N.A.D. for Greg - it's one louder over here - classic Marshall w/ pics!

[Greg_L]

I needed this amp like I need a hole in the head, but fuck it, it's one of the legendary old-school Marshalls and the price was too good to be true for this year and model. I saw it by accident, but maybe it was fate? Maybe it was meant to be? The 2203/2204 circuit is my own personal all-time favorite Marshall sound. Has to be fate finally intervening, right? My wife isn't buying that. Regardless, now I have one.

My new noise maker - 1979 Marshall JMP 2204.







Wait, where's the classic script logo? I don't know, this amp resides in new aftermarket mojotone (I think) late 60s/early 70s style Plexi/Super Lead head shell. Gold piping, mesh vents, no corner protectors. Old school. Maybe I'll get a vintage style 6" gold logo, or just leave it blank. All I care about is what's inside...







This is where it gets cool IMO. I believe, I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that most of these amps originally came with 6550 power tubes. This one's been converted to EL34s, or it just came with EL34s, which to me is awesome. I think it's been converted though because the tube retainer things are big like they're supposed to be holding down 6550 tubes. No matter. The EL34s are brand new. New Ruby/Tung Sol EL34 power tubes, new GT 12ax7s. New filter caps. The power cable has been converted to 3-prong grounded. All the maintenance/upkeep shit has been done. Awesome. And it gets cooler.....all the transformers and shit are bone stock original. They each have "7 79" stamped on them, which goes along with the July 25, 1979 build date on the tag thing. Nice.







And the guts...it's lot simpler in here than in my JVM. The JVM is an iPhone 5, this JMP is a rotary phone.



The sound? Back in Black comes to mind. Fat, thick, chunky yet articulate, pure old school ear splitting classic Marshall goodness. Hit it with an OD pedal and you're in teased hair and spandex territory. I need to learn how to play Crazy Train now.

 

[minerman]

Fuckin' awesome man!!!!! For how much, a grand??? Nice find dude, you know you really need to get some NOS glass in that one, right??? The power tubes not so much, from what I've read what you have are fine, but the pre-amp tubes in those amps can make quite a bit of difference (from what I've read.....no experience myself....)....

You can probably find a logo pretty cheap, if you even want one, & I'd consider the corner protectors if you're gonna be taking it out/gigging....

Greg, you need to join the Marshall Amp Forum (if you haven't already....), there's a guy there (his user name is MartyStrat 54) that sells NOS tubes, & will work/help you fine tune your amp with the tubes he sells....his prices are actually pretty good too, compared to a lot of others' I've looked at...There's actually a few guys there who do that, but Marty is the "top dog" for tubes there....

Wow, so, you have a JCM 900, a JVM 410, & now a JMP 2204???? Lucky bastard... Congrats man, awesome amp!!!!

I WANNA HEAR SOME CLIPS!!!

 

[Greg_L]

Thanks man. Yup, a JCM 900 MkIII, JVM410, and now this 2204. I'm gonna sell the 900 MkIII now though. I like it a lot. It's a bad ass amp, but the 2204 is better at that kind of sound, and the JVM kills it all the way around. I really could be just fine with just the JVM, but I saw this 2204 and it just called out to me. I've always wanted a 2203/2204. Either JCM or JMP. While I'm not at all a fan of 70's classic rock or 80's hair glam shit, I LOVE the guitar tones. I've just never come across one that has been reasonably priced. So my 900 has become the low man on the totem pole, and I think I can get a good price for it. It's definitely the best of the 900 lineup, and mine has been upgraded with a bunch of shit.

This 2204 was $980 out the door. Comparable late 70s rocker switch master volume JMPs on ebay are asking for 1200-1700 bucks. It was on consignment at a place that always has awesome stuff but they're notoriously ridiculously high priced. I have to assume that the owner was desperate for some quick cash. The amp arrived at the shop on the 5th and according to the salespeople interest has been high. There's no way this thing would have lasted a week at that price so I got there when they opened today and bought it. Right next to it in the good amp room was a 1974 100w Super Lead for $2400. So I plugged into it as well, jumpered the inputs, and cranked both volumes to ten. It was a holy roar that shook the walls and my teeth. Fat, monstrous, pure Marshall tube meltdown. Sounded great, but honestly, I liked the "little" 50w JMP better at the same volume. And that's a good thing because I'd be divorced right now if I came home with a $2400 Super Lead.

I'm not a big tube swapper guy so I'm not interested in NOS tubes. I'm fine with regular production stuff. IMO, on the list of things that significantly affect tone, tube branding might not even be in the top ten. This amp pretty much has one trick and it does it very well. I'm not too worried about it. If I want variety, I'll hook up to the JVM.

 

[minerman]

It's cool about the tube thing man, but I'm pretty sure he can do as good/better price wise on about anything you'd want, including CP stuff, just tryin' to be helpful.....

Really envious of the newest addition man, really clean looking inside too, for a super price. Most I've seen (online), are way worse for the wear than that one, for a lot more $$$....

We're in the process of buying another house (it should've already been done, but red tape/bullshit's got it held up right now..), with a full basement, & when that happens, I'm gonna go the "big" amp route. Of course, I'm gonna keep my 'lil amps, they're great too, but I'll have a place where I could use a 50/100 watter, even late at night....this place is out in the boondocks, & I'm already making plans on how to soundproof part of it...Just guessing, the basement is 20' x 30', with a ceiling about 7-8' high.....should be lots of room there for my gear, & then some.....

Nice amp dude, I'm sure you'll make the most out of it, your guitar tones are always stellar....even when you used Guitar Rig a few years ago (yeah, I remember that, I even asked you then for tips/pointers about 'em...) your songs sounded great.....


Post us some clips when you get time.......back to work tomorrow, I've been off for about 12 days now, & I fuckin' dread it to say the least....

 

[Greg_L]

It's cool about the tube thing man, but I'm pretty sure he can do as good/better price wise on about anything you'd want, including CP stuff, just tryin' to be helpful.....

Really envious of the newest addition man, really clean looking inside too, for a super price. Most I've seen (online), are way worse for the wear than that one, for a lot more $$$....

We're in the process of buying another house (it should've already been done, but red tape/bullshit's got it held up right now..), with a full basement, & when that happens, I'm gonna go the "big" amp route. Of course, I'm gonna keep my 'lil amps, they're great too, but I'll have a place where I could use a 50/100 watter, even late at night....this place is out in the boondocks, & I'm already making plans on how to soundproof part of it...Just guessing, the basement is 20' x 30', with a ceiling about 7-8' high.....should be lots of room there for my gear, & then some.....

Nice amp dude, I'm sure you'll make the most out of it, your guitar tones are always stellar....even when you used Guitar Rig a few years ago (yeah, I remember that, I even asked you then for tips/pointers about 'em...) your songs sounded great.....


Post us some clips when you get time.......back to work tomorrow, I've been off for about 12 days now, & I fuckin' dread it to say the least....

Thanks man. I liked using guitar rig too, I just wanted the real stuff, and now I'm out of control.

That's great about the house. Having a place to blast a big amp is a good thing. You can kiss your iso cab goodbye forever! I like those little amps too, but they're just not the same. I really wanted to go that route myself, but it just didn't work out. This was before Marshall went crazy with little amps, and I wasn't blown away by any of the others. I remember Lt Bob telling me "man, just get a big ol Marshall. You know you're gonna end up there anyway". Lol. Now I got three of them. I don't go for any all-time greatest ever guitar tones, but I know one thing - the stuff I like best was done with megaloud amps. The sounds I like best come from big cabs pumping out big volume. It's like a holy experience. I'm mostly a drummer, but all along at gigs I'm the guy talking to the other bands guitarists about their gear. I'm always picking brains about amps and shit. And now I'm gigging on guitar with this new punk band and most local level punk rock bands have less than stellar sounds. Bad guitars, bad amps, bad everything. Very few punk bands in my city sound good. I wanna bring some quality back to live punk rock music. The music might be bad, the playing might be shitty, but you're at least gonna get your fucking face blown off with good guitar sound and it's gonna be loud.

 

[JCH]

Nice!... love those amps.

 

[miroslav]

One Marshall amp...and you move to "collector" status.

That's one less Marshall that I will have to buy..... one of these days.
Leave some for other folks!!!

 

[Lt. Bob]

awesome amp ...... I'm pretty sure I had one of those for a while but it was just the amp chassis with no head cabinet.
So I just sat the chassis on a speaker and played it that way.
I'm also fairly sure it was EL34s but I truly don't remember for sure.

One night a glass of water fell on it while gigging ...... popped every power tube!!

Replaced them and it worked fine!

Congrats on the new addition.

 

[Farview]

There was a while in that time frame that Marshall used both 6550 and EL34's. I think you ordered which you wanted, or were oblivious to it and just grabbed the one at the local shop and dealt with what ever it had in it.

 

[Greg_L]

Nice!... love those amps.

Thanks! Me too!

One Marshall amp...and you move to "collector" status.

That's one less Marshall that I will have to buy..... one of these days.
Leave some for other folks!!!

I know. I didn't set out looking for this amp, but my eyes are always peeled for the next good deal. I gotta stop now.

awesome amp ...... I'm pretty sure I had one of those for a while but it was just the amp chassis with no head cabinet.
So I just sat the chassis on a speaker and played it that way.
I'm also fairly sure it was EL34s but I truly don't remember for sure.

One night a glass of water fell on it while gigging ...... popped every power tube!!

Replaced them and it worked fine!

Congrats on the new addition.

Thanks Boob. I used it tonight at the punk rock mess band practice. Worked great, sounded fantastic. I can dial in very similar tone with my JVM, but this thing just has that something about it. It's like it's more open and lively or something. It was just pure awesomeness. It doesn't do low volume well.

There was a while in that time frame that Marshall used both 6550 and EL34's. I think you ordered which you wanted, or were oblivious to it and just grabbed the one at the local shop and dealt with what ever it had in it.

Yeah maybe so. There was a while that Marshall stopped using EL34s because of availability. I don't know though. I was only 8 yrs old when this thing was new.

 

[rayc]

UNREAL. My Superbass was build in 79 - good year for Marshall.
A one trick pony that does the trick so well you don't need to look at anything except the gift horse that brought it your way.
Good Score!
You'll have to become a denizen of the marshall Forum - they are seriously biased over there.

Marshall Amps - MarshallForum.com

 

[miroslav]

I know. I didn't set out looking for this amp, but my eyes are always peeled for the next good deal. I gotta stop now. .

I meant to say....one MORE Marshall and you move to "collector" status....but you got what I meant.


I have a similar sickness with my Hagstrom guitars.
Like if one more person walks into my studio and asks me why I need so many....well.......ahhhhh, fuck em.....I just do!

Anyway...I still want to get a Marshall (or at least an intentional/decent Marshall clone). I have a few amps that can get into that zone, especially when coaxed with the right pedal...but I've considered a Marshall-esque amp for a long time, and then I go off in some other direction. That said, I do have a love for the EL-34 stuff, that's what I cut my teeth on, though I've also become very enamored with 6V6 amps.....the EL-84 stuff, meh, not so much.

So like what BS line did you end up using with the wife so she didn't go nuts on you.
"No honey...they just look the same. Really....I must have them all to get the tones I need....and Oh, there are still a couple of other models I have yet to add down the road."

Might as well soften the blow now for when you bring another amp home! If she really doesn't understand....just do the shoes thing. Walk to her closet and ask her to explain why she needs so many....that always ends the discussions.

 

[Greg_L]

UNREAL. My Superbass was build in 79 - good year for Marshall.
A one trick pony that does the trick so well you don't need to look at anything except the gift horse that brought it your way.
Good Score!
You'll have to become a denizen of the marshall Forum - they are seriously biased over there.

Marshall Amps - MarshallForum.com

Thanks Ray. I've read stuff on that forum, but I'm not interested in membership there. I don't need another forum to waste time at.

I meant to say....one MORE Marshall and you move to "collector" status....but you got what I meant.

I have always said that I want each of the landmark Marshall models - JTM-45, JMP 1959/1987, JMP 2203/2204, JCM 800, 900, 2000, etc. But that would be crazy. My real dream, since I was a kid, is to have a GTO from each of the 10 years they were made 1964-74. I have the 64 out in the garage, but I'm not as rich as I thought I'd be, so I just stopped thinking about it.

I have a similar sickness with my Hagstrom guitars.
Like if one more person walks into my studio and asks me why I need so many....well.......ahhhhh, fuck em.....I just do!

I do like those Hagstroms. GAS has never really struck me with guitars. I guess I'm not good enough as a player to appreciate the nuances of different guitars. I went years and years with cheap pawn shop and trade guitars and was just fine. I got my LP and my Mosrite clone and I'm good. A humbucker and a single coil is all I need. I see really cool guitars all the time, but I'm never really interested. I know guys with 20, 30, 40 guitars, and I'm like WTF? I'd really rather have amps. I do have 4 snare drums though. I suppose to most people that would seem a little excessive.

So like what BS line did you end up using with the wife so she didn't go nuts on you.
"No honey...they just look the same. Really....I must have them all to get the tones I need....and Oh, there are still a couple of other models I have yet to add down the road."

Might as well soften the blow now for when you bring another amp home! If she really doesn't understand....just do the shoes thing. Walk to her closet and ask her to explain why she needs so many....that always ends the discussions.

Lol. Well, here's the story for this amp. She's always supportive of my whims and obsessions. This one was a little controversial. Not much, but she's not crazy about it. I saw this amp on saturday, basically by accident, and it just got my wheels turning. I wasn't looking to buy anything. I just found it. I couldn't understand why it was priced so low. These models typically go for big coin. Was it messed up, or fully broken, or maybe it was because of the non-original head box? How could a functional 70's JMP be less than a grand these days? Then I found out it was on consignment. The owner needed quick cash. That's my kind of deal. I naturally take great pleasure in the misfortune of others! So I got home and told the wife about it and she reluctantly gave me the go-ahead. But I hadn't played it yet so I think she was holding out hope that I'd be my usual lazy self and just forget about it. But no, I raced back over there sunday morn right when they opened and checked it out. It worked great and sounded great so I got it. The wife's real point of contention was that it's as-is and no warranty or guarantee or anything. All amp sales final at this place - even brand new amps. But this shop specializes in ancient gear and everything they sell sees a tech first and is gone through before it goes on the floor. This amp has new filter caps, tubes, etc. All of the knobs are there and work in their full range. No sizzles, pops, crackles, or anything. No humming or hissing. It's a 35 year old amp in perfect working order so it's probably not going to just blow up for no reason if it hasn't already. And on top of that, it's not going to lose any value. I could probably flip it today for a nice profit if I wanted to. I tried to explain all of this to her, but it didn't make anything better. She kind of fumed around a little bit for the rest of the day, but she got over it pretty quick and I made some steaks on the grill and everything is all good. She's been very supportive of my GAS and I've gotten a LOT of stuff lately. I think I cashed in my last bit of good will with this one though.

 

[Telegram Sam]

you need some more amps.

 

[Lt. Bob]

if he buys more amps he might need to build a fort out of them to live in!

 

[Greg_L]

I don't know, I'm obsessed. And it's only with Marshalls. I couldn't give a rats as about any other amps.

 

[Greg_L]

Ok, here's my first baseline test run with the Les Paul. I call it a "baseline" because I just put everything on 5 and stuck a mic on a Greenback just to see what I get. From here the endless tweaking will commence.

Highway to Looks that Kill the Crazy Train

For the "Highway to Hell" bit, all tone controls, presence, gain, master vol on 5.
For the "Looks that Kill" part, everything the same, but gain bumped up to 8.
For the "Crazy Train" part, everything on 5, gain on 8, Tube Screamer engaged as clean boost - no drive, max level.
SM 57 at Greenback dustcap/cone about 2" off grill. No EQ or effects in DAW.

My playing is shit, pay it no mind.

 

[Lt. Bob]

dude ..... that sounds ..... ummmm, special.

That's a really good sound to my taste .... maybe better than your bigger amps ...... those 100 waters sometimes, man it's hard to describe this, but they can have too much of everything ..... the speaker moves so much you get a overly powerful punch .... I dunno how to say it but this amp doesn't catch your attention with it's bottom end but the bottom is certainly there and the highs never get piercing but they aren't lacking in any way.

I likes this one man .... right off.
I'm also thinking it might match up well with the V30's.

 

[Greg_L]

dude ..... that sounds ..... ummmm, special.

That's a really good sound to my taste .... maybe better than your bigger amps ...... those 100 waters sometimes, man it's hard to describe this, but they can have too much of everything ..... the speaker moves so much you get a overly powerful punch .... I dunno how to say it but this amp doesn't catch your attention with it's bottom end but the bottom is certainly there and the highs never get piercing but they aren't lacking in any way.

I likes this one man .... right off.
I'm also thinking it might match up well with the V30's.

Thanks man. I'm still very new to this thing and I'm learning it as I go. One thing I'm noticing is that it likes big giant changes to the controls. Put the bass on 0 or 10 - no problem. Jack the mids and presence - no problem. It all works out. The highs are very organic and ear pleasing. With the JVM, I have to be very careful with the highs and presence and it's controls are much more sensitive and wider ranging. The JMP definitely has a "softer" more open and dynamic power section. It gets into the power tubes very early. Maybe that's in it's design, maybe that's it's 50 watt nature. Maybe both. My 100w JVM stays very tight and controlled all the way into mega volume. The negative feedback mod I did makes the JVM behave more like this JMP. I'm very pleased to have both amps. As far as Marshall tones go, I think I'm totally covered. My poor 900 just sits there now. It's a great amp in it's own right, and it's a lot more like the JMP than it's modern counterparts. It's definitely a bridge model from old to new.

I'm going to try to do a V30 and G12-65 clip today. I'm especially curious about the G12-65s as they were kind of THE speaker for this amp.

 

[minerman]

Clips sound good Greg!!!
To me, they sound a little under-gained IMO, but you know I like more gain than you do....I'm sure you'll get used to the amp, learn how to dial it in, & it will sound killer....the first clips sound really good though, you just need some more time with it....