Best Marshall tube amp?

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presto5

presto5

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I`m looking at the JVM series JVm210C 100W...anyone have this amp and should I look further? I play blues, country, Metal, punk reggae..pretty much whatever..I have a vox VT30 and lookin to step it up. Dont think I need a whole halfstack:D
 
I can't speak for the amp itself, but I can say that a 100 watt tube amp is going to be incredibly loud. Orders of magnitude louder than that hybrid Vox of yours. Even through 2 12" speakers instead of a 4x12 cab, a 100W tube power section is a powerful beast.

The trouble with high-wattage combos is that they tend to rattle and shake themselves to pieces over time. Having everything all contained in the same chassis, being played at high volume over the years through a couple of 12" speakers is kind of a recipe for malfunction. That being said, I've been playing through an 80W 2x12 tube combo for over 10 years and it's still kicking. It's always had its share of rattles and knocks but I love the thing. Heavy sonofabitch tho.

Before you pull the trigger on that amp, see if you can try it out in person. Crank up the master volume and batton down the hatches because it's going to blow your hair back. Then see if you can try a few lower wattage combos, like 18W - 30W and see if they can give you enough clean headroom for your needs. If not, go for the 50W or 100W monster. But otherwise you can crank a lower wattage tube amp and get that awesome saturated power tube distortion without blowing the windows out of the place.
 
I just picked up a Reissue Plexi 1987x. 50 of the loudest freakin' watts you can imagine. Thru a 4x12 cab you can't be in the same room at half volume. Thing sounds great but I have to run a Hot Plate.


lou
 
Yeah, I run a Hot Plate on my 80W combo. I do love the sound of stressed power tubes :)
 
It's not a JCM 2000 Triple Super Lead 100, I can tell you that much. Fucking one-dimensional amp.

Looks the business, though.
 
Doesn't that describe all valve Marshalls? One trick pony but does that trick very well indeed.


lou

Yes, I suppose so. I really would expect the eq on an £800 amp ($1200 dollar? I dunno) to have some discernible effect on the sound, though. It worked well for my Stranglers band - plug in a Telecaster and the sound was right there - but for anything else it's rubbish. :(
 
Admittedly I don't know much about Marshalls. Always wanted one of course - who doesn't? - but no idea which ones were good. I knew some of the newer ones were junk. The Plexi I just picked up came up quick and pretty reasonable so I did some quick research and pulled the trigger. Most people seem to like them and I like this one but it really only does the one thing. It does it better than anything else I have.


lou
 
I like the 18 watt Marshalls along with the JCM800 and JTM45 (built two clones). I have worked on the older and newer JCM800s and the older JCM800 sounds very nice but i have to admit after someone hacked up a JCM800-2204 (newer model) and i repaired it (with the components i believe should be in them), the freaking thing ended up to be a very nice sounding amp. I returned the amp back to the dealer and an hour later it was out the door. I'm no Marshall guru by any means, I just like working on a amp till it sounds good to me and others.
 
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