Lets talk Marshalls

  • Thread starter Thread starter cragginshred
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motorboy1 said:
He’s had almost every Friedman, multiple times plus countless other highend marshall type amps. I don’t think you’re ever going to be happy ?
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I did not realize I had a follower? :ROFLMAO: Actually very happy with my Wizard MC II, but when I sell something instead of banking the cash I'm always looking for an alternate amp or back up

Any of the amps I've had in the past would work if it were not for GAS and the itch that cannot be scratched.
 
Racerxrated said:
This seems to be another 'Charvel Dan' type post that regurgitates some BS that was read on the net. Please. Haha.
At this point I've played/ owned over 50+ stock and modded Marshalls, and of that number 10 from the 60s/70s.
EVERY DAMN ONE sounded good to great. EVERY ONE. Now, would they hold up to 4 hour gigs? All of them were played out with the exception of my current Marshalls (2210, 72 Superlead and a sold 67 50T). No issues.
You mention the VM? Lol that was the ONE Marshall that had an issue at a show; but it was just a pre tube. They are OK but in the same camp as a DSL or other 'meh' sounding Marshalls. A VM sounding like a Plexi? Not a chance. It sounds about as much as a boosted Superlead as a DSL does.
It's like the dudes who say 'Camerons aren't all that...some are average sounding or crappy'. No. I've had 10 (Marshalls/Migs) and EVERY ONE was a killer amp. That's another example of people who have never played one, talking shit because the guy is a thief. The amps themselves are killer.
Some Marshalls sound better than others; but NONE I've had sound even average. They all sound good or better.....You may not like a Marshall tone or a boosted/modded Marshall and that's fine.
Maybe I've just been lucky ten times with the 60s/70s Marshalls I've owned?
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I honestly think it's the exact inverse of what he said. 9/10 vintage amps (that are in good shape) sound phenomenal.

Vintage moderns are good sounding amps, but I think it's comparing apples to oranges to compare them to a vintage marshall.

Honestly, I think some people just PREFER the more anodyne, stiff style of modern amps, and therefore aren't great judges of what makes a vintage amp great.

The reliability thing is actually the opposite too. Vintage amps, and modern point to point amps built in a vintage style for that matter, are actually quite easy to fix, maintain, and keep sounding great.

The most problematic amps I've ever owned were all PCB. Vintage point to point and turret board amps have all been the same as far as reliability but WAY easier to repair and diagnose.

I own both styles of amp, and can see the appeal of both. I guess I don't see how someone could play guitar and NOT see the appeal of both.
 
cragginshred77 said:
I'm an 80's rocker and need a really good hard rock crunch tone to classic 80's Ratt Dokken VH ect tones. I have the Wizard MC II Mk II which I love and will keep as well as a Freidman smallbox -selling

The only Marshall I've owned was a Joe Satch signature head. It had a ch that was supposed be a JCM 800 which the JVM do as well right? What is the scoop with the new re issue Marshalls JCM ect? I'm always chasing 'that' tone in my DNA from the late 70's and 80's so why shouldn't I have a Marshall?
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Lots of excellent replies in this thread - my quick take. If you want those tones then grab a 2203 or 2204 find a great OD and you're there. I think I would start there personally.

I grew up on Marshalls, in fact my first three amps were a Marshall MKII 50w Combo, 100 MKII Super Lead head and my favorite, the JMP 50w 2204 head. Really, I wish I hadn't sold any of them but decades ago, who could have known the value of those today. After years of going through alot of high gain amps I went back to Marshalls 15 or so years ago and since that time I play a stock JVM410 and love it. OD1 Orange "for me" is classic hot rodded 80's modded Marshall tone. Btw/ I owned and did not like the Satch model not to mention a modded 410 as well.

I prefer the stock model 410, gives me all the Marshall tone I need. That said though, to scratch that itch I'd try and find a 2203 or 2204 some OD pedals to taste and see how that works because that is essentially the basis of Ratt, Dokken etc...
 
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mrmega said:
The Marshall Vintage Modern 50w, 100w or 50w combo will all get you to that hard rock tone you are looking for. IMHO It's the greatest most underated Marshall of all time. It is a one channel amp with two dynamic modes (low gain and high gain) and it has two gain controls: one for low end and one for high end. Its a tone machine. It also has a sweet spot somewhere between 7 and 8 that when you find it takes it to a whole new level. It so versitile too. WIthout pedals or any hel[p it will play everythign from hard rock to country, smooth jazz to blues and it will do so better than any other amp. The only sound it wont do without any help is modern metal.

It sounds great at all volume levels and is the best pedal platform of any amp I have even played. The cabinets feature the same greenbacks that were in the Jimi Hendrix limited edition amp.
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Love comments backed by experience.
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
Dammmmnnn I don't want to be a shitter lol but I hate that graphic. I know tone is subjective and all, but of these I strongly disagree with:

I could go on. I know I'm being a bit of a jerk and I'm not calling you out specifically, but as someone who owns - concurrently - almost every tube amp on that list, this comes off as a chart that someone who owned one or two of them made while "speculating" about the others based on youtube clips or hearing one in a shop somewhere. Not someone who has used the same guitar, same speaker cab, same room to actually test them out.

(Sorry)
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You don't need to be sorry to me bro. It's not like I made the list. I assumed it came from Marshall :dunno:

It is almost a meme at this point. I actually have one that has "Splawn" added on marked in all blue :lol:
 
Torgo2003 said:
I love the 2203x. I have no clue if that's a good price or not or what these things go for if you put a little work into the search though.
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Please explain what is the X? I see the JCM 800 has a - 10db pad also on the loop can anyone explain if that helps dampen the volume that has to be cranked to get good tone?
 
cragginshred77 said:
Please explain what is the X? I see the JCM 800 has a - 10db pad also on the loop can anyone explain if that helps dampen the volume that has to be cranked to get good tone?
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The X just designates Reissue. The 10db option is to bring the loop closer to Line Level. Depends on the amp, the pedals used, the type of loop and a few other things I can't remember. Safe to say it is a good feature to have.

"Instrument vs Line Level Signal
Remember earlier when I explained the differences between instrument and line level signal? Well most pedals are designed to deal with instrument level signal (which is the lowest), however if you place them after the pre-amp, then the signal at this point is actually line-level.

Some pedals allow you to change the settings so they will switch to being more compatible with this higher line-level signal instead, so make sure you utilise this if your pedal has it. It can help to reduce background noise and muddiness."
 
Fiesta Red said:
The reissue Marshalls keep coming up in the conversation -- are they that good?
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They were a screaming deal for a while. You got the old school style construction (at a time when most Marshalls were going PCB/board mounted pots/smaller iron/fewer filter caps), made in UK, just like the real deal, best original they could find, and made to the exact right specs. The equivalent of sought after modern day clones, and well priced.

Now a reissue JCM800 2203X is $3549 and I would have a hard time recommending it at that price. I have one, from 2005, and love it to death - seriously don't want to gush about it too much but I wouldn't trade it for anything. But I also got it back when one in absolutely mint, pristine condition was barely over $1k.

To lift a little excerpt from my own site when I was researching some of this stuff about reissues vs originals and so on about 2203X Pricing:
  • $1369 in 2005 ($2183 adjusted for inflation to 2023)
  • $3549 in 2023

Idk, that says a lot to me. Grabbing one used might still work out of course.

---

Also, I was worried my complaining about the "Marshall chart" was going to be the spiciest take in this thread. Glad to see it wasn't :ROFLMAO:
 
I read through the thread and didn't see if you have tried a Splawn Quickrod or Competition amp? It seems that the smoothness polished tone the Friedman's seem to have is not what you are looking for I guess. The Splawns still retain the rawness of the old Marshalls IMHO. I guess the loop volume on the Quickrods work great as a pseudo attenuator from all the accounts of Splawn owners. I had Scott rebuild my 79 Marhsall 2203 in 2003 and that amp has been great still to this day 20 years later.

The used resale prices are reasonable considering what a stock 2203X sells for and the Splawns cover all the tones you seem to like. The early 2003-2005 Quickrods seem to have a slightly rawer tone to them but I don't think you could go wrong with any of them really.

Splawns also take OD pedals really well if you like to contour or boost your tone.

Splawns can go from plexi. modded plexi to JCM800 to modded JCM800 via the footswitching.
 
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cragginshred77 said:
Please explain what is the X? I see the JCM 800 has a - 10db pad also on the loop can anyone explain if that helps dampen the volume that has to be cranked to get good tone?
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You could use the loop for a vol damper with a vol pedal, or an eq pedal using just the overall level control by reducing it; and then cranking the master to get some power tube compression.

That's a decent price. Although, I'd still go for a 70s or early 80s version at the same price. But that's just my preference.
 
cragginshred77 said:
Please explain what is the X? I see the JCM 800 has a - 10db pad also on the loop can anyone explain if that helps dampen the volume that has to be cranked to get good tone?
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The 2203x has a button for the loop with -10 or +4. The -10 is more for pedals, the +4 for line level effects.
I had the 2203x last year. Great amp, but I found it to be a 50lb one-trick-pony. Throw an SD-1 in front and cover 70s and 80s in spades.
Because of the bright cap, the Preamp Gain needs to be run from 2:00 to full. Low Preamp volumes result in really trebly sounds.

I also recently had the 50 watt 1987x. I found it also to be a one-trick-pony. Attenuator was a must.
For me, I'd revisit the JVM410h. Not as in-your-face as the 2203x, but so much more versatile. I was in on the original Group-Buy that SteveVHT coordinated from this forum. I miss that amp.
 
CarlF said:
The 2203x has a button for the loop with -10 or +4. The -10 is more for pedals, the +4 for line level effects.
I had the 2203x last year. Great amp, but I found it to be a 50lb one-trick-pony. Throw an SD-1 in front and cover 70s and 80s in spades.
Because of the bright cap, the Preamp Gain needs to be run from 2:00 to full. Low Preamp volumes result in really trebly sounds.

I also recently had the 50 watt 1987x. I found it also to be a one-trick-pony. Attenuator was a must.
For me, I'd revisit the JVM410h. Not as in-your-face as the 2203x, but so much more versatile. I was in on the original Group-Buy that SteveVHT coordinated from this forum. I miss that amp.
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Running the SC20 low sounded like a$$ and was only useable at ear bleeding volumes and honestly sounded like a generic gain tone.
For the 2203x to be similar just bigger is a concern. Zero interest in an attenuator
 
cragginshred77 said:
Running the SC20 low sounded like a$$ and was only useable at ear bleeding volumes and honestly sounded like a generic gain tone.
For the 2203x to be similar just bigger is a concern. Zero interest in an attenuator
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2203x does have a master volume though. Secret is to run the pre-amp gain high, can still get great sounds with a low master volume. I usually have my master below 1 with pre-amp cranked. It's not bedroom quiet but you're not gonna get the cops called on you either.

Just use volume on your guitar for lower gain sounds.
 
Racerxrated said:
You could use the loop for a vol damper with a vol pedal, or an eq pedal using just the overall level control by reducing it; and then cranking the master to get some power tube compression.

That's a decent price. Although, I'd still go for a 70s or early 80s version at the same price. But that's just my preference.
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That was a much more useful answer than mine :lol:
 
Doesn't seem like the reissues for the 1987x or JCM 800 are anywhere under 2K
 
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