marshall jcm, jtm, 800,900,2000 ???

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acorec said:
I never thought there was a difference. I guess buzz, more buzz, buzz & hum, buzz & hum & am radio interference.

I sold all my Marshalls as I do nothing but record and they suck ass for recording. But, if you have to have one, the JCM 900 is the better amp usually. This only means that the JCM 800 amps were really lousy.
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You must be going for a different sound than most Marshall players. The JCM 900's are the redheaded stepchild of the all tube Marshalls. The JCM 800's are the ones that are coveted (the early ones). The 70's models sounded even better, but had no master volume.
 
JCM stands for Jim Caroline Marshall. Might be wrong on the Caroline but the middle letter stands for Jims wifes name or something like that.
 
Farview said:
You must be going for a different sound than most Marshall players. The JCM 900's are the redheaded stepchild of the all tube Marshalls. The JCM 800's are the ones that are coveted (the early ones). The 70's models sounded even better, but had no master volume.
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Yeah, I had the JCM 800s and ditched them around the same time that everybody did. My opinion is about the same as Ritchie Blackmore's in that the Marshalls are LOUD but no tone. I can hear them a mile away and they all have that crappy "Marshall" sound. The"coveted" ones are what I had and there is really nothing to covet other than collectability as there are dozens of current amps that are better sounding, more reliable and far less noisy than those Marshalls.
 
It was really all we had at the time. You either had a Marshall, a Fender, or a Hiwatt. You could make them sound great (for the times) with a little tweaking. It is a much better world now that we have choices.
 
acorec said:
I never thought there was a difference. I guess buzz, more buzz, buzz & hum, buzz & hum & am radio interference.

I sold all my Marshalls as I do nothing but record and they suck ass for recording. But, if you have to have one, the JCM 900 is the better amp usually. This only means that the JCM 800 amps were really lousy.
Click to expand...

I've got a JCM 900 2500 half stack that I bought new when they came out. I like it; it's been very dependable and has plenty of power for a 50 watt amp. The only thing I've done to it was to put some (original) Tesla EL-34's in it and some NOS RCA 12AX7 tubes in it. Maybe I got lucky with my amp, but it doesn't sound overly bright or brittle-sounding as others have reported. Works well live and for recording too.
 
marsh mello

i recently bought a 900 2500 series head. i'm very happy with the sounds I get. I use a line 6 4-12 and/or a CGM 2-12. I also use a valvestate 8080
at home. The 8080 sounds nice with my strat for different half distorted to clean sounds. I got it at an open mike night from a metal act.I always thought it sounded like shit with them, all midrange. I paid 50.00 for it, got it home and realized it
kicked ass at lower settings. Their pedals and stage volume and drop c were'nt right for the amp. This thing is virtually bulletproof.I saw the shows they did with it, they abused that amp week after week to no end. i think the player,tuning ability,guitar,string gauge,pedals and settings have as much to do with good sound as the amp itself. I used to have a disgusting crate g-120-c head that totally
bit balls, so I know now how much a good amp is important,but any amp will sound like crap also if ya don't stay within its capabilitys and decent stage volume. No amp is perfect for every gig. I've been in metal,blues,country and punk bands. The 900 can cover all of those,but prefer the Bandmaster for the country and blues.
A few musicians in this area have asked me to sell the 900 head to them,. No one asked me to sell the Crate. I have yet to play out with the 8080. Too happy with the 900. I just played a barn party,this barn was a cavern. I put the line 6 4-12 on my side and the CGM 2-12 on the other.The clean and dirt was rich and full without being ear piercing. I play an Ibanez 77 Les custom and Mexi Strat. I like my Marsh lead 12 for recording. I also have a 67" Bandmaster, a HD Deluxe,and Champ. All great sounding amps..all in need of repair. That metal band used the hot rod and smoked the pre-section with their pedals. Probably why they just about gave me the 8080..

http://www.myspace.com/selfunited
 
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