whats the deal with "the marshall sound"

i think a distortian pedal can serve it purpose with an amp like a 100 watt jcm 800 especially if u dont have a master volume.

but if u have the ability to TURN UP the amp and overdrive its tubes IMO no pedal can match that beautiful sound. the 18 watt marshalls are perfect for that (although they might not be loud enough for a full band situation with a heavy hitting drummer)

if u want just a bit more sustain for a solo or something than a pedal is good tool for that too.
 
Rickson Gracie said:
i think a distortian pedal can serve it purpose with an amp like a 100 watt jcm 800 especially if u dont have a master volume.

but if u have the ability to TURN UP the amp and overdrive its tubes IMO no pedal can match that beautiful sound. the 18 watt marshalls are perfect for that (although they might not be loud enough for a full band situation with a heavy hitting drummer)

if u want just a bit more sustain for a solo or something than a pedal is good tool for that too.
Click to expand...

If you kick on a DISTORTION pedal on top of your amp's own distortion, it is going to sound like ASS. Period. It clips horribly. UNLESS it has a level knob, and you leave the distortion set to clean and just use it as a level boost, in which case you are not using the distorion function, but using it as an OVERDRIVE.
 
My JCM 800

When I got my JCM 800 it seemed to be a disapointment until I spent some time working with the knobs, and replacing the EL34's that came in it with the Marshall name on them, with EL34's NO Name and had the bias set. I could not believe my ears........the amp came to life and I do enjoy playing it thur a Marshall 4/12 cab. I sometimes use a Boss GT5, POD or just use the pre amp of the Marshall for overdrive......it sound fine to me.

I use 3 different guitars.... a PRS, LP, and my new Parker NiteFly Mojo which is a real thing to get acquainted with, all the guitars have different sounds that are specific to their nature and I could not get the different sounds I like from only one of them. So I call them the Trinity and love to experiment with the Marshall.

One other thing........ I have a Marshall POWER-Break that is supposed to allow the amp to be turned all the way up to get the full effect from the loudness, but this divice is supposed to absorb the high sound but let it do its job at a lower output to the speakers. I DO NOT use it as of yet for the following.

Many tech people have told me NOT to use the PowerBreak.......that it will in time hurt the electronics of my amp. They explain that it is like driving a car in low gear at 60 MPH. Any comment about using a PowerBreak would be taken into consideration
 
i just saw like 20 people mention to get a guitar with humbuckers, but i didn't see anybody recommend getting something with ACTIVE pickups...so yea, now i'm doing it
 
For my money, no Marshall past the 800 has been worth diddly, they just get fizzier and more lightweight, and more full of stupid gimmicks (probably in response to musical trends).

I've got a 50w Engl combo - low powered valve amps are the greatest, because you can drive them really hard and get the valves hot!
 
choctaw said:
When I got my JCM 800 it seemed to be a disapointment until I spent some time working with the knobs, and replacing the EL34's that came in it with the Marshall name on them, with EL34's NO Name and had the bias set. I could not believe my ears........the amp came to life and I do enjoy playing it thur a Marshall 4/12 cab. I sometimes use a Boss GT5, POD or just use the pre amp of the Marshall for overdrive......it sound fine to me.

I use 3 different guitars.... a PRS, LP, and my new Parker NiteFly Mojo which is a real thing to get acquainted with, all the guitars have different sounds that are specific to their nature and I could not get the different sounds I like from only one of them. So I call them the Trinity and love to experiment with the Marshall.

One other thing........ I have a Marshall POWER-Break that is supposed to allow the amp to be turned all the way up to get the full effect from the loudness, but this divice is supposed to absorb the high sound but let it do its job at a lower output to the speakers. I DO NOT use it as of yet for the following.

Many tech people have told me NOT to use the PowerBreak.......that it will in time hurt the electronics of my amp. They explain that it is like driving a car in low gear at 60 MPH. Any comment about using a PowerBreak would be taken into consideration
Click to expand...

First off, people are morons.
Second, power brake doesn't shorten the electronics lifespan, it shortens the tubes lifespan. But that is okay because you WANT the sound of the tubes working hard. Its not like driving a car in 1st gear at 60 mph. Thats the dumbest analogy I have ever heard. For one, most cars won't go 60 in 1st without redlining well before hitting 60, and if you down shifted to 1st while going 60, you will redline before you have even made the full motion of the shift, and probably break some teeth off the gears in the tranny.
An amp with a power brake is like the car going 60mph, but you are only going 10mph. Which is impossible so thats why its such a bad analogy.

Second, IMHO, you need a good clean boost pedal for that 800, not a GT5 or a POD or any other crap.

:D :D :D :D

EDIT:
Okay how about this one...
The power brake is like LOW RANGE (not low gear) on a 4x4. The power brake would be like the transfer case, multiplying the gear ratio. It allows you to focus all your power into one area.
(but that is still not the same as driving fast in first gear)
As long as you don't readline (the amp can't, they are designed to be turned to 10, or 11, or 12, or whatever your amp goes to), you will be fine.
 
I know a car would shoot craps if driven in low gear at 60 mph. That was just the way a tech person put it. Wanting to show that if you misuse equipment damage will result. I only said what was told me, and do not no the truth of it.

I will try a clean overdrive and see how it sounds. Your right the Boss and Pod seem to cause me to lose the fullness of the amps sound or for that matter any other amp will lose its true tones using some effects.

That JCM 800 is a real good sound alone without any additions.

Thanks Choctaw
 
vangore said:
Iv always heard that for the best heavy distorted guitar sound marshalls and mesa boogies were the be all and end all but having recently had a JCM 2000 in my studio i was very dissapointed with its sound, i just couldnt get a really heavy good sounding guitar tone, I ran a line 6 distortion, a big muff and a line 6 pod through it an addition to trying it with nothing and i couldnt see what the fuss is about.

My question is how to get that funeral for a friend type sound out of that bloody marshall,i will be using a tele or a strat and dont mind getting pedals.

Disclaimer: Iam not claiming that Marshall amps are overrated or horrible sounding merely that i am inexperienced and possibly looking for something i cant get with out much processing.

cheers all.
Click to expand...

I guess I am the only one that knows Funeral For A Friend is an Elton John song.

Can I suggest a sonic maximiser from BBE (482i). I have one with my TSL100 and it does crank with my Fenders as well as my Gibsons. Scoop out the mids and use a half stack for the sound you are talking about.
 
That "marshall sound"- you have to crank it..

the line 6 pod may be killing it because that is a preamp, and you want to use the preamp in the marshall, not piled on by all sorts of digital crap.

plug your guitar in, crank the amp to about 6 or 7 (wear earplugs-seriously). you'll hear it.
 
vangore said:
Iv always heard that for the best heavy distorted guitar sound marshalls and mesa boogies were the be all and end all but having recently had a JCM 2000 in my studio i was very dissapointed with its sound, i just couldnt get a really heavy good sounding guitar tone, I ran a line 6 distortion, a big muff and a line 6 pod through it an addition to trying it with nothing and i couldnt see what the fuss is about.

My question is how to get that funeral for a friend type sound out of that bloody marshall,i will be using a tele or a strat and dont mind getting pedals.

Disclaimer: Iam not claiming that Marshall amps are overrated or horrible sounding merely that i am inexperienced and possibly looking for something i cant get with out much processing.

cheers all.
Click to expand...

the reason you ended up sounding like shit is because you ruin the chain by adding cheap shit in FRONT of the amp. line6 pod is good if you want that huge artificial sounding bottom end sound with insane amount of gain which in my mind has absolutely nothing to do with the "marshall sound".

just throw away the pedals and get an attenuator or isolation cabinet and then crank the POWER AMP section of your amp as high as you can. then add pre volume until you find enough gain - since you play metal it's probably a LOT - or if it isn't enough help it out with something like the big muff.

just try out diffrent gain/volume combinations. you don't need a gazillion pedals.
 
Kelane said:
the reason you ended up sounding like shit is because you ruin the chain by adding cheap shit in FRONT of the amp.

just try out diffrent gain/volume combinations. you don't need a gazillion pedals.
Click to expand...

What he said! :D
 
Sillyhat said:
Get a Seymore Duncan Hot Rails pickup. It will fix your problem.
Click to expand...

I put one of these in my strat 10 years ago, and I have been and still use that guitar for metal all the time. I think it sounds pretty sweet. :) You won't really get anywhere with single coils tho.
 
some may disagree, but i say part of the problem is the Line 6 stuff you are using unless you are going for that plastic-ey smooth heavy sound....
 
cactuseskimo said:
I don't think spendinh $400.00 on a set of Mullards is good advice to someone who isn't happy with the tone they have already. Better tubes will take a good sounding amp, and make it that much better. It won't however usually make the difference betweeb liking or disliking the amp.

I have a few suggestions for the poster:

1) What do you mean by Heavey Tone - like a scooped mids Metallica sound? Basically the way to get a Heavy sound is to turn the mid control way down and turn up the treble and bass. (Note: this will sound good in the bedroom, but once you get playing with the band, you will need your mids in there to be heard)

2) What kind of amp are you coming from?? Solid State amps have a much higher degree of saturation and general fizziness which you can mistake for heaviness. Tube amps have a lot clearer sound that may not sound that heavy in your bedroom, but once you get in a full band situation, it cuts through perfectly sounding very heavey while the former SS amp would sound washed out.

3) If you're used to playing SS amps, it can take awhile to learn how to "push around" a tube amp. Your pick attack will naturally adjust for this the longer you play.

4) A good uncolored booster/OD might not be out of the question. Zakk Wylde uses one in front of his Marshall. He even has his own model made by MXR. The digitech bad monkey is a good sounding cheap od/booster pedal that will just give you the same sound as you original tone, but with more gain.

Anyway, to sum up: Let your pick attack adjust, wait until you get it in a full band playing before you judge the heaviness, and maybe try a booster.
Click to expand...

WHy do you say a booster and not just to turn it up?
 
Kelane said:
the reason you ended up sounding like shit is because you ruin the chain by adding cheap shit in FRONT of the amp. line6 pod is good if you want that huge artificial sounding bottom end sound with insane amount of gain which in my mind has absolutely nothing to do with the "marshall sound".

just throw away the pedals and get an attenuator or isolation cabinet and then crank the POWER AMP section of your amp as high as you can. then add pre volume until you find enough gain - since you play metal it's probably a LOT - or if it isn't enough help it out with something like the big muff.

just try out diffrent gain/volume combinations. you don't need a gazillion pedals.
Click to expand...

Plus one, use minimum early-chain devices.
 
How to fix thin Marshall sound...Duct tape

Get some pillows, duct tape them over the speakers, turn the speaker towards the wall and mic the back (assuming closed back 4x12) of the cab, turn the amp up all the way. Then put a small Fender amp in front of the stack and use it.
 
I know its an old thread, but I have two Marshalls sitting here at the studio. The newest one is a TSL100. It always sounded decent, but I recently swapped some of the preamp tubes and put a set of NOS RFT EL34's in it and it definately takes the TSL to a whole new level. The fizziness is GONE, and the power, crunch, clarity, balance, and dynamic response of the amp are all improved. Personally, the power tubes in it are nice, but the preamp tubes are where the majority of the magic happened. The "hotspot" around 3 is now also gone.

The other Marshall I have is one of George Lynch's old Super Leads. It has been pretty heavily modified to cascade the channels and bumped up to 125 watts. Tone wise, it will do metal for days! It also sits on a repro vintage marshall cab with 2 vintage 30's and 2 old goodman's in it. VERY different sound from the other 3 1960 cabs I have here. The Super Lead still has winged C (hal;fway decent) power tubes in it and shitty sovtek preamp tubes in it, but I expect to be retubing it with Mullard and Amperex 12ax or even AT7's sometime really soon. The Super Lead sounds and plays like nothing else. Makes current amps sound like toys in my opinion.

On a side note, I have recently been retubing a ton of amps from Marshalls to Mesa to Vox, to new and even vintage fenders. Most people are just rolling different preamp tubes through them but EVERY person has found that good vintqge preamp tubes make a HUGE difference for the better. I am actually going to put a bunch of tubes in the for sale section soon since I have so many here right now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top