...:cool:
And while comparing, we must remember my sample is played on an amp driven much louder than that JCM sample, over a drummer.

Which brings me to SHEPPARDB, Yes, I should've headlined this "JCM Distortion" in hindsight... And since there is only the drummer and I, my sound IS the mix??:D:D
And, it's a H4 recording 8 to 10 feet from me and drummer, no eq.:o

I have a bit more distortion, not much, and the odd thing is that a mic seems always to pick up more of it than I can here on the spot.. ..might be the earplugs.

But, got what I asked finally, thanks again.
 
i know you're not super close to any decent music stores but how close is the nearest one?

I'm in a somewhat similar situation.. I live in a small city that doesn't have the best music stores.. when it comes time to shop I usually take the 4 1/2 hour drive to toronto to look at stuff.

I highly highly recommend trying out an amp before you buy it. You're about to make a big investment. It's definately worth the road trip. Find out where the nearest good music store is and make the trip.. that way you can try out a few different amps. (call them first and make sure they the one you wanna try)

p.s. bring your guitar.. it's best try out new amps with your own gear to see how it will really sound
 
Jouni said:
Next time someone asks about his recorded tone, everyone here saying to cut down on the distortion, I'll remember this with warmth.
Click to expand...

Sorry, one position doesn't negate the other.

On the one hand, he's asking a very subjective question that most of us find difficult to answer without being able to make the direct comparison ourselves. On the other hand, if yet another "new to recording" guitarist saunters in and complains about their heavy guitar sound sounding thin and sizzly but not heavy, turning down the distortion is still likely to be good advice, worth trying at the very least.
 
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Jouni said:
If that is a comparable sample of a JCM 800, it's actually pretty much!:confused:
Click to expand...
It's a JCM800 -- 2204 50 watt, horizontal inputs head into a 1960A 4x12 (original 75 watt Celestions). Connoisseurs will argue endlessly about which ones are best -- the vertical input ones are preferred by techs, because the pots and inputs are wired, not soldered, to the board, and some folks prefer the 100 watt 2203, but I don't think anyone will argue that this one isn't the "real thing" -- here's the amp and the guitar:

picture.php


and it does sound considerably better after about 3 on the master volume, but that's above bedroom level! When I played in metal bands in the 80s, I had an Ibanez tube screamer in front of it that was on all the time, and that was probably too much, really, in retrospect.

Everybody's right that you really want to try out the prospective amp with your guitar -- saying it has JCM800-like distortion doesn't communicate much. And as I mentioned earlier, there was so much variation in tone on these amps themselves, that even if you were buying an actual one, you'd still probably want to try it out.
 
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